Lowrider Magazine - From humble beginnings

I'm constantly amazed with what you can find on the Internet. I was curious as to when the first issue of Lowrider magazine came out, so I Googled it (of course).

Looks like it was January 1977.



The whole magazine has been scanned and you can find it here.

http://iowahawk.typepad.com/iowahawk/2007/10/numero-uno.html

 

That's correct. I was painting David Nunes 55 Chev. When that came out. He was their main photographer back then. I think there is a little vato in a bandana headband on the back cover. I believe it's Davids son. There were three guys David, El Larry and Sonny Madrid that put it together. The young lady on the cover was from Salinas or maybe Gonzales. It's been a while.
RodP

 

that Font is out of this world cool.

a little bit space invaders, a little bit psychedelic..love it.

 

Neat-O

 

Cool stuff. Great post. The San Jose Flea market is still here but no more vendors like that.

 

I reckon there's someone on the HAMB who knows that chick on the cover, or at least some of the people on the inside.

 

i have that issue!!!


well a reprint

lowrider gave out a reissued reprint of the first issue several years back to subscribers along with their regular issue.

 

So is it still put together by the same people/company, or has it been bought out by some conglomeration of nameless luminaries?

 

I believe it's part of Peterson Publishing.

 

I'm pretty sure it was independent for a long time, but Primedia bought them about 6 or 7 years ago. Source Interlink bough all of the Primedia Enthusiast Media titles last year, but that didn't change the people who make the magazine. They've been in the same building as Sport Truck and Truckin' for the last few years.

 

The square headlights really look good on the 63 chev(which is little more than a square box itself)
I always liked the early years of lowriders with the cragers and pinner whites.

 

Actually I used to be in a serious relationship with Larry Gonzalez's daughter about 12 years ago. She used to tell me she remembers stapling the magazines together and driving with her dad to deliver them. Pretty cool.

Brian

 

Found this thread searching for something else. Thanks for the link to the Lowrider post on iowahawk, I must have missed it somehow.

I would so love to rock the shirt this guy is wearing...

 

The early LR magazines used to be full of cars and articles about the latino community, car club dinners and get togethers, poetry, and other general "chicano movement" stuff.

Now it's full of bad wheel adds.

 

Anybody remember Q-VO magazine?

http://www.q-vomagazine.com/

 

lowrider was so cool before it turned into a 100 page donk&stereo catalog. check out the "history of lowriding" series. Its an awesome article. It's spread out across 4 or 5 issues sometime in 2000 or 2001. my favorite lowrider oriented mag now is orale's. all pictures and almost no advertisements.

 

So about 10 years ago,my friend decides to rent out a room in his house.A kid that was attending S.J. State(i think,it's been a while) puts in an application and eventually moves in.One day we are hanging out at the house and the kid comes home to see my 83 Fleetwood in the driveway.He tells me that his Dad is one of the original founders of Lowrider Magazine.He goes on to say that his dad was the vato in the logo with the brim and shades that has become Lowriders trademark.I was floored...I tell him i have every issue from the beginning and that i liked the earlier issues way better than the stuff with Alberto Lopez at the helm...I tell him i would like to meet his dad and shoot the shit sometime.Not only do i meet him,but i have him sign the first issue for me(which i still have).He went on to tell me some stories from the 70's and how much the magazine changed after it was revitalized in the 80's by Larry and Alberto Lopez.After Primedia bought them out a few years ago,i have yet to buy a single issue....
I still have all my Lowriders,Q-vo's and Orlies(remember that one?) to remind me of the times before donks and scrapers.........

 

Wow! What a time warp! I still remember reading my buddies low rider mags out in his garage while his older brother worked on his 69 Impala doing cool mods like adding the 8 Track player and painting the underside of the car white!

Good times

 

Heeeeeeyyyyyy, that kid has my bike.

 

Used to really be into lowrider/bombs but not so much anymore...the magazine peaked a few years back before it became a wheel and stereo catalog with a few feature cars...slightly o/t but I love watching Livin' the Low Life

 

Lowrider Magazine was the biggest influence (car wise) in my life...
I grew up admiring the work of Alberto Lopez, Lonnie Lopez, Elliott Gilbert, Nate Trujillo and the rest of the crew...

Between my brother and I we have every issue up to the mid 90's and most from the new millennium (but missing an original copy of the first issue)

I agree that Lowrider Magazine isn't what they used to be... but I still try to buy it...

-Juan

 

I remember an old issue of Hot Rod that had a feature on the Imperial's car club. I was amazed by the paint jobs and just the general "cool" attitude and family values the guys seemed to have. Much respect for those guys.

Lowrider magazine has changed a lot over the years, but there is no denying that those guys build some sweet azz rides. Being into hot rods, I always liked checking out the "bombs".

 

IM 30 NOW, SO i was just a baby in the late 70's early 80's but my uncle still has his old Lowrider mags and Q-vo's. I was surprised at the number of shoebox fords and mercs they had. I liked the section called "lowriders pasados" where people would send in pics of their parents in the 40's and 50's. I also dug the teen angel art work

 

I have every issue from 95 - 01. I still pull them out for referrnce. The paint on those cars is just amazing. I quit getting it once the wheel ads out numbered the coverage of cars. That and the fact that they were charging $30.00 a person to get into an LRM tour show. And people say G.G is a rip off?

 

I have nearly every issue in my personal collection and all the issues posted in here, plus lots of early photos I've been collecting from the net.

Still need the second and fourth issue, if anyone has them, let me know


http://public.fotki.com/BigPoppa/kriss_stuff/car_stuff/lrm_covers/

 

i was going to say the same thing. earlier this decade i think. i had a subscription for about 10-15 years and this is one i'll never part with.....actually i framed it.

 

did they totally change up the staff at that time too. the direction totally changed at one point

 

Glad to see others enjoying what was started over 30 years ago, by Sonny Madrid.
I won't bore anyone by going into much detail, but I'm glad to see that others have enjoyed Lowrider magazine for so many years. I was a writer for several years (for LRM) and truly enjoyed what I did. My job kept me so busy that I had to stop writing for LRM. With the exception of 5 magazines, I have every issue of LRM since the mid 70's. I still like relaxing on a sunday afternoon and seeing the pictures of past lowrider events and people.
Peace,
TopDogg

 

oh....here's a pic of my car

 

January 1977 Lowrider, 1st issue I need to know the difference between the REAL original one and the reprint as I found this link through Google search as I happen to have one-It's been in my collection of old paper ephemera for short while of unusual items I set aside for times when I run short of money. I sure could use some more funds coming in. I listed it on ebay, not realizing there'd been a reprint of it-was told reprint was 500,000 copies, OMG