HELMET ARTIST AND GEAR GURU
HANGAR TIME
I started this whole thing in a hangar at Corona Municipal Airport in
California. Painting in a hot hangar was crazy, but they were like the ‘man
cave’ of that era – we were creating art, having fun, hanging out, being weird…
I set out to have a good time, and didn’t expect Troy Lee Designs to be what it
is today. It’s pretty cool.
FOR THE LOVE OF IT
If our little brand can help someone have a better day by having fun on
a bike ride, man, that’s so cool! For us, the first mission is injecting art
into the products. I love to see new colours mixed together, new patterns. Then
if it’s a helmet, we want it to be the safest thing you can put on your head,
or your kid’s head. Clothing and gear has to be comfortable because you’re
going to be doing crazy s**t out there! I love these sports and I do this to make
people safer and have more fun.
IN THE PAINT SHOP
We’re doing more custom helmets for retail customers than ever and we
paint a ton of energy drink helmets for the pros. I still do some hands-on
design with all the athletes. We’re painting 100 a month, on average, but when
the NASCAR and Indy guys need their pit helmets done, that skyrockets. Some of
the more complex helmets can take 50 hours to prep, paint and finish. Peaty’s
helmet with his face on top was all hand painted.
COPYCAT KIT
We spend so much time getting things the way we want them that seeing someone
just copy it could get to you, but what are you going to do? I guess it shows
we’re leaving some sort of legacy.
MAKING THE TEAM
We like to add riders who have great style on and off the bike, athletes
you want to hang out with and have a beer with when the race is over, and
riders who have a good eye for making improvements too. When we got on board
with Peaty and Palmer, guys like that, it was because they were scary talented
but could also party hard!
THE MAIN EVENT
I still think downhill is the pinnacle of it all. I love all shapes and
sizes of bike racing, but man, I’m always drawn to DH racing and DH riders. I
want to see it get huge. I still
think it will...
THE NEXT BIG THING
I
was pretty excited for the Red Bull Wide Open [a six-up DH race due to take place
this summer, which was cancelled] to happen. It was a lot like the first 4X race
Eric Carter had us get involved with, back in the 90s at Glen Helen. I’d love for
big-mountain head-tohead racing to become a standard. It’s as close to outdoor
motocross as you can get – bumping elbows at crazy speeds, on big bikes, big
jumps.Troy Lee Designs