In the beginning, Dennis Page, the founder of Slam Magazine was very unsure of whether, Slam, his basketball magazine would make it on store shelves or not.

Producing only two issues (at first), Slam eventually sold thousands. It's now run by 5 on-hand staff members, most of them contribute to the writing and editing. Slam distributes about 225,000 worldwide issues in newsstands and bookstores every six weeks. It is read by the players themselves, some of whom call to pose for the cover of Slam Magazine. Photos for the cover are mainly decided on by Don Morris (creative director) and Dennis Page.

Basketball stars from Larry Johnson, who posed for the very first Slam issue, to Michael Jordan, have adorned past covers.

Tony Gervino who is the Editor-in-Chief of Slam and also Senior Editor of "XXL" says he loves basketball and also loves meeting and interviewing the players. Tony's favorite team is the New York Knicks. His favorite player is no other than Bernard King.

Tony has been a part of Slam for 4 years. He has worked for many other magazines but none like Slam. Tony believes that if you want to know about basketball, stick to Slam. But if you want to know about the players' cars and their girlfriends, then pick up one of those other magazines.

Tony feels that every issue that comes out is always better than the previous. Tony says that if Slam was not in his life he would be trying to produce his very own sports magazine. Tony's favorite part of the work day is when the end product is finally completed. One of Tony's favorite articles was an interview with Julius Erving a.k.a. "Dr. J" conducted by Scoop Jackson. This interview ("Godfather of Soul") can be found in Slam issue #17. The interview is about 7-8 pages. It was a very great and emotional interview.

Tony's goal for Slam is to create a T.V. show as well as a radio show that will reach more people around the world. In a year from now, Tony hopes to see twice the circulation that they currently have.

Besides just covering basketball Slam producers also publish a football magazine, Blitz.

When asked what sort of advice should people out there of all ages follow, he says

1. Be prepared to work for free for a while to prove your worth.

2. Be responsible. Do what you say you're going to do.

3. Always work harder than the next person because they are trying to work harder than you!

If you have any questions or comments, you may contact Tony at tonyg@harris-pub.com