''Big Brother'' was a skateboardingmagazine founded by Steve Rocco in 1992,Skateboardermag.com /ref> /ref> which was notable for ushering in street skating and the sub-culture of skateboarding. ''Big Brother'' ceased publication in 2004.
No subject was taboo. Early articles featured step by step ways to commit suicide and rip-off schemes such as how to make a fake ID. They would often use odd gimmicks like printing the magazine in different sizes, packaging it in a cereal box, and throwing in items like trading cards and a cassette tape. Early writers were Sean Cliver, Earl Parker (Thomas Schmidt), Jeff Tremaine, Marc McKee, Mike Ballard, Pat Canale, and others.Skimthefat.com /ref>
They also released a few videos, including "Shit", then "Number Two", with a few
stunt
A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat or an act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes usually on television, theaters, or cinema. Stunts are a feature of many action films. Before computer generated imagery sp ...
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...
on June 3, 2017. The documentary featured interviews with Bam Margera, Steve-O,
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...
The magazine contained mostly articles about skateboarding, as well as some nudity, stunts, pranks, and random ramblings from its staff. Its later days were characterized by the clever wordplay of editors Dave Carnie and Chris Nieratko. The magazine was purchased by Larry Flynt in 1997. After Flynt began publishing the magazine, the nudity was toned down or scrapped altogether, though the vulgarity remained.
In 1998, Laura Schlessinger was in Beach Access, a Costa Mesa surf shop, with her son when she began perusing ''Big Brother''. Schlessinger deemed the magazine to be "stealth pornography" and said so on her radio show. When Tom Moore, the owner of Beach Access, publicly denied that she found pornography in his store, Schlessinger sued Moore for lying and claimed that his denial had hurt her reputation. When Schlessinger's case went to court, the judge said it was a frivolous lawsuit and dismissed it. Moore's $4M countersuit against Schlessinger, lodged for hurting the reputation of his store (defamation), was allowed to stand. The suit has since been settled, but terms of the settlement have not been revealed. Behind the scenes and off the record, Moore's lawyers and friends claimed victory, indicating the settlement was "about the amount of a moderately priced Orange County home" (at the time, $650,000 to $2 million).
In one of the most bizarre episodes of the magazine's history, the subscriber list for ''Big Brother'' got mixed up with ''Taboo'', one of Larry Flynt's hardcore magazines: ''Big Brother'' subscribers were sent pornography, and those who subscribed to ''Taboo'' got a skate magazine. This incident was parodied on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ' ...
'' in which one of the band members was delivered an issue of ''Big Brother'' live on stage, suggesting that he subscribed to ''Taboo'' and received it in error.
The magazine was unexpectedly dropped by Larry Flynt publications in February 2004. In early 2008, it was announced on Jackassworld.com that ''Big Brother'' would be returning in a digital format.
Volume 1 No. 1 of ''KingShit'' Magazine, based in
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, was released in May 2009. Dave Carnie is the editor-at-large, and Chris Nieratko is a contributing editor.
''Big Brother'' was also credited for the development of the television series '' Jackass'', as Jeff Tremaine recalled in the ''Jackass'' episode "Where Are They Now?".
''Big Brother'' videos
Shit
Year released: 1996
* Cover: Showed
Jason "Wee-Man" Acuña
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. H ...
in blue body paint.
* Dave Carnie attends Wigstock and calls cross dressers fruitcakes.
Number Two
Year released: 1998
* Cover: Johnny Lee Countee in a Devo suit
* Showed an obscure old school skateboarder (Johnny Lee Countee) skating in front of his house, the only area he ever skated at.
* Showed
Johnny Knoxville
Philip John Clapp (born March 11, 1971), best known professionally as Johnny Knoxville, is an American stunt performer, actor, writer, producer, and professional wrestler. He is best known as a co-creator and star of the MTV reality stunt show ...
testing out self-defense equipment, including
pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...
pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, ...
. This footage was the basis for the MTV reality series '' Jackass'', though MTV omitted the last part of the segment that showed Knoxville shooting himself in the chest with a small handgun while wearing a
kevlar vest
A bulletproof vest, also known as a ballistic vest or a bullet-resistant vest, is an item of body armor that helps absorb the impact and reduce or stop penetration to the torso from firearm-fired projectiles and fragmentation from explosions. Th ...
Year released: 1999
* Cover: Editor Dave Carnie in a gold spandex suit and rollerblades; ("boob", when looked at in a mirror upside down, reads "poop").
* Contained several skateboarding tours and also featured a Steve-O stunt section and editor Dave Carnie skateboarding in a gold spandex suit.
Crap
Year released: 2001
* Cover: photographer Rick Kosick in an adult diaper while tied to a cross
* Showed the "
Depends
Depend is a brand of absorbent, disposable underwear and undergarments for people with urinary or fecal incontinence. It is a Kimberly-Clark brand, and positions its products as an alternative to typical adult diapers. Depend is the dominant brand ...
Olympics" and/or "Jesus Games," which involved the ''Big Brother'' staff getting drunk, wearing adult diapers, and participating in games. One of the games was the Jesus Race, where people race while heaving a large wooden cross on their backs.