Brandon Turman
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Several years ago, after high school let out, I walked outside and saw one of my friends on top of a bus stop on his bike. I watched in awe as he proceeded to wheelie drop off the edge, perfectly nailing the tiny grass landing. Seeing him do that inspired me to start mobbing around town with him on my dad's rusty old Stumpjumper hardtail, and I've been hooked ever since.

Many months of stair gaps, ledge rides, and countless hucks to flat later, I finally hit the dirt for the first time. Not long after I was lining up at the start line of DH, 4X, and slalom races at the Mountain States Cup Series, where I met many riders that I still call friends today.

I've always had an engineering mindset, taking apart pens as a little kid, tinkering with this or that, seeing how things work... combined with my love of bikes, it eventually led me to pursue mechanical engineering as a degree. In the back of my mind, I always wanted to work for a bike company designing products that make bikes better. Four years, dozens of all-nighters, lots of good times, and a Collegiate Cycling Team Championship Title later, I found myself out of school and on the job hunt. Fun fact: Though I did graduate, I never actually went to the ceremony - I was too busy cheering on our road cycling team.

During this period I used my spare time to dig and ride as much as possible, and it was then that I think I was one of the best riders I'll ever be. I put many, many hours into a local riding spot, hosted dirt jump jams and races, managed a few teams, gave slopestyle a go, and went on several great road trips with lifelong friends.

I'd eventually pick up a job as a design engineer for a robotics company, where my team's task was to create a massive robot capable of dismantling a decommissioned nuclear reactor. Because it was a government job, I eventually grew tired of excessive paperwork requirements and started to look elsewhere.

Eventually, I interviewed with FOX and Vital. Vital won out for several reasons, and though I left a possible career path behind, it has opened my life to some incredible experiences and I enjoyed bringing a unique perspective to my work as Vital's Product Editor for over a decade.

For several years I was lucky to travel around North America in search of the next best riding spot, hidden gems, and great beer. My gal and I enjoy living simply, experiencing places as a local (even if only temporarily), and visiting with friends around the country. Today we call Durango, Colorado home.

My current riding joys include pulling up hard and hucking test bikes into poor landings and techy sections with reckless abandon, then seeing how they react upon landing. Wyn Masters and Cody Kelley also have me pumped on getting as much back wheel action as possible. The many intricacies of suspension tuning and tweaking have me jazzed as well. No matter where or what I'm riding, I always find a way to hoot and holler or hold it wide as often as possible.

YAY BIKES!