Honestly, I've been looking at this for half the day and trying to figure out what the heck to say about it. Fit is looking to hire a new designer, and it...could...be...you! Well, assuming you can use Solidworks, which counts me out. (I like that it's posted on the RIDE UK site but not on the Fit site. Are a lot of would-be BMX designers located overseas? Would it be worth posting this on Monster.com? Craigslist? It's also pretty funny that the contact person is Moeller and not Robbie.)
There's a lot to pick apart. Like "college degree or comparable education." What does that even mean? That you got within a couple of credits of your engineering degree and dropped out to support your ill hamster? School of hard knocks? I also love the "just in case you are currently working for another company," which implies all kinds of potential for espionage and treachery. I suppose if the next generation of Fits have all kinds of holes mitered in them we'll know they snatched someone from Eastern. Or Volume. Maybe the new guy will want to do track frames! I can hardly wait!
(Overall, it does make you—or at least me—wonder what sort of qualifications most designers at BMX companies have. Are they all engineers? If not, did they all at least study engineering at some point? Or is the closest some of them have come to engineering is the time they watched Thomas the Tank Engine by mistake?)
••••••••••••
82 comments:
ANAL BANANA #2 SON
Id be surprised if they could keep a full time designer/engineer busy for more than a few days, they dont really make much and none of it really looks like its required much development. Cool job for someone though.
REQUIRES TRIPS TO ASIA
LOL CATALOG
this is for their '10 catalog
At this point for frames, don't you just pick the latest greatest heat-treated butted tubing and attach the tiniest dropouts possible? The BB and headtube are taken care of. Throw in an integrated clamp (or Pivotal mount) and you're done! As for any other stuff, just subtract an ounce from whatever was out last year. It's not, um, rocket science.
And the Asia trips are for inspiration, I assume. Study with the Shaolin monks, learn the mysteries of the Orient, design stem that stop bullets. Also, I hear Eddie Cleveland's next frame will be made from bamboo.
I would imagine that there are very, very few true industrial designers or engineers working in the BMX industry. Odyssey/Gsport would be a exception to the rule.
This is probably attributed to the fact that
1.) the bmx industry is usually more interested in giving has been B-pros a place to earn a paycheck, as opposed to picking, you know, someone who went to school for something. I can think of several guys who own a reasonably successful company who designed frames, and their only real credentials include dropping out of high school, avoiding mandatory military service by repeatedly faking illness, and doing back wheel spinning tricks.....yet no one seems to notice.....
2.) The BMX industry, and bike industry in general, is notorious for relatively low salaries. I would imagine you'd make more money doing something else for someone else if you have an Mech E. degree.
3.) I'd be willing to bet that Fit is REALLY looking for a talented young designer who lives in the area, can ride their bike to the office, and that they can pay 20K a year.... and is just stoked to be working for Fit so they'll work for practically nothing. I might be totally off there but probably not.
Instead of being anonymously willing to bet on things on the internet, why don't you actually inquire about the position in real life and get the facts?
1987: A high school student named Chris Moeller founds S&M bikes at the age of 16. The influential company, now housed under S&M Distribution, is still thriving with Moeller's guidance more than 20 years later.
2008: Russ Bengtson, an unemployed journalist starts a BMX blog. He currently lives with his parents while battling bouts of depression.
word verification: no experience
^^^Ha! You forgot to mention Russ is in his late 30s.
^lol^ Could be the best anonymous post ever.
Living with parents its the new word verification....
"Id be surprised if they could keep a full time designer/engineer busy for more than a few days, they dont really make much and none of it really looks like its required much development. Cool job for someone though."
Weird. I just checked their site real quick and they have 14 complete bike models, plus at least a couple other products.
I'm thinking I'm not the only writer/editor who's had to move back home to make ends meet. It's not something I'm proud of, but it's what I had to do. At least I'm not just another vampire sucking the lifeblood from the industry.
I've been thinking about it for a while, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to disable anonymous comments. Anyone can say what they want—as always—but it'll be on the record. Everyone knows who I am, don't see why it should be any different for anybody else.
This industry's fascination with "rider designed" parts makes about as much sense as letting a NASCAR driver design their own car. It's true that you have to have an understanding of how your product is going to be used before you design it. Being a rider helps, but just because someone took seventh in the X-games in 1996 doesn't mean they understand manufacturing, materials, construction processes, how to deal with vendors, how to keep a budget, etc. Meanwhile, the unknown rider kid who went to engineering school gets passed over for jobs in the industry because he spent HIS time learning his trade, as opposed to schmoozing with industry people at the Metro Jam and Interbike for the past 10 years.....
DH(above)
Excellent post....
Would Chris Moeller even respond to a phone call if someone WAS inquiring? I'm not being a smartass, I'm serious.
I applied for a job at 1664 BMX as a sales rep a few years back and they're still hiring.
I'm actually glad I didn't get the job. I'm much happier going to college...Even if I owe thousands of dollars in student loans.
I don't think I'd like a job in the bike industry. Maybe a part time job as a bike mechanic or salesman while I'm at school, but as a career? Forget it. Work and play can be good together, but not to that extent in my eyes.
Are any of these comments about how companies hire people based on real experiences or just lame "that's how it works" assumptions?
The cluelessness of this post and the comments is absurd.
it definitely helps to know the right people to get an industry job, but you can't just be a dumbass with proper connections, either.
and really, 99% of the time, "rider designed" just means they pick the angles and colors.
The BMX industry is as immature as its market. Big surprise.
... and not a coincidence
Everyone knows who I am, don't see why it should be any different for anybody else.
That's some hatin' right there.
Let a playa play.
Chris Moeller presides over a multi-million dollar company and lives in a beach house in SoCal. The irony of this post isn't lost on me.
Why don't you grow some balls and ask these questions to Moeller himself? Not that you are deserving of his attention.
word verification: mad dog
March 2009- Yet another douche bag from the myspace generation of bmx bitches about another blog, yet does nothing to back it up(start your own if you don't like this one, or better yet, just don't read it). Also why would you choose to start a fight( not a real one, more of an argument) with Russ. A man who's verbal skills are far more superior than yours, seeing as how you have probably failed the majority of your school courses
^^^who are you talking to?
Thats awesome Moller is opening the position to the bmx world. Sure he could have hired joe-engineer fresh ou tof school with a very limited idea of the bmx world. And just as easily, he could cold call any one of a thousand "bro's" in the industry to fill the job.
Instead, he opens himself to the bmx world for a promising candidate. Hell yes.
Also, I'm willing to bet 95% of those posting on this topic would in reality be stoked to take the position, but not one has the experience to back it.
About nine years ago, when I was imported in to California from Canada to work in the BMX industry for a short spell, someone explained to me why the cycling industry is so mentally deficient:
In high school, you've got your academic types and you've got your kids who are encouraged to take shop class. The most gifted shop kids may make it to the level of automobile mechanic. Those that come up short might make it to bike mechanic.
The best of these bike mechanics might someday manage or own a bike shop. The best of these might someday be tapped to be a company's sales rep. The cream of this crop might someday work their way into the higher levels of the bike industry.
Regardless, we must remember, these were the shop kids that couldn't be car mechanics.
Not my opinion, just relaying someone else's.
An opinion I do agree with is DH's above.
And just throwing this out there: Moeller and McGoo are the two brightest folks I've met in the BMX industry.
wade
trust me when i say that,these days,a good bike mechanic,is worth his weight in gold.....
Plenty of bench warmers up in here and not many with the skills to be a player. Side line Sally's.
Ha, just read the tag. Nailed it! If there's anything in BMX that screams mediocrity, it's gotta be Chris Moeller. That guy can only dream of your life successes.
Shit. I'd be embarrassed myself if I was 38 years old and haven't achieved anything of worth and still living with my parents.
Wait, wah? This blog is written by a middle aged lush who lives with his folks? LOL! L.I. Represent!
How the bicycle industry became a multi-billion dollar industry before SPRFLS and it's pundits came along is beyond comprehension
I vote to disable anonymous postings. They suck anyway.
K-I-L-L A-N-O-N-Y-M-O-U-S R-U-S-S
Still need a digital scale?
These are good:-
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3390
2kgs is about 4lb 6oz, if you put more than that on it will say "error" which is not because the scale is overloaded but because no modern BMX part should weigh that much...
ill readily admit i know dick all about most technical specs.
dont really have much in teh way of applied knowledge i suppose. if you need some lagrangians calculated im your man. not much use to someone like moeller.
how much work would a physicst get in teh bmx industry?
would be cool tho.id take the pay cut for the adventure of it. it would infinately better in my eyes than the stupidly well paid but long hour (no life outside of work) jobs that most physics graduates get in the financial sector and in the city
bahhhh
"because no modern BMX part should weigh that much..."
George, are you fucking serious?
i think most "older" guys working in the industry will tell you it's a labor of love, not profit. long hours, modest pay and one wrong step makes you the subject of a post on a blog where you'll be taunted relentlessly by fourteen year old boys. we put up with it, though because going to work some place you like is better than working some place you hate but get paid better and work fewer hours.
Trueness From Albes....
russ edited slam for a fair while, yeah? i say only those earning seven figures get to call him out from now on
Hey, remember that time when Russ made a post mocking an incredibly successful businessman, then had to admit he wasn't proud of where he is in life. That was sad, and really funny at the same time.
"russ edited slam for a fair while, yeah? i say only those earning seven figures get to call him out from now on"
--- SLAM was launched in 1994 as a basketball magazine that combined the sport with hip hop culture at a time when the genre was becoming increasingly popular.
That's the "wackest" premise for a magazine ever. 7 figures? Are you insinuating Russ made 1,000,000 dollars a year to edit a "hip hop basketball" magazine? Wasn't he the online editor? I'd guess Moeller is worth more than 7 figures.
I love how anonymous has spent the last few days trying to think of as many ways to bash russ's opinion and social and financial status as possible. I even think he's gone to the trouble to change up his writing style slightly to give the impression he's more than one person.
I value russ's input and thoughts on the bmx industry thankyou. And hell, he's probably a bit of a loser, most people are in one way or another. Whoopey doo. Moeller's a hard cunt. I'm sure he's thick skinned enough to take russ's very gentle needling and questioning. Unless anon. is Maddog talking himself up. Or i could be him. Or i could be officer alex murphy, detroit police department. who knows.
well if fit and $&m are so concerned about a detail oriented job such a making ads or commercial spot; maybe they should work a little harder on their customer service department. im not saying that they arent good companies, it just comes down to the fact of wether or not you're a prick when doing business deals. when i bought my hawk i wanted something a bit tougher-something not made with sanko tubing. the shop i was at had that or a doyle frame and i dont ride white and didnt have the money to drop 350 bones (frame + tax). anyways, the headtube blew and destroyed my headset off of ONE bunnyhop. when i called for a replacement i was basically told to fuck off bc by putting stickers on the frame i voided the warranty. it ended up taking about a month before talking to moeller and after an hour and a half on the phone yelling (myself, the owner and his tech) i finally got a new hawk. ive been scared since and dont like hucking anymore. anyways if i were running a company that has sooo much integrity behinds its parts i would be a lil more sympathetic towards the cause. but i guess living in LA causes some serious "my shit dont stink" complexes within companies that are jaded to the fact that people still ride instead of nibbling around doing hang fives all day. ive seen way too many snapped frames, toe'd in forks and way bent bars from slams or landing flat to ever want to buy anything from these two companies again. if anything, METAL is now what $&M used to be.
ad hominem - the last refuge of the butthurt
^^^ bullshit, if you are going to make something up, don't say the warranty was voided because of stickers and the "headtube blew" from ONE bunnyhop, fucksake.
If you've "seen way too many snapped frames, toe'd in forks and way bent bars from slams or landing flat why did you buy the Fit frame from them and risk doing a bunny hop in the first place. You must weigh 400 pounds and have tree trunks for thighs if you can blow up a Hawk with a simple bunny-hop.
amazing that when you tell the story of your own experience trying to make it sound like Moeller is the asshole, you come out looking like a fucking ding-dong.
I'm sure the new engineer S&M hires will take his first month redesigning the function of a headtube so pigs like you don't blow them up from a single bunny-hop. How long did you spend on the phone with the headset supplier trying to bilk them out of a freebie too?
Funny that you even got a free frame from a lame-fucking-ass excuse story (one that I would never, ever have believed in a million years) and here you sit fucking bashing them on a blog.
It's all gonna be OK because Obama's got a healthcare plan to take care of all your problems in life. You'll be taken care of forever.
I'm pretty sure that Russ is a literary genius, that honestly deserves a better profession than writing for a fucking basketball magazine (Slam). Im pretty sure more and more people are moving in with their parents considering how jobs are being cut down about every day... just sayin' a little common sense can go a long way
what i don't get is why russ doesn't take his special writing skills and apply for work at transworld (ride) or another media company focused on bmx? that way, he could write about bmx and make money and no one would ever feel sorry for him.
or, if finding a writing job is too hard, he can just sell swag on ebay. or, he can go to school and get some skills that might apply to the current job market. or, he could start a bmx company like season, still live at his parent's home and have people rip on him for trying to make a living that doesn't include pleas positive feedback on some lightly use Converse All-Stars with gold stitching and bulging heels (limited edition for salt 'n pepper's mid-nineties comeback attempt).
wow im honestly surprised that TWO anonymous cunts would think that a frame wouldnt snap. and if you had read what i typed you would have seen the fact that i didnt have the money to drop. so i got talked into getting the hawk as it was 75 bucks cheaper. headtube specs are to be from .24 to .26 front to back, side to side. they must be equal. when i hopped it ovalised from .24 on the sides to .22 and front to back was .28. i dont dispute your wanting to know though. as i am not a 400 pound man. im merely 6 foot 2 and 165. and yes, i was denied a warranty due to the fact of stickers-as it rig was set up and ridden (greased and worn). the fact that one trick - it was a hop off a fucking curb could destroy a frame is beyond me. ive spent the last 6 years riding 3 30 pound bikes, so when i went to lighter parts i had reservations. especially when losing 6 pounds on a setup. now if you just sit your fucking whining ass down and learn to read or to just have sense you would know that not every frame is 'perfect'. the way each bead is dropped, the time it takes before someone to lead in to another bead, the way its heat treated, the chemicals in the paint etc etc all play a part in the strength and dexterity of the product. now you dispute the shop - JOES FUCKING BIKE SHOP in lafayette, co - JOE himself stuck his neck out for me bc i spent 2 month riding a frame with a fucking hose clamp round the head and myself included running toe'd in four season forks. no i didnt bilk a new headset. i bought a new one. its a kink. and im sorry if I, myself sit on the phone trying to understand why im not allowed to get a new tool that supposedly is sooo fucking strong i should have no problem and yet there is a "limited lifetime warranty". im sorry, i bought the WRONG frame bc i didnt have the money.but hey, i didnt know i wasnt riding for you, otherwise id jock all your shit like you do from everyone else. I have never had a problem with any of my bikes and was rather suspicious of sanko yet i wanted to see what its about. yea its strong and light but i didnt know it would blow. fuck its dented from running into a car. see im not like you people, i dont go out and buy the next big thing so and so told me i should get bc the part itself can do all the tricks i cant. Im a trail rider and occasional park. I do maybe 5 tricks - no whips or geoff bebbs. so to insinuate that im lying is calling the kettle black; which brings me to my next point. im only 22 and been riding since i was 7 and welding since i was 13. so MAYBEE i just know nothing, but hey, at least i didnt vote in a chicago politician or hop in every blog i see and post as anonymous. fuckin retard. KEEP EM COMIN RUSS!
very appropriate word verification: itsforho
Sam Stanfield,you rule(fo' real)
"I even think he's gone to the trouble to change up his writing style slightly to give the impression he's more than one person."
SPRFLS IS written by more than one person.
I know one of the person is (excluding Russ) but I'm not going expose him as I have too much respect for him.
Just a hint: He's one of the recent biggest (if not THE biggest) industry influencer in the BMX industry and HAD written monthly articles in one of the main BMX magazine.
I'd rather people not believe but that's the truth. Take it or leave it.
Word verification: salied
^I was talkin about the anon. postings bashing russ and i was being sarcastic.
Holy shite, it takes two people to keep this blog running at full speed? I run the entire Eastern Bikes company with just 4.5 dudes.
You know what's worse than this blog and the commenters? Jimmy Fallon's new show, awful and painfully uncomfortable.
"^I was talkin about the anon. postings bashing russ and i was being sarcastic."
I know.
yo russ.
Do you know Attiba Jefferson?
I think he takes photos for slam.
I grew up with him, and he is an amazing photographer.
"I'm pretty sure that Russ is a literary genius..."
Wow. You need to broaden your literary horizons.
DEAD BLOG
It looks like the folks at S&M got their delicate little panties in a twist. All these chickenshit posts bashing Russ make me want to never buy anything from them.
unverni
Wade posted:
"And just throwing this out there: Moeller and McGoo are the two brightest folks I've met in the BMX industry."
Yeah. Someone who said to put on the standard 1 1/8" press-fit headset with a hammer and ALL Tiawanese frame were welded by 7 year old kids on bamboo jigs (S&M ad) and the latter who blows clear plastic pegs as if they were pre-pubescent boys' penises are really bright people.
And just throwing this out there: Wade, you're as dumb as a pile of rocks.
Word verification : mucks (fo' real)
Being anonymous while adding nothing to the discussion is WAAY homo.
Word verification : STFU
Half of you guys - you know who you are - please go back to TCU and stay there. Generic street web videos abound over there, and your anonymous hate will fit right in.
wade said...
Yeah. Someone who said to put on the standard 1 1/8" press-fit headset with a hammer and ALL Tiawanese frame were welded by 7 year old kids on bamboo jigs (S&M ad) "
The Ad was an exaggeration.
but it had a good point.
al those print adds they put out about the industry and trend riders were fucking gold.
they were exaggerated but true, they need to do a new bmx fasion one. except what i have in my mind
a modern interpretation with kids with a fucking floppy toque( eh ?)
some coastals tight jeans and a flannel shirt lol. do it up moeller, i thought of it first though.
hire me @ fit !
BLEG DOED
please disable anonymous comments.
"anyways, the headtube blew and destroyed my headset off of ONE bunnyhop. when i called for a replacement i was basically told to fuck off bc by putting stickers on the frame i voided the warranty. it ended up taking about a month before talking to moeller and after an hour and a half on the phone yelling (myself, the owner and his tech) i finally got a new hawk. ive been scared since and dont like hucking anymore."
Verification word: Not a chance a word of that is true
Beau
do you care to elaborate your point?
(im not "attacking" you,i just want to hear an opinion)
Any new SPRFLS?
Come on Russ, don't let a few anonymous losers make you stop blogging about the stupidity of the BMX industry.
Help us, Russ Bengston, you're our only hope.
Hey Russ. How about this for SPRFLS material?
http://www.subrosabrand.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kyles_sample.jpg
Come on Russ. Keep fighting the good fight.
We need a BMX crtique like you.
Speaking of subrosa,they are makin a tshirt that says ANONYMOUS....
Legend...help us Americans out here. Isn't a "toque" a hat or something? I have no idea what coastals are. Crazy canucks - you think that just because you have a healthcare system that makes sense you can confuse us with funny words. Enough tomfoolery!
Agreed, though: I want an S&M ad featuring a scooter and a 15 year old kid with paint on his legs that looks like jeans.
research has shown that the average BMXing youth of today requires 4.6 blog updates per day, every day, including Sundays. if you are planning to have a life outside of SPRFLS then you need to hire a few assistants.
tfa.. i don't think Sunday can update 4.6 times a day. i don't think Jim C has it in him.
Wow, this got...interesting.
Adam -
There are plenty of online bike-specific sites, some of whom cater toward (in fairness, maybe I should say "frequented by") different crowds. I will admit that online forums will pretty much all have their share of all-lower-case, misspelled, uninformed shit talking without a hint of correct grammar, usually by guys whose ages end in "een."
However: I ask you, Sir, to admit that some sites have a different readership than others. Not to say there isn't some overlap, but surely you can acknowledge that The Come Up and, say, Dig are different. Your average Dig reader may be a Joe Rich fan while a typical guy posting on TCU is more into Nathan Williams, for instance. Well, on that note: I stand by my earlier comment. I'm not a new school street rider who can three down 10 stairs - I'm an old geez who saw RAD in theaters and learned tailwhips at 32, not 14. Translation: I've been around enough to to have seen a little bit, yet have enough humility to know full well that I don't know it all. The issues Russ and his more articulate commenters bring up are fun to read about and I can relate to the overall theme, so I enjoy this blog. My forays to TCU mostly yielded webvideos of bunnyhop barspins, handicap ramp rail jumps, 32 inch handlebars, and not a seatpost in sight. Is that bad? Of course not; it's just not my thing, hence my lack of visitation over there. Another thing I noticed was the shitload of neanderthal comments - more so than some other sites, even. Sorry if I call it like I see it, brother. You're entitled to your opinion, too, 'cause ya know...free country and all. In summary, what you call bad mouthing, I call a suggested relocation to a more appropriate and accommodating venue.
-Noel
^tcub is the modern market, those kids are what fuels bmx.
( well their parents income)
I got my own conspiracy theory on the "job ad" - Chris Harrison, Federal bikes. Had an interview on BMX Union. They're trying to headhunt him! Well they are trying to headhunt someone by dangling the Fit Carrot across the ditch. The ad should read like: "Sick of dreary English winters? Want to work for the coolest brand in the business? Come roast one with the crew at Fit"
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