SBC Media

Action Sports Publishingsbcmedia.com

SBC Media is a privately held Canadian action sports publisher, founded in 1990, producing three print magazines (SBC Skier, SBC Snowboard, SBC Skateboard) and five vertical websites serving riders and industry brands across Canada.

Company typePrivate
Founded1990
HeadquartersToronto, Canada
Headcount1–10
GTM typeB2C
OfferingDigital Commerce or Content

What SBC Media does

SBC Media is a privately held Canadian action sports publishing company founded in 1990 and operating through CJ Oyster Publishing, a member of the CJ Group of Companies. The company publishes three print magazines — SBC Skier, SBC Snowboard (also known as Snowboard Canada), and SBC Skateboard — alongside five branded vertical websites (SBCSKIER, SNOWBOARDCANADA, SBCSKATEBOARD, SBCSURF, SBCWAKE) covering skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, and wakeboarding. SBC Media differentiates itself as a rider-owned and rider-operated publisher with 30+ years of brand equity, and has historically pioneered signature events including Canada's first national slopestyle and halfpipe series, the first night halfpipe event in North America, Eastern Canada's first major skate plaza, and the world's biggest wakeboarding contest.

The underlying platform is a multi-vertical publishing and content-creation operation rather than a technology product: editorial content is produced in-house using award-winning writers and photographers, distributed via print (four issues per two-year subscription cycle), digital (websites and email newsletters), and physical retail (wide Canadian newsstand distribution). Subscription management runs through dedicated self-serve portals at subscribe.sbcmedia.com, supporting recurring billing, renewals, and newsletter sign-up, with payment processing handled by CJ Oyster Publishing. No AI/ML, mobile app, or third-party platform integrations are disclosed in the input data.

The business model is a hybrid of consumer subscriptions (e.g., 2-year SBC Skateboard subscription at $34.95 + TAX for four issues) and B2B revenue from leading action-sports industry brands through advertising sales, event sponsorships, and brand activations. The company employs 1-10 staff, including Jay Mandarino as Publisher & CEO, Bryan Grundmann as Senior Sales Account Director, and Kevin Page in advertising sales. The company serves two primary customer segments: action-sports enthusiasts seeking authentic, rider-driven editorial, and action-sports industry brands seeking credible channels to reach engaged Canadian board-sports audiences.

SBC Media firmographics

Firmographics

Name: SBC Media
Legal name: CJ Oyster Publishing
Website: https://sbcmedia.com
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1990
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 1–10 employees
Short description: SBC Media is a privately held Canadian action sports publisher, founded in 1990, producing three print magazines (SBC Skier, SBC Snowboard, SBC Skateboard) and five vertical websites serving riders and industry brands across Canada.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

SBC Media industry classification

Industry

Product category: Action Sports Publishing
NAICS: Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120)
SIC: Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
akta.pro primary industry: Sports & Recreation Magazines (MPAJAEAJ)
akta.pro secondary industry: Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

Action sports publishing
Sports magazines
Magazine subscriptions
Action sports websites
Event sponsorships

Where SBC Media is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Toronto
HQ country: Canada
HQ region: North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

SBC Media business model

Business model

GTM type: B2C
Offering type: Digital Commerce or Content
Cost components: Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

Magazine Subscriptions: Subscription-based revenue from print magazines across SBC Skier, SBC Snowboard, and SBC Skateboard publications. Subscriptions offered via multi-year plans with auto-renewal capabilities.
Advertising & Brand Partnerships: B2B advertising revenue from industry brands. Company works with leading industry brands for promotions, event sponsorships, and content partnerships.
Event Sponsorships & Staging: Revenue from staging and promoting action sports events including contests, film series, and promotional activities. Historical examples include slopestyle series, skate plazs, and wakeboarding contests.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Multi-year contract	SBC Skateboard 2-year subscription - $34.95 + TAX for four issues

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

SBC Media product offering

Product offering

Core offering

SBC Media publishes action sports magazines (SBC Skier, SBC Snowboard, SBC Skateboard) and operates dedicated action sports websites (SBCSKIER, SNOWBOARDCANADA, SBCSKATEBOARD, SBCSURF, SBCWAKE). The company sells multi-year print subscriptions, sells advertising space to action sports brands, and stages and supports action sports events, contests, and film series in partnership with leading industry brands and professional riders.

Product overview

SBC Media is a multi-platform action sports media company offering print magazines and dedicated websites across skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, and wakeboarding disciplines. The company publishes three flagship print magazines (SBC Skier, SBC Snowboard, SBC Skateboard) alongside five branded websites. The portfolio operates as a unified publisher offering both print subscriptions and digital content across the action sports verticals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

SBC Skier: Canada's national ski magazine delivering authentic coverage of Canadian and global ski landscapes
SBC Snowboard
SBC Skateboard
SBCSURF
SBCWAKE

Products and services

SBC Skier Canada's national ski magazine delivering authentic coverage of Canadian and global ski landscapes, featuring athletes, locales, stories, gear, and resort information from award-winning writers and photographers.
SBC Snowboard Canadian snowboard magazine offering photos, stories, travel features, and coverage of the industry's biggest pros from a uniquely Canadian perspective, in a coffee-table style.
SBC Skateboard Canada's only independent skateboard publication providing coverage of the best skateboarders with crisp photography, flavourful writing, and wide newsstand distribution.
SBC Skateboard Magazine Subscription Two-year print subscription to SBC Skateboard magazine delivering four issues, with newsletter access and an online subscription management portal for updates, renewals, and cancellations.
SBC Snowboard Magazine Subscription Two-year print subscription to SBC Snowboard magazine delivering four issues, with newsletter access and an online subscription management portal for updates, renewals, and cancellations.
SBC Skier Magazine Subscription Subscription to SBC Skier print magazine with newsletter access and an online subscription management portal for updates, renewals, and cancellations.
SBCSKIER Website Online platform for skier content, news, and community engagement under the SBC Media portfolio.
Snowboard Canada Website Online platform for snowboard content, news, and community engagement under the SBC Media portfolio.
SBCSKATEBOARD Website Online platform for skateboard content, news, and community engagement under the SBC Media portfolio.
SBCSURF Website Action sports website covering surfing content, news, and community engagement under the SBC Media portfolio.
SBCWAKE Website Action sports website covering wakeboarding content, news, and community engagement under the SBC Media portfolio.

Companies that use SBC Media

Customer profile

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

SBC Media technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

SBC Media partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

SBC Media competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Market position

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

SBC Media financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

SBC Media leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

SBC Media funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

SBC Media M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SBC Media

What does SBC Media do?

Is SBC Media a public or private company?

SBC Media is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.

When was SBC Media founded?

SBC Media was founded in 1990. It employs 1 to 10 people.

Where is SBC Media based?

SBC Media is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, in the North America region.

How does SBC Media make money?

Three revenue lines are on record. Magazine Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are advertising & Brand Partnerships and event Sponsorships & Staging.

Does SBC Media have an API?

No public API is recorded for SBC Media.

What industry is SBC Media in?

SBC Media's product category is Action Sports Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAJ, Sports & Recreation Magazines, with a secondary code of MPAJADAJ, Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C). Its NAICS code is 51312 and its SIC code is 2721.