Full Circle (Sort Of)
From the Editor
The other day while I was sitting in my office our publisher, Jim Adolph, walked in and handed me a brown paper-wrapped package. It seemed oddly shaped to be any sort of motorcycle part or accessory so I was intrigued as to what it might be. Ripping the packaging open I discovered it was a very nicely framed certificate commemorating my 10 years of having worked for the company. As I admired the kind gesture I reflected back over the past decade and how it seemed like those 10 years just flashed by with the blink of an eye—time really does fly when you’re having fun.
In early 2002, after a life-threatening incident with my supervisor, I immediately resigned from the company I was working at. Over the course of the following months, I worked a few odd jobs while constantly searching the big employment sites like Monster and Career Builder for a position where I could utilize my journalism background. Then one day a listing popped up from a publishing company looking for an editor for one of its motorcycle titles. My experience didn’t quite meet all the requirements for the position, but I said, “The hell with it,” and sent them my resume anyway explaining that while I didn’t have all the qualifications, I was more than wiling to start at a lower level position.
A few days later I got a call from the human resources department at the publishing company and was asked to come in for an interview. The interview process took a couple hours as I first met with the human resources department and then spent some time getting interviewed by two different editors from two different magazines, Howard Kelly, editor of HOT BIKE, and John Sullivan, editor of Hot Rod Bikes, (formerly Hot Rod Harleys). After the interviews were over, my mind was wildly racing with thoughts of possibly obtaining the ultimate dream job.
The next couple days were mixed with stress and excitement. It was kind of like when you give a girl your phone number, for the next few days, every time the phone rings you hope to hear her soft and sexy voice. Except, I didn’t care about the sound of the voice on the other end of the line, (they could have sounded like Scott Ferrall for all I cared) I just wanted someone to deliver me some good news. Eventually, the good news did come, and I was offered an entry level position on Hot Rod Bikes.
I quickly meshed with my new boss, John, and our technical editor, Jeff Deasey, as Mark Masker taught me the ropes of all that entailed the duties of my new position. Mark was moving his way up (literally) from being the associate editor on Hot Rod Bikes (located on the seventh floor of our building) to becoming an associate editor on HOT BIKE (located on the 11th floor). Then, a little more than a year later, I too was moved up to work along with Mark and Greg Friend as a fellow associate editor on HOT BIKE.
Over the course of the next few years the mastheads of our magazines (HOT BIKE, Street Chopper, and Hot Rod Bikes) changed with various editors coming, going, or moving amongst the titles. And even Hot Rod Bikes went through a couple name changes from Hot Rod’s Bike Works to what is now our thriving Baggers magazine. In the February 2007 issue of HOT BIKE, many of you may have noticed my mug front and center on the editor’s page. After five years I had finally climbed my way up the ladder to the position that had originally caught my attention that fateful day I was job hunting.
Well, as they say, the only thing that is constant in life is change. And now after serving at the helm of HOT BIKE for a little more than five years (and enjoying every minute of it), I am coming back full circle, (sort of) to the magazine I originally started on. Although it’s not Hot Rod Bikes anymore—and I will be taking over as editor-in-chief, as opposed to my original starting position as editorial assistant—I look forward to this new challenge put before me and the vast array of new content to explore. I’ve had a great time here at HOT BIKE and am excited about what new adventures, features, and tech we can get into with Baggers. I also have the comfort and satisfaction of knowing I’m not going into this new undertaking alone, Jordan is moving over with me as the editor!
So I’ll leave with a simple goodbye and thank you for following along all these years. See you over in Baggerland.
Thanks,
Eric
