A person by the name of Will Keating
Hi,
This is Kari-Kari from Yoyogi-park store.
Do you guys know about him in the picture?
I’m sure that some of you have known him from our contents, or if you’re a fan of Rivendell Bicycle Works.
His name is Will Keating.
One of the staffs of Rivendell Bicycle Works from Walnut Creek, San Francisco.
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I remember that it was just the other day when he visited Japan with his boss, Grant Petersen.
(Thank you so much for gathering around!)
Today, I’m going to focus on himself.
Because I’m a fan of him and have been influenced by his style and other aspects.
I think he played a huge part in me loving Rivendell.
But when you look for him, there’s surprisingly little information out there.
He hates SNS and doesn’t use that kind of tools like Instagram. His private life remains a mystery.
(He said like quitting SNS made his life over 70% richer lol)
I wanted to know more about Will, so I checked Rivendell website, searched his friends’ Instagrams (dangerous guy lol), and took screenshots and zoomed in on him and his bike whenever he appeared on Calling in Sick YouTube videos.
Even so, the information I could get was still limited.
So, taking advantage of his visit to Japan this time, I interviewed him in a Q&A style!
Just as I wanted to know more about Mr. Will, I’m sure many of you feel the same way.
And for those who still don’t know much about him or Rivendell, I hope this becomes an opportunity for you to learn more.
Following “W” means Will and “K” means Kari-Kari.
Q. May I ask your name and age? Also, what is your role for Rivendell?
A. I’m Will Keating, 37 years old. I’m working as a general manager for Rivendell. I’m mainly in charge of the weekly newsletter, managing the photo contents on the website and overseeing the website operation.I also handle communications with dealers like BLUE LUG, and answer various customer inquiries (technical questions, product details, frame-related topics), so I wear many hats.
I often get to go on business trip like this! Mainly to our manufacturing partners in Taiwan and to bike shows a few times a year.
Q. How many years have you been at Rivendell?
A. This is my 13th year right now. My senior staffs are Grant, Mark, Rich, John, Vince and Harry.
Q. Where are you originally from? Do you remember your childhood?
A. I’m from Los Angeles. Childhood…I was a problem child who was always getting in to trouble, haha. I don’t have any photos of myself as a kid, but my mum probably does. I was just a typical skater kid. I wore baggy pants and worn-out shoes, and had bedhead.
(K) Really? That’s so surprising! You give off a calm and serious impression.
(W) That’s because I’m an adult now, haha. Looking back on those days now, I feel really embarrassed.
Q. So, did you have any dreams for the future back then?
A. Not until I was in fourth grade. I started skateboarding in forth grade and was totally obsessed with it at that time.
I seriously thought I could make a living from skateboarding. But when I was 17 or 18 years old, I realized it wasn’t going to happen for me.
By the way, I learned it from Shin, but you can see young Will skating in this video! I think it’s a DIY video he made with his local drew, but it’s super rare footage for his fans. He shows up here and there throughout the video, so check it out!
Q. I think you’ve been influenced a lot by street culture like skateboarding. Is there anything you’ve learned from that culture?
Also, is there anyone you met there who had a positive influence on you?
A. Sam Muller, I guess.
(K) What does he do?
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(W) He’s a professional photographer based in Los Angeles. He started out his career as a skater and shoots ads for skate companies. I learned the importance of focusing your energy on one thing and pushing it from him. He grew up with cameras around him and has been shooting ever since. I’ve been influenced a lot by his attitude. Whether it’s skating, biking, or photography.
Q. Do you have any hobbies besides riding bikes?
A. i like taking photos with my camera, and lately I’ve enjoyed walking and taking strolls. Also, I’ve recently got interested in welding and have been trying it out. (It seems that he’s learning from “a certain person2, but let me keep that off the record here.) I think the time away from riding a bike is important for me too. When I explore the neighborhood with my camera, or when I have things on my mind, walking often clears my head better rather than riding a bike.
Will actually develops his own photos in his personal darkroom. He kindly took a few of them with his iPhone and sent them over, so please take a look.
Every single one is incredibly cool. I wanna frame them and display them…
(W) The great thing about a film is you don’t have to do anything on your computer. That’s why I don’t have digital copies of the photos I took. Are iPhone pictures okay? I mostly take pictures of buildings. Sometimes I take photos of friends and strangers too. Taking photos is fun even if i don’t have a use for them. i have tons of negatives at home that never got printed, but I don7t regret taking those photos.
I printed everything on pure white paper, but for some reasons, photos takes with my iPhone came out kind of brownish.
Q. What got you into riding bikes? Also, do you remember what you rode back then?
A. I was driving to college in san Francisco, but it got annoying having to find parking lot every time, so I bought an old Raleigh bike and started commuting on that. i think it was a Raleigh Royal road bike with a mid-reach calipers.
I don’t have any photos from back when I rode it, but the very first Raleigh Royal bike I rode was this one! I think it was a pretty good choice for someone like me who knew nothing about bikes. I remember the 35mm tires fit with plenty room to spare.
A little while later, I started working at a surfwear brand (RVCA) shop. All my co-worker there were into NJS bikes and Italian road bikes, so I jumped on that bandwagon too. I was riding a size 62 De Rosa back then, but as I rode it more, I realized I actually preferred a chill bike could handle thicker tires.
After that, I became a bit of a touring bike geek. I got totally hooked on Miyata bikes in particular.
I rode the “610” model bike to the bone. I did some serious touring on it too. (↑ MIYATA catalog photo from back then. The bike pictured below.)
(W) This touring passion is what led me to discover Rivendell.
(K) Will’s journey to Rivendell… so hot!!!
Q. By the way, did you ever ride a track bike?
A. No, I moved to San Francisco in 2009, and they were popular then. I didn’t ride one back then. Like I mentioned earlier, I started with a road bike, and after that I rode touring bikes, I guess.
Q. One more question about track bikes. The 2015 MASH premiere feels like it hit your generation right on the nose. Were you involved in that scene back then? You’re probably close in age to MASH riders like Dylan Buffington.
A. I just recently watched the MASH videos. That’s exciting. Riding down San Francisco hills with no brakes? That’s insane, haha. I’d be too scared to do that. I wasn’t riding track bikes back then, so I didn’t have any direct connection to that scene.
Q. How did you meet Rivendell and what led you to start working there?
A. I started riding bikes more often and began looking for a good bike. But I’m tall, so all the bikes in the market were too small, and I couldn’t find one that fit me properly.
One day I stumbled upon Rivendell website! Seeing that double top tube Homer was such a shock. That was my first encounter with Rivendell, I guess.
(K) Was there a specific reason you started working there?
(W) Umm, not really. I think I just found myself working at Rivendell before I knew it.
(K) By the way, what was the first Rivendell bike you rode?
(W) My first Rivendell was Hunqapillar! The next one is Sam.
Q. you’ve been working at Rivendell for 13 years now. Do you have any memorable moments?
A. Umm, well. Nowadays, many people ride Rivendell bikes and support us, but we’ve been through both good and tough times when the business was really challenging. Those times stick in my mind. Of course, they’re all important memories and experiences now. also, the business trip like this always make unforgettable memories!
Q. Rivendell works with NITTO, but do you personally communicate with them? I believe you’re currently developing a new handlebar with James. Have you been involved with other products before?
A. yeah, we communicate with James through Shin (a.k.a Colonel from our global team) right now. It’s mostly just the handlebar we’re designing right now. I was involved in developing the Billie bar too.
(K) So, the handlebar you’re designing right now is the one James has on his own Platypus, right?
(W) That’s right, it’s James bar. That’s only a working name and the actual model number would be RBW-33. James can even draw up blueprints using CAD.
(K) James can do that too? He is the true all-rounder as stated on the website.
(W) Yeah, it should make for a really nine handlebar.
(K) I’m really looking forward to it!
(W) Lately, I’ve been doing frame design too! I got to design the new Yellowolley which is currently in prototyping. In the US, a lot of complete bikes are painted in yellow, and Grant wasn’t really into yellow frames, but he seems to have frown to like them as we went through the prototyping process. At first, he was totally against it, lol.
(K) Thank you for answering so many questions! Now for the last one.
Q. What does Grant Petersen mean to you?
A. You already know that, right?
(K) Yeah, you’re right.
(W) Umm, well, first of all, he’s very kind. He has a clear vision for the future and looks ahead. Working together, we sometimes collide with each other, but it’s always trivial thing. I feel like we understand each other. He’s a very important person to me.
(K) Thank you so much, Will! Could you give a message for Rivendell fans in Japan?
(W) Firstly, thank you so much for always supporting us. I always enjoy coming to Japan and seeing everyone’s bikes. Especially, BLUE LUG carries the numerous number os items, so it’s exciting to see Rivendell bikes built in so many different ways. Also, I think bikes are perfect for the city like Tokyo. I hope you all keep enjoying riding your bikes. Thank you!
Will, thank you so much for taking time for us in your packed schedule!
How was it?
I think everyone got to know him much better from his personal topics and his daily work.
I didn’t know much about it either, so getting this opportunity made me love Rivendell and Will even more. (This picture is also my treasure.)
Someday, I’d like to visit Rivendell headquarters in the US too.
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And during this interview, another exciting project has been launched!
It involves having Will choose a whole parts for his favorite Rivendell frame!
We’re calling it “Will’s choice of Rivendell”.
That is also an exciting topic, so I’ll introduce it soon in the next blog. Stay tuned!
Thank you for reading.
Kari-Kari
