Yuri Shif: The Raconteur
A windy afternoon in early January. We are getting ready for an interview. Long distance conversation. It will be in Russian, so we are putting some final thoughts together, before having a talk with Yuri Shif. Aleks, who is helping me with translation is working hard on a Russian keyboard, letter by letter translating the questions we plan to start with. Even though she is fluent, we seem to struggle. Everything takes time if you haven’t used the requisite skills for quite a while.
Our meeting with Yuri was slightly delayed and after a quick call we arranged to talk in an hours time. During the wait I got involved into quite an argument with an acquaintance of Aleks about creativity and how it could be used for gaining money. He was quietly occupying small space on the sofa at the far end of the room, seemingly refusing to leave and occasionally raising opinions reminding us of his existence. He believed in the importance of the end goal – accumulation of capital and attachment to things above all else. I stressed the joy of process; the art of going, not getting there if you are a craftsman. Often “there” doesn’t exist to get to anyway. The money keeps us going along the next creative path, but what would be the point if we didn’t enjoy stretching our legs?
Chasing Horizons with Scott Toepfer
Beginning and Bikes
I started riding dirt bikes, quads and the like when I was a kid, but it wasn’t until 2009 that I bought a street bike. My first motorcycle was a 1978 Yamaha SR500 that lasted about 5 months until I killed it.
After doing that weekend training course that you have to do in California, me and a few guys rode towards El Mirage and Wrightwood. It was a great thing to learn the dynamics of riding in a group early.
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Renard Motorcycles & Artisan Werks: Crossroads
I got out of the bed at 4.30am at dusk after a sleepless night. It was an exciting day which I had been looking forward to for quite some time. We had a quick breakfast, lots of coffee, got in a car and drove off. We had an eight hour journey ahead over three countries to witness probably the most exciting new motorcycle and meet its creator. (more…)
werks
It is very strange to think about it right now, the car coming and realisation of unavoidability… bang! body is flying! It was the first crash ever and the feeling was unusual. There was not much time to think about anything, it all happened in split second and every action i did was to save my bones and the car. It was not a safety gear which saved me – as I was not wearing any – it was pure luck. And while sitting on the tarmac I had this thought echoing in my mind: I ‘m not ready to leave this to luck alone! (more…)
