Deek was a bi-monthly magazine published from 2003 to 2006. It focused on "popular underculture" - life and interaction with culture outside the contemporary mainstream that may or may not be viewed as insurgent.
Originally developed as an .. publication by Matt Stroud in 2001, Deek was founded in print in the fall of 2003 with the help of Nate Boguszewski and funded by a grant from the University of Pittsburgh. The content of the magazine, originally tied to the Pittsburgh region, shortly grew outward. In the spring of 2004 Deek Magazine, LLC severed ties with the University and launched Deek as an independent publication.
Deek approached the traditional print magazine format in a rather unconventional manner. Opposed to the ideas of "issues," Deek produced "Incidents" (Rock and Roll, Sex, Detox, Poltics, Greed) and diverted from standard page layouts from time to time (The How-To, Self-Destruct, and Madness Incidents, respectively). While the Incidents were thematic from cover to cover in content and design, reviews of art, film, music and literature were also included. In relating to the readers, a younger audience well aware of post-post-modernism in art and literature, Deek used aggressive stylized writing integrated with design consciousness to maintain a unique alternative to mainstream print media.
Deek content was described as "aggravated" and irreverent, with a somewhat liberal slant, but the editors maintained no official political alignment. Deek shared similarities with publications such as Adbusters, Vice, and to a lesser extent The Onion. Earlier issues were filled with reader submissions when the magazine had more of a journal structure. Deek later turned to a core team of writers and freelancers to unify the overall flow of the magazine but still accepted and published reader submissions through its website.
Regular publication of the magazine ceased in November 2005, and the final issue, The Brutality Incident, was released in April 2006. Business operations ended in May 2006.
