Bones Over Metal Freeride and Downhill Video Blog

I recently had the opportunity to go for a sweet ride up in Bellingham with Brad Walton (Spectrum Techwear), his wife, and a few other local characters. These guys are probably more passionate about their riding and riding community than any I have met. Brad having been such an influence on myself where riding and attitude is concerned, I thought that I would see if I could squeeze a little interview out of him for you all to enjoy and get to know the man behind the amazing clothes a bit better …

How did you come to be known as Wild Willy?
Well, I grew up XC, then started jumping stuff on my XC bike because XC got boring. The whole ‘freeride’ thing just happens to have started at this same time, and I started seeing movies pop up about hard core mountain biking. I met a guy named Matt that wanted to push it hard on the bike so we got together and formed the “Hick Huckster Freeride Assault Squadron“, or Hickhucksters for short. We got some pretty instantaneous recognition once I got the website going, since we were building big stuff and hitting big jumps, all the while pedalling monster xc rides on 50 lb bikes. I can’t even believe some of the rides we used to do on a weekly basis. Anyways, we got some of those sexy billy bob teeth and got some cool names. Matt’s is Billy Bad Ass, for obvious reasons. My dad is real conservative and his name is William, so when I used to drink alot of Tequila whenever we went camping and things would get out of hand, I got named Wyld Willy. I made $40 sitting in a fire for 10 seconds one time, and then doubled it for 10 more seconds. That’s kinda when everyone started calling me that. We picked up a few other guys through the years that could hang, and they all got named by us. It was affirmed when we got busted building a trail in the Pisgah National Forest, and our felony charges presented us with some official government court documents with all our names and alias’s on them. My buddy Brian still runs Hickhucksters.com, and his nickname is MoRon. Not sure how he got so unlucky, but I bet it was the fault of Billy Bad Ass.

Why clothing?
I wanted to make bikes. Majored in Metals Manufacturing with a minor in Business Admin. I moved to Boise while my wife went to graduate school for 2 years. During that time, I got really bored and needed a project. Tired of working in shops for the past 10 years and pretty much dissatisfied with every product on the market, I thought about making bikes. About that same time, NSMB.com posted a review of the Transition Preston, and I instantly knew it was the bike of my dreams, so I bought one. It was the best bike I ever had. I made a trip to visit Transition owners Kevin and Kyle in Bellingham. I love the story and philosophy of Transition Bikes, and knew that I couldn’t compete with them, since they had already done exactly what I wanted to do, and had a much better plan than I did. I could see them growing, and I felt like they had it figured out. I knew I had to come up with something else and apply the same business model as Transition Bikes. On a ride one day, thoroughly disgusted with the fit of my bike shorts, I had “the bright idea” to start a clothing company. Man, what a ride it’s been!

I am wearing a t-shirt of yours right now that says, “There’s too much drama in mountain biking,” what do you mean by that?
I get tired of hearing excuses and I don’t care about bike parts. They’re all a bunch of overpriced trinkets that don’t last long enough because everybody complains about weight. I’m glad there are a few companies out there that make some tough parts that weigh alot and don’t break. Riding all day or reminiscing on rides from the past is what it’s all about. Talking about bike parts is a waste of time. I just want to ride my bike to explore the woods. My friends in NC never bitched on a ride, or they’d get bitch-slapped by Billy Bad Ass. Literally. And it happened alot. Find something that works and stick with it. If anyone has a 2001-02 Monster T for sale, let me know- apparently that’s the last time any company made a good fork.

Have you ever killed a man? (Damien wanted to know)
I’ve been known to verbally bash a man every now and then because I have a short fuse. Despite expansive training from Billy Bad Ass, I generally try to lay low and not get involved. My wife would say “Don’t let the tattoos fool you, he’s a dork.”

You are on death row (for killing said man I guess) and they say you can have one last ride, where would you go?
My wife wants to go to Europe, but I’m not into it. However, if I only had one more ride left, I’d probably go with her to ride in the Alps. Some of those magazine pictures of Wade and Richie on the long, flowy alpine singletrack look amazing. We both like epic singletrack the most of any style of riding.

You have lived and ridden in many different and diverse places, what is the coolest thing about the Northwest?
I haven’t ridden every state in the country, but I’ve ridden every region of the US. It all offers something different and uniquely fun. The coolest thing about the Northwest? The riding scene is huge so there are people building advanced trails that require skill. I moved here to ride the North Shore on a dripping wet fall day. I love the shore in the wet, it just doesn’t get any gnarlier than that. I actually like the rain alot, but not the darkness of winter.

Anything people need to know about the people/riding/culture in B-ham?
Well, I used to find myself driving to Canada alot to ride, but if I lived in Canada, I can’t think of a reason to drive to here. I’m lucky to live at the base of Galbraith, but it would be nice to be able to build some technical trails to ride. Again, I prefer just not to get involved because it’ll just make me mad. If I can ever find out how to legally move to Canada, I’m outta here!

Any big plans for sweet new duds from Spectrum?
Yes, but not anything I can mention at this time.

Shout outs, plugs, props, etc…?
I’ve met alot of beautiful people in the bike industry. There’s a couple who suck too, but I’ll still give them a shout out, too, because if it weren’t for them, the great ones wouldn’t look so good. Here’s to old friends and good times. Props to everyone who cycles. It’s adventure that drives us, no matter whether you’re exploring your personal limits in endurance or skill, saving money commuting to work, or just staying fit. And a shout out to you for being interested in myself and my business!

- By Stephen Street

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