The Flare Magazine team admits everything they do is a learning curve. But the 20-somethings make no apologies for pushing the boundaries. Take, for example, last week’s plan to gain some free publicity for their photo shoot on top of the Bendigo Bank.After weeks of jumping through red tape with the council and the CFA and waiting for the right weather conditions, the shoot was scheduled for last Thursday – just one day before issue two of Flare was due at the printers.Talk about pushing boundaries.The day before they were to set two flares off from the rooftop, they decided to try and get some free exposure for their efforts.Anonymously, Flare distributed an invitation to the community to witness something “breathtaking” and “unique”.It worked. People lined the poppet head in Rosalind Park, they filled the car park at Mickey Mouse Hill, they came to stand, crook-necked below the bank and wait for the surprise.Most walked away disappointed, as the flares could barely be seen from the promised vantage points. But Flare graphic designer Clayton Warren assures they got a great cover shot for their efforts.“One of the amazing things I found was how many people showed up to have a look from a last-minute plan to get some publicity,” Clayton says.“We were thinking two ways – we could have just done it and not told anyone about it but the day before we thought we’d hype it up a bit, but it was going ahead no matter what.“We got a great shot, which was the whole reason behind it; the rest was a side show.”Flare project manager Reece Hendy says the idea proved how hard it is to do anything risky in Bendigo.“There was some extreme negativity to come from that – and we can see where it was coming from because it wasn’t as spectacular as we’d hoped,” he says.“But the people who sat on their computer and labelled us for doing something for the community and a not-for-profit magazine need to get a life I reckon.“We want that shot on the front of the magazine to show we actually did it for a purpose.“Hopefully people will look at that and think that we went up there and did that for the front cover – who else does that?”Reece says there’s a pretty negative stigma around young people in Bendigo at the moment. “A lot of people out there who are looking at doing things are sort of skimmed over and not looked at,” he says.This is where Flare Magazine comes in.Issue one was published in December last year with the assistance of youth organisation Lead On.It brought together the voluntary talents of about 30 young local writers, designers, photographers, marketers, artists and finance and legal gurus with something to prove.“We wanted to produce something for the youth of Bendigo, something different to look at and be excited about what goes on in Bendigo,” Clayton says.“We’re the lucky ones to get the opportunity to start something and we want to bring more people in to work with us.”He says the magazine is the perfect platform for young creatives to build on their portfolio. With new design students graduating from La Trobe University each year it can be hard to get a professional break in Bendigo.Flare gives young professionals a chance to show their skills to the wider community. And express their opinions.“Writers can write what they want to write about and hopefully for the third issue we’ll get some input from the people of Bendigo as to what they want to read about,” Clayton says.“For one, it’s a youth perspective and we don’t have any boundaries – we’re not constricted by the rules of normal journalism.“We do have a need to put our views across and here the youth of Bendigo can say what they want to say.”The Advertiser got a sneak peak at the “make or break” issue two while the team poured over the proofs this week – carefully looking for any shifty literals or blurry photographs.Included in the full-colour, luscious glossy pages are stories on going cold turkey on facebook, Bendigo’s long board sub-culture and the sexuality of young people in regional areas. “We do want to push the boundaries of whatever field we’re in – which is the reason why we did the hype up [on the roof-top photo shoot] – our marketing person wanted to push the boundaries of free publicity,” Reece says.“We’ve got some risky content in the next magazine because we want to try and push the conversation.”Clayton adds, “We want to get our opinions across on those topics you might not see in the newspapers.” Reece, Clayton and photographer Matt Kimpton are three of the nine executives working on Flare – alongside Shannon Green, Kyle Heaslip, Chris Romano, Hamish Riley, Sophie Mariole and Samantha Westwood.The three men met in the La Trobe graphic design course and are typical of the new wave of creatives in the city: ambitious, hard-working and not willing to wait for traditional career pathways.When Reece attended a meeting with Lead On last year and caught a whiff of an opportunity to start something in Bendigo, he knew his friends would also jump at the chance.But all the hard work is not just for their benefit.“People here do want to do something but they don’t have a group they can go to and be part of – we’re trying to create that group,” Reece says.“Flare isn’t just about a magazine; it’s about collaborating with people who have varied interests.”Although just in its fragile, fledgling stages, the team’s wish for Flare is that it will be supported by the community, go on to thrive and become a rite of passage for future young people in Bendigo.Although it’s a not-for-profit venture, the magazine needs local businesses to advertise to cover future printing costs.“We need more interest from local businesses. “We’re trying to give preference to local businesses but a lot just don’t have the funds and they don’t want to take a risk and get involved at this stage,” Reece says.For their money, advertisers get exposure in 2000 copies of Flare, plus, if they wish, professionally designed ads from some of our best and brightest.The group is also planning an art exhibition in View Street’s Trades Hall, to coincide with the launch of issue three in October.With the theme Digital to Analogue, entries are invited from artists all over the country. For details, track down issue two at the uni and in selected shops and cafes around the city.And just on the digital argument, Flare hopes to prove that young people’s appetite for print media is not failing, despite what some traditional media is experiencing.“There’s a lot of arguments for and against print media but it’ll never die, people just love holding something,” Reece says.“And for us, it feels a bit more real when we can hold this in our hands and say ‘this is what we did’.”- If you’re a young person who wants exposure for your artwork or writing, or if you’re a business owner who wants to support the mag, email flare.magazine.bendigo@gmail.com or go to www.facebook.com/flaremag