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We're not a huge company. There's about 40 of us but some people think that we're as big as General Motors or something? We're not. We're just focused. BAKER Drivetrain relies on talent, synergy, and conviction to drive us forward. Well, ...and us: the BAKER Creative Department which consists of two spacey art school graduates doing what we love. We handle the marketing, PR, and artistic things. We do what our innate natures compels us to do and that is to CREATE. The result? We're proud to see the fruits of our creativity help drive the place we love into a leading position in this industry. We were born for this. Things click so well working for a mad scientist and his intensely intelligent wife. No this isn't kissing up, they'll never read this. I don't think they've really looked at what we do up closely in years anyway. For example, this web site. Watch: FUCK! SHIT! Son of a BITCH! I can say what I want because my bosses will never read this. Waaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!! Blaaaaagh!!!!!!!! Weeeeeeee!!!!!!! See, Bert and Lisa will never mention the antics above because they'll never read this. They're busy and they trust us for good reason. So do you get my point? We're starving artists run amuck layered on top of strict, disciplined, and insatiable engineers! What a concept: Use talent from both sides of the brain and the best of both worlds. What you see in magazines, this website, events nationwide, on sometimes on TV...well, that's us. We're punk-ass vandals and we plaster BAKER shit everywhere. BAKER's not hiring a fancy, giant ad agency or expensive design house. This industry would scare them. it's just us, in-house. So if you think we're a big, rich, powerhouse corporation with endless resources then think again. We just a core of very deliberate Joes driven to develop drivetrain excellence. Leveraging talent, developing an exquisite product and staying sharp is how we've penetrated the industry. To be honest, it would be hard to fail. Bert and his Research/Development and Engineering Department makes it too easy for us in Marketing. Good stuff sells itself. SCOUT
I've been here since Spring of '05, but I've been outsourced by BAKER for a couple of years before that. I used to have a growing design firm in Grand Rapids, MI but I walked away because I learned to hate the 'business' of design. It sucked. It wasn't my style to delegate my employees all the fun, creative projects as I was stuck with the paperwork, meetings, pitching, quoting, billing and other business-end bullshit. I went to an expensive art college to live life artistically, alternatively, and simply. That wasn't happening, so I walked and left the company to the others. (Note: to all my old clients, "See ya be-yotches!") I wasn't sure what I was to do next. My coolest client, BAKER Drivetrain picked me up and told me to just do what I do. My job description is basically, "Go!" It was basically that simple. So because they don't hinder me living a creative, non-corporate, and fulfilling lifestyle I fuckin' push as hard as I can to make sure my way of life, as well as the others' in this little BAKER world, is here to stay. Here I get to hide from the mainstream world and rip around of my homegrown ratty Shovelhead and spray oil everywhere, rock out to punk rock, not comb my hair, and think outside the cube. So, since this lifestyle is so personal to me I promise you that I take my job very seriously. I intend to keep using the greatest wisdom, techniques, and technologies of the day to out-do the rest. With these tools I'll continue to bolster the BAKER brand name, sharpen it's identity, keep the look fresh and inform the industry on the news we make.
Trish
Right at the end of getting my BFA in painting, I took up tattooing at Inkporium Tattoos in Lansing Michigan. It seemed like a viable option for a supplemental income to my job as a Graphic Designer for a history museum, plus I really dug the culture. That’s where I met Bert Baker. In the Fall of 2005, Bert gave my number to Scout and he called me up with a job offer. The museum was a good place, but I didn’t hesitate to say “you bet your ass”. Within a week, I was working at Baker Drivetrain (as Scout puts it) as his “Evil Sidekick”. I have grown up around bikes, so I’d like to think I adapted quickly to working here. My dad rides old Ironhead Sportsters and showed me early on what it meant to love the nostalgic, free spirited side of motorcycling. Respect, fun and safety – it’s a brotherhood… a family. He taught me to ride when I was a youngster, and when I graduated from school: my gift was a sweet little yellow 1979 Honda 200T. I thought it was the raddest bike on the planet! Working at BAKER has been one of the biggest learning experience of my life. Before I worked here, I had never even stepped foot on an airplane: now I travel like an old pro. I had never really wrenched on my own bike: but now I am working with my dad and a few friends to put the finishing touches on my ’72 Ironhead bobber. But mostly: I am no longer constrained at work. I can wear what I like and proudly show off my sleeves of tattoos. I can ride my motorcycle around, dye my hair pink, and tell fart jokes at work. Scout and I can blast punk rock in our “cave” and have band posters on the walls. They give us this slack because they trust us to make good decisions. They know we have a big place in our hearts for what we do here, and we’re all treated like one big family. It’s part of my job here to make sure the world knows what BAKER DRIVETRAIN is all about. Our tasks go far beyond making things pretty. The image that you conjure up in your head when someone says “muthafuckin’ Baker Drivetrain” is a result of our efforts. I love motorcycles and truly believe in and support BAKER in every way. That’s why I work here. And when we get a little wild: its okay – its just part of the job. We’re like the artistic, rebellious twins here in this Baker Family that I’m so proud of… and I know I’m certainly in no hurry to grow up and move out.
You can contact me via email: trish@bakerdrivetrain.com
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