SLOW A KIDS & COBRAS MAGAZINE
RIDE FAST DRINK SLOW
COFFEE & GOODS FOR BACKROAD PEOPLE.
ANNIVERSARY EDITION
VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 1
FROM THE FOUNDER PUBLISHER/FOUNDER SAM WAKE EDITOR GRAMMARLY & FRIENDS Print SMARTPRESS
THISISNOTATRADITIONALSLOWMAG ISSUE. Yes, we chalked it full of beautiful photos, and yes, we tell some stories. But this issue is unique because it marks the 12th issue of published magazines. For 365 days, we have provided you with content to read and enjoy. So, in this issue of Slow, we want to challenge you to downshift a bit and take some time to reflect and celebrate a year full of memories with us. The best way to celebrate is to LOOK BACK AND REFLECT and then LOOK FORWARD AND DREAM. As we go on this journey down memory lane, we invite you to also take a trip of your own. Hopefully, by the time you close the pages of this mag, your imagination will be firing on all cylinders. I (Sam) dedicate this issue to my mom, who was diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2021. The news rocked her world, and the health complications following have been extremely difficult. I owe it to both my parents for who I am today. Without them, there would be no stories for me to tell. I also want to thank all the people who contributed to this magazine in year one. Thank you for sharing your stories, brands, and passions with us. Here’s to choosing a way of life we can be proud of! Full of Heart, SAMWAKE SAM@KIDSANDCOBRAS.COM
THIS ISSUE TABLE OF CONTENTS 7
Where it All Began
9
Introduction
11
I agree with Wallace
13
The Art of Slow
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Ad Partners
41
Volume One Vault
A DESIRE TO LIVE
EVERY MAN DIES
RIDE FAST DRINK SLOW
RIDER JUSTICE DEVILSTONE RUN DENTIST PDX LOUSKID TATTOO
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING
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Where it All Began
A DESIRE TO LIVE STORY PRESENTED BY:
PICTURES: ALL OUR FRIENDS
Slowisauniqueplatform designedtohelpyouunlock thestoryyoudeeply desiretolive. Maythattradition continue..
INTRODUCTION IN 2019, My brother Matt stormed through the screen door of our tiny apartment and declared, “I am taking a motorcycle class and buying a bike!” We had no clue in that moment how drastically our lives were going to be impacted by his decision, BUT EVERYTHING WAS ABOUT TO CHANGE. We got our endorsements and the next three years blasted by in the blink of an eye. We went from not knowing how to ride, to finding ourselves at the center of building a community of riders and adventuers looking for a similar vein to bleed from. In this special addition of Slow, we are going to recount a few special moments along the ride. Our pursuit of honesty and a life of meaning beyond world-
ly riches has kept us on a backroad somewhere in-between places. The journey of life has become the focus not the destination and along the way we are learning that life has a lot more to do with figuring ourselves out than it has to do with being right about things. Like Johnny once said... “Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.” ― Johnny Cash
We are living in the middle of a story that’s not finished and we are glad you are here with us. The best stories unlock things within us we didn’t know were there and the clock’s ticking so we better get to living.
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I AGREE WITH WALLACE We feel like it’s our job to always invite our community to pause and ask a crucial question. Are you living the story you want to live? Because if not, it is time to make a change. Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to say “no” to something, but you were pressured into saying “yes” even though down deep in your gut,
you knew that decision would leave you feeling less of yourself? The great hero William Wallace once said, “Every man dies, but few men ever live.” That quote has been disrupting the way I see life. I agree with Wallace. You see, we only get one of these lives, and we have no clue how many days we have left. In fact, one of the few things we can be sure
of in this life is that our days are numbered. As our friends over at Go Fast Don’t Die like to say, “no one gets out alive.” Nobody. Your days and my days and your dog’s days are numbered. Life is fleeting. Which brings us back to the question we feel obligated to ask our readers, Are you living the story you want to live?
Mediocrity is like that giant sea creature entangling itself around the hull of an old ship. To find life, we must learn to live our lives to the beat of a different drum. We have had a saying as a brand that we come back to time and time again to remind ourselves to live this life with bravery and guts. There is more courage in your tank than danger ahead. Which begs another question, how will you choose to live? Will
you play it safe, or will you take some risks? Risk is scary. This is why we have embraced the ethos of the moto world. Motorcycles invite us to skirt the alluring edge of our existence. And somewhere within this space, we come alive. Deep in your bones, there is a song that needs to be sung. In this life, there are certainly all kinds of trials and hardships. A ship may sit in a harbor, but it was made for the sea. If it remained in harbor, it would defeat its purpose.
So with all that said, we ask you again, Are you living the story you want to live? Take some time to answer that. Pull out a journal or in the margins below, answer that question. Are you living the story you want to live? Why or Why Not?
Let’s choose to live.
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THE ART OF SLOW Smoke billowed out of the roaster as it beeped loudly, warning me that it was overheating. It was my first time roasting, and the thick smell of something gone wrong filled the garage with an eye-watering fog of smoke. As quick as I could, I summoned every facility my brain had to offer to redeem the situation. The sweat dripping from my brow revealed just how terrible the situation was. Though I had a training appointment with an experienced roaster a few days later, I was in a rush to get on with learning this new craft. With zero clues as to what I was doing, I was lucky I didn’t burn down the garage. I unplugged the roaster with quick whit, but to my surprise, that did nothing to solve the precarious problem I created. Smoke continued to fill the room, so I threw open the garage door and turned on a fan to blow my issues out into the city air. After the smoke cleared, the beans
told the tale of how poorly they were roasted. Some were charred black, others a greyish-green tone with burn marks. This coffee was not fit for brewing, and I had solved the problem just short of becoming an arsonist. Fast forward three years, and we are a lot better at the art of roasting. But the skills weren’t learned in a day. Like anything, it takes time to cultivate the experiences that make you great at something. And if you have your wits and your head is on your shoulders, you know that you have never arrived. Life is a long, steady journey in one direction. Just like a river flows steadily from its glacial peaks down through rapids, into rivers and beyond, life has a similar ebb and flow. From my experience, nothing of actual value happens overnight. Luck is when an opportunity comes along, and you have prepared for it. Do you agree? ----CONTD.PG 17--->
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HURRYISTHEVILLAINOFA LIFEENJOYED. VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 1
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THE ART OF SLOW CONTD. If I really think back on it, most all the good that has happened in my life is because years before the satisfaction, I prepared for a better future. When I was a boy, I remember talking to my dad about getting married one day. He told me something I never forgot all the way up to my wedding day. He said, “Son,
plan your marriage, not your wedding.” And for some reason, it caught on. I accepted his words worthy of my attention. I devoted my life to becoming a person with the character I thought necessary. When we slow down, we actually get better at speeding up. Once upon a time, not
too long ago, I got into a heated argument with my brother. It was really late, and we were the last ones at this little cafe not far from our apartment in Portland. The argument escalated until 4 letter words of accusation were spat at each other with hatred. It was regrettable, to say the least, and we both
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WHEN WE SLOW DOWN IT HELPS US SPEED UP. VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 1 wish we could take the moment back. Despite the wisdom bestowed upon me in my motorcycle riding class months prior, I hopped on my bike hot-headed and angry as hell. I fired up the Bonneville and yanked on the throttle with intention. The problem was that the road I was on was actually a roundabout in a neighborhood, and I was new to riding. The road was wet and cold, and I had to bank into the turn within seconds. I counter-steered hard and laid the bike at an angle that drug the footpeg. My heart leaped out of my chest in fear, so I straightened and found myself quickly exiting the pavement over a sidewalk. Barely missing a tree, I careened forward straight through a huge wooden sign with big yellow lettering that read Chinese Baptist Church. Those bright yellow letters will be etched in my mind forever. Before hitting the wooden panels, I stood on my footpegs and jumped off the bike. I hurled through the air a good 20 feet and landed hard on the left side of my chest in soft wet grass. I
can’t imagine what pavement feels like because the grass hurt like hell. I slowly rolled to my back and looked up at the starry sky as the pain and shock rushed over my body. With a few broken ribs, I stared into the abyss next to a grassy patch riddled with motorcycle parts and the smell of smoke and gas. Suddenly, some dude I did not know came into the frame through the shield of my helmet. He was holding a joint, and I remember him saying, “Bro! What the f*ck just happened, man!?” Then, holding the joint down to my face, he offered me a hit. I declined with a groaning “no” and just laid there in pain. The following person to show up was my brother. He had watched me speed off into the pitch-black roundabout and heard the wreck. Like a good country song, we made our apologies, I called insurance, and he loaded the wreckage into the back of his truck. When we don’t slow down or take the time to process and think,
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THE ART OF SLOW CONTD. we often find ourselves in situations like this or worse. Regret is the result of a life lived only in the fast lane.
We slow down so we can savor the moment. Then when we speed back up, we can make sure we are living the life we deeply desire to live.
This brings me to a quote I heard once...
PEACECOMESWHEN YOUSTOPTRYINGTO CONTROLTHEWORLD AROUNDYOUANDIN STEADTAKERESPONSI BILITYFORTHEWORLD WITHINYOU. -
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I wonder how many break-ups, financial hardships, regrettable decisions, and motorcycle accidents could be avoided if we were better at the Art of Slowing Down. Luckily for me, I went fast and didn’t die, and I also did not burn down the garage. In fact, a few days later, I was taught how to roast, and Kids & Cobras has been honing in that skill for a few years ever since. The best things in life seem to come to those who have patience. Society teaches us that food should be fast, relationships temporary, and success can happen overnight. Patience teaches us to appreciate where we are at now. It helps to be ok with the journey and keep the destination in the right frame of mind. Hurry is a villain to life enjoyed. That’s why we developed the mantra Ride Fast Drink Slow over the years.
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“LIFE IS SHORT. MAYBE TOO SHORT TO WORRY ABOUT MAKING A MARK OR LEAVING A LEGACY. PERHAPS JUST FINDING BALANCE BETWEEN SIGNFICANCE AND INSIGNIFICANCE IS THE KEY.” - BRENNAN BARTEL
A GOOD EXCUSE BETTER TOGETHER
Since the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed around 2000, people have jumped off it to end their life. Of those who have jumped, only a hand full have survived. In Portland, I often run across the bridges, and as I do, I notice that people usually hang signs that read things like: You matter. You are loved. Your life has a purpose. If you are struggling, call this number. Etc... When I was a youth pastor in a small wealthy suburb in southern Indiana, it was disturbing how common it was to get the tragic news that a teenager had ended their life. Some of the saddest moments happened on my drive to visit the grieving family. Upon arriving, it was as if the oxygen had been sucked out of the atmosphere, and the dark heaviness of extreme tragedy loomed in the most distasteful
way. As a father, I cannot imagine the pain that could come from one of my daughters taking their life. I want so much more for them, and the imagined pain of feeling like I would have let them down would be unbearable. The reality we face is that life can be tough and sometimes we get to a place where it feels like giving up is better than trying, and dying is better than living. In Scott Erickson’s book Say Yes, he tells the story of a man named Kevin who once attempted to take his life by hurling his body over the side of the Golden Gate Bridge railing. Kevin miraculously survived the fall, and later, he dedicated his life to helping people who were struggling like him. When he retells the story, this is what he said ran through his mind.
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“The millisecond my hands left the railing, it was instant regret.” In a matter of seconds, he went from feeling like he had no reason to live to only being able to think about the reasons he wanted to live. If I have learned anything in this life, going it alone is a form of death. We need community. A healthy community is essential to the flourishing of our lives. In fact, without it, humans struggle to thrive. In our opinion, nothing gives people a better excuse to get together than motorcycles and coffee. In fact, rarely do we ask to hang out. Instead, we say things like, “Hey, do you want to go grab a coffee?” Or, “Hey, do you want to go on a ride?” The hidden statement in these questions is, “Yo! I need some people time. I need a shared experience with someone of the same heart and mind. I want to know more about you, hear about what’s going on in your life, and share what is going on in mine.” This is where it all started for Kids & Cobras. It is why we roast coffee and publish the Slow Mag. Coffee is simply an excuse to get together, and this magazine is a platform to tell the stories that can help unlock the parts of our soul that need to be let out of the cage. When I started riding three years ago, I didn’t know anyone who rode. I was green to the streets and scared to talk to bikers. Don’t let the beard fool you about what’s inside. I am just VOL. 002 / 30
like you, an average dude working through my own insecurities and fears. In an attempt to break into the culture that I was drooling over, I decided to introduce myself to people who had motorcycles. And to my surprise, most of the people I met were new to riding and had never been on a group ride before. And that’s where Kids
& Cobras was born. Our brand comes from a passion for people, fervor for life, and a desire for a shared experience with like-minded people. We are truly better together. So with all that said, thanks for taking the time to read and subscribe to this magazine. We are humbled that this is the first issue of another
year of storytelling and moto, coffee, shenanigans. Thanks for being a part of this family. Shoutout to Rider Justice for sponsoring us through Volume 002. From our hearts to yours, - The K&C Crew
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THE ROAD OF LIFE PROVIDES ALL WE NEED. GREAT STORIES ROOTED IN DEED. THIS IS OUR CREED
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Twelve Months of Slow
A HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED
MaggieGulasey KendraFarber PatrickLitchfield BuscaderoMoto SeanBenesh Urthrek GrantBenesh MattWake VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 1 LegionMotoCo. GabeCourt AlexGlover LucasPlant OlviaJane TheTonMag BradyMcClean BrettRiley JoshShipps ChristineMayes EdJohnson TheDentist ThomasNeal SpoonBenders EnriqueParilla SamTullis sammyt@kidsandcobras.com KelseyWake BuckmanCoffeeCollective Unsplashhaha GrantBenesh KayceeLandsaw SammyT JordynKelly KendraFarber AllisonSlater KelseyWake TimothyGrisham CharityWater BenWake DavidFrazier JessieWatson SamTullis BrennanBartel PrestonCrawford KCWeimann LegionMotoCo. Foremanmatt NeilMendoza Kapernicus Mochi ParkerLitchfield Larry’sCornerBar Ziggy RMCCO PartsAndService Sherman RaeganNack SportyMob VictoriaDickerson
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THERE IS MORE COURAGE IN YOUR TANK THAN DANGER AHEAD. LIVE ACCORDINGLY. VOLUME 2 | ISSUE 1
a wild quest through the wild west
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