Ep. 69 - John Watson, owner of The Radavist
Bikes or Death
I Don't Want the Sight to Be About Me
"I in general, want to be behind the camera. I don't want to be in the front," he says. "It is what it is, and it's oky to say it." He adds: "We have really tried to tell stories that aren't being told"
Happy 420 everyone! My guest on today's episode with John Watson is one that I've been looking forward to for a while. We had plans to record this one a while ago, but covid put it on pause. On my recent trip to AZ and NM I was able to meet John at his Santa Fe office where he runs The RADAVIST. His office is quaint and simple with merchandise bins tidily lining the walls and stacked to the ceiling. I felt a kinship immediately as I pictured him editing photos, writing articles, fulfilling orders, etc etc. Despite his obvious success, what you may not see immediately is the 15 years he's been doing, the passion that started it, and the long hours that took to fuel it. In 2006 he began capturing urban bike culture for his blog that was at that time called "Prolly is not Probably". He was debating 650b v. 700c before you even had your first bike. He's been called a "Bike Snob", "Respected Tastemaker", a "Prolific Photographer" and more over his years in the industry. John made his mark by following his passion and using his camera and keyboard to share and shape the bicycle culture. If you are high af and want to go down the rabbit hole, google (or use DuckDuckGo) "Prolly is not Probably". You can find his original blogger page and hundreds of articles he's written or than have been written about him. Now The RADAVIST is a staple in the bike industry for its tasteful photography, wide range of articles and resources, and thoughtful articles that cover a large swath of the bike industry and culture. And from my perspective we are all the benefactors of his 15 years of hard work.
It was an honor to meet John in person. Behind the scenes over emails he has always been very supportive of me and Bikes or Death. He has been a person that I look up to professionally for his work and personally because he's just a damn nice guy. So if for any reason you haven't been visiting The Radavist on a daily basis it's time for you to get your life together and start! Both his instagram accounts are equally worth a follow @johnprolly and @theradavist.
After the interview the light was getting good and John asked if he could photograph my bike, which was a dream come true for me. Find those pictures and a write up by John on The Radavist and you can read my blog reply on Bikes or Death.
Shred Lightly my friends.
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