Last Monday, I was sitting in auditorium seating next to framebuilders, brand owners, and industry colleagues for a keynote talk from Jürgen Wolf of Homeboy Apparel during DT Swiss's 7th Annual Craft Bike Days.

I immediately noticed the Homeboy logo on the backs of DT Swiss colleagues when I walked in. They all had Homeboy x DT Swiss hoodies. I quickly learned that Homeboy was a cult German streetwear brand on its second wind. Its founder would be doing the keynote talk of the day. I was intrigued.

Right before Jürgen went on stage, Rob & I struck up a convo with him and got glimpse into the guy that was about to stun us with decades of business lessons learned, hillarious jokes and inspiring stories.

If you too are unfamilar with Homeboy, this Jenkem Mag interview is a good place to start.

I've had Jürgen's talk on my mind all week, so I thought to share three key memories emblemized with familiar truisms from his presentation here:

1. With every closed door, a new one opens: In the early to mid-80s, Jürgen was building a company that imported skate, surf & motocross brands as a distributor and sales agent. His next brand to bring to Germany was going to be Stussy. Inadvertently, he offended Shawn Stussy by not wanting the whole upcoming collection and was abruptly escorted out. Being in LA, he went to the beach, rented a surfboard, and while sitting on the beach, heard the word 'homeboy'. He learned it meant a close friend from your neighborhood from a local, and the idea for Homeboy, the brand, was born.
2. All you really need is a story: ok, here's the grey area; he told shops that Homeboy was a brand from the USA. Jürgen was keen to fill the slot Stussy was expected to fill, so he created a brand. It sold like crazy, and though he ultimately came clean about the fabricated roots of the brand (that it was from a crew from NYC that loved skatboarding & BMX), Jürgen had already built a brand that even Cypress Hill & Old Dirty Bastard thought was cool.
3. Attitude is everything: fast-forward to the late 90s and leading up to the dot-com boom & bust. Jürgen bet on the internet and lost, like so many back then. He had faced numerous setbacks in his career, and even this massive loss was something he overcame. It was nice to hear about how his positive outlook kept things moving forward for him over the years, throughout all his ups and downs. He for sure had some nail-biter moments!

I can't support fabricating your brand story per sé, but every brand has some embellished tales of its roots to win over people with money in suits. I would definitely love to have Jürgen on the Mechanics of Joy now to hear the story again, and I plan to cop some Homeboy gear for the kids (and maybe me) for Christmas!

Thank you for reading & have a good week,

Jon

p.s.

I'm seeing Turnstile tonight & High Vis is one of the openers! 4th time Turnstile & 2nd time High Vis! I'm going with Kristy's oldest son, Rowan. He's 23 today! Happy bday, Rowan! On Friday, I'll see Angel Du$t & Ovlov & on Sunday, Sweet Pill with my son Otto in Florida. Big week for sick shows!

p.p.s.

Jimbo is freelance, sports are a political vehicle, the problem with N+1, Surya Bikepacking: Pause, Breathe, and Remember, Adaptable under pressure: Inside Gravaa's tyre pressure adjustment technology, It's Not About Gear — It’s About Belonging, how much creativity comes from curiosity, community, and the people who push you to see things differently & how important it is to put your name on your work.

November

• 🇳🇱 12 Wheelrunner Wednesday Ride (Weekly at 6:30am)
• 🇬🇧 13-15 Rouleur Live w/ Remco Tools & Gravaa
• 🇳🇱 16 AMS CX COMP | WV DE AMSTEL – OUDERKERK AAN DE AMSTEL
• 🇳🇱 23 AMS CX COMP | WV AMSTERDAM – SPORTPARK SLOTEN
• 🇳🇱 30 AMS CX COMP | FC TRAPPIST – ‘T TWISKE

December

• 🇳🇱 7 AMS CX COMP | ARC ULYSSES
• 🇳🇱 12 Twotone 11 Year Party | Food, beverages, tattoos & live music!
• 🇳🇱 14 AMS CX COMP | ASC OLYMPIA – SPORTPARK SLOTEN
• 🇳🇱 20 AMS CX COMP | ZWC DTS (Evening Edition!)
• 🇳🇱 31 AMS CX COMP | WV AMSTERDAM – SPORTPARK SLOTEN

January

• 🇳🇱 4 AMS CX COMP | UWTC – UITHOORN
• 🇧🇪 16-18 Velofollies

Bikes

The Paperclip Issue One | Pre-Order

Golden Pogi Unveiled in The United Arab Emirates

"It's unclear how much actual gold has been used for the statue. The UAE doesn't produce any gold so would have had to import it. They could have potentially acquired it from Sudan, one of Africa's biggest exporters of the metal which is just across the Red Sea, and coincidentally where the UAE is currently sponsoring the massacres being carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the ongoing civil war there, with reports that in one maternity hospital alone almost 500 patients and their families were killed.

But as long as Pogačar has his golden statue and big salary, none of that stuff really matters, does it?"

Taylor Phinney / And everything in between

Taylor Phinney / And everything in between

Taylor Phinney, former professional cyclist and now artist, DJ and trail builder, shares insights on his life in Girona, balancing creative pursuits with personal reflections on cycling and relatio…

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Ideas

It's Nice to Be Important, but It's More Important to Be Nice.

The Future of Advertising Is AI-Generated Ads That Are Directly Personalized to You

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“Advertisers are increasingly just going to be able to give us a business objective and give us a credit card or bank account, and have the AI system basically figure out everything else.”

404 MediaJason Koebler

Heartworm Press Welcomes Sonny Hall

Welcome Sonny Hall to Heartworm

Heartworm Press is honored to announce the signing of poet Sonny Hall for his forthcoming collection Double Double, arriving in early 2026. Sonny Hall, 27, began writing poetry at 17 as a way to confront addiction and loss with unfiltered honesty. His debut collection The Blues Comes With Good News was self-published i

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Friends

Doubling up in Death Valley

The Team That Made Cycling Fun Again: Inside the Rise and Pause of LA Sweat

Joachim Baan's 10 Fav Newsletters | Honorable Mention

Radness

RANDO TXIKI

Thank you very much for reading!
Here's to finding the good news that comes with the blues this week!