About Us
I started vintage roadracing in 1995, and over the years began to realize how big and diverse the retro market was in this country. I also realized the handful of vintage publications out there weren’t addressing what I found most interesting – primarily the bikes and moto-culture of the late ’60s, ’70s and early ’80s, dirt and street. So an idea began to germinate, one that would eventually see the light of day in early 2008 with issue one of Motorcyclist Retro – an offshoot of Motorcyclist, the streetbike magazine I edited from 1993 to 2007.
Issue one sold well – more than 20,000 copies, in fact – and issues two (summer ’08) and three (fall ’08) were just as popular with newsstand buyers. By issue two the company had OKd subscription sales for ’09, and I figured we were on our way. But then the economy began to freefall, and the higher-ups at the company, then suffering through significant ad-revenue reductions with their larger automotive and truck magazines, decided to kill all new projects and concentrate on core business, so Retro was history. Fair enough.
After a few weeks I decided to take the concept I’d formulated and nurtured for years private under a new name – Moto Retro Illustrated. We’ve come a long way in the months since. We’ve got thousands of readers, we’ve published and mailed two issues (Fall 2009 and Winter 2010), and with Spring 2010 here we’re hard at work on the Spring/Summer, Fall and Winter 2010 issues.
Our staff consists of myself and a small handful of superb freelancers. Design Director duties are handled by Alice Sexton, a long-time design professional, street rider and racer of Moto Guzzis and Ducatis who most recently was AHRMA’s Communications Manager (and, before that, Brand Promotions Director with Advanstar). Financial help comes by way of Jim ‘J-Dub’ West, a Pro Golfers Association member who runs several country clubs in Tennessee. Westie is a long-time street rider and roadracer, and his MBA comes in handy when the books need to be balanced.
On the editorial side we’re lucky to have several professionals helping out, including longtime Motorcyclist Senior Editor Dexter Ford and ex-Cycle World Editor David Edwards. Look for other well-established names in the coming year.
