EYE Q frame
Last winter during Frostbike I had come across Erik Engstrom and the EYE BMX booth. The new brand that was being brought in from VSI products (Sinz, THE, Intense, Vigor, etc.). At the time it was just starting off with a few prototypes being displayed. I figured I’d give it a few months and then hit up Erik to see where they have come to since. Check out what EYE is all about, some of their products, the team, and more…
Eye is one of the new brands that has just began surfacing around Frostbike this past winter. When was the original start of the brand and who are the people involved with the brand?
The key staff at EYE Bmx consists of Toby Henderson (Boss), Michael Gamstetter (Marketing Mgr), Chris Smith (General Manager), Kyle Bone (Art Director), and Myself (Brands Manager). We also have a great sales staff in Michelle Enriquez, Gregorio Deharo, and Robert Burgos from VSI, who all handle sales stuff with me. We are lucky to have all the resources of a major bicycle company in getting this brand started.
The team is also a huge part of who we are. They are Chris Bracamonte, Eric Hough, Louie Zaragoza, Aaron Day, Daniel Sandoval, Cody McKenna, Corey Cofey, and Eva Gabrielle.
The riders for EYE BMX are all SUPER POSITIVE people and they all bring something totally unique to the table, both as a person and as a rider.
So Eye is a brand that is apart of VSI Products, which is the owner of brands like Sinz, THE, Intense, Vigor, and some other more racing specific brands. What was the reason behind starting a freestyle directed brand in that group?
I am working on this brand because I ride freestyle, and I love it. That’s my only reason.
The boss man, Toby Henderson has been in the BMX scene since before I was in diapers. Toby has always had a personal passion in freestyle but was most well known as a big time pro racer, back in the early days of BMX. He always rode BMX at the local So-Cal trails spots and tracks. Toby knew that he wanted to do something in freestyle, because he loved BMX as a whole.
I think that is the only reason people should get in to BMX business, to have tons of fun and make a living having that fun, rather than working some crap job that you can’t believe in.
I’m assuming Eye is based out of California like the rest of the brands. Where exactly is home these days?
Home is at VSI, which is in the Los Angeles area. Cerritos, Ca in LA County, to be exact.
EYE frames are built at Quamen, here in Los Angeles.
Personally, I live in the Downtown LA area, so I get to ride a ton of good stuff daily. LA is great that way. We have trails, street, and a ton of parks to ride.
Who are all the people who keep Eye going on the day to day?
I guess that would be the VSI staff and EYE Team, who I mentioned before. They are the life blood of EYE!
Care to give a little background about yourself to us?
I’m 29 years old. I have worked for several bike companies over the years. I love to ride bmx, and I do so almost daily. I have a big family and a girlfriend, both of which I love very much. I work for EYE and VSI for a living, but I also work on the Crankfaster blog (www.crankfaster.blogspot.com) with Tazz Hernandez, film riders for random edits, shoot photos of riders, and help various friends organize BMX media and events. I also like to draw and paint all the weird stuff that I think of. I think of a lot of weird stuff, so I draw a lot. It’s kind of like my own way of keeping a dairy. Drawing is pretty personal to me.
What’s a typical day like for you in the office? Is there much of a typical day?
Typical…Yeah…Right….
8-5ish I’m at the VSI/ EYE office, talking to bike shops, riders, designers, manufacturers, magazine editors, and anybody doing business with VSI. It can be hectic, but I try to keep my shit together and organized. I try to set both short and long term goals, and then see them through.
In the afternoons and evenings I’m riding with anybody positive and down, filming other riders, playing guitar, drawing, or chilling with the gf and/or friends.
Obviously with the brand being so new the goals and direction of the brand have just began to form. What are some of those goals that you guys have and where do you see things going in the future personally?
There are many new products at different levels of development over here. This is an established bike company, so there will be real products hitting the market as they are finished. We try to not put any exact time table out for product releases, because things can change with the wind.
With regard to the team direction, I just want to have as much fun as possible before I die. Fun, that’s what the EYE BMX is to me. Fun on the grandest scale possible is the key. So as a team we base our edits and image on fun, rather than the biggest new fad, or the best trick ever done. If you have fun and your goal is fun, then you win every single time that you do anything.
Headtube on the EYE Q frame
I know you had mentioned a few of the products that you guys were working on this past winter when we met. What’s the current product line looking like these days? Care to give us a little more detail?
3 sizes of American made frames, the new American made AVE Stem, and some soft goods like stickers and shirts are done. A few more products will be done soon.
AVE stem
What can we expect in the future? Anything that will stand out since it seems like a lot of products being purchased are decided on brand name these days?
I just want to make better parts, so I can have them on my bike. I see a TON of “me too” brands making very similar parts in order to be accepted by the masses, and then sold as commodities to people. Most brands are trying to be popular, rather than make new shit. I’m not in to what other people like. I used to hate this type kid in high school. You know the type, they do whatever is popular to gain acceptance, even if they contradict themselves. That is definitely not for me, or what I want for EYE. I just want our shit to be different, even if it means people talk shit.
I don’t care if a look like an outsider or a weirdo, I want to make unique bike parts. Parts that make sense to bmx’ers, but also make that rider look just outside of the norm for something better.
Convert your 3/8ths to 14mm with or without pegs.
Does Eye have any plans of getting into any of the race or cruisers at all or is it going to be pretty freestyle specific?
Freestyle only. No cruisers or fixed gears. No race. None of that stuff interests me or the team, so we are focused on freestyle only.
Do you guys have any soft goods, stickers, or random products going on yet?
Some stickers and t-shirts are done. I think that we need stay up on this stuff, but the main focus is the parts development right now. As we grow (hopefully), there will be more of this fun and fashion stuff, but right now I am focused on the bike parts and team stuff first.
We are also working on a Zine that will ship out to shops for free. This will be done in a week or so.
When can we expect to start seeing some web videos popping up from the team? Do you guys have any plans for team trips or videos at all planned yet?
We have a few web videos done already. A California team trip, and a few rider edits. I’m filming Daniel Sandoval, Eric Hough, Chris Bracamonte, Louie Zaragoza, Cody McKenna, and Corey Cofey right now. It’s a hectic schedule of filming, but I love it, so I’m up to the task.
Road trips are always in the works. There is one in 2 weeks, and I’m looking forward to it.
The Central California trip was fun as hell. Tazz Hernandez, Louie, Chris, and myself went on the road to check out trails and parks, with a few lake and wilderness stops along the way for general chillin’. We slept on top of a mountain, in a cabin we broke in to, at a friends trails, and in my car in the sierra Nevada mountains. Certainly no hotels were paid for. BMX road trippin’ is great that way. You can just wing it, see where life takes you, and when you get there, just ramp off of whatever is there.
Who is currently on the team? Care to give us a little insight behind why you chose who you did?
Chris Bracamonte. We chose him because he is good and has fun.
Cody McKenna. We chose him because he is good and has fun.
Aaron Day. We chose him because he is good and has fun.
Louie Zaragoza. We chose him because he is good and has fun.
Eric Hough. We chose him because he is good and has fun.
Daniel Sandoval. We chose him because he is good and has fun.
Corey Cofey. We chose her because she is good and has fun.
Eva Gabrielle. We chose her because she is good and has fun.
Tazz Hernandez rides for Standard and AVE. We chose to co-sponsor him because he is good and has fun.
Most of these riders are little known but seriously self motivated, so I know they will go out and get there coverage. They have all had edits on line, and photos in magazines. They can all shred on a BMX. They can all take a joke and don’t walk around the earth hating on shit they are not digging. They just do there own thing, and do it well.
Are you guys looking to pick any more riders up? What kind of advice do you have for people looking to get sponsored by Eye?
No, we have a bigger team than we probably need at the moment…
My advice to up and coming riders would be, to just be happy that you ride. Don’t worry about being sponsored. Not one person on the EYE team asked me to be put on the team. I don’t think I will ever pick up a rider “looking for a sponsor”. You have to love riding first and foremost. It shows when people are looking for something more than they are in life. Don’t be that guy. Live everyday as if it were the last.
I would ask rider trying to get sponsored, Would you care if you were sponsored, if you had one day left to live? Probably not, and if you do, your priorities are out of whack. Just live your own life and don’t worry about being sponsored. That is just retarded. There is no big money in being a pro, so let that shit go and just enjoy riding.
Lets say somebody has an issue with one of your frames. What kind of a warranty do Eye products come with? What’s the process for getting something warrantied and what kind of turn around time can somebody expect?
We have a lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects, like bends, cracks on welds, etc… 1 year warranty against ANY cracks ANYWHERE. If you dent it on a ledge, or rip your head tube off casing a wall, you’re on your own.
VSI has standardized warranty policies for all the brands it sells. They also have great relationships with hundreds of bike shops. If you have a warranty question, just go to your local bike shop, and have them call us. VSI take care of ALL legit claims, and they are not dicks. Everybody here rides bikes, so we know what it is like to be bummed on a product failing. We try to avoid that for both the customer, and ourselves.
Turn around times for warranties can vary, but if it is a in stock product it would be turned around as soon as possible. I would say it takes a few days in most cases, not weeks.
Who should people contact if they have general questions about the brand?
There are several email address’ on eyebmx.com to contact, depending on the question. I can answer anything at: erike@vsiproducts.com
Who should shops or distributors contact to get Eye in their shops and warehouses? Who currently distributes you guys?
Currently all distribution is done by VSI in California, and Custom Cycle Supply in Florida.
Riders and shops, please hit me up. I’d love to hear from you!
Is there anything I missed you would like to add?
I’d like to thank anybody who has helped me get to this point with EYE and AVE. That would be you (Kurt), The EYE Bmx team, The VSI staff, Tazz Hernandez, Keith Mulligan, Fat Tony, Mike Keller, Jeremy Pavia, Ben Crocket, Adam 22, Zenta at Quamen, Jeff Devito at CCS, Mike at Fullerton Bikes, Frank & Rayn, Toby Henderson, Chris Smith, any bike shop who has supported us, every rider on an EYE Q frame, my mother and father for conceiving me, Jessica Verdi for all you do for me, Eric Hough at Foundations, Mike Harrison, Han’s, Hernan Montenegro and the Anytime Bmx Crew, and anybody taking the time to read this. I’m sure I forgot somebody, so please remind me of how important you are to me, and I’ll not miss you again.
Also, I’d like to thank BMX riders worldwide for being awesome, and giving me some hope for humanity. BMX is the shit, and so are ALL of you.
For more on EYE, check out their website at http://www.EYEBMX.com
