“Make me a stiff fucking fighter jet. I just want to go fast as fuck. I’m not worried about comfort. I want speed!”
The heritage of this frame can be traced to the heartlands of America’s Last Frontier. The punishing terrain of Alaska is a well trodden path for biking enthusiasts, a path familiar with the owner of this frame. Throughout his youth, he spent much of his time tinkering with bikes in shops and out on the trails. He was fascinated with them, indulging hours to the disassembly of components, observing and studying every piece before stitching them back together again and thrashing them down a mountain deep into the wilderness.
He was a purebred adventurer, and the bike allowed him venture far beyond the realms of the known.
Due to the chilling weather and rough terrain, road biking was never stealing the show in Alaska, but that changed for him when he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for college. The flat, urban environment allowed the adventurer to discover a whole new world of biking. Sprinting out of suburban corners on melting tarmac and racing traffic lights became a new adventure and opened doors to levels of skill and fitness which continued to flourish.
With a new lease of life for biking, he moved back home and took to the hills on his mountain bike, spending some serious time on the trails. One summer he sat down and decided to take life to the next level. A different kind of adventure. A pure outdoorsman with a passion for biking and active living, he began manufacturing and selling premium titanium products including flasks, camping gear and other recreational products.
He moved to Utah in 2016 and started pushing the business as hard as could. Deeply entrenched in the Rockies, Utah is a national favourite for outdoorsmen. Whether you’re white water rafting, trekking through the mountains or camping in Zion, the state’s market for the outdoors offers endless opportunities.
His business produced a wide range of products which sold steadily as time went by, but it soon became clear that there was one particular group of products that were stealing the show. Realising that it would make the most sense to throw all the eggs in one basket, smoking accessories became the new heart of the business, which now provides a range of high-end products to outdoors-folk who strive for activity, adventure as well as responsible, classy smoking.
It didn’t take long for the range of titanium built, tasteful and professional smoking accessories to find themselves scattered across the American wilderness in rucksacks, kayaks and saddle bags.
“The aim is to break the stigma.” He wants a world where like-minded adventurers can spend the morning riding through the desert trails and then kick back at the end of the day for a toke – just like one may stop for a few beers or a glass of wine. Although it may seem counterintuitive, the impetus on this lifestyle is one of fun and ease. The cannabis revolution is slowly but surely taking the continent by storm, and he plans on being there when the floodgates open.
Running a business is time consuming and with time a constraint he sat down to design his FiftyOne with one thing in mind. He wanted something aggressive. Something fast. He’ll do well to find more than two hours to spend on the roads, so that time needs to be spent suffering. Or as he put it; “Make me a stiff fucking fighter jet. I just want to go fast as fuck. I’m not worried about comfort. I want speed.”
The design? Well, that speaks for itself. He had a thousand ideas and only one frame to put them on. He wanted something controversial. He ran a business in one of the most controversial industries around and although wanting to tip the hat to Quiver, this bike was his and he didn’t want it to be a billboard. His Chinese Zodiac sign is the Dragon, and with great respect for the Chinese culture he got to work with the designer on developing the mythical Magic Dragon.
He plans to bring his life and business to Colorado in the latter part of 2018, with a wide range of cycling opportunities regardless of the discipline and a more demanding market for his business.
Should you find yourself on the roads of Utah and Colorado, be sure to scan the streets for this beast. Its strikingly mysterious and psychedelic charm is sure to turn heads upon any path it conquers.
