Race Face's Demise - An Insiders' View

Why would Pollack take a hit? Look at it from his (rather slightly
self centered) perspective…

My business is going down the tubes, I owe millions and they want to
cut my pay. So now I have to make a decision. Do I take a cut, have
the bank control how I do things, and still have a big chance of losing
everything. Or, do I just say fuck it, and keep what I have in the bank
since I am a contractor so that $$ is safe and start another business?
Knowing that most people on this planet don't do on nsmb and will only
know the "big bad bank" shut RF down, I can start another company saying
that I was the originator of RF and they will flock to my product and
I can start this all over again….in China with no Canadian overhead
and zero debts.

The very sad reality of it is that this guy will start another company
and while we won't buy any of their products (at least most of us)
the vast majority of mtbers will just because he was the originator
of RF.

this thread has become poisonous (TM)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Press_Freedom_Index Looks like Finland is
the place to be in media.

totally, the Scandinavian countries are doing a lot of things right imo.

Why would Pollack take a hit? Look at it from his (rather slightly
self centered) perspective…

My business is going down the tubes, I owe millions and they want to
cut my pay. So now I have to make a decision. Do I take a cut, have
the bank control how I do things, and still have a big chance of losing
everything. Or, do I just say fuck it, and keep what I have in the bank
since I am a contractor so that $$ is safe and start another business?
Knowing that most people on this planet don't do on nsmb and will only
know the "big bad bank" shut RF down, I can start another company saying
that I was the originator of RF and they will flock to my product and
I can start this all over again….in China with no Canadian overhead
and zero debts.

The very sad reality of it is that this guy will start another company
and while we won't buy any of their products (at least most of us)
the vast majority of mtbers will just because he was the originator
of RF.

Well said. I don't agree with it either, but is is strictly business.
The scary part is we WILL buy his crap and not know it most likely. He may already be involved in an up-and-coming company. money talks. Actually, his money already spoke…
I know, I know.. "show me the PROOF".
He doesn't have to go to China. He could, let's say, go to Michigan. just sayin…. hypothetically.

Ah… to be young again.

Raceface being worth 10mil/year or what ever… its not uncommon for owners of private buisnesess to take 10% of the value as income. And to question if he was worth 400k/year, lets see you have the capacity and knowledge to grow a company to that value. It was his company, he could do as he felt.

Was he a douche? Well I didn't work for him so I cant say. Obviously he had created a work enviroment that had a lot of people wanting to work for RF and did for over 15yrs.

When I was younger, it was my dream to be able to machine for the bike industry. I got into the trade cause of company's like RF. I started back when RF was in the back corner of Rocky.

But machining for the bike industry is very cut throat. Usually the vender shops that are machining for the industry don't have premium wage or benifits because the bike company's aren't offering the venders much to machining their product in order to compete with the Over Seas market. And to add to it, local venders will try undercut each other to get the contracts, which makes margins super tight. Sometimes taking a lost in hopes to get other work. I can remember way back machining thousands of RF headset cups. The shop had agreed to making them for $2 per set, just so we could get the contract.

Anyone remember Kooka? I worked for an A-hole that bought that company when it went under the first time. And he ended up closing the doors also not long after. When I think back, the writting was on the wall. And the employees knew it but ignored it. That experience taught me that a job is a job. And sometimes you have to think about paying your bills first and your passions second. I will no longer work for any shop that machines for the bike industry. A)the money isn't there and B)its not as glamours as people romance it to be. And RF was just another machine shop the way I see it.

Im not saying that the RF employees are to blame. It comes down to the guys at the top running the show. Guys at the bottom can put their heart and soul into something. But in the end its in vain cause their not running the show. It sucks not having a job. I hope all of them find something within the local industry.

Dear Syncro,

I appreciate your comments and feedback.
the FO part was uncalled for, but does show your level of social intellect and lack of riding skills.

Nobody here knows what the the RF employees had to deal with, except the RF employees themselves. As stated, some of them worked for RF for many, many years. they were obviously happy.

Orr, maybe not as you imply. Maybe they "didn't feel empowered to speak up etc etc blah spew"/ really dude?

Again, right or wrong, the CEO may be a douche. I'm sure he is. Like many other company owners. But be honest… this was not an overnight thing. That's all I'm saying. And it wasn't JUST him. I'm sure there are many other people involved at RF that would make your stomach turn. believe me, I know for a FACT.

Business is a tough place. It's getting tougher and tougher to make money and lot's of it. You have to keep your eyes open.

lol @ the social intellect part as you conveyed similar sentiments in your post, albeit in a more covert way. i don't need to hide feelings and have no shame in admitting when i'm wrong.

don't know what riding skills has to do with it but i'm fine with the level i'm at and am not worried about the lack of some skills i don't have. which again makes me lol @ the social intellect comment - it makes you look like even more of a smarmy dickhead.

you're right that we don't know what a lot of the R/F employees felt. for some of them who may have just been getting by in a job they loved i'd say there's a fair chance they wouldn't want to rock the boat and risk their employment. i also agree that it probably wasn't just pollack, and i didn't say that. but the guy running the show has the biggest influence on the fortunes of the company - to that end he has unstated social responsibility to the people helping him get rich, more than just a paycheque.

also true that business is a tough place, and trying to maintain a balance between greed and being a socially responsible entity can be difficult.

Well said. I don't agree with it either, but is is strictly business.

this is the problem - making things just business - people out to make as much as they can and who cares about whomever they step on getting there.

EDIT

ps - one other thing about your "social intellect". i've waged this debate many times before; for a lot of people using the term gay as an insult is not acceptable.

for that i don't feel like you've got some fucking off to do, you do have some fucking off to do

Anyone remember Kooka?

i remember when they were manufactured by a machine shop on river road (delta); though kooka was just a sideline of theirs at the time (or so it appeared). the machine shop went out of business not too long after kooka disappeared; no idea if the events were interrelated. tough gig so it seems; good to have more substantial industries to keep a machine shop alive. case in point - thomson. curious what the bike split of their manufacturing capacity is.

i remember when they were manufactured by a machine shop on river road (delta); though kooka was just a sideline of theirs at the time (or so it appeared). the machine shop went out of business not too long after kooka disappeared; no idea if the events were interrelated.

Kooka was a side venture that the A-hole of a shop owner thought he could make a go off. We were also doing tens of thousand linkage pieces for Rocky. The bike industry at the time made up 30% of the contracts we had on the floor.
A poorly managed company is still a poorly managed company, doesn't matter what company or industrty its in.

I haven't seen any mention of a "Personal Guarantee" for that outstanding loan. I'd be surprised if Pollack got off scott free here as generally with a loan of that type and magnitude, the lender will require the guys at the top to personally be liable. The bank will be coming after what they're owed, especially if the liquidation falls short of repaying the debt.

Time will tell I guess.

this thread has become poisonous (TM)

not quite yet. the google ads are still relevant to mountain biking rather than legal help.

I haven't seen any mention of a "Personal Guarantee" for that outstanding loan. I'd be surprised if Pollack got off scott free here as generally with a loan of that type and magnitude, the lender will require the guys at the top to personally be liable. The bank will be coming after what they're owed, especially if the liquidation falls short of repaying the debt.

ding ding ding ding ding

Wish I could elaborate but all I've heard is rumors from some of the other people placing bids. I wouldn't worry too much about him starting another company if what I've heard is true…

That's slightly more common for smaller loans at smaller companies, but I doubt Pollack was personally liable for any of the $2.5mm. As noted in Cam's article, the loan was secured by product inventory (some of which turned out to be junk… I wonder if there were any bar ends in there…)
Sure, Pollack sounds a little shady here, but I think it's also fair the question the governance of the company at this point. The board exists to prevent a single person from destroying a company. Who were the board members? Were they also unaware? What was their compensation? Were they all buddies of Pollack?

On-One

The Gimp!

Quite the story, thanks for sharing Cam.

Wasn't Kooka somehow related to FJ at some point?