Bricks Magazine statement
Posted by Huw,
As you may be aware Bricks and Bricks Culture magazines ran into difficulties late last year which put editor Mark Guest into a very difficult position. He has provided the following statement to explain the situation:
"I firstly would like to apologise to everyone concerned for months of silence, but unfortunately this has been necessary to an extent. I appreciate this is very frustrating and I do understand the issues caused.
"As you may or may not be aware there has been some complicated issues at Republic66 media (the publisher of the magazines) that required investigating before we could be sure on the legal implications of making any announcements. I can assure you I have found this restriction to speak incredibly frustrating.
"The bottom line is that it has been victim of actions and decisions that put the company in a vulnerable position. Over the last ten months I have personally been working with the remaining director, who was not responsible for the situation, and his independent team, trying to not only unravel the damage caused but also secure investment that would allow a continuation of the project.
"However as is the case with all potential deals we were unable to make any official announcements until all paperwork is signed. Without anything concrete in place it has been difficult to give a solid update on the titles and I understand the subscribers' frustration with the lack of any real communication, and I totally share and understand their pain.
"As you may be aware I resigned as a director earlier in the year as a result of being refused complete transparency with regards to the company, its data, financial dealings and general communications for a prolonged period of time. This forced the hand of the remaining director and influential people and their independent teams to take control of the business from those that at that time had steered the business into such a position. I have co-operated with this team and endeavoured to help where possible to fix Bricks but with several factors still hanging over the company I have been in no position to feed any further information publicly.
"As you may imagine it has been a rollercoaster of a year and on several occasions it looked like I had managed to find ways forward that would have enabled the titles to continue and serve the community, as was always the intention, only for the deals to collapse at the eleventh hour.
"What has occurred, and the damage that has been done to the company and the fans, saddens me greatly and it is not a situation I have taken lightly or removed myself from. I appreciate the frustration and anger towards this and I want to make it very clear I have endeavored to try and right the wrongs and have invested all my time, blood sweat and tears into turning this around.
"Unfortunately, all my efforts and resources have been exhausted and after nearly 18 months of no income for me or my wife and my entire savings used, I now need to step away to put my family first, as I can no longer continue to jeopardise them. So it is with a sincere heavy heart that I have had to personally throw in the towel and remove my involvement with the company, and after much sacrifice I need to focus on supporting my family and providing an income and support them like they have me. My wife and I are completely devastated that it has come to this point.
"It is my understanding that the remaining team and director are still working hard on possible solutions to the situation. I do appreciate there are lots of questions, and the prolonged, although necessary silence has caused much frustration and anger which I genuinely sympathise with and share fully. As a result of this, without further notice from the director, I will not be able to answer any financial questions, as I simply don’t have the full insight on all matters.
"I would like to say a huge thanks to the AFOL community who, during this very stressful and emotional time, have helped me get through this (you know who you are). Also thanks to those who have been able to differentiate between the company and myself."
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So reading between the lines, it appears he's been 'shafted' by other parties or party involved in the business that has put him, the public face of the magazines, in an awful position that has taken its toll on his family life.
It sounds as if there's still the possibility of light at the end of the tunnel, but I wouldn't hold your breath...
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13 comments on this article
Pretty long winded but not saying much.
So it's good to get an update but as Mark is no longer involved are we able to know who might actually respond on behalf of the company as emails/messages get bounced back? In my mind I've written off the subscriptions but it still feels a bit open ended.
so... didnt he first have similar issues with "blocks"?- which has been going strong i might say.
...and now similar sorts of problems with his offshoot.
glad i skipped that subscription. hope anyone that got short changed is refunded
I am so sorry to hear this. Mark is such a nice guy who gave me the opportunity to write several articles on Technic for his wonderful magazine. I wish him and his family all the best and also hope the fans get a good solution. If the latter had been under Mark’s span of control there would have been a decent and respectful solution. Unfortunately, it is not in his power and I can imagine both the frustration of both the subscribers and Mark.
If the company were profitable, they'd put aside all their petty rivalries.
Looks like a sad story with mainly losers.
@gunther.schnitzel well, that's usual for situations in which being any clearer might immediately lead to huge problems. If you mean that in cases like this it is better to just say nothing at all, I agree with you to the extent that I would have kept the statement a lot shorter, too.
@Huey1 I've seen from up close how even a very profitable business can be split apart by petty rivalries.
I am someone who had two subscriptions to both titles, so at least a modular buildings worth of money there. I have zero expectations of a refund. However I bear no malice to Mark Guest and team. They produced excellent magazines, which made a significant contribution to the hobby. Especially in the case of Bricks Culture, there was nothing like it before or since.
They tried. They succeeded for a while. They gave it their best shot. But ultimately it failed. The Lego community still benefitted.
As I understand it, money that should have been allocated to Bricks & Bricks Culture was siphoned off to other projects/parts of the company, meaning the magazines did not have the money they needed to run. I feel certain Mark was not a part of this, although as a director he *should* have been able to realise what was happening unless information was deliberately withheld from him, which sadly seems likely. I'm amazed he's waited this long before seeking another job.
A lot of words that don't say very much. Silence has been necessary until the recent upsurge in criticism on the forum. Entirely coincidental of course.
Blocks magazine still up and running it seems. Many worried voices when Guest left before issue number two for bricks magazine. How it can go..
It's a tough business, and I give him kudos for trying and sticking with it as long as he has. It is not very surprising that they ran into problems- we've unfortunately seen this at many of our favorite magazines, websites, stores, restaurants, and so on.
I have met Mark and the Bricks teams at various LEGO events in the UK and they have been sorely missed from recent events. I think instead of throwing unhelpful comments around, maybe as an AFOL community we should be asking what we can do to help the situation. I paid for a subscription last year to this magazine and I for one would certainly like to be able to write to this so called partner and think the rest of the subscribers should do the same and potentially sue them for breaking the contract we got into with their company. I don't hold Mark or anyone else on that responsible, the magazines were amazing and I really miss them coming through my letterbox.
I've got nothing but respect for Mark. I was and still am honoured to have contributed to both Bricks and Bricks Culture.