Austin Steele: in Los Angeles, CA

Our six-person design team handled all design duties for the Answer Racing (motocross apparel and accessories), Pro Taper (motocross handlebars and premium hard parts) and MSR (off-road riding apparel, accessories and hard parts) brands. I was primarily focused on apparel development, but also handled packaging, product design, promo and trade show materials, catalogs, advertising and in-store dealer display graphics.

ATW was an importer of custom wheels for sports cars, luxury cars and SUVs. I handled advertising and design for automotive publications like DuPont Registry, Robb Report and various other car magazines, as well as wheel packaging and annual catalogs for multiple wheel brands.

During this period I attempted to make a go at being a freelance designer, but it wasn't long before I accepted a full-time position with one of my clients in the automotive aftermarket industry. The pay was lousy, so I always had my eyes open for another job, and that turned out to be a designer for Intersport Fashions West, an apparel design company serving the motorcycle industry where I designed leather and textile riding jackets and also did some catalog and advertising, concept to production. Six months into this gig, I suffered a severe case of sciatica (lower back pain due to a ruptured disc) which at times prevented me from even sitting up, so on doctor's orders I had to leave the company and began a six month recovery period. Once I was cured (cortisone shots) and back on my feet (I have not had any back pain since), a chance encounter put me in contact with my former employer at the automotive accessory company, which had since transformed into a high-end modular wheel manufacturer and importer, and they were in need of someone to handle the design side of things. I signed on in 2003, handling a ton of advertising for national automotive magazines, catalogs, packaging and some actual wheel design. I left Symbolic in early 2005 to join the team at Answer Racing in Corona, CA.

After a brief stint in Sherman Oaks at an agency that handled entertainment industry clients - I did concepts for Disney's Hercules DVD cover, among other movie-related projects - I found myself offered an art director position at my old Alma Mater, GT Bicycles, which was still riding high (250,000 square foot building!) on the crest of the mountain bike tidal-wave of the 90's. Four years later that wave was long gone while company debt was at an all time high. And that, along with the tragic death of GT's CEO and co-founder, Richard Long, brought about layoffs for most of us and then a chapter 11 filing.

Mongoose was still an IBD (Independent Bicycle Dealer) brand in the mid-90's when I was recruited to head up the art department there. It was a small crew, just design, marketing and PD in the office on Kashiwa, but we fought higher than our weight class and with Leigh Donovan, Brian Lopes and Robert MacPherson riding for us, scored two NORBA Downhill MTB championships and an NBL National Amateur No. 1 BMX title. It was not to last though. When a change in management the very next year disrupted our successful team dynamic, I took my leave.

A BMX racer fresh out of art school, I joined GT in Huntington Beach as the sole art guy in early '86 (replacing Bob Morales, who currently heads up ASV Innovations). Armed with a xerox machine, a drafting table and a stat camera, I did bike graphics, t-shirt and jersey designs, packaging and some advertising. The company was still small and the early days were a hands-on learning experience. By 1990 GT had moved to a larger building, still in Huntington Beach, and the art dept. had grown to four designers, plus a guy to get us all up to speed on our first round of Macs. The mountain bike boom was in full swing and thanks to the business, design and marketing acumen of Richard Long and Bill Duehring, GT was riding that wave to huge success. At this point I redesigned the GT BMX and mountain bike logos - they're still in use today. A few years later we had outgrown our building yet again, moved to a larger facility in Santa Ana, and added more designers - including a full video production department. I was still handling mainly bicycle graphics, packaging, catalogs and advertising, and the load - and the pace - was still increasing. Until I received an offer from a competitor...