Bike Check: A Creative Rider's Custom 'Mind Management' Hornet Norco Sight
Photography: Bryn Atkinson
You may remember Sully Hicks' 'Yippee Ki Yay Melon Farmer' bike from earlier in the year. That wild bike came from Jill Kintner's Mind Maintenance competition organised with Red Bull that encouraged riders to design their dream custom Norco Sight design that would be painted by Tony Baumann of Made Rad by Tony. With Red Bull only able to promote itself to over-18s, Sully's bike was supported by Norco as a side project, but the winner of the main competition was Zac Martines and this hornet-themed bike.
Zac's design beat over 5,000 entries and it apparently stood out right away. Jill says, "The minute we saw Zac's hornet bike, it was intriguing; A bold graphic, super well thought out as a 360 design, and the elements from the wings and eyes had so much potential in paint. Tony was excited to create this bike, and his enthusiasm for the project helped it rise to the top. We all agreed it was a killer design, from all angles."
Tony said, "Zac’s concept was one of my favorites from the very beginning. His whole idea was pretty dialed. The way he laid it all out, the colors he chose and the amount of detail I knew I could work with really got me buzzing. In doing my research, I got really sucked into macro shots of hornets and fell into a deep rabbit hole when my search led me to a bunch of other macro bug photos. There are definitely some other really rad bug bikes just waiting to happen."
Zac's design beat over 5,000 entries and it apparently stood out right away. Jill says, "The minute we saw Zac's hornet bike, it was intriguing; A bold graphic, super well thought out as a 360 design, and the elements from the wings and eyes had so much potential in paint. Tony was excited to create this bike, and his enthusiasm for the project helped it rise to the top. We all agreed it was a killer design, from all angles."
Tony said, "Zac’s concept was one of my favorites from the very beginning. His whole idea was pretty dialed. The way he laid it all out, the colors he chose and the amount of detail I knew I could work with really got me buzzing. In doing my research, I got really sucked into macro shots of hornets and fell into a deep rabbit hole when my search led me to a bunch of other macro bug photos. There are definitely some other really rad bug bikes just waiting to happen."
The final result is a stunning custom bike packed with detail that Zac will surely cherish for life. From the detailed macro-shot face on the head tube to the delicate wings on the top tube and Zac's name on the chainstay, it's sure to cause a buzz wherever he rides. To top it off, Jill, Tony and Bryn came to drop off the bike in person and he got to show them around his home trails on his new steed.
 | Words can not describe how stoked I am. This is the sickest bike ever! I feel like the luckiest kid ever! Massive thank you to everyone who made this contest possible! |
Tony gives Zac's drawing a good study before putting airbrush to frame.
Tony was anticipating the hornet's head would be the hardest part of the painting job...
... however it ended up being the wings on the top tube. He said, "The wings however, ended up being much more difficult than I anticipated and I spent way too much time on them. I was trying to keep it as close to Zac’s mock-up as possible, but the light blues and purples he used really didn’t jive well with the rest of the hornet. As a last-ditch effort, I decided to go rogue and I made the wings more of a fiery yellow/orange and hoped for the best. I think it was the right call and luckily Zac agreed."
With over 5,000 entries to pick from, there were plenty of other strong designs that came close to winning. Jill said, "It's a shame we had to pick just one. Judging was beyond difficult with so many great concepts. Isaac Orloff's dart frog was a close contender again for the boldness, textures, and vibrant colors. The broken TV bike was fantastic, the Robot bike had a fun personality, the watercolor 'dirt church' stained glass bike was beautiful, the treasure map bike was full of surprises, and and and…They were all uniquely special."
We've been told that Red Bull and Jill are planning on bringing back Mind Maintenance again sometime next month so if you fancy your chances of winning your own custom bike painted by Tony, keep an eye on Jill's social media feed.
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