Yesterday, after waking up in the Extended Stay hotel with no continental bre
akfast I immediately stopped at the Jack in the Box to get myself an Ultimate Breakfast sandwich. After polishing that off it was just a cruis up the street to etnies to visit my friend Matt Chapman. I’ve known Matt for a while and he’s a hard guy to get a hold of. The guy is super busy. He has to take care of all his riders, their contracts, and I’m sure he gives out hundreds of shoes and swag. I always like going to etnies because it has a laid-back atmosphere and you never know who you’re going to run in to. There are always skateboard and BMX guys running around the place. I’m not much into those sports but I respect what those guys do.After you leave etnies you go up about three streets and you run into Oakle
y. This place is amazing. The building is unbelievable! You know how most buildings inside have wood trim? Well, at Oakley they have metal trim all around the doorways and along the top and bottom of the walls. They even have four electric chairs when you walk in to set in the waiting area. There’s a Drag Racing car hanging from the ceiling and all of their latest goggles and sunglasses on display in cases. When you walk around they have tons of old ads with RJ, Wardy, MC, and Wardy on the walls. They also have a huge theater and gym where they throw down some b-ball during the days.I left Oakley and went down the I-5 for about 25 minutes to see the boys
at Smith Optics. At first I thought I was lost because I haven’t been there for about two years. When you drive around in a commercial complex in California everything looks the same. After a few calls to Smith, I was guided in by John Grise. That’s John! Mark Phares is the man that runs the ship there and he’s always coming up with creative ideas to get Smith up on their game. For example: check out their ad in the new Racer X. It’s the best ad I’ve seen so far this year and their new goggles look sweet!It’s back on the I-5 south for about another 25 minutes towards Carlsbad. First stop, Jeff Surwall at No Fear. I ran into Eric Johnson, Skip Norfolk, and Craig the rider rep. They showed the new gear that Millsaps will be wearing at Atlanta when he comes back for his first race after his leg injury. If you like the old-school looks then wait until you see the gear he’ll be wearing in Atlanta. Boris Said has an office right beside EJ and wait until the Daytona 500 when you see the No Fear Energy drink car. Last year Boris got on the pole and he’ll be in the Bud Shootout in a couple of weeks.
Carlsbad is like Valencia. A few of the companies are right next to each other. Two blocks down the road and to the right is Spy. Again boys, I had a good time last night! What can you say about Bob Ketchum? I know, start calling me back Bob. Ketchum always tries to get me to wear Spy sunglasses in front of Bevo from Scott and he knows that Bevo makes better hamburgers than Bob. I like to eat and he knows I can’t go against the Hamburgler man. The Spy guys are on top of their game, too. They have the coolest sunglasses on the market. Hell, they even sponsor Dale Earnhardt Jr. Spy reminds me of Racer X because it has a laid back atmosphere and everyone really enjoys their job.
One last stop and it’s 10 minutes to 5:00. I called Kenny up from Dragon. I’ve never been to Dragon before but those guys have a really cool office. I was walking around with Kenny and Scott and noticed all these cases of Red Bull and Resurrect. I’ve never seen Resurrect before but I picked up a can and it says, “Initially born as a hangover elixir, resurrect is now becoming a part of the daily diet for the health conscious individual.” Whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean. I look at Scott and threw two of them in my backpack. Thank god because those things really do work. DC, this stuff is better than Morning Relief! I never really had a chance to talk to Kenny before because he’s like me at the races--he’s always wide open. He was also a professional bicylist from back in the day.
Well, that’s it for today. I’m off to San Diego.
