In Print: Scraper Bikes for Be Street Magazine (French)

French street culture magazine, Be Street contacted me recently for some Scraper Bike images. I returned from Texas to find the issue on my doorstep and was exited to see such a big spread! It’s kinda crazy; when I first shot the Scraper Bikes a few years back, I pitched it left and right to no avail. Now it seems to publish itself. Patience!

Sorry for the crappy photos. I’ll update this once I get the files from the folks at Be Street.











( via yousayyes.wordpress.com- Matthew Reamer )

Do Something - Bootcamp

DoSomething.org Boot Camps bring together a diverse group of young community leaders, activists and social entrepreneurs for a day of networking and training dedicated to giving each attendee the tools to grow and sustain their community action ideas, projects and organizations.

Sessions and workshops offered on:

-Path to Change: Turning your Ideas in Action
-Measuring Your Impact
-Building a Website
-Branding and Marketing: How to find your voice and tell your story
-Individual Donors: How to pitch your program and manage donor relationships
-Online Communications
-Starting your Own Not-for-Profit 101
-Corporate Sponsors: How to pitch your program and manage donor relationships
-Public Relations: How to get press for your project
-Succession Planning: How to keep your project going without you
-Political Activism: How to get your local officials to listen
-Recruiting and Managing Volunteers
-Partnerships
-Visual Storytelling

Can't join us on Saturday? Watch the live videostream here!



(via DoSomething.org )

Scrapertown

With over 200,000 views and growing, this is the latest HD documentary about the Original Scraper Bike Team..Enjoy and leave comments!!! Thank you for your unconditional support... -Baybe Champ And The Scraper Bike Team :)


(Best To Watch In Full Screen)

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

"In order to become a member of the Original Scraper Bike Team, you must: Be a resident of Oakland, CA. Be at least 7y/o or older. Maintain A 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA), Create your own Scraper Bike…(It Has To Be Amazing, Or Else You Can’t Ride.) A single-file line when riding. After 10 rides The Scraper Bike King and his Captains will decide if your bike is up to standards and if you can follow simple guidelines. After your evaluation we will consider you a member and honor you with an Original Scraper Bike Team Shirt. Only worn when Mobbin’ Stay posted to our website for all upcoming Scraper Bike Rides..." -- The Scraper Bike King

A film by Drea Cooper & Zackary Canepari

(Cash Donations Welcome... Receipts Are NOT Available)

Scraper Bike Culture Provides Lessons for Sustainable Businesses

Oakland resident Tyrone “Baby Champ” Stevenson, inventor of the “scraper bike,” may not have known how big his idea would become when he rolled out his first prototype. Or perhaps he did. His creativity led to a scraper bike movement that is not only gaining momentum in the Bay Area, but is quickly becoming a global phenomenon. By addressing the issue of scarcity in a way that was meaningful to him and his community, his innovation led to a more affordable, sustainable form of transportation and self-expression while also promoting non-violence. And these bikes are really friggin rad.The scraper bike movement is a microcosm of the larger sustainability imperative because they both share a common driver: Scarcity.

Adapting to scarce resources often requires tremendous creativity. The original scraper car phenomenon involved taking older cars with little market value and making them desirable through customization, offering a more affordable way to have a desirable car. This process was repeated in the form of scraper bikes, whereby kids that either can’t drive or can’t afford scraper cars can hook themselves up with a sweet ride. The scraper bike is an innovation that addresses scarce economic resources, turning old bike parts that may have ended up in a landfill into pieces of moving art that double as carbon-free transportation.

There is also a direct connection between scraper bikes and non-violence. Scarcity is often responsible for pushing communities towards violence. Scraper bikes provide those with limited resources a channel for creative self-expression. Young people can feel seen, empowered, and be a part of a community that is organizing peace rides for non-violence and advocating for sustainability.

What’s the lesson for business and policy? Creating a more sustainable world means getting more done with increasingly scarce resources. It’s going to mean non-violence and the equitable distribution of those scarce resources. It’s going to mean empowering communities to become more self-sufficient, and coming up with policy, products, ideas, and services that create meaningful value within the context of a community’s culture. In short, we’re going to need a helluva lot of the type creativity and enthusiasm underlying the scraper bike movement.

(via triplepundit.com)