Page 4 - Issue 34

Editor’s Notes

Greatest.

Weekend.

Ever?!
Follow me on Twitter
@EditorStevo

I’m searching for a word to describe the Build-Off weekend, but nothing
seems to fi t. Epic comes to mind… but what we just experienced seems
bigger than that. Awesome, bad-ass, amazing… these all apply, but still
fall short. If you were there, you know what I mean – and maybe no
word is needed. Maybe the experience simply speaks for itself.
This year we wanted to shorten the Tour and make the Build-Off
event as a whole more accessible. Less travel, less expense – more
fun. And wow, the rat rod and motorcycle communities responded.
Powered by two national newsstand magazines and two very kick-ass
cultures, the weekend shattered all our expectations. Our hosts were
amazing, our builders kicked serious butt, and people had a great time
everywhere we went. We could not ask for a better weekend – and
many of us will savor this one for quite a while.
Takeaway #1: People ROCK. I loved seeing all the bikes and
interacting with the motorcycle side of things… that was very cool. The
rat rod contingency was equally strong and the sense of family always
impresses. The way that both the Grafton and St Louis communities
supported these events was refreshing and powerful. In Grafton we
were able to contribute to an economy that was hit hard by fl oods
this year, and in St Louis we watched Sam Shapiro feed thousands
of people and raise a bunch of money for Veterans. This is why we
do what we do – and I will never change my stance on this – it’s for
the people, always, NUMBER ONE. Our readers, our friends, and the
communities we roll into each year. I don’t mind the fi nancial stress as
much when we have support of communities like this, because it is all
worth it in the end.
Takeaway #2: The Build-Off works. I can’t say it enough – we started

4 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE THIRTY-FOUR

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