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Zink has had one of the most prolific and enduring freeride careers in the industry. He has won Rampages and Crankworx along with probably a dozen other major wins and produced some absolutely iconic movie segments. Given his decades long relationships with Oakley, Deity, TLD and others, the fact that he has moved between frame manufacturers shouldn't be something he is given a hard time for. 8 manufacturers in more than 20 years... most folks have had as many or more employers in a similar timeframe.
All the best to Zink, but doesn't that post sound like he's just throwing shade at all the brands he's worked with in the past? As if they were not "what he was looking for". Or am I reading into this too much? Someone like Gwin would thank the brand they last worked with and move on...
Agree, and (at least in my memory) every separation from a brand has been, if not not acrimonious, very sudden-seeming and w/out any of the "thanks for the support, time for new things" acknowledgments that usually accompany them.
Might just be a personal style thing (and I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong) but people notice stuff that like that.
My favorite reply is the frameworks comment
I’m late to the news, seems like this tit bit went down as well as a fart at a funeral…
He does seem to have a tendency towards the butthurt side of the spectrum.
Was he actually on Devinci for a full year?
Looks like the PR for Devinci was Jan of '22, and he was on YT for 7 years before that
Zink starts his own frame brand, gets dropped mid season.*
*it's a joke
I wish him the best and hope it's something I would be interested in buying.
His graphic would suggest that he's already off the mystery brand...
Just realized he picked “Sledgehammer” for the music track?
Wonder if he’s going to take it off any sweet jumps?
Zink is probably a little more challenging than a lot of riders to deal with because he is so business minded. I don’t think gwin’s record is really much different, which would make sense for the same reason. Cam is just a little rougher around the edges so it comes off a little different. I have listened to quite a few podcasts with him and he has never been disrespectful to anyone that I have heard though.
each brand crossed out with a "Z", clue?
Not sure "a little rougher around the edges" quite captures it: https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/The-Hub,2/2021-Mountain-Bike-Team-Rumor…
Which is?
In 2021 before Zink announced Devinci he was posting about Vacay Bike Company.
The logos were on his helmet and on an otherwise unbranded YT he rode Rampage on.
The instagram profile no longer exists but I wonder if this is a continuation of that or something new?
Are you sure this wasn't just a reference to the washed up video part he dropped, and the move to Maui?
About a 2 year gap between the video part and the posts so I doubt it.
Maybe to do with the move but also don't think so.
Yeah, I remember that name getting thrown around when he was allegedly working on his own bike after YT. I think the trail bike he was riding around that time closely resembled a YT but was actually something of his own, likely a catalog frame of some sort.
Wokeness.
Bike companies railroad riders & racers all day, every day. You could be the easiest to work with, but the bike company is going to shaft you at some point. No way around it. When they want out, they do that passive aggressive post about "Positive Vibes Past. Positive Vibes Moving Forward. Wish "x" well."
Zink & me probably wouldn't be able to stand each other long but I LOVE that guy. He got the heck out of Cali, loves his family, doesn't take crap, gets rowdy & stupid as needed & knows how to calculate risk vs reward.
Long Live Zink!
Screw the Industry butt munches!
Weren’t you gonna take a break from posting stuff like this?
glad to see Zink excited for his future. He deserved some consequences for his actions (dropped from shimano, hyper pulled out of a frame deal). But he seemed genuinely to be sorry and accept his faults and try to change for the better. I may very well end up with a set of his sig cranks on my dh bike. And sensus meaty paws are my favorite grips. Hope cam continues keeping it clean, shredding, and enjoying the good life with his family. His riding speaks for itself and he seems to me to want to be a better role model going forward.
Screw the industry butt munches.
While I think the whole people using Woke is way over used instead of growing your vocabulary to express actual emotion, I do agree over all with bizutch about the rest, the industry for the most part will cap someone whos still extremely useful for no reason to freshen things up for themselves marketing wise and then put out hot trash like headset routing to save money. I get it, its a business but its not a great look. Look at how YT tossed a ton of riders over the years, especially when they tossed Gwin end of a hot season where they were on a roll without a ton of notice. You're only good while they deem you useful for the most part.
The rare exceptions are Rocky with Vanderham, Wade and on and off over the years with Tippie, and GT with Hans and what seems like Wyn and I'm sure there's a few others that aren't popping into my head.
Because riders are kindling for the fire in the company chimney. Not blocks in the foundation of the chimney. Expendable.
Have never heard of a bike company offering riders/racers the option to purchase stock or ownership in the company.
Maybe companies like Crestline have the opportunity to give riders/racers something to build & take pride of ownership in.
They just have to outpace internet consumerism to succeed.
Look dude, I agree with a good portion of your points, but maybe don't go on the internet while drunk
I met Cam whilst riding in the last 12 months and find it hard to believe all the negative takes on him, he was by far the most down to earth, open with information and genuinely interested pro i have ever met; to myself and the guys i was riding with.. which is a stark contrast to some of the other industry big dogs that i have met that have massive media presences but are way less accomplished
Offering riders stock options or equity would be a significant pivot towards worker ownership, aka a co-op or distribution of the means of production. (I would hope under this arrangement, the same would be offered to all employees, not just riders.) Pretty socialist idea you’ve got there — just about the apex of “woke.”
Which way is it, bizutch?
Did I say employees were left out of the employee ownership dream world?
Weird flex.
I see Zink talk pop up every two years or so and I always hold my tongue, but this time I just want to put my experience with him out there because I’d bet I’ve interacted with him more than 90% of the people on here.
I second your experience. I grew up outside of Reno and have bought 3 frames from Zink and ridden/dug at the local trails a few times with him. He is a great guy. I’ve had in depth discussions with him about previous frame sponsors (first bike I bought from him was in 2011 and was his spare felt compulsion from 09). He was made huge promises by a lot of different frame companies that rarely followed through (think signature frames that never left the planning stages, downhill/slopestyle frames that never even got prototyped, travel budgets that never got approved, etc)
Most of his ‘big disses’ after leaving companies were things said to friends that got leaked. He’s definitely got a bit of the old school free ride bro mentality, so it’s not surprising that he would half jokingly bash old companies that dicked him over when speaking to friends. He ‘bashed’ felt when he left, and when I showed up at the local on the compulsion, the trail boss out there was like ‘Yo is that Zinks old compulsion? He loved that thing!’ And continued to tell me stories about young Zink blowing up a frame pumping the shock up above the max psi, and how much he loved it after he figured out you can’t do that. He also told me about how hard it was for Zink when felt pulled the rug out from under him, and how it could lead to what he said in passing to a friend at his new company afterwards.
Through the old school bro front, he’s a super caring and genuine dude. The last frame I got was an ‘Evil’ branded corsair prototype bike. I hadn’t seen the dude in over a year (away at college) and when I showed up at his house, he asked me how school was going and almost remembered the school name (he was off by a letter). He asked about my major, made jokes, gave me a tour of his garage, let me touch his rampage bikes, he was just so genuine and nice the whole time.
I’m also openly gay, and was bummed when I saw the earlier ‘scandal’ but in my interactions with him he was never rude or dismissive of anyone that I had noticed. He never made me or anyone else feel less welcome. Then he dropped his response and it cleared all doubt in my mind. Stand up guy. Everyone makes mistakes. Owning it and doing better is everything, and he more than did that. I cannot support the guy enough.
Now to the rumors because obviously I'm a bit of a Zink fan;
From what I remember, he was starting working on Vacay bikes after YT dropped him. He was getting close to finishing a trail/enduro bike when Davinci reached out with a one to two year loose support contract. It was late enough in the season that Zink shelved vacay and decided to rep Davinci for a rampage or two while he worked out some kinks with starting a company. I don’t think it was meant to ever be a long term deal with Davinci. Zink’s ultimate goal seems to be Vacay bikes. It looks like now the trail bike is finished and should be announced soon, but I heard there were no immediate plans for a downhill frame. Zink has already been seen riding a Frameworks in the off season. It would make sense for him to partner with (or ride a downhill frame from) another local US based frame maker for a solid downhill frame. Then he has time to get his company launched and a first bike out before he can turn his focus to making his own downhill bike.
The end bit is just my theory though. Only time will tell. Whatever he does I’ll be cheering him on all the way! Go Cam Zink!
People read too much into a pic of Zink on a Frameworks. He was at Rock Creek being shown around by Neko. Why wouldn't he take it for a rip?
Who hasn't handed a buddy a rig for some runs?
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