Ryan Denehy of Eastern Front Visual talks business with Mountain Bike legend Dave Watson.


Let’s start with the basics. Name, age, location, etc.
Dave Watson, 30 years young, currently living in Deep Cove, North Vancouver BC

Consider this. You have an iPod and can only put ten songs on it. What would those ten songs be? That’s a tough one, to choose only ten songs from the music pool to listen to? It changes every week, but here it is for this week: Pandora, or check out my play list at Charity Mix.

You’ve been a fixture in the MTB scene for quite some time now. Describe how it all started.
On a whim, I rode some BMX as a kid growing up, and then some MTB through out high school, but the summer after graduating I started racing in local downhills & slaloms & moved through the ranks of junior in a few short months. The BMX and ski skills were a natural cross over. It wasn’t until a World Cup in Vernon BC, where I realized if I took things serious I could maybe land a contract with a team and travel the world riding bikes. That was 10 years ago, and every year since then has a been a mile stone, in some way or another.

What has been the biggest challenge getting to this point?
Trying to balance being healthy & strong with my riding career & responsibilities of long hours at the helm at Sombrio. Plus keeping in touch with my network of friends & family outside of bikes & biz. But, life gets better with time!

Your jump over the Tour De France Peleton still gets people talking four years after the fact. The jump was really well received, did you (or your sponsors) worry that there would be negative backlash afterward?
Of course, in the back of your mind, you have to wonder, but like anything in life, you cant keep everyone happy, there’s always a compromise somewhere. But, I was never worried about backlash, unless something hadn’t gone smoothly and a rider or spectator got in the mix. But, we got a great shot, everyone had a laugh and were in & out of there in a few days & my sponsors were pumped. But come to think of it my mom was a bit bummed at the time, but that was a while ago now!

In terms of filming, shooting photos, riding etc… How much of what you do is dictated by the companies you ride for and how much is up to you?
In the beginning, we couldn’t get companies to back us. I raced to pay the bills, and did the film thing on the side because it was a tangent of the sport I wanted to see evolve. But, quickly, the images we were producing were so much more progressive than anything in our industry had ever seen, But soon there after a few insightful Canadian companies started to see the light, and joined the forces. Once the ice was broken, it started to flow and marketing crew from certain companies were looking for more shots, and there for provided more support to follow the high road. I live to travel on these types of trips, but always have had the liberty to go or not go. That’s the luxury of having more than just the bike thing. But my reluctance to go, has only been overshadowed by pending Sombrio gong, and never my need to want to go.

Looking at some of the terrain you ride and the lines you pick your style appears influenced by big mountain skiing/snowboarding. What sports do you draw inspiration from when it comes to riding?
I suppose drew most of my inspiration from big mountain winter lines mixed with a bit of moto. But, I’m fricking impressed by the level of tricks the ‘A’ riders are throwing down weekend after weekend. It’s pretty cool, but I think there will still always be a place for big mountain too.



You’ve traveled all over the world to ride. What location surprised you the most in terms of terrain? What location surprised you the most when it comes to the popularity of the sport?
Other than BC…Terrainwise, Europe! Hands down. I’ve had some amazing days in the Portes de Soliel region in France. It’s funny every where I travel too, has it’s perks. Costa Rica, gets better every time I go back, Bolivia was a wild experience, Brazil too. But, in Europe people tend to be a lot more active are into bikes, and mountain sports. Bike parks are popping up everywhere, and it’s refreshing to see. I cant wait to ride all of them some day!



Do you think the explosion of slopestyle and street/park/dirt jumping is going to take MTB in the right direction? The bike industry is huge, and no one other than the riders should dictate the progression of the sport. And this is where our generation of rider is pushing it… I’m a huge advocate that urban-based slopestyle events are a tangent of what’s one of the most exciting platforms the two-wheel industry has ever experienced, and feel strongly that were still in it’s infancy. I can’t wait to see some of my younger comrades pulling six to seven figures like other pro athletes in action sports. But having said this, it doesn’t mean that any of the other genres of bike should be affected by it. If anything, they should keep growing too! Bike is deep enough to promote all sectors of our sport to whom ever and what ever that person is stoked on.

What advice can you give to younger riders trying to make a career out of their love for bikes?
Ride with someone you look up to as much as possible, always look to other riders who are better for advice and style, and with time anything’s possible. & good crashers make the best riders, because you can take the beats and keep shredding.

What do you have planned for the coming season/seasons?
Ride as much as possible. I just returned from Costa Rica with Gulevich & Wade, and put a few sweet shots in the can. Event-wise, I’m out for any future slopestyles. I rode in Saalbach and Crankworks in previous years just for fun, but once you know you’re riding for a top 15 it’s hard to get up for it, so my riding times these days are more photo-based and travel-based to exotic locals; and some select DHs like Phycosis and the Air Dowhhills, as well as training for a mega avalanche in the Reunion Islands next December.

Thanks/Shout outs
To many, But I’d start with Sombrio, Kona Bikes, Dakine gloves & accessories, Smith eyewear, Whistler Bike Park, Marzocchi, Troy Lee Helmets & Armor, Vans, Maxxis, Fox Shocks.

Sombrio Questions

A lot of clothing companies start small with a t-shirt design and move from there. What were your beginnings like? Describe how things evolved from day one.

Wild – We didn’t even think to start with T-Shirts. We made things hard for ourselves from the get go! The first three years we made a few eyecon pieces, and produced really small runs, just to get the products established. We didn’t want the name out there yet. My vision from day one was to design & build something that wasn’t on the market at the time. It started with hunting for new materials, subversive graphics and lots of styles to fit for our niche. We made 100% of our gear in Vancouver, up until recently, which taught us the hands on approach to manufacturing. Our office was in the basement of a rented house “The Roadhouse” where some awesome parties went down, in Lynn Valley and served us well for those few years until we subscribed to an dedicated office in the business district in NV. We’ve moved again since then to larger office and evolved from a company of few where no one was drawing a salary to an office of 10+, with sales in over 15 countries.

Sombrio offers more products every year. It’s clear that you don’t just pick generic products from a catalog and slap your logo on them. What is the product development process like? Long, it takes us over a year to design and deliver our range from concept to the store floor. It’s very hands-on, & one of the toughest industries to make it in. Stats for clothing companies making it beyond five years are very low, which is why were so stoked to be celebrating our 10th year next Summer in 2008.



How hard was it to source all of the manufacturers and eventually drop a complete cut and sew line?

It’s really just time. Finding factories are a dime a dozen, but producing clothing to spec is very hands on, and a lot can and does go wrong, especially with the tight timelines our industry work on. Harder than that yet has been educating dealers on the clothing industry, and getting bike shops to get out of the dark ages. But, with the expertise of our riders and sales team who are always on the road, we're cracking the code.

One thing I hear from people here on the East Coast is that Sombrio gear can sometimes be hard to find. Do you guys handle all of your distribution in house? What should riders do if their shop doesn’t carry Sombrio?

This has been the challenging part. Sombrio has been widely available in the US for over a year now, but we hesitate to open new accounts where we don’t have reps, as we fear the lack of hands on service might be a mis-representation of the brand, as well; being a small company we can't afford (YET) to finance the terms that all of our larger competitors (Fox, TLD etc) offer. But, with each season we add more sales reps, and grow enough to accommodate more ‘A’ grade accounts in the US. In addition we’ve added a US warehouse, a US distributor (BTI), and have a number of new reps on board and always looking to entertain more prospects. In addition, we have a dialed web store that can ship product anywhere in the US & Canada overnight, provided we have that stock, so it’s just a click away and it’s also a home for our Happenings and all the cool shit, that’s going on in our world.

Eric Porter is one of the newer additions to the team. How did that come about? Will the team expand to include more street/dirt oriented riders in the future?

Sombrio has been able to make it on the backs of some of the finer riders in the industry, because they were looking for something cool that didn’t make them look like dorks. Eric was a friend from years past on the circuit, and it was an easy fit. Every year we grow, and I put more back into the team pool, so we’ll always have the best riders & personalities representing us on their bikes. Some are street/dirt, others big mountain, some contest, and some film only.

There is an “artist collaborative” link on the site that says “coming soon”. It seems like the big trend these days is for clothing companies to collaborate with artists on product design. What artists will you be working with? What motivated you to branch out and get some additional creative influences?
Pushing the graphic element of Sombrio has always been at the forefront for us. It doesn’t come easy, but worth it’s weight in gold. Our art director, has been on board since day on, back in 1998, and has been the back bone of Sombrio’s look. Last year we introduced the idea of creating an artist collaborative, with the simple idea that we have a growing need for more contributions to our products, and what a perfect way to help an up-and-coming artist get their name out there, and for us to showcase their work. The 2007 range had collaborative graphics from Robbie Maestas and Joshua Smith and was well received. We like the idea of those that help us build our look to profit themselves in other ways, as well as Sombrio. We had a lot of contributions through the site last year, and are working on unveiling a refined version of the Artist Collaborative later in 2007. But without letting the cat out of the bag, it will be launched as a contest and this platform will be like no other. I look forward to unveiling it!

What can we expect in the future from Sombrio?
I’m ten years in and still a grain of sand on the beach. We expect big things at Sombrio. First & foremost we hope to bring our vision of subversive clothing for the mountain culture enthusiast to a broader group of people, so they too can experience and be drawn in to the life that were fortunate enough to live on the coast of BC. Productwise, the line is growing in leaps every year, but expect more youth sizing for the young shredders, a broader range of girls specific riding apparel (+ a girls-only website and team) all which is very fashion forward and spearheaded by a long time riding friend (Andrea). Plus, we’ve been working hard with suppliers to source more sustainable fabrics for the range, which you can read all about at http://www.sombriocartel.com/about.html We’re also developing some state of the art new armor, and looking at some interesting new product categories as well as cross over into selective action sports outside of Bike. But as a rider-owned company I’m not in a hurry and we’ll get there when the time is right and the athletes have our backs, or should I say, we have theirs.

Thanks/shout outs?
Everyone at Sombrio for helping build the cause, Carmen and my folks & everyone who’s purchased Sombrio and continues to support the brand & our mission! And thanks Ryan for the exposure, the site looks tight, nice work!