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AMA Champion Roland Sands and Nitro Circus star Andy Bell team up

By General Posts

Roland Sands, left, Andy Bell and Erik Bond inside the joint headquarters of Roland Sands Design and Sweatpants Media

from https://lbbusinessjournal.com/ by Brandon Richardson

‘Nitro Circus’ star, ex-motorcycle racer team up to open creative business campus in Zaferia

A gearhead and an adrenaline junkie meet at a trade show. There is no punchline.

Andy Bell and Roland Sands hit it off immediately nearly 20 years ago and have been friends ever since. The two went on to create separate businesses—Roland Sands Design and Sweatpants Media—and, after years of operating out of their respective headquarters, have come together to create a joint home base in Long Beach’s Zaferia neighborhood.

The companies together purchased a multi-building property at 1365 Obispo Ave. with a vision for a creative campus. Along with their firms, the graphics company Spin Imaging and Moxi Roller Skates also will call the campus home in a building separate from Sands’ and Bell’s space.

“We just wanted like-minded but different companies here to fuel a vibe of people that are stoked and doing rad stuff,” Bell said.

“People we can hang out with,” Sands added. “Fabrication, 3D fabrication, film, photography, graphics, printing—it’s all here. Almost any project is possible here, and that’s a pretty special thing.”

The friends almost missed out on the space, Sands said. The building was listed in 2018, but he was not in a position to take on the project by himself—and Bell was not ready to jump into such a massive undertaking. But when another buyer went into escrow on the site, the pair said they instantly knew they made a mistake.

“This place was built in the ’40s, and it’s gorgeous,” Sands said.

After months in escrow, the deal fell through, and Bell and Sands pounced. They bought the property for about $3 million in July 2019.

The Roland Sands Design custom motorcycle shop inside the company’s new Long Beach headquarters

The tenant had a few months left on their lease, so the roughly $2.5 million buildout did not get underway until just before the pandemic, which slowed progress on the rehab. But after nearly two years, the companies are celebrating their grand opening Saturday.

The space features a retail store (open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), a screening theater, 3D and other fabrication facilities, a wood-working space, a motorcycle garage, design rooms and a slew of offices. It also includes a bar, a two-chair barbershop for special events for clients that could also be utilized by a tattoo artist, and dozens of motorcycles and helmets on display.

A third building is currently set up as a jam space for musician friends of Bell and Sands. The room has a stage and is full of vintage and modern musical equipment. The two said they have toyed with the idea of turning it into a legitimate music venue, but that won’t happen until well into the future, if at all.

Bell and Sands each had a career riding motorcycles—the latter racing on the roads of the U.S., the former flying through the air in freestyle motocross—before they met each other in the early 2000s at a motorcycle trade show in Indianapolis.

Sands, a Long Beach native, grew up around motorcycles.

“I was fully immersed in the culture because my dad was in the motorcycle industry,” Sands said, adding that he would work in his dad’s shop as a kid.

In 2005, after a racing career that included winning the 1998 American Motorcyclist Association 250cc Grand Prix Championship, Sands turned his success—and name—into a brand. The firm specializes in creating custom bikes and parts (some of which are 3D-printed). The company has grown to include a clothing and apparel line as well as a racing team.

Bell, meanwhile, was not so much into the technical side of the sport.

“I’m more of an adrenaline junkie,” Bell said, sitting in his new office complete with a beer tap. “I never liked building and working on the s—, I liked riding and jumping them.”

After his professional freestyle motocross career, Bell went on to become a stuntman, appearing on numerous TV shows and films, including “Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory” and “Jackass 3D.” Most notably, Bell starred in the “Nitro Circus” films and MTV series alongside Travis Pastrana and a host of other extreme-sport athletes.

Bell founded Sweatpants Media in 2012.

“I needed a change from getting hurt for a living and all the crap we used to do,” Bell said. “I didn’t know anything about production, but I’d been around it as talent. I’ve never owned a real business before and a decade later, here we are.”

Today, Sweatpants has numerous high-end clients, including Toyota, Red Bull, Mercedes, Lexus and Japanese powertool manufacturer Makita. With over 15 million views on YouTube, Sweatpants’ “The Pitch” for Toyota was the most widely viewed commercial in the U.S. in the third quarter, Bell said.

“The Pitch” – 2022 Toyota GR Supra Commercial by Sweatpants Media (15 million+ views since June 2021)

Bell and Sands try to utilize each other and their respective businesses as much as possible. The companies have teamed up on projects, including creating a custom bike for BMW with an accompanying video. After the premiere, the pair and their wives rode BMW bikes around Italy’s Lake Como.

On another project, Sweatpants flew three Toyota trucks into Vietnam and then drove them across the country. Sands and Bell were two of the three drivers who made the trek.

“We don’t like to fake s—,” Bell said. “Instead of pretending we were in Vietnam and pretending we flew trucks under helicopters, we actually did it. There is a tinge of adventure in everything we do.”

“We like to combine work and play,” Sands added.

Sands convinced Bell to move into a house around the corner from his on Naples Island in 2010. The best friends were neighbors for years before Sands moved to Park Estates.

For the last 12 years, Los Alamitos was home to Sands’ business, but he said he has always wanted to open a space in his hometown, closer to where he lives. For nearly nine years, Sweatpants operated out of the historic Villa Riviera in Downtown. But the two are looking forward to the quasi-business merger.

“We’re stoked. It’s fun being best friends and business partners,” Bell said. “There’s a little bit of yelling and a lot of hugging; a lot of wanting to punch each other and then a lot of wanting to drink beers together.”

“Thankfully for us,” Sands added, “we want to drink with each other more than we want to fight.”

The Roland Sands Design retail space at the company’s new joint headquarters with Sweatpants Media

Harley-Davidson Named an Official OEM Partner of American Flat Track for 2019

By General Posts

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (April 2, 2019) – American Flat Track and Harley-Davidson® Motor Company announce today a continuation of their long-standing partnership for 2019. Previously the Official Motorcycle of the AFT Twins class, the American motorcycle icon will now join AFT’s existing family of partners as an Official OEM Partner of American Flat Track.

Celebrating its 116th year of manufacturing, the Milwaukee-based Fortune 500 company has been at the heart of professional flat track since its beginnings. 

“Harley-Davidson has supported the sport of American Flat Track for decades,” said Michael Lock, CEO of American Flat Track. “Our fans understand the deep affection Harley-Davidson has for America’s Original Extreme Sport and their iconic XR750 dominated the field for so long that it has become the most successful racing motorcycle of all time. Without Harley-Davidson this sport would not be here to enjoy its current resurgence and we are delighted to continue that partnership.”

As American Flat Track enters its 66th consecutive year of competition, Harley-Davidson looks to continue to build its AFT Twins presented by Vance & Hines program. Hosting two of the sports strongest riders – Sammy Halbert and Jarod Vanderkooi – aboard the newly-improved Harley-Davidson XG750R, the Factory Harley-Davidson effort has already boasted three top-10 finishes in 2019.

“Harley-Davidson is excited to once again collaborate with American Flat Track to extend the Harley-Davidson’s legacy and commitment to professional flat track racing,” said Eric Jensen, Brand Marketing Lead for Harley-Davidson. “Our dealers, employees and customers continue to enjoy the competition and entertainment provided by the series, and the inspiration that brings to the next generation of riders.”

Throughout the season, camera crews for American Flat Track’s coverage on NBCSN will capture the action of the Harley-Davidson Factory riders both on and off the track. Additionally, fans on social media will have full access to behind-the-scenes content through Harley-Davidson’s social media channels.

The 2019 season continues on April 20 with the Texas Half-Mile presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys at Texas Motor Speedway. Watch as AFT Twins and Roof Systems presented by Russ Brown Motorcycle Attorneys AFT Singles competitors bang bars in the hunt for the championship. Do not miss the premiere of the AFT Production Twins class at this iconic racetrack in the heartland of Texas. Tickets available now at www.americanflattrack.com.

For more information on Harley-Davidson, visit www.harley-davidson.com.

For more information on American Flat Track visit www.americanflattrack.com.

To get the latest American Flat Track clothing and merchandise visit www.americanflattracker.com.

How to Watch:

NBCSN and FansChoice.tv are the official homes for coverage of American Flat Track. For the 2019 season, NBCSN’s coverage of AFT moves to highly-coveted, weekend afternoon programming slots within two weeks of each event. The complete schedule for AFT on NBCSN can be viewed at http://www.americanflattrack.com/events-nbcsn/. FansChoice.tv remains a cornerstone of AFT’s digital strategy, providing live streaming coverage of every event on AFT’s live page while previous events and exclusive features are available on AFT’s VOD page.