Who Is Throttle Down Speed Co? - Trish

And my Throttle Down Speed Co. interview is live! Check it out: throttledownspeedco.com/trish

Who Is Throttle Down Speed Co? - BMAT

The racing off season is a drag, let's face it. In an attempt to keep it interesting the TDSC co-founders (Brian & myself) filled out interviews for everyone to get to know us a little better. Check out Brian's here, and stay tuned for mine tomorrow!

Throttle Down Speed Co. Cafe Racer Socks

In lieu of Cyber Monday, we launched another new product on ThrottleDownSpeedCo.com today! Now available: Cafe Racer Socks that feature a sketch I had drawn quite a while ago and a Throttle Down Speed Co. logo on the reverse side. Initially we ordered a sample of the socks to test the quality of the print. To our surprise it printed better than ever and no detail was lost. Therefore, we added it to our inventory and are now sharing it with all of the other gear heads. Get yours here.

Throttle Down Speed Co. Kid's Wear

Throttle Down Speed Co. has had quite a few requests to offer our shirt designs in kid's sizes. Therefore, it's been something we've been working towards for a bit. Luckily we have two of the coolest kids in the Throttle Down Speed Co. garage to be the first to test the apparel and designs. Happily, the five brand new designs have been approved by Emma & Lily. Shop the collection: throttledownspeedco.com/collections/kids

The Brintlinger Foundation

About a month ago or so Throttle Down Speed Co. was asked to create something special for The Brintlinger Foundation. The Brintlinger Foundation was created to honor the lives of two very important people within the Flat Track community, Dave and Tyler Brintlinger. Without any hesitation, we took on this project to design a t-shirt that the Foundation could sell as an additional way to raise money. Despite the fact that the Brintlinger Foundation is fairly new, it has made great strides to raise money and pump that money back into the racer's pockets in the Flat Track racing scene. It's proving to be a truly great organization that is focusing its efforts into supporting riders of the sport that has been a love of mine for a lifetime. Needless to say, I wanted this design to be spot on. I wanted it to be something I would be extremely proud of, so I put a lot of time into the concept phase to get it right.

I began with a design of a vectorized colored image of two hands fist bumping based on the initial design direction from the Foundation. At first, I particularly liked it, however, when we received additional design direction to have one of the hands be wearing a glove, I knew the initial design did not quite hit the mark. I let the idea "simmer" as I tend to say, for a few days to visualize a strong design that could be easily transferred to a screen printed design. Eventually that idea was turned into a sketch on paper:

From there I took the drawing into Illustrator to convert the line work into vector shapes and paired it with the initial hand drawn text, "forever remember", that I had written when working on the first version of the idea. When adding the text I realized the image would be better flipped horizontally since the glove hand was larger than the bare hand as shown below.

Once it was all placed together I was happily surprised to see how it worked as a whole. The design was ready to be shown to the Brintlinger Foundation to see the response and if any additional revisions were to be made. The design was well received to say the least and is now currently being screen printed in brite blue like shown below.

I'm really looking forward to seeing these shirts help raise money for this positive organization that is benefitting the Flat Track community. It's an honor to be a small component of their fundraising efforts, and I look forward to seeing what else the organization brings to the dirt track world. Be sure to check out their Facebook and Instagram accounts to stay up to date with what the Brintlinger Foundation is up to next. And be sure to order your shirt either online or at the race track.

The TDSC Spring/Summer Line

The Throttle Down Speed Co. Spring/Summer clothing line began as a very broad concept. We knew we wanted to make a larger collection than we ever had before. The goal was to make some Throttle Down Speed Co. items that were very specific to the brand, a few flat track-specific designs and some general motorcycle related apparel that would appeal to all riders and enthusiasts. Personally, I wanted to include designs for both men and women while picking quality shirt and tank top canvases. It all began in my sketchbook, selecting garment types from our printer.

Another goal with this collection was to offer more than one color version for each design. We were inspired by several apparel companies that already offer these options and find a way to display them efficiently on their websites. We also set out to accomplish a way to show all designs at first, but show color options on each product page.

Eventually these designs were put into action and sent to the printers to test and receive sample garments. After some trial and error, we finally turned our conceptual pieces into real printed apparel items.

Above showcases primarily new designs sketched out, as well as former designs. A few above have not made it to the printers or our store for several reasons. For example, the draw string bags are still something we hope to add to our collection, however, the timing did not work out with that one. The pink shirt on the top right, though, will not be printed due to design cuts and the decision to only offer the best designs.

Once we approved all of the samples, we were officially ready to host the first Throttle Down Speed Co. photoshoot with all of the new (and previous) designs to perfect our website. Most of the photos were indoor studio shots, however, we were fortunate enough to shoot a few outdoor lifestyle shots like shown above. Once the shoot was completed, clipping and retouching were the first priorities on the list and then we could promote our brand new collection.

Above are the 15 brand new designs that we launched and are for purchase on Throttle Down Speed Co.'s website. See the full collection here: throttledownspeedco.com/collections/spring-summer-2016. This collection is definitely something that we are truly proud of at TDSC. A lot of hours were put in, and we appreciate everyone who takes the time to check it out. I look forward to more designs and collections in the future. The hard work surely is worth it.

I owe everyone thank you's

I could probably write up a loong sentimental caption for this image, and honestly I probably should. However, I’ll spare you the majority and just say that I am extremely fortunate to do what I do every single day and manage to rock out after my day job. Throttle Down Speed Co. is one of the best things that has happened to me and it’s exciting and overwhelming and surprising and humbling all at the same time. Yadda, yadda... These people are beautiful and so is everyone else who has supported Brian and I thus far, so I sincerely thank you all. Not only have we received love and support but we’ve also made quite a lot of friendships along the way and are forever grateful.

Anyways! If you haven’t heard, Brian & I launched a 15-piece spring/summer collection this morning after many long days and late nights of trying to get it all right. I’d say we did pretty well, but I’d love to know what you all think. Check the collection out at ThrottleDownSpeedCo.com. Get yourself some gear and forever #shopsmall

Raw Studio Photography by Mike Kazin.

Big things are happening

Be sure to follow @throttledownxspeedco on Instagram. Tomorrow will be a big day!

ThrottleDownSpeedCo.com

Today. Was Awesome.

There simply are no words. 

Forever grateful. Overwhelmed with support. & so much more to come... we're just getting started!

Throttle Down Speed Co. Has a NEW Site!

I'm proud to announce that Throttle Down Speed Co. has a pretty brand new website with an all new look and feel! A huge thanks to Brian Matthias for slaving over the new site and making it possible. We're always fine tuning it so check back often. Plus there will be a ton of new gear soon, so stay tuned! 

If you've purchased from us, please write a review! They are one of the new additions to the site and appreciate your support. Check it out: throttledownspeedco.com

Transition: From Canvas to Clothing

The "flying piston" is a familiar icon within the motorcycle and automotive industry. It is currently apart of the Throttle Down Speed Co. apparel line but the creative did not initially intend to be printed on clothing. Below is the transition of how the original acrylic painting of a flying piston was translated into the hooded sweatshirt it is today.  

Above is the original acrylic painting that consisted of only 3 colors. From there I scanned the image and vectorized it.

Once vectorized, I printed it out and sketched a bunch of options that included the Throttle Down Speed Co. logo within the design. I finally chose one and continued designing in Illustrator.

Above is the final design printed on an American Apparel hoodie.

Finally, here are the two side-by-side for comparison.
Get your hoodie here.

Transition: From Paper to Clothing

One of my favorite aspects of art and design is seeing how an original idea can transform itself throughout different mediums. Since my work for Throttle Down Speed Co. is highly experimental, a t-shirt design for example, typically originates from a fine-art piece. Below is one example of how this has been done in the past.

Our Mens & Womens "Cafe-X" design was one of the first garments designed from a drawing. Below is the initial ink drawing that was later scanned and transformed into vector art.

Everything about it was handmade including the hand drawn typography. Once in vector form it was cleaned up and slightly modified to be a sleeker design.

Having this design in vector form, opened up the opportunities for not only a design for a garment, but also to be cut as a vinyl sticker. There were a few additional revisions for the vinyl application, especially when considering the black to be inverted to white.

In addition to vinyl, we got this design printed on a variety of heather grey t-shirts. The black on grey turned out seamless and it is one of my favorite shirts because of it's roots in raw creativity. 

I believe it is essential to know where the ideas are coming from and how they are evolving throughout time and through varieties of applications. One idea can transform itself to endless possibilities, which is what makes my career exciting. Stay tuned for more design transitions!

Throttle Down Speed Co.

Throttle Down Speed Co: a lifestyle brand revolving around motorcycles, founded by two friends looking for an outlet to explore business & creativity. It's a vague sentence, but for now the minimalism will work.  Essentially the company originated from an idea, a name, a logo and an Instagram account.

The logo was inspired by the many handwritten typefaces and hand-painted signs throughout the vintage culture. From there, I started experimenting with painting motorcycle tanks and helmets just to get my feet wet. Going into it, my business partner Brian had come up with the business idea while emphasizing that this is a side gig that will allow us to explore many other things that we just won't get in our day jobs. For me it allowed for a very creatively experimental world that is not managed by anyone but myself.  The creative liberty was all my own, which was very exciting. "All things creative" was my loose "title" within the company, if you will, and so it began. We started with one t-shirt design, the Garage T-shirt, or what I refer to now as the OG.

It features a silhouette of a cafe racer, a bobber and a tracker along with a secondary version of our logo on the back of the tee. It truly represents the origins of the Throttle Down Speed Co. brand. Two-wheels was the primary theme and so it began. Throughout the first year we relied heavily on sales to everyone we knew and our growing Instagram following. Brian and I went to a ton of events that includes professional and amateur flat track races, hillclimbs, motocross races, vintage motorcycle shows, the race of gentlemen, bike nights, motorcycle shops, etc. The list was endless and is still growing today. We managed to make a lot of essential connections on the way to build our network that has benefitted the lifestyle brand quite well. 

The first time the Throttle Down Speed Co. logo began to make public appearance was on August 8, 2014, at the AMA Pro Flat Track Indy Mile race mounted on national number 51, Steve Murray's XR750.

It was an exciting moment to begin with, and even more thrilling when Steve Murray put his XR into the main event. Looking back, this moment feels like somewhat of a turning point for the company as we opened the door wide open to the flat track community and other forms of racing. Steve Murray later represented the Throttle Down Speed Co. logo within his graphics on his frisky two-stroke Yamaha in the various motocross events he rode in the 2015 season.

In 2015 I traveled to the 74th Annual Daytona Bike Week in Daytona Beach, FL. At the opening flat track races I was unofficially "scouting" to pick up our first sponsored racer within the GNC2 class. Dan Bromley, #54A really stuck out, and shortly after he would be one of the first professional flat track motorcycle racers to be sponsored by Throttle Down Speed Co. Throughout the year he represented the brand better than we could have ever expected. With stickers on his Motorcycle Superstore helmet, stickers on his 450 and t-shirts and snapbacks in the pits, he wore our name proud that initial season. He ended the season with a win at the Flat Track Finale in Las Vegas, NV and finished in second place in the GNC2 Championship. Did I mention he did us proud?

Aside from a successful race season, Throttle Down Speed Co. also launched several other t-shirt designs, snap back hats, beanies, long sleeve shirts and hoodies throughout 2015.  The long sleeve featured above on Bromley was one of my favorites showcasing that various bikes within the flat track races. I could go on for days telling you about my connection with flat track throughout my life, but I'll keep it brief. Art and motorcycles have been with me my entire life in one form or another. Those two things are the only things that have been with me from the beginning, so they mean everything. As far as flat track goes specifically, I got into it before I ever knew which way the bikes were going around the track. My dad always took me to watch the races, his parents always took him, and the family tradition lives on. Therefore, whenever I get the chance, I try to work in motorcycles within my art and art within my motorcycles. It's a pretty good deal if I do say so.

Below are several other designs that developed the brand early on. All designs originated from either a drawing, painting or sketch of some sort.

View all of the others here: throttledownspeedco.com.  2016 is looking to be a promising year for Throttle Down Speed Co.  I can't express how exciting it has been to build this brand to what it is today and to invent what it will become in the future.  A spring launch has been in the works for a few months, so please stay tuned to see what we come up with next-we've put in a lot of hard work and passion into it.  I look forward to traveling to even more events and exploring the culture further to continue to build the brand's culture.  I hope you all hang out with me along the journey because it's a fun one.

Cafe-X Design

I briefly mentioned Throttle Down Speed Co. in an earlier post and wish to expand upon that eventually. Unfortunately, tonight is not that night. I will, however, give you a look at one of my favorite pieces I have designed for the motorcycle lifestyle brand. It originated as a sketch on paper, turned into a one-color vector piece. Inspired by the vintage cafe racer motorcycles and the tape X on the headlight, you can purchase this original design here (also available in Mens crew.) Shirt Modeled by Colleen Bauer; photo taken by Brian Matthias.