Hate hates celebrities and the celebs hate Hate.

Interview by Lotta Fjelkegård, Bold.
If you can't find a good magazine to buy in the stores, then start one of your own, it's the DIY fanzine way to solve the problem. That's why British journalist Calvin Holbrook founded Hate
LF: - Could you please give us a brief background on how you got started working for Face, Sneak and 19?
CH: -I trained as a journalist at the University of Westminster in London. First off I worked in radio and then I moved on to be the Clubs Editor on the UK's gay title Boyz which was pretty awful - having to say clubs were great because you relied on their advertising, rather than being able to give a totally subjective view. After that I travelled around the world a bit, then landed a job at 19 magazine, for teenage girls. Then, after working with an awful editor that was so slow that we had to work till 3am on press nights, I decided to leave and freelance on lots of other magazines.
LF: - When and why did you decide to start your own publication?
CH:- The concept for Hate began two years ago, while I was still at 19. I was fed up with writing about celebrities - I'm not really interested in Posh Spice's eating disorders - so it was a way of venting my frustration. I also felt that my job was not very creative, so being the designer of Hate allowed me to enjoy doing something visual; something new and interesting.
It was about giving people like me, who want to read a funny, topical publication the chance to read one - I don't think there are many magazines in the UK that actually make people laugh.
LF: - Why ”Hate”?!
CH:- Hate is an anagram of Heat - which is the best-selling celebrity title here. It's quite clever. I borrowed their logo and swapped the letters around to form my own.
LF: - How many issues so far, and how often do you plan to have a new one out on the stand?
CH:- Three issues so far, and it's just a very occasional publication - three or four a year for next year I think. Until I can make a living from it, I still have to work in the boring money jobs to exist. Not for long though - I have just launched a range of Hate greetings cards which are going down
very well!
LF: - An elevator-pitch for Hate would be?
CH:- Smash Hits x Viz x Private Eye!
LF: - Your readers are... ?!
CH:- Young, intelligent, creative, cheeky, trendy, fashionable, alternative - people that are not interested in mainstream life and seeking something different.
LF: - Why do you think that we, as a society, are so fascinated by ”celebrities”?
CH:- I think people that are obsessed with celebrities have not got enough stuff going on in their own lives to fulfill their happiness quota; it's dangerous. Celebrities breed an 'I want' condition, where people read about their lifestyles and aspire to it. We read about things they have, and want them, at any cost. It's bad news. A survey in the UK said that instead of wanting to be dentists or doctors or artists, most kids now just want to be famous. Not for anything in particular, just 'famous'.