Who Is Spoke Apparel?

Spoke Apparel is a lifestyle clothing company specializing in T-shirt fashion for cycling enthusiasts with a special focus on mountain biking. Our T-shirt artwork explicitly transcends the emotion and mindset that cyclists share. Our designs are distinctive. And each of our T-shirts embodies this distinctiveness through creative and intelligent art work.

The Voice of Mountain Biking.

Our name, Spoke, is a statement conveying the shared culture of cycling. Yes, we are a lifestyle  T-shirt company, but we also work to promote the sport of cycling, and particularly mountain biking, through our blog and through various advocacy efforts. These efforts aim to cultivate MTB lifestyle, fashion, sport, and camaraderie so that our sport continues to grow and new riders continue to take interest.

The Guy That Brings You Spoke Apparel

Blue shirt = rockin' comb-over.

My name is Mike. I’m Spoke Apparel’s brainchild, primary blog author, and founding father. To my friends, and on this site, I go by the name of Fakis. I live in Baltimore, MD where I co-own and co-operate Vitamin, a PR, branding, and web development firm.

Ever since riding became a full time passion of mine, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get closer to the industry. I started by working with cycling-based companies through Vitamin on branding and web development campaigns. We created one or two projects I’m proud of but they didn’t feed my cycling jones. It quickly became clear that I needed to launch my own cycling-focused entity. Spoke Apparel was born.

Some Background on Me

I started riding in 1993. My first bike was a Jazz (Jazz was a side company owned by Trek). I beat that bike into the ground and bought a Schwinn S95.6 when it died. That bike cost me $400 and was my first ”real” bike.

My current stable of bikes includes a SantaCruz Chamelon, Ellsworth Moment and that Schwinn S95.6 (yep, still got it and in cherry condition).

You can contact me directly via email at fakis@spokeapparel.com. You can also find me under the handle meneone at the forums on MTBR.com.

What’s In It For You At SpokeApparel.com

Mountain Biking T-Shirts & Clothing
Spoke Apparel has unique mountain bike T-shirts that perfectly embody the sport. This is the place to buy your mountain biking T-shirts or get that special gift for someone you know that rides. Stay tuned to stay in-the-know on what’s new.

Product Reviews
Anytime I get my grubby little hands on something unique, I’ll do a solid and break down my thoughts on it the best I possibly can. I have a lot of friends scattered throughout the cycling industry who pass down new products and inside knowledge. When I get stuff, you’ll get the scoop. Honestly. Spoke’s core business is mountain bike T-shirts. I’m not selling ad space and I do not have any reason to be influenced by manufacturers. What you read will be the words and reviews of a guy who speaks from the heart and simply loves to ride.

Epic Rides and Photo Journalism
I’m out on the trail two to three times a week and I take many mountain biking vacations throughout the year. My camera is always with me and my thoughts are always on capturing the adventure. When I get back from an epic ride and have a story or some decent shots to share, I’ll post ‘em here.

Industry News
When there’s a hot topic to discuss, I’ll be banging on the keys to get the word out. My relationships include shop owners, frame manufacturers, racers, and even other bloggers.

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