Don't miss Matt Striker's interview with Chris Callen from Cycle Source Magazine! Chris Callen will reveal what is going to happen at Sturgis Live! 80 Years in a Day? What can you expect?
Matt Striker: August 19th Cycle Source magazine presents Sturgis Live 80 years in a day, and joining us right now from Cycle Source is Chris Callen. Chris, thanks so much for your time.
Chris Callen: I'm glad to be here it's really strange and unusual times for the motorcycling culture but it's also a really great time too. The technology today that's pushing us to go into all these different media.
Matt Striker: So let's talk about the event. August 19th at 7 o'clock. It's basically all access pass to the 80th anniversary of American tradition. The Sturgis route.
Chris Callen: When you know the biggest thing about that, like a lot of the people that I know in the industry have asked me, why FITE? This is literally the fight for survival. For people that don't know or aren't closely associated with the motorcycle event experience. Basically, it's canceled this year. There's almost no other large scale motorcycle event that's going on throughout the country, and it doesn't look like there'll be any for the rest of the year. So Sturgis is it for us, and how more perfect. I mean Sturgis, the region that's there, only been 80 years of motorcycle history there. This is a region of the country that was built out of the enduring pioneer spirit of survivalists and people that were willing to put everything on the table and take a shot to get a little more out of life. It's the same kind of thing that goes on today, hundreds of years later.
Matt Striker: Talk about the culture a little bit because a lot of times I feel that it could be misunderstood. This is about brotherhood. This is about unity. And this is about love, is it not?
Chris Callen: It is. And I mean, that's what we're most proud about. You know, We've exemplified these attributes through the pages of our magazine for 22 years. But through this new media, we have an opportunity to show people that might not necessarily walk in our room for a little bit. We can show them what we really are because you get this stereotype that you know Sturgis is just this wild, chaotic party and, you know, show after show that that will bring you the crazy drunk, naked people start just getting arrested. And there is that. I mean, that's there's part of Sturgis. It's always gonna be wild off the hook, but there's a metaphysical connection there, you know there's no mistake. I mean, you go to Sturgis for the first time for the party and the craziness you keep coming back because you realize the depth of the history and the spirituality and the things that happen. It's truly one of the most unique places on planet Earth.
Matt Striker: What is it about the black hills of South Dakota that can be captured? The scenery is one thing, but there is a mystique there, is it not? You capture it in the magazine, we're going to see it and feel it on August 19th as well.
Chris Callen: Well, I think that the big thing there is, like I said, that that couple hundred years of history where, you know, these were people that left basically the civilization behind them, you know, they went out and search of something more, whether it was their fortunes, place where they could disappear, you know that this was gamblers and pioneers and people that launched businesses that became industries. But they left everything behind to get there. So in a small way, that survival dynamic still exists Today, When you leave your front door and you get on your motorcycle and you had for the Black Hills, you're going out to find more, you know? So we're hoping to bring that were absolutely gonna bring the history of all these little towns how they came about because men It was a rough and rumble on the edge kind of culture that surrounded all of that. That's why Sturgis is what it is.
Matt Striker: Talk to us a little bit about the guys from Sin Central, the Sin Central garage. What's their role here with this?
Chris Callen: Well, Pat Jansen's one of our main on air personalities through this, and Pat's well versed in, in all things combustion engine. He does Hot Rod stuff. He does motorcycles and he's going out not just after the history, but after the current events and what's happening. He's gonna be at the drag race trip. He's gonna be at the Jack Pine Gypsies for the hill climbs in the flat track races. He's going to go into all parts of that because at the end of the day, what we come together for and celebration here is the motorcycle. So you know, all the way back in the history of Sturgis it started with a small group of people, a gentleman by the name of Pappy Hoel, who brought together the Jack Pine Gypsies and celebrated the motorcycle culture and they had like, nine racers, show up to their first race. And he rode through a flaming board wall, you know, and ever since then we've been adding to what Sturgis looks like and who the players are. But that's still the spirit that's behind it today. So we're going after all of it.
Matt Striker: Where can people find you online? And where can they access the magazine as well?
Chris Callen: cyclesource.com - We do everything through that. That's kind of like our portal. We broadcast five different live talk shows a week. It all goes through that site, and through our social media - cyclesource or cyclesource magazine.
Matt Striker: Any final words before I let you go?
Chris Callen: We've made media partners out of the biggest institutions in Sturgis. The Buffalo Chip, The Full Throttle Saloon, Broken Spoke Saloon. So those giant names of the big companies that make this motor run. They're all our media partners. So we're gonna be on the scene there, too. Our boy Jack is coming in, and he's gonna have all the handle on the live events and take you through all the bike shows. There are some fantastic shows that gonna be happening. We're gonna take you on every epic ride that there is in Sturgis from the Badlands, through the Black Hills, Van Auker Canyons, Spearfish Canyon. You won't miss a spot in these 180 minutes. Collapse
