Interbike Times » Chip Smith

Interbike Hockey Tournaments

Chip Smith — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 16:02:17 +0000

I was reviewing my emails today and noticed an email I received from Scott Wallenberg, publisher of Racer X/Road Racer X, about his memories of the Hockey Tournaments he and Jake Heilbron of Kona used to put on. At the time Scott was the ad director for Mountain Bike Action. Here’s what he had to say…

“Some great memories about Interbike were the Ice Hockey Tournaments. It started back in 1994 as an idea Jake and I had while talking about our love for hockey and wouldn’t it be fun to have a game. I arranged for the ice time and we had our first game at 6:30 AM at Glacial Gardens Ice Rink in Anaheim, CA back when Interbike was in SoCal. There were 2 teams…Canada vs. the World with about 20 guys total.

“The next few years in Anaheim saw the tournament expanding to four teams and over 60 players with Team Shimano, Team Canada, Team West Coast, and Team East Coast. Easton helped sponsor with aluminum sticks and other great prizes. When Interbike moved to Las Vegas we kept the tournament alive by finding ice at various local rinks in the area. My switch to Racer X magazine in 2000 did not stop my involvement, as there are so many bicycle companies involved in Motocross products.

“The Tournament lasted for 10 years with the final game in 2003. It was a wonderful 10-year run!

“The photo is Team Canada in red and Team USA in White. Ironically the last game we had ended in a tie!”

Does this bring back any memories for anyone? Kozo?

The Founder of Interbike

Chip Smith — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:20:03 +0000

I just got off the phone with Steve Ready, the now retired founder of Interbike 25 years ago. He currently lives in Washington State enjoying his passion for vintage motorcycles. The other day he read Rich Kelly’s post “Interbike as a Cultural Event”where Rich attributed the the following quote to Steve – “Interbike is a cultural event as well as a business event. At the close of each show, we want people to return home feeling a little better about the business they’ve chosen to be in.” Steve told me that quote was actually Kathy Newkirk’s, Interbike’s sales manager from 1987 to 1999. Steve said Kathy has a knack for boiling things down to what’s important and he was just repeating her vision for the show.

Steve is very flattered that Interbike is still thriving after 25 years. He has lots of fond memories he would like to share. Currently, he writes regularly for vintage motorcycle magazines, and true to his newfound craft, he would like to take some time to gather his thoughts and share some of his Interbike memories on InterbikeTimes. So, in about a week we will post Steve’s Interbike reminisces.

Enjoy the 4th of July!

Interbike and Camaraderie

Chip Smith — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 23:09:56 +0000

I have so many memories of attending Interbike while I was in the industry from 1991 to 2000 that it’s hard to pick one. During those years I attended as a Shimano sales person at first, then as their trade show manager and toward the tail end of my bike industry insider career as a marketing communications manager for Specialized. In 2005, I had a chance again to attend Interbike as a marketing agency guy looking to drum up some business and ended up gaining Interbike’s business as its public relations agency of record. I’ve always liked going to Interbike. It can be hectic getting ready for it, but once there I get a feeling of camaraderie. It’s one of the few times the industry has a chance to get together to talk some business, catch up on the latest gossip and have some fun with friends.

Since our agency is helping Interbike with Interbiketimes.com, I felt I should be one of the first to post something and I had a hard time coming up with one specific event to write about. I thought about the time Schwinn staged a big Elvis parade (big Elvises small Elvises and Elvises of all nationalities) down the crowded aisles of the show in the early Interbike Vegas years. I thought about shaking the hand of my childhood hero, Evil Knievel at the show (I was Evil Knievel for Halloween when I was a kid and my mom made me a cool jacket, just like Evil’s, out of that tacky ’60s-era vinyl. After Halloween I wore the jacket when I rode my mini-bike down the horse trails behind our house). And I thought about the many passionate conversations I’ve had with people during the show about cycling, about what products were good and which were not so good.

One of the most significant memories for me was the year Lance was diagnosed with cancer. I was the tradeshow manager for Shimano and was in charge of the Dura-Ace Design Contest display that was traveling to the Anaheim and Philly Interbike shows. One of the Shimano employees suggested making a huge get well card for Lance (it was about 6′ high and 3′ wide) and placing it in the design contest booth for people to sign.

It turned out the card wasn’t big enough. By the time I had a chance to sign the card in Philadelphia, I could barely find a place to put my name. The card looked like a huge scribbling exercise by a bunch of kindergartners. It was covered with signatures. After the show the card was shipped to Lance in Austin and we heard he really appreciated it.

This memory probably comes to my mind the most, because the following year while I was setting up the Shimano booth at Anaheim I got a call from my future wife crying because she was just diagnosed with cervical cancer. Wow, what a way to start a trade show.

Every year during Anaheim Interbike Kozo Shimano put together a company team to play in the hockey tournament. That year he had all the team members sign his hockey jersey and he gave it to Debbie. She still has it hanging in our closet to this day.

I guess my point of sharing these thoughts is that my best memories of the show are the feelings of camaraderie I get when I go to Interbike. The bike industry’s filled with great people and I love being a part of it.

Chip Smith
President
SOAR Communications