Original Scraper Bikes

Looking Back at 2011's Accomplishments

2011-12-24T01:53:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays & Happy New Years To All!!!

As we get closer and closer to the end of 2011, i(the Original Scraper Bike King)looks back over this years accomplishments. From Jan. - Dec. we managed to rack up a list of accomplishments and promotion features that were very grateful to have received.

-"Scrapertown"- the short documentary about the Scraper Bike Movement reached over 200,000 views (via Vimeo).

-Scraper Bikes featured in French Magazine (Be Street Mag.)

-Traveled to Oshkosh Wisconsin to hold a Scraper Bike Workshop on the university campus.

-Traveled to Carbondale Colorado to present and received an award at the 5Point Film Fest.

-Nominated and Won a National Jefferson Award for Public Services, honoring me 1 of 10 "GlobalChangers of 2011".

-Voluntarily mentored at our local middle school (Frick Middle School - Oakland)

-Displayed the "Scraper Bike Teams" bikes in the Addison st. Window Gallery in Berkeley and the EastSide Cultural Center in Oakland.

- Released exclusive portraits of the Original Scraper Bike Team (via Hardy Wilsons Photos)

-The Scraper Bike Team awarded, Best of the Bay for "Best Single-File Style"..(via.SF Bay Guardian)

-Scraper Bikes featured in a Portugal Magazine (DIF Mag.)

-Began the application process to received our 501(c)3 non-profit status.

-Landed local Bus/BART and Billboard status with our "that could be me" HIV/AIDS campaign. (City-Wide)

-The Scraper Bike Movement featured & introduced on Cartoon Networks the "Regular Show" with an episode called "Cool Bikes".

-Successfully planned and hosted our 1st Annual Scraper Bike Toy Dive & Christmas Tree Sale..

-Able to see my 23rd Birthday (Dec.19th 2011)

Special Thanks to our believers and supports that made this movement what is today..
Continue spreading the word about the Scraper Bike Movement.(Were changing the world, one city and one bike at a time.)

I Wounder what 2012 holds for the Scraper Bike Movement? Only one way to find out...Stay Tuned for the Scraper Bike Take-Over!!!! Its the Movement #Shwag!

-Mr.International himself (Baybe F.Champ)

Scraper Bike - Christmas Eve. Toy Give Away!!

2011-12-20T23:09:00.000-08:00

"Imagine That Kids" & the Original Scraper Bike Team will be hosting a community toy giveaway, for under privileged kids in East Oakland on Christmas Eve.

Saturday, December 24th 2011.
(Christmas Eve)

Oakland PAL, 98th n Bancroft Ave
9600 Sunnyside ave

Over 800 toys will be given away!! Come early!
Happy Holidays, Hope too see you all there!!

1st Annual Scraper Bike Team Toy Drive/ Christmas Tree Sale!

2011-12-05T01:15:00.000-08:00

The Original Scraper Bike Team will be hosting our 1st annual toy drive - Christmas tree sale/ fundraiser ...With a 10% discount on any tree of your choice, with a 2 toy donation..Come show your support!!

Dec. 14th, 2011
6:30pm - 10:00pm

@Granny's Christmas Trees ... 4139 MacArthur Blvd, Oakland CA.

Douglas Trees $25+
Nobel Trees 35+

Flocking Available/ $20 additional
(Blue, Red, White, Pink, Purple and Orange Trees)

Deliveries available as well/ $10 additional
(Depending on location a TIP is required)

Granny's Christmas Trees - Next to Lucky's on 39th n MacArthur Blvd.
Family Owned Business hours are:
10:00am - 10:00pm 7days a week!...STOP BY!!!

To place an order now, call: (510) 508-2549

Cartoon Networks, "Regular Show" -Cool Bikes

2011-11-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

Cool Bikes -or- Scraper Bikes?
You be the judge!

#Whoooop!!!

4th Annual SF BIKE EXPO 2011

2011-11-09T01:44:00.000-08:00

Cow Palace 2600 Geneva Avenue Daly City CA 94104
Nov 12th & 13th 10 AM to 5 PM

Tickets. $12 presale. $15 at the door. $20 two day pass.

Interested in a booth? Please email us at events@rideSFO.com

More details are in the works …. Follow us on our FB page and www.SFBikeExpo for updates..

Crested Butte Film Festival

2011-09-27T05:34:00.000-07:00

The Crested Butte Film Festival
Crested Butte, Colorado
September 29th- October 2nd, 2011

The Crested Butte Film Festival is a four-day celebration of international films that coincide with the turning of the aspen leaves. We’ll showcase award-winning shorts, documentaries, and narrative features in Gunnison and Crested Butte Colorado.

The festival shows award-winning shorts from Poland, Denmark, and the United States, documentaries from Mexico, Venezuela, and Chad, and features from Austria, Australia, Oslo, and even Los Angeles. Films that are moving, shattering, inspiring, and redeeming.

(via www.cbfilmfest.org)

"that could be me" - Help our youth Eradicate HIV in Oakland

2011-09-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

The East Oakland HIV Prevention Project & Health Ambassadors at Youth Uprising presents:..."That Could Be Me"...

Look for the "that could be me" Billboards, bus signs and in BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

The East Oakland HIV Prevention Project (EOHPP) has taken a stand against stigma and ignorace defined as a lack of knowledge and /or information. Over the past three yoears, EOHPP has entered the spaces of classrooms, churches, youth develoment centers, summer enhancement programs and health fairs to extend a level of care to our youth and young adults by expounding love of self, body, mind and spirit and education. This takes the form of workshops, open dialog and safe places for youth to obtain knowledge about themselves, their bodies and their relationships...(excerpt)

"Besides drugs and gun violence, HIV/AIDS is the next leading cause of deaths in Oakland. My father passed away in 1996 due to the infection, we need to be more aware and knowledable of the actions we take as humans. Wrap it up, that could be me...But then again, it could be you..Get Tested, Know Your Status, And Love Yourself Always!"
-Baybe Champ- The Original Scraper Bike King

www.tcbme.org :For More Information

Bicycle Film Festival 2011

2011-09-23T23:13:00.000-07:00

San Fransisico Street Party
Sept. 24, 2011
12:00pm- 6:00pm

CAPP st Alley
between 16th -17th st.
Victoria Theater Mission SF

Movement Updates w/ Sneak Peak Photos from our Fundraising Car Wash

2011-08-26T01:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday Aug.20th 2011

Baybe Champ says "..our 1st fundraising car wash was truly a success! With a great outcome of dirty cars that was ready to be washed, by eager and enthusiastic members of the Scraper Bike Team. Im proud of those guys! They really showed good team work and proved their commitment to get all those cars washed. I love those kids!!..LoL Special thanks to the T-Birds Motorcyle Club for hosting the event and Stockon's Fancy Ladies Social Club, Roots & Ranches, and members of the Oakland Black Cowboy Association for stopping by and showing their supporting to the Scraper Bike Team"

The Scraper Bike Team is now partnered with Oaklands legendary motorcycle club the "East Bay Dragons" business manager Chief Saba (Ali Ar Rasheed, J.D), to consult and help us become an official "State and Federal Tax Exempt Non-Profit Organization". With the mission of giving all members full scholarships to any university and/ or traditional school of their choice. Equipping members with the confidence, determination and resources with a global network to provide a life long mentor-ship program.

Without further a due, Enjoy sneak peek pics of our very 1st Car Wash!
You are now witnessing history in the making!

Email: scraperbikes@gmail.com for sponsorship and tax exempt donation opportunities.
Photos by: Matthew Reamer

Be The Change - Global Leadership Immersion Media Launch

2011-08-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

New York, NY
September 12th - 13th, 2011
@ABC Home/ Deepak Homebase
888 Broadway NY, 10003

We are a global forum for advancing a highly progressive ,curious and joyful leader. CGLI partners with the most dynamic and inspired individuals and organizations in creating worldwide, experimental leadership immersions to serve the true needs of humanity.

Special workshops and discussions with Deepak Copra, Russell Simmions, Andanda Giri, and our very own Baybe Champ the Original Scraper Bike King, plus many more.

Register Here!!!

Special Thanks To Tara & Casey Sheahan, founders of the "Conscious Global Leadership Institute" and CEO of Patagonia clothing company.

Scraper Bike Fundraiser Car Wash

2011-08-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

Kingz Car Wash
7722 International Blvd.

Saturday, August 20 · 10:00am - 6:30pm

$10 Car Washes...

All proceeds go towards our 501(c)3 Application fees..

$5 Chicken Plates and Fish dinners will also be sold during the car wash.

Come support the Scraper Bike Movement!!

2011 National Jefferson Award Honoree - Tyrone Stevenson Jr.

2011-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Dear Tyrone,

Special congratulations. We are honored to inform you that the Jefferson Awards Board of Selectors voted to honor you as a 2011 National Jefferson Award Winner as one of ten GlobalChangers.

Enclosed please find your certificate for service excellence and the encased Jefferson Award - a proof medallion, a replica of the Great Seal of the United States, signed on the revers side by our founders, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and the U.S Senator Robert Taft, Jr.

Your passion for service and accomplishments are exemplary.
We look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerley,

Sam Beard - President
Robert Ford - Executive Director

Scraper Bikes featured in DIF Magazine - Portugal

2011-08-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Heres our most recent magazine feature in DIF magazine, a news/ media and publishing company based in Lisboa, Portugal.

Thank You Matthew Reamer for believing in this movement from the start and being the very first photographer to film the movement back in Jan. 2007. Because of you we've been published in about 8 different magazines worldwide, and tones of photo galleries around the nation! Thank You,

-Baybe Champ and the entire Scraper Bike Team

Best of the Bay 2011

2011-08-08T02:16:00.000-07:00

If bikes are ever going to live up to their potential as game-changers in the world's consumption of fossil fuels, their proponents are gonna need smarts, heart, and damn if they're not gonna need style as well. Luckily, Tyrone "Baybe Champ" Stevenson Jr. has all three covered. The Oakland cyclist started decorating his two-wheelers with flashy strips of foil, elaborate sound systems, and kitschy corporate logos, sparking a movement that now claims a hip-hop video with more than 3 million hits on YouTube, a dedicated East Bay youth massive, and a world of imitators. The Original Scraper Bike Team holds head-turning single-file group rides through its neighborhoods and has become a bike advocate on par with few. Broke environmentalists everywhere can jam with OSBT anthem: "My bike rides hard/Don't need no car."

(via. sfbg.com)

2011 Portraits with Hardy Wilson

2011-08-02T03:01:00.000-07:00

Enjoy our most recent photo-shoot with Hardy Wilson with portraits of the Original Scraper Bike Team.--->> www.hardywilson.com

The Addison st. Scraper Bike Window Gallery

2011-07-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

Berkeley, California (Friday, June 10, 2011) - Karna Kurata, one of the most perceptive and adept photographers in the Bay Area, shares her latest project--- SCRAPER BIKES—Images of East Oakland Youth Culture. Trailing a crew of African American youth with customized bicycles, Kurata’s photographs provide a glimpse of innovative and independent Black cultural expression.

Some scraper bikes loaned by Baybe Champ will be on display in the Addison Street Windows Gallery along with Kurata’s photographs.

Exhibits in the Addison Street Windows Gallery, located on Addison Street between Milvia Street and Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley’s downtown Arts District, can be viewed 24 hours a day from the sidewalk, are free and wheelchair accessible.

(Until July 15, 2011--> Then it will be moved to the Eastside Cultural Center with a huge Reception Aug.11th, 5-8:00pm)

(via www.ci.berkeley.ca.us)

Enjoying our summer!!!

2011-07-14T15:23:00.000-07:00

Just a few random pics of Scraper Bikes..Enjoy!

AYE BAY BAY - "Oregon Voice"

2011-05-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

This past April, Baybe Champ got a visit from some students at Oregon State University, looking to interview "The Majesty, Baybe Champ, The Bay Areas Scraper Bike King".. Enjoy this exclusive interview with the Scraper Bike founder, Baybe Champ. Enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More bikes

Scraper Bike Team at the 2011 Maker Faire Bay Area ???

2011-05-16T00:28:00.000-07:00

The Scraper Bike Team is looking forward to attending this years "2011 Maker Faire".

May 21 & 22, 2011
At the San Mateo Fairgrounds,
2495 South Delaware Street
San Mateo, California 94403

The Maker Faire started in San Mateo, California in 2006, and also being held in Detroit and New York, Maker Faire is the premier event for grassroots American innovation. As the World's Largest DIY Festival, this two-day family friendly Faire has something for everyone - a showcase of invention, creativity and resourcefulness and a celebration of the Maker mindset. (via makerfaire.com)

This will be the Scraper Bike Teams 3rd year participating in the "World's Largest DIY Festival". Last year the Scraper Bike Team was rewarded a blue ribbon for the Maker Faires, "Editors Choice Awards".

With the Maker Faire only being 5 days away, were in need of sponsorships and donations, to help with transporting bikes and youth participants of the Scraper Bike Team,to & from the event, as well as promotional materials (Flyers, Posters, Etc.) to further spread the message of our project.

If you want to learn more about the 2011 Maker Faire, or interested in attending, check out their website: www.makerfaire.com

And to see pictures and videos of The Scraper Bike Team at last years Maker Faire, Check it out here

Those who would like to help support our efforts in attending this event can donate or email us for further sponsorship information... scraperbikeking@gmail.com

Thanks again and non-stop for all your support!!

Original Scraper Bike King Nominated For A National Jefferson Award

2011-04-29T01:57:00.001-07:00

Dear Tyrone,

I am very pleased to annouce that you have been nominated for a National Jefferson Award. The Jefferson Awards is a 501c3 non profit founded in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Robert Taft, Jr. and Sam Beard to serve as a "Nobel Prize" for community and public service. Please view our website at www.jeffersonawards.org for more information about our history.

There will be ten Jefferson Award youth winners reported in our Report to the U.S. Senate and White House this June. Two will speak as part of the annual National Jefferson Awards Ceremony in Washington, DC in the U.S. Senate on June 21 and two will be honored and speak at the National Jefferson Awards Ceremony in New York City on June 22.

2011 5Point Film Festival

2011-04-25T04:52:00.000-07:00

5Point Film Festival

"We have been so inspired by the Scraper Bike movemnt... We would love for you to come out to Colorado in April to present the film 'Scrapertown.' Check us out at www.5pointfilm.org"

On the edge between desire and fear, between the known and unknown, is a place deep inside us all where the spirit is transformed — pushed beyond its limit by our deliberate commitment to usher in something new and original. In this soulful place we are catalyzed to learn, expand and engender newfound understanding to inspire others on their journeys. It is this spirit, this thirst for adventure that the 5Point Film Festival celebrates and shares with the community and filmmakers that gather for its annual Festival in Carbondale.

The 5Point Film Festival is on a mission to inspire adventure of all kinds, to connect generations through shared experience and respect, to engage passion with a conscience, and to educate through film.

We are all ambassadors of the environment. The 5Point Film Festival inspires us to explore wild places and to return with a renewed vigor to protect our natural world. Proceeds from the 5Point Film Festival, a 501(c)3 non-profit, benefit 1% for the Planet and other non-profits throughout the Roaring Fork Valley and beyond.

(via www.5pointfilm.org)

Ruckus Roots - Bike Bash!

2011-04-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Get into the spirit of Earth Week! Rethink, rebuild, and re-imagine how you get form point A to point B at this 3-day interactive art and biking event.

Tuesday, April 19th 5:00pm - Friday, April 22nd, 2011 6:00pm
University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
800 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh Wisconsin

"Green Is Good For Every Neighborhood"

2011-04-11T13:53:00.000-07:00

Join Communties for a Better Environment for an Earth Day event about resiliency!

Staurday, April 30th, 2011
10:30am - 5pm

Parade starts at 10:30am
at Castlemont High School - 8601 Macarthur Blvd.

Rally starts at 11:30
at Tassafaronga Rec. Center - 975 85th Ave.

Program starts at 12pm
at ACORN Woodland & EnCompass Academy
1025 81st Ave @ Rudsdale

Scrapertown Screening at the EarthDance Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival

2011-03-03T02:03:00.000-08:00

The most inspirational, breath taking, and beautifully documented film to ever hit the world-wide-web, "Scrapertown!", is honored to be screened at this years, EarthDance Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival.

The legendary, East Oakland native, founder/ CEO/ program director, of the world famous, Original Scraper Bike Movement, Baybe Champ The Original Scraper Bike King will be attending the screening, with possibly a Q&A following.

The EarthDance Short-Attention-Span Environmental Film Festival will take place,

Thursday, March 17th, 2011
At The David Brower Center.
2150 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA 94704

For more information, and to purchase tickets online go to:

www.earthdancefilms.com

Purchase your tickets now! Its anticipated to sale out!

Behind The Scraper Bike Scene

2011-02-12T04:17:00.000-08:00

Recent photos of the Original Scraper Bike Team for Norwegian publication Aftenposten. Photos by: Hardy Wilson ..Enjoy!

DONATIONS EXCEPTED HERE

(via HardyWilson.com)

GoFundMe.com - The Scraper Bike Project

2011-02-10T00:48:00.000-08:00

Baybe Champ - The Original Scraper Bike King, has recently completed
the official program description for the Original Scraper Bike Teams,
members-only organization/ non-profit. He plans on duplicating his program to the
nation as well as the world, for middle and high school age kids.

Were currently collecting donations to purchase helmets, safety
kits, and creative materials for all participating Scraper Bike members.
Were currently serving approximately 30+ members in total, all ranging
between 7 - 22 years of age.

Thanks For All Your Support!!!

(Via

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

2011-01-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-28T00:07:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-27T23:40:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-27T23:07:00.000-08:00

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)

SF Bike Expo 2010

2010-11-20T17:24:00.000-08:00

The Scraper Bike Team had a blast at this years Bike Expo.
Enjoy the pics!

(CBS-5) "Eye On The Bay"

2010-10-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

CBS - "Eye On The Bay" recently did a segment based on bicycles in the Bay Area. Needless to say, The Scraper Bike Team was on the list to represent the culture of East Oakland bicycling.

Heres some pics taken by: Velo Vogue

Trick Or Treat!!!

2010-10-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

Its Halloween Time!!
Which means Scraper Bike Day !!!
This will be our 4th annual Scraper Bike Day - Halloween Bike Ride.
This year were keeping it simple with a short video and photoshoot, followed by the Scraper Bike Halloween Street Take-Over!!

The Scraper Bike King wants to dedicate this Halloween ride to his cousin Markell Goodwin who was recently a victim of gun violence. Markell, You Will Be Missed.

Meeting @ -
Eastmont Town Center
7200 Bancroft Ave.

2p - 8p
Oct. 31st, 2010
See Ya Soon!!

DoSomething.org - Growth Grant Winner!!

2010-10-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

American Express and Do Something partner to bring weekly grants of $500 to help out projects addressing different causes around the world, helping youth to grow their projects and take their organizations to the next level.

Tyrone Stevenson Jr, 21

The problem Tyrone is trying solve is getting youth ages 7-21 away from drugs, violence, and gangs, by focusing their attention on bicycles. His Original Scraper Bikes Movement gives young people the resources to decorate and customize their bikes. He plans to engage up to 250 youth in this positive outlet that’s fun, educational, and promotes healthy lifestyles. In the long term, Tyrone hopes to open a community bike shop dedicated to inspiring young people and create franchises across the nation.

You can check out our project here <<----

Rolling With The King'

2010-09-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

"Scraper Bikes Is On The Scene!!"

The second instalment of POC Mag – produced exclusively for Swedish protection gear company POC – takes inspiration from the brand’s vibrant new line of helmets.

With a narrative thread devoted to colour, POC Mag 2.0 interweaves stories that aim to inspire and inform in equal measure. From interviews with world-class action sports athletes like freeskier TJ Schiller to a revealing new look at Jean-Michel Basquiat, from a special report on the plight of albinos in Tanzania to an uplifting ride with the Scraper Bike Movement in Oakland, POC Mag 2.0 explores the myriad of ways in which colour seeps into our world.

(via thechurchoflondon.com)

Open publication - Free publishing - More ski

Download "On The Scene"

2010-09-28T04:34:00.000-07:00

Free MP3 Download

"On The Scene"
By: Baybe Champ The Scraper Bike King
Produced By: Big Hurt
Mixed By: DJ BASTA of Roots And Branches

Scraper Bike Muzik - Coming Soon - Stay Tuned

Nikes - Camp Hatfield

2010-09-19T01:08:00.000-07:00

Recently Baybe Champ ,The Scraper Bike King (Tyrone Stevenson Jr.) was invited to Sandpoint, Idaho for Nikes 6.0 "Camp Hatfield". He presented and tough, Nike 6.0 sponsored athletes (BMX Riders, Skateboarders, Surfers, Snowboarders, etc.) how to create their own Scraper Bikes, as well as inform them on how this movement is REALLY! saving lives of the youth in Oakland CA. "The connections between myself and the athletes were mind blowing" Baybe Champ says. "We all shared the same vision of changing the world by raising awareness of social and environment issues."

"Camp Hatfield" was built for the wife of Tinker Hatfields (Nikes- Vice President of Innovation, and shoe designer 'famous for designing all of Air Jordan shoes). This camp was built around 2 of Nikes main priorities: to access sports for all, and to protect the playground. This 3 day camp that Baybe Champ attended, invited some of the most compelling game-changers in the industry, to address these founding principals in the context of innovation and search for sustainable solutions.

To Ride With The Scraper Bike King, Helmets Required

2010-09-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

If you want to ride with the scraper bike king, you better wear a helmet. Tyrone “Baybe Champ” Stevenson Jr., known around Oakland as the “king” and creator of the scraper bike movement, announced his new rule of the road Saturday near Oakland City Hall.

“Everybody is riding without a helmet, but once they see us wearing them more frequently then it will be cool,” said Stevenson Jr., who now requires anyone who rides with him to wear a helmet. “They’re going to start pimping them out just like our bikes.”

About thirty riders showed up with their tricked-out bicycles as part of a bike ride and festival organized by Stevenson. After a safety talk from the Oakland Department of Traffic Safety, the group rode—with their bike helmets—to Arroyo Viejo Park for a day of food and music.

The event was the latest of about twenty over the past three years organized by Stevenson and his group, Original Scraper Bikes. Last year, hundreds of riders circled Lake Merritt to take a stand against gun violence. Saturday’s theme was bike safety, a mission that Stevenson is taking on with Oakland Parks and Recreation. With funding from the city, he has given out 250 free bike helmets at parks around Oakland. The helmets are white—all the better for riders to customize just like their bikes.

“These young men and women don’t have the appropriate safety equipment,” said Stacey Perry, of the Oakland Department of Traffic Safety. “They think helmets look kind of dorky. They’re beautiful bikes, so we came up with the idea of letting them decorate their helmets.”

Most riders Saturday agreed that if you have foil on your rims, there is little chance of seeing a helmet on your head.

“No one wears helmets in East Oakland,” said Jamesha Creer, Stevenson Jr.’s cousin. “They don’t want to because it cramps your style. It’s good that he’s promoting safety. They’ll follow what he does.”

Stevenson is credited with inventing the scraper bike: a customized bicycle decorated with cheap materials like aluminium foil and food wrappers. Riders at Saturday’s event showed up with foil, Cheetos bags and even beer cans on their spokes. Stevenson said he would love to see Oakland bikers channel their creativity from their rims to their helmets, but, he said, “They have to wear them, customized or not.”

(via Carl Nasman - OaklandNorth.net)

Scraper Bike Movement - Deep East Roots

2010-09-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

To really understand the Scraper Bike movement, one must experience it in its element: the turfs of East Oakland. “The Deep East,” as it’s known, is a seemingly endless stretch of inner city, which begins at the east end of Lake Merritt and continues all the way to San Leandro. Like the rest of Oakland, its population is diverse, yet there are more African Americans and Latinos than in other parts of the town.

It’s not uncommon to see graffiti ominously announcing “BB 187” on a wall over a crossed-out Border Brothers tag on a wall. Churches are as numerous as liquor stores. There are plenty of well-maintained single-family homes, along with not so-well-maintained housing projects and apartment complexes. Car culture is big; since homes are generally modest, a clean ride is a source of pride – 22” rims, and sometimes larger, are a status symbol. And shiny Japanese sports cars, big-body American muscle cars abound, as do vans, SUV’s and pick-up trucks.
The Deep East is as pleasant as almost anywhere else in Oakland during the day, especially when there’s sunshine and blue skies. But at night, it’s a different story. Some of the parks where children play during the morning hours aren’t places you want to go at night. In the evening, the violence that comes along with the economic reality of the drug trade is unavoidable. Needless to say, a high percentage of the city’s homicides come out of the East.

This is the environment from which the Scraper Bike movement was born.

Tyrone Stevenson – aka Baybe Champ the Scraper Bike King – founded the Original
Scraper Bike Team about four years ago. Since then, the Scraper Bikes have become a symbol of hope, an unexpected urban entry into the green movement, as well as a way for inner-city youth to do something positive, constructive and creative with their free time.

At 21 years of age, Stevenson is already a seasoned leader, as well as a growing celebrity. The charismatic figurehead of what has already become a world-recognized phenomenon, he’s a good-natured, humble young man who has accepted a heavy responsibility quite nonchalantly.

Stevenson had a big day this past Saturday, when he was scheduled to perform at the back-to-school event at Frank Ogawa Plaza, lead a Scraper Bike ride, then host a festival at Arroyo Viejo Park. Yet any pressure or anxiety he might have felt disappeared behind a large, toothy grin, visible at almost all times.

The Scraper Bikes were supposed to meet at Ogawa at 11 a.m. Saturday. A few riders, including a couple of bike enthusiasts with road bikes and cleated SPD shoes who had scraperized their bikes with custom spokes (made out of beer cans and wood paneling), awaited their arrival for almost an hour.

Just before noon, Stevenson appeared. He made quite an entrance, with the Scraper Bike anthem blasting at high volume from his custom tricycle with a 100-lb. sound system, accompanied by about 10 riders on their Scrapers. Technical difficulties, he explained, were responsible for the delay. The stage at Arroyo Park was late in being set up and some of his riders had lagged. Plus, he had to perform at City Hall.

While the Scraper Bikes team waited for the ride back to the East and Stevenson graciously granted interviews with interested media outlets, city Parks & Rec officials fretted about making sure the riders obeyed public safety. Newly-purchased helmets were given to each rider.

Finally, Stevenson was introduced onstage as a positive role model for youth, after which he performed his hit song, “On the Scene,” flanked by the OSB team. Once that was behind him, it was time to ride.

Punching up some R&B and Michael Jackson tunes into his iPod, Stevenson led the riders down Broadway, over to Laney College and then East. The ride took a winding route on the way to East Oakland. Once the Parks & Rec chaperone had dropped off, the music switched to hardcore rap, its aggressive lyrics and thumping beats providing excellent motivation for cranking the pedals.

On rode the Scrapers, block after block, cruising through Bancroft, Foothill and Avenal avenues. At one point, about 15 youth from the East joined the remnants of the group. Now the group was rolling, 25 deep, through the ‘hood.

The Scraper Bikes were in full effect.

Though traffic was occasionally blocked by the scrapers, none of the drivers became rude or surly. There were no middle fingers, just occasional thumbs-ups, waves, cheers and honks from other vehicles and neighborhood habitants. There was a refueling stop at the Rainbow Rec Center; Vitamin Water was handed out and those who needed it took a bathroom break.

For the most part, the riders maintained a smooth line during the journey, with Stevenson in the lead; occasionally, however, sharp turns or weaving through traffic created a bit of a logjam among the Scraper peloton. Some riders’ chains became loose and at least one rider flipped his bike. Yet everyone arrived at Arroyo Viejo safe and sound.

Once the Scrapers had landed, they were greeted by the sounds of DJ Basta of Roots & Branches, free food and more Vitamin Water and art supplies, both for customizing T-shirts and bicycles. Stevenson jumped into Baybe Champ mode, performing a couple of songs before handing off the mic to upcoming rap duo J-Milli & O-zone – two East Oakland youth leaders who call their music “hood-hop.” Meanwhile, DESI WOME of the Community Rejuvenation Project painted a canvas.

The skies were sunny and so was the mood. It was a good day in East Oakland

(via Eric K Arnold - OaklandLocal.com)

Back To School - Scraper Bike Ride

2010-08-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Aug. 28th 2010

Bike Ride: 11am - 1pm
Frank Ogawa Plaza (14th n Broadway)

Festivale: 1pm - 6pm
Arroyo Viejo Park (7701 Krause Ave.)

All ages welcome

Original Scraper Bikes is collaborating with Roots & Branches and the City of Oakland Parks & Recreation to host a youth-led bicycle ride through Oakland to connect multiple communities around bicycles, art, music and food.

This event is in celebration of the City Of Oakland Scraper Bike Summer Camp.

*Everyones Invited!! Spread The Word!!!

City Of Oakland Scraper Bike Summer Camp

2010-07-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

(Photo by Matthew Reamer)

The City of Oakland Parks & Recs Department, has dedicated an entire week to the Scraper Bike Movement. This week long camp will be focused around bicycle repairs, bicycle safety and creating what call a Scraper Bike.

Helmets and bike safety gear will be given to all participants!!
All ages welcome - But designed for ages 7- 13y/o

4 Oakland Parks Have Been Selected To Host The Scraper Bike Camps:

-Arroyo Viejo Park (7701 Krause Avenue Oakland, CA 94605)

-Rainbow Recreation Center (Seminary n International)

-Mosswood Park (3699 Broadway, Oakland, California CA)

-DeFremery Recreation Center (16th n Adeline St Oakland CA)

This is how the week will look:
12 - 4pm

Monday Aug.9 - Registration, Ice breakers, Safety workbooks, bike route maps

Tuesday Aug.10 - Bring your bike to camp!! Safety checks, basic repair workshop, airbrush helmets

Wednesday Aug. 11 - Bike Rodeo, Simulated City

Thursday Aug. 12 - Scraper Bike Safety Ride and Parade

Friday Aug.13 - Scraper Bike Performances, BBQ, Graduation Celebration

We would like to take this time to thank our community and the City of Oakland for supporting this movement, and creating this summer camp.

If you would like to be apart of the Scraper Bike Camp, find a participating park near you and simply register. Only for ages 7-13....Volunteers Accepted!!

Grant For Change Finalist

2010-07-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

1) What projects and change-makers inspire you in your efforts?

The program that inspires my efforts is the Big Brother-Big Sister program. A lot of young people around the country have problems at home, and they don’t have someone older to guide them in a positive direction. The youth in my community (Oakland, CA) are bred to be a statistic; they’re taught at an early age how to rob, steal, and kill to survive. That’s why I feel like it’s my life goal to save as many kids as possible. The struggles these kids and I face on the daily is enough to inspire me to become a change-maker for my community. So here I stand!

2) if you could meet with anyone in the world to talk about your project, who would it be?

If I could meet with anybody in the world about my project it would have to be Oprah Winfrey. I choose her because I know the power she has on America and her opinion means a lot to people. I would want her to recognize the Scraper Bike Movement as an outlet that’s keeping youth in dangerous communities out of trouble, in school and away from drugs, gangs, and violence. And after that conversation, she calls President Obama and tells him how amazed she is…LoL…

3) What’s playing on your mp3 player these days?

Lately I’ve been listening to alot of R&B oldies from Michael Jackson, Al Green, Earth, Wind and Fire, even a little bit of 2pac. But usually I’ll listen to a lot of local hip hop while riding my 3 wheeler around my neighborhood with the Scraper Bike Team.

4) Making lasting change requires long-term vision. Where would you like to see your project in 5 years?

5 years from now I see my project being larger than life. The Scraper Bike Movement will franchise around the world helping communities in similar situations as Oakland. In 5 years I want to give youth full scholarships to college, and skills that will stick with them throughout their lives. I would like to open a community center based around the Scraper Bike Movement in Oakland, so I can continue to expand and save lives in the community that it started in.

5) What inspired you personally to become involved in this project? Why is it meaningful to you?

What inspired me to become so involved in the Scraper Bike Movement is that I realized that it’s saving young people’s lives. It keeps them in school and keeps them focus on doing what’s right in their life. Its meaningful to me because it all started in my backyard and continued to grow and is still growing. I see the future of the Scraper Bike Movement and it’s promising for the youth involved. If given the opportunity I will change the world one bike at a time.

(via Baybe Champ The Scraper Bike King ...www.nau.com)

Best Of The East Bay 2010

2010-07-23T01:44:00.000-07:00

Voted Best Green Transport Innovator

Four years ago, Oakland was home to its own fleet of rattling luxury cars — mostly Oldsmobiles and Buicks — all characterized by their bright candy paint, 22-inch rims, and screeching exhaust pipes (caused by suction tips). These so-called "scrapers" became icons of a regional rap scene. Unfortunately, they were unattainable to the bulk of that scene's fan base — many of whom were too young to drive, or too broke to afford a snazzy, accessorized gas guzzler. Then a young tinkerer from the flatlands came up with his own innovation. "Baby Champ" Stevenson generated a new local craze when he realized that the scraper aesthetic could just as easily apply to bikes. He began decorating his friends' two-wheelers with neon paint, gold aluminum foil (meant to resemble the "spinners" on scraper car wheels), and twenty-twos. Within months of their inception, scraper bikes became wildly popular. Baby Champ began running a bike boutique out of his garage, and leading Critical Mass-style rides through the 'hoods of Oakland. He shot a promotional rap video with his group, the Trunk Boiz, which drew mention on UrbanDictionary.com. Best of all, he became the unwitting spearhead of a new green revolution, by making bicycles cool for a new community.

(via eastbayexpress.com)

Pepsi Refresh Project + Scraper Bike Movement

2010-07-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

The Pepsi Refresh Project featured an artical about the Scraper Bike King on their blog. Click the link above to see more.

scraper bike | scra-per bik | informal
noun

a customized bicycle featuring oversized wheels, foil encased spokes and a spray painted frame
ORIGIN 21st century; Oakland

How do you get teenage boys from under served neighborhoods to maintain a healthy GPA and stay out of trouble?

Each year, a big chunk of our federal education budget is earmarked to figure out this very question. Non-profits like Harlem Children’s Zone and Green Dot Public Schools have both built brilliant models and boast impressive statistics on retention and closing the achievement gap. But there may be one element as important in reaching that coveted (and notoriously difficult to retain) demographic: the cool factor. “Kids work on scraper bikes because it’s something they want to do and they think it’s cool,” says Tyrone Stevenson, the 21-year-old founder of the budding non-profit Scraper Bikes.

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

LOOK: Report Cards Earn Street Cred and a Ticket to Ride By: Kyla Fullenwider of GOOD Refresh Project on Facebook Twitter

Scraper bikes are equal parts art project and pragmatic transportation. Far less than the cost of a scraper car – the lowriders from which the bikes borrowed their name – scraper bikes are tricked out using foil from candy wrappers and soda cans, their frames painted with spray cans from the .99 cent store.

“The frames are donated or found around the neighborhood,” says Stevenson. The oversized wheels may be the most expensive component, but all told, a scraper bike can be built with a few dollars and some sweat equity. “Kids show up at my house every day of the week to work on their bikes,” says Stevenson.

These are not just any kids. In order to join the scraper bike team you must come with your report card and demonstrate at least a 2.0 GPA (Stevenson checks them every week). While academic achievement and sustainability have not exactly defined street cool in the past, the tactic appears to be working: the group began with just eight or nine and now has almost a group of 40 mostly 13-16 year-olds.

Stevenson’s car free movement has moved beyond East Oakland thanks in large part to the group’s You Tube video which has received over three million views.

Stevenson plans to leverage the attention the group has received to build an advisory board and raise funds for a community center and bike shop that could serve more neighborhood kids. “Each Saturday, the group grows,” he says. “I’m running out of space in my backyard.”

(Via LOOK: Report Cards Earn Street Cred and a Ticket to Ride By: Kyla Fullenwider of GOOD Refresh Project on Facebook Twitter

Grant For Change

2010-07-02T14:59:00.000-07:00

VOTE NOW!!!

Help us win $10,000 for our summer program
by voting at nau.com or click the link above.

VOTE NOW!!!

Shop online for eco friendly mens and womens fashions and apparel. Nau.com is an outdoor clothing company balancing beauty, performance and sustainability.

VOTE NOW!!!

Vitamin Water Social Club SF

2010-06-29T00:50:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 9th, 2010
Vitman Water Social Club SF
557 Pacific Ave (Btwn. Kearney & Montgomery)
San Franciso, CA (North Beach District)

A night of art, music, and food with the Roots And Branches Crew. We will be taking over Vitamin Water's beautiful Social Club to bring you....

Performances by:
Chosen Few (Heiro Imperium)
Baybe Champ The Scraper Bike King
Kure Krew
Sunbeam RD
DJ Basta
And More

Live Screening- Printing By: Keith Magruder

Live Paintings By: Cameron Thompson

Come help us raise awarness and funds for our Free Summer Block Party Series

(Free For All Ages)

The Ride

2010-06-25T05:27:00.000-07:00

The Ride, a cycling journal out of the UK currently has a spread featuring my Scraper Bike photos accompanied by an article by the Scraper Bike King himself, Baybe Champ. It’s a beautifull publication and I’m honored to have my work included.

I’m thrilled by the continued interest in these photos and the Scraper Bike Movement. So far, they’ve been shown in Philadelphia, Denver, Austin, San Francisco, Sacramento, and The Oakland Airport, as well as the cover of Momentum Magazine with more in the pipeline.

You can order copies of The Ride online at www.theridejournal.com or find one at select retailers worldwide. In SF, you can get it at Pushbike on 24th. They WILL SELL OUT, so get on it!

(via Matthew Reamer, i-have-no-legs.blogspot.com)

Come Play In The Streets!!

2010-06-25T04:43:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., WalkOaklandBikeOakland - WOBO - aims to turn things back around by inviting neighbors of all ages to "come play in the streets" during the East Bay's first Oaklavia. Miles of streets in Uptown, Downtown, West Oakland and Jack London Square neighborhoods will be closed to car traffic and opened to everyone else.

(via San Francisco Chronicle)

Summer With The Scraper Bike Team

2010-06-25T04:11:00.001-07:00

Because of your donations, the Scraper Bike Team can continue to make works of art. More and more young people is seeing the Scraper Bike Movement as a summer program, now that schools out. Our biggest expense is materials for our bikes and were ran off donations and 1 grant. Your contribution is gladly needed.

For a 501c(3)tax write off, email: scraperbikes@gmail.com for more information.

Heres some random pics of The Original Scraper Bike Team.

Enjoy!!

The Scraper Bike Store

2010-06-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

The "Original Scraper Bike Store" is now open for business.
All proceeds go towards the Scraper Bike Movement.

Click title to be linked to our online store.

*Scraper Bike shirts....Coming Soon...

Thanks For Your Support!!!!

Great Day For A Block Party!!

2010-06-07T05:03:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the "Town Funk Block Party"
Thanks to all your donations all the kids bikes was as
colorful as the mural that stands in our background (via photos)

Special shout out to Roots & Branches for hosting another family event in Oakland..

www.rootsandbranches.info

Town Funk Summer Block Party

2010-05-29T03:37:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 5th, 2010, the Community Rejuvenation Project is partnering with Roots and Branches plus othere local organizations to unveil four new murals with themes based in local music and culture from 12 - 5 PM at the intersection of 19th St. and Park Blvd. The Summer Block Party will feature a Michael Jackson tribute by DJ Zeph honoring the anniversary of his death. Local Funktown musicians Rocker T and Jern Eye wiil perform along with Sabac Red of Non-Phixion, Virtuous, Lyric, youth from Oakland High's Beats Rhymes and Life Film Project and the winner of their upcoming talent show. Controlling the tempo will be DJ Basta, the Roots and Branches crew, and DJ Smokestaxx with appearances by Baby Champ and the Scrapper Bike Team. "This event will kick off the series of summer block parties that Roots and Branches and the Community Rejuvenation Project will be putting on regularly this year," says Nick Basta, founder of Roots and Branches.

A Weekend At Maker Faire

2010-05-27T03:33:00.000-07:00

The Scraper Bike Team had a great time at this years Maker Faire Bay Area.
We thank Nina Alter for her sponsorship and kind heart. Cause of people like Nina and those who donated, the Scraper Bike King was able to take 9 youth from the inner city East Oakland, to participate in the faire. Its an experiance of its own being apart of the Maker Faire, but being able to bring "Young Makers" from the urban city to a robotic, scientists type faire was amazing!

Awarded Maker Faires "Editors Choice Award 2010"

Heres some pictures taken during the faire.

The kids had a great time!! Thanks again Nina for your contribution!!

Lets Give A Helping Hand..

2010-05-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Your Donation Will Reach The Youth Sooner Then You Think..
Any Amount Of Money Will Make A Difference In These Young Peoples Lives.

Thanks For Your Support.

Scraper Bikes Take Over Maker Faire - Bay Area

2010-05-17T22:51:00.000-07:00

May 22-23, 2010
San Mateo County Event Center
Sat. 10am - 8pm...Sun. 10am - 6pm

Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It's for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things. So much to see, you will need 2 days to see it all!

Makers showcasing the most innovative and inspiring creations yet! This year's focus is on Young Makers. Join your fellow Makers for the most innovative, inspired and best Maker Faire yet!

(via makerfaire.com )

CHECK OUT THEIR BLOG!!!...Click The Title Of This Blog Post..

BRAND NEW!!!!..." Scrapertown"

2010-05-05T17:12:00.000-07:00

Never Before Seen..Til Now....The Latest Short Documentry Of The "Scraper Bike King"..

Coming To A Film Festival Near You..

This is a beautiful new film about the Scraper Bike scene in Oakland, featuring Baybe Champ, The Scraper Bike King. You should watch it now!

“Scraper Bikes is definitely a process, and that process is definitely for the kids so they can get their mind off of what’s really goin’ on on these streets, and give them at least that hour, or two hours, to fix on their bikes. You know that hour or two hours of a life change, you feel me? Or a life saved, cuz Scraper Bikes is definitely saving a lot of these kids’ lives.”

Hit that “full screen” option. This film is so gorgeous, it should be viewed big as possible.

(via SFCriticalMass.org)

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

Directed By: Drea Cooper And Zackary Canepari

Scraper Bikes Take Over Cannes, France

2010-04-30T10:34:00.001-07:00

'The Scraper Bike King' Short Doc. Is Going To Be Viewed At The 'Cannes Independent Film Festival'

In Cannes, France
May 12- 23, 2010

This is "The Scraper Bike King's" 6th international film festival! Come out and support!

For more information login to: www.cannesfest.org

VIDEO PREVIEW!!!

Directed By: Rafael Flores
www.greeneyedmedia.com

"Love Yo Mama" Earth Day 2010

2010-04-28T13:50:00.000-07:00

On behalf of Communities for a Better Environment:

Please accept our heartfelt thanks for making our Earth Day truly a community event! Everyone present wore smiles all day and spoke of how good it felt to be in East Oakland at Tassafaronga and ACORN Woodland/EnCompass Academy. The parade was a hit and the activities at the school were educational and engaging. We look forward to working with you in the future on the 3rd annual Earth Day as well as other CBE work in East Oakland. Take care and create a healthy future!

Scraper Bikes Leading Earth Day Parade In East Oakland

2010-03-30T13:38:00.000-07:00

We Going "Green" In Our Neighborhoods.
Come Join Us If Your In The Area..

"The Scraper Bike King" takes over Beverly Hills!!

2010-03-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

"The Scraper Bike King" short film will be screened at the 2010 Going Green Festival and Eco-Entertainment Awards in Beverly Hills. It will be screened at The Writer's Guild Theater of America and the film will be in the running for the best Hybrid/Alternative Transportation Film Award. After the screening and award ceremony, the festival will be honoring "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition", "24" and "The Good Wife". This event is to followed by a star-studded Gala inside, The Writer's Guild Theater of America.

This is "The Scraper Bike King's" 5th international film festival! Come out and support!

Tickets Available at: www.GoingGreenFilmFestival.com

Date: Sunday, April 4, 2010
Time: 2:15pm - 4:00pm
Location: WRITER'S GUILD THEATER OF AMERICA
Street: 135 South Doheny Drive
City/Town: Beverly Hills, CA

Its 2010!!!...Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

2010 Is Going To Be A Huge Year For The Scraper Bike Movement. Were Planning On Launching 3 Brand New Items This Year, That Will Give You A Clear Vision Of Wat Our Overall Dreams Are. Coming Soon Later This Year..We Have So Many Suprises In Store For All Of Our Fans And Supporters World-Wide...At This Point On The Rode To Startdom, We Ask That Everybody Help Us Promote This Global Phenomenon Like It Should Of Been Promoted Back In 2007, When The Original Scraper Bike Song Was Created..Lets Keep It Possitive, Keep It Peaceful, And Keep It For The Kids...2010 Is The Year To Win, And The Scraper Bike Movement Is Here To Stay...

Dont Forget To Download The New Scraper Bike Anthem...More Music Comin Soon....

...Lets Do It Right This Time Around...

Photos By: Romel Lucas

How Can We Forget About This Interview With StreetFilms

2009-12-13T18:59:00.000-08:00

This Event Took Place This Past Summer In Collabration With Onefam & Bikes4Life Whom Were Sorry To Mention, This Was Our Last Bike Ride And Collaboration With The Organization...Check Out Their Website To See Wat Wounderful Things Thier Doing In The Community.. And Congratulations On Their Grand Opening Of The 'Bikes 4 Life' Bike Shop...We Wish Them Much Success...

...................................................................................

Scraper Bikes: “Bike 4 Life Ride”
By:John Hamilton
July 31, 2009

Born in the streets of Oakland, scraper bikes first gained attention as a trend in bicycle customization that spread with viral speed, thanks to YouTube. Since the Scraper Bike video debuted two years ago, they've become much more: a practical means of greening urban space, a social movement, and a rallying point for young people organizing against violence in their communities.

Tyrone "Baby Champ" Stevenson, who styles himself the Scraper Bike King, says the first scraper bikes were created by Oakland teens who coveted, but could not afford, scraper cars -- souped-up sedans painted with bright colors and with rims so large they scrape the undercarriage. Scraper bikes are such a hit that many teens skip the cars and keep pedaling well past the age of 16.

On July 25, Stevenson organized the second annual "Bike 4 Life" ride to call for an end to violence in Oakland's neighborhoods. "We're trying to bring together a gun truce," he says, "because a lot of people in our community are dying from guns." This Streetfilm features scenes from the ride and more from Stevenson about the movement he helped launch.

(Via Streetfilms.org)

Download The Newest Scraper Bike Song Free....

2009-11-19T23:14:00.000-08:00

"On The Scene" Is The Latest Song From Recording Artist And Creator Of The Scraper Bike Movement, Baybe-Champ The Scraper Bike King.

The Song Was Released This Pass Summer Off The Roots And Branches Comp. Visit: www.rootsandbranches.info For More Information About The Soundtrack.

The Songs Was Produced By: Big Hurt Of North Oakland, Mixed And Scratched By DJ BASTA Of Roots And Branches.

Lets Us Know Wat You Think About The New Anthem To The Scraper Bike Movement!

...Having Problems? Copy & Paste Link-->

http://www.zshare.net/audio/65121639eefcb442

(Also Avalible On Fun4Mobile.com Search:"On The Scene")

Oaklandish - Original Scraper Bikes T-Shirts Coming Soon!!

2009-11-18T07:58:00.000-08:00

Finally, The Official Oaklandish Scraper Bike T-Shirts Will Be Sold In Stores, And Fests, Near You...Coming Soon....For A Limited Time Only...(Online Sales Will Be Avaliable!)

Photos Taken By: Johnnie Mitchel

All Images Are Copyrights Of Johnnie Mitchell.com

2009-11-18T07:41:00.000-08:00

Here Are Some Pictures Taken By Johnnie Mitchell On Halloween At The 3rd Annual Scraper Bike Day - Halloween Bike Ride...

3rd Annual Scraper Bike Day A Success

2009-11-07T02:13:00.000-08:00

Never heard of "scraper bikes?" Watch this! from Oakland North on Vimeo.

Tyrone Stevenson Jr., alias the Scraper Bike King, celebrated the Third Annual Scraper Bike Day last weekend with an informal gathering at a park in East Oakland. The Scraper Bike community, part of yet another Oakland phenom that has gone bigtime, was invited to come out to show off the gussied-up bikes, listen to music, and watch a an all-female performance team do a bike dance...(Via Oakland North)

3rd Annual Scraper Bike Day- Halloween Bike Ride

2009-11-07T02:12:00.000-08:00

Our event goals are to introduce a positive movement to our community that is looking for safe alternative activities for the youth to engage. We want to bring Bikes from all over the bay to come together and ride for Peace and Empowerment. As part of our entertainment we will bring together the best Hip Hop Artistes from the Bay Area to celebrate Peace, Unity, and our love for Scraper Bikes.

The Scraper Bikes was recently honored by The Oakland Unified School District for giving Extraordinary Services to the OUSD Community. We have a record of planning and holding successful non violent events over the past few years to bring awareness of this grassroots movement. Oakland is the birth place of the Scraper Bikes. Scraper bike day is part of our fundraiser to help with the goal of getting a Bike Shop in East Oakland that will be set up by youth in the community we plan on creating a bicycle shop that focuses on customizing bicycles, bicycle repair skills, and youth mentoring services. We plan on creating a sustainable, positive, educational, and "Green" way of life in the inner city.

Scraper Bike Fan Videos

2009-11-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

Check Out These Random Youtube Videos...Some Are Funny...Some Are Rude...Some Are Entertaining...And Some Is Just Questionable... You Be The Judge..LoL..Keep The Videos Coming!!!!

(via youtube.com)

Just Some Random Youtube Videos Based On The "Scraper Bike Movement"

2009-11-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

The Second Annual Halloween Scraper Bike Ride. 10/31/08. From East to West Oakland and back. Exclusive tshirts by Oaklandish. Video by BASTA.

Scraper Bike ride in Oakland, Ca. Led by Original Scraper Bikes. Filmed by Oaklandish.

GET THE DVD OFF THE HOOK SPECIAL APPERANCES BY THE TRUNK BOIZ AND TOO SHORT. facebook.com/ScraperBikeKing

Scraper Bikes Vol.1 DVD ft. Too Short myspace.com/scraperbikeking
(Sorry We All Sold Out!)

The Scraper Bike King Ghost Ride His 3 Wheeler In The Middle Of E14th.

A critical mass of scraper bikes went by our place in West Oakland the evening of July 25.(Cool Video!)

Bikes For Life, Silence the Violence Ride in Oakland 7/13/08

out filming the second scraper bike video in east oakland, we decided to make a quick stop in the middle of 90...(LoL..This Old School Right Here...LoL)

The Scraper Bike Music Videos

2009-11-06T14:15:00.000-08:00

The Rough Cut Of The Scraper Bike Music Video Thats Currently At 2.7 Million Views And Still Going...

The Final Version Of The Scraper Bike Music Video Thats Currently Over 700,000 Views And Still Going. Enjoy!

-With A Total Count Of Both Music Videos The Scraper Bike Song Is Well Over 3.4 Million Views World Wide! Thats Wat Lead The Scraper Bikes InTo A Global Curtual Movement.

All Scraper Bike Cameo Music Videos

2009-11-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

This Is The Very 1st Music Video The Scraper Bikes Cameo'd In.
18 Dummie By: The Federations (Bay Area Rap Group)

(Link Only)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0ou9rqJ9ss

The Next Video Following The 18 Dummie By The Federations,
Is Bay Area Hip Hop Artist Kafani: In "Fast Like A Nascar"

The Most Recent Music Video The Scraper Bikes Cameo'd In, Was Early 2009 In The Nation Wide Twitter Anthem "Hit Me On Twitter" By: Bay Area Ledgend Mistah FAB

Check Out This Video/Song The Scraper Bike King Is Featured On With Sac. Towns Very Own Lil Q Of The Scraper Boyz..(7 Years Old)..

Save The Best For Last...Download Now...The Newest Scraper Bike Song To Hit The Net...Preview of Baby Champ's new hit "On The Scene." Beat by Big Hurt, mix and video by DJ BASTA. Off of the upcoming Roots and Branches Sound System Vol. 3 dropping this summer. www.rootsandbranches.info

(via Youtube.com)

Scraper Bikes Featured On The Backstory Of "The Christian Science Monitor"

2009-11-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

December 8th, 2008

Teens in Oakland, Calif., find an outlet in ‘Scraper Bikes’
Led by young Tyrone Stevenson, they create two wheelers from tricked-out scavenged frames, recycled rims, and Oreo Cookie Wrappers.

The parking lot is full of boys. There are tall boys, short boys, rowdy boys, and shy boys. There are eager boys who clown around, hyper with anticipation. There are hard-looking boys with gazes that pierce like nails. On this rainy autumn evening, the whole group is spinning around a cracked, weedy corner of east Oakland on the souped-up bicycles and tricycles they call “scraper bikes.”

They’ve spray-painted the recycled old wheels orange and blue and white and red. They’ve pasted Reese’s and Skittles and Oreo wrappers on the scavenged frames. A few even have amplifiers wired to the back. Laughing, the riders zoom and turn, zoom and turn, often narrowly avoiding collisions.

One older teen – a soft-spoken dreamer with a sequined hat perched atop his head – serves as their leader. His name is Tyrone Stevenson, though most know him by his nickname, “Baby Champ.” He is, everyone agrees, the Scraper Bike King. He wants to change the rough, violent world that he and these other boys are growing up in. He thinks he can do it with bikes.
“I just want to give them something positive,” he says.

Until recently, most people had never heard of Stevenson or the tricked-out homemade bicycles he invented back when he was a troubled 13-year-old. Stevenson modeled his creations after “scraper” cars, which are popular in east Oakland and feature booming stereos, candy-colored paint jobs, and big wheels with matching rims. The cars’ name derives from the rims, which are sometimes so large they scrape against the wheel wells. Stevenson simply borrowed that idea – big wheels, bright colors, loud music – and applied it to bikes.

Last year, Stevenson joined forces with a local hip-hop group, da Trunk Boiz, to make a music video paying tribute to the scraper bike. Their videographer posted it on YouTube, and Stevenson soon forgot about it. Perhaps because hip-hop songs aren’t normally playful ballads describing a boy’s love of his bicycle, perhaps because the lyrics are simple and catchy, their video quickly soared in popularity. The two most popular online versions of the video have now been viewed 3 million times.

The chorus of the song goes like this: “I’m moving on my scraper bike. I’m cruising on my scraper bike. My scraper bike, go hard. I don’t need no car.”

Those words are now on the lips of teenagers from Germany to Russia to China. But nowhere are they so well-known as in the neighborhood where the Scraper Bike King grew up. The bikes have become a symbol of pride for east Oakland youth. They offer an outlet for kids growing up in troubled schools, troubled neighborhoods, and – often as not – troubled families.

Scraper bike boys may not have access to the expensive video games enjoyed by their suburban peers. There’s no promise of a car on their 16th birthdays. But there is the simple pleasure of refurbishing a discarded bicycle, of taking something old and broken and making it shine.

“He’s helping the kids that would otherwise be on the street – packing guns, selling drugs,” says Andre Ernest, who directs da Trunk Boiz and has a nonprofit called Super Innovative Teens.

•••

Six years ago, when he dreamed up his first scraper bike, Stevenson was spending his freshman year at a continuation high school. He’d been kicked out of middle school for smoking pot and fighting. “I was a problem child,” he says.

His father – never much of a presence in Stevenson’s life – had died of AIDS when the boy was in third grade. His mother, who worked two jobs, begged her only child to find a hobby, some constructive outlet for all his pent-up frustration.

One summer day, Stevenson was hanging out in front of his cousin’s house. The older boy showed him how to fold aluminum foil over the spokes of his bicycle so it would look like chrome plating. Impressed, Stevenson decided to spruce up the bike even more. He grabbed some green spray paint left over from a school project. “Let’s paint the bike,” he said.

Other boys were taken with Stevenson’s new wheels. “That’s town business,” they decreed – slang for “That has Oakland written all over it.” He started decorating friends’ bikes for free.

In 10th grade, someone told him to bring a few bikes over for a video shoot by the popular hip-hop group, The Federation. He was thrilled.
Then, in July of 2006, Stevenson’s close friend, Mikal Robinson, was hit by an SUV while riding around west Oakland on a dirt bike. Death has always been far too present in Stevenson’s life: Oakland, a relatively small city, saw 127 murders last year. After Mikal died, Stevenson wrote a song listing the names of 15 dead loved ones. He figures that number has doubled since then.

The loss of Mikal rocked Stevenson’s foundations. He threw himself more fully into his newly discovered hobby. Now he wasn’t just promoting scraper bikes for himself; he was doing it for Mikal. That fall, he approached da Trunk Boiz.

“I believe I have something to bring to the table that will further both our careers,” he remembers telling them.

From there, a phenomenon was born. Last April, Stevenson’s scraper bikes were featured on the front page of The Oakland Tribune – a day, he says, “I will never forget.” The Oakland Museum displayed one of his bikes in an exhibit on local culture. A local T-shirt company, Oaklandish, began sponsoring his work. “These are young people who normally wouldn’t be considered artists, but I definitely consider it fine art,” says Nicholas Basta, who does community outreach for the company.

Stevenson, who has been attending adult school and is set to earn his high school diploma this month, plans to take some business classes at a local community college. Soon, he hopes to patent his design, then open a scraper bike shop where he can employ other youth. His long-term goal, he says, is to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

•••

By 6 p.m. on this cold, wet night – which Stevenson has proclaimed the second annual Scraper Bike Day – the boys in the parking lot are getting antsy. Rain clouds have darkened overhead and the event’s main illumination now comes from a Burger King billboard.

Stevenson, who has affixed a speaker system to the back of his oversized yellow-and-white three-wheeler, lines the group up for a photo shoot. He tells them twice not to flash gang signs in any pictures. The scraper-bike movement needs to represent something positive, he says. There’s no room for street-level rivalries.

Finally, the three-dozen boys pull their bikes onto Foothill Boulevard, where Friday night traffic snakes by. They don’t have helmets or bike lights, so their main safety equipment comes in the form of the T-shirts Oaklandish has donated – black, with glow-in-the-dark letters on the back.

Late into the evening, Stevenson and his riders pedal their way across Oakland’s forgotten neighborhoods. They ride over broken glass, over discarded handwritten signs promising “Fast Cash for Houses.” They ride past bewildered families, past bow-tied members of the Nation of Islam, past a rowdy group of teenagers hanging out by the corner store. Some drivers honk their support, others their frustration.

Among the scraper-bike boys, a light-hearted enthusiasm abounds. At least for tonight, these streets belong to them.

(via csmonitor.com)

-This Is The Deepest Interview The Scraper Bike King Has Ever Done. He Really Opened Up His Heart, And Told His Life Story From Begining To End..

Scraper Bikes Featured On "Urban Alliance For Sustianibilty"

2009-11-06T13:23:00.000-08:00

Sometime In 2008

Straight outta Oakland- Have you been seeing this group of highly inspired kids riding around the East Bay on bikes that are hand built, colorful, engaging, and exciting? If you haven't, meet the Trunk Boiz, who spawned the world-wide trend known as Scraper Bikes, all while maintaining an active musical career, holding down day jobs, setting up non-profits, being community leaders, and having a great time.

While the Trunk Boiz are spread throughout the East Bay, from Oakland to Richmond and Vallejo, the bike movement that they created and showcased in their YouTube video has gone global. The music video "Scraper Bike" has over 2 million hits, thanks in part to a connection with the Bicycle Film Festival, which gave the group a chance to expose their special brand of bikesmanship to viewers in Japan, France, Italy, England, Switzerland, and beyond. "Scraper Bike" was also nominated in 2007 for YouTube's Best Music Video.

So what is a scraper bike? "The idea came from riding around and seeing scraper cars: old school [mid 1980's-90's] GMC model cars, mostly Buicks, with sound systems and rims that match the paint. They ride around with speakers and play music to promote it. So we did that with bikes," says T.B. member Bay-be Champ. Indeed, scraper bikes are hand-built from donated or salvaged bicycles, painted with matching bodies and tire rims, sporting speaker systems run on mounted battery packs, and the crew ride around at rallies, through the streets, and into your head with their unforgettable "Scraper Bike" anthem blasting.

It doesn't stop with the bikes and the music promotion. The Trunk Boiz are down-to-earth, incredibly dedicated community activists. When asked to define what the Scraper Bike movement means, they say, "It's fun, creative, positive, and educational." Like many urban communities in the late 20th century and into the 21st, there is a lack of opportunity for youth in Oakland, which often leads to increased drug use, behavioral problems, and broken families. "These kids don't got anything to do, so we're trying to interest them in bikes, fixing them and riding them, so they stay out of trouble," says Champ. "Me being 19 and living in the urban community, I see there's not alot of resources for creativity. But bikes are an [opportunity for] expression of that creativity, and that's where Scraper Bikes comes in." The rest of the band, all between the ages of 17 and 22, agrees: "We are community activists. Whenever there's a problem [such as the increase in violent gun crime in Oakland] we get together and say somethin'. Scraper Bikes is getting a group of kids together to voice our opinions," says T.B. member B*Janky. The Trunk Boiz are building bikes to donate to Silence the Violence and recently contributed a scraper bike on behalf of Youth UpRising to the Oakland Museum's Cool Remixed: Bay Area Urban Art and Culture Now exhibit.

The Trunk Boiz are also heavily involved with a bike rally and barbeque on July 13th, 2008 at the Lake Merritt playground in Oakland. The theme of the ride is "Bike for Life: Riding for Peace" and will be held in collaboration with the SF Bike Coalition, Silence the Violence, Books Not Bars, and anybody and everybody in the Bay Area who has a bike, a burning desire to come together for a worthy ideal, and some food for the grill. What better venue for community action than a unity barbeque! Imagine a world where bike cultures and hip-hop cultures come together for the sake of peace and life. In the past few years, Oakland has increased its reputation as a violent, dangerous place to live, but "we changing it. We doing something that people aren't used to, giving it a new vibe. In Oakland, they's a lot more out here than people dying, and we're trying to help change that image. We're not superstars, we're just regular people, doin' this for the kids," says T.B. member 2Deep.

To help make that happen, the Trunk Boiz bring the Scraper Bike mentality not only to bike rallies and music; the group have incorporated a non-profit organization called Super Innovative Teens, which according to B*Janky, is a headquarters for Oakland youth to meet up and work on bikes, as well as house young people with talents and skills in music, art, business, and education, and give them the resources necessary to succeed. The idea is to provide a safe place that becomes a bike youth center, get a dedicated membership together, and be creative with minds and bikes. Of course, the Scraper Bike movement here in the East Bay has spawned start-up community action bike groups in cities around the world who inspire the Boiz with news and updates on their impact: "That's showing some unity."

In Oakland in 2006, there were 36.4 murders for every 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 7 murders per 100,000; robberies, car thefts and aggravated assaults make the situation seem even bleaker. Oakland resident Dame Hooker, interviewed by Kevin Epps for Current.com, says, "It's a cold game out here, man." On the other hand, the soul-utionary thinking of the Trunk Boiz is making a healthy and real impact in the community. "Everything we do is positive... The future is endless," says Champ. B*Janky chimes in: "For real

(via uas.coop.com)

Scraper Bikes Featured On "News Desk"

2009-11-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

December 24, 2008

Oakland, California, is not just the city with the fifth-highest crime rate in the country -- it's also home to the "scraper bike" movement, which according to Wiretap Magazine is giving young people an alternative to the violence plaguing their communities.

Scraper bikes are tricked out with unique paint jobs, rims and spinners, and have been modified to resemble "scraper" cars of the late 1980s -- American-made sedans decked out with stereo systems, huge rims and imaginative detailing.

Tyrone Stevenson, known by friends as Baby Champ and generally acknowledged as the Scraper Bike King, and hopes to make Oakland a little less violent with each customized bike he creates.

Scraper bikes came up from the Bay Area's "hyphy" hip-hop subculture, and gained attention when Stevenson posted a video with his group Da Trunk Boiz on YouTube that highlighted the bikes.

Stevenson made his first scraper bikes as a troubled 13-year-old, and now attends adult school and hopes to open a scraper bike shop where young people can learn the craft and meet positive role models.

He wants the bikes to show at-risk youth "that there's ... something else out there and people to support you being creative."

Scraper Bikes Graced The Cover Of "Momentum Magazine"

2009-11-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

July/Aug. Edition

Scraper bikes are a style spawned by teenagers in Oakland, and popularized by the hip-hop group Trunk Boiz on YouTube. Tyrone Stevenson Jr., one of the Trunk Boiz, pioneered the scraper bike style a couple years ago, creating pinwheel decorated spokes with tinfoil, re-used cardboard, candy wrappers and paint. Scraper bikes are a response to Oakland’s scraper car aesthetic. The video of the Trunk Boiz song “Scraper Bike” caught attention on YouTube in 2007 and has garnered millions of views since.

Stevenson participated in this year’s Maker Faire in San Mateo, CA where the momentum crew had the chance to meet him. He has also started making a living decorating bikes for other people.

The scraper bike crew are aware and proud of that their bikes help promote green transportation, and they have also connected scraper biking with another important cause: raising awareness and unity against gun violence in their neighbourhoods. In 2008 the Trunk Boiz, in collaboration with Bike 4 Life, and Silence the Violence, presented the Scraper Bike 4 Life ride and barbecue in West Oakland. The message was to stop the bullets and violence by calling for a gun truce. It was also a celebration of creativity and expression mixed with a physically active lifestyle and the love of the bicycle. The mile-long bike ride drew over 100 people and consisted mostly of youth riders on colourful scraper bikes. The Second annual Bike 4 Life ride is on Saturday, July 25 starting at 2pm at Lakeside Playground, 468 Perkins St. in Oakland finishing up with a celebration in Demfry Park at 3pm. With all the attention on scraper bikes this year, the ride is sure to have a big, bright, beautiful turnout – and a positive impact on the people of Oakland.

Now bikers from Portland to Albuquerque are making their own versions of scraper bikes. Search for scraper bikes on Flickr, or watch the Trunk Boiz video on YouTube for inspiration – then go build your own scraper bike!

(via MomentumPlanet.com)

Scraper Bikes Featured On "East Bay Express"

2009-11-06T12:25:00.000-08:00

June 25, 2008

Throughout his childhood, Baby Champ — whose name derives from his deceased father, Tyrone "Big Champ" Stevenson — was constantly getting in scraps with other kids. "If you said something about my daddy it would be, like, 'What? Okay, well, it's time to fight,'" said the nineteen-year-old East Oakland native, whose father died when he was in third grade. Champ's mother, always the last stop in a long chain of disciplinary actions, would enjoin Baby Champ to find more productive ways of channeling his anger. Then she would put him under house arrest: no TV, no phone calls, no playing outside after the sun went down. The only thing left to do, Champ recalled, was take apart his bicycle to see if he could reassemble all the parts. Being sequestered at home in this manner would ultimately do wonders for Champ's career.

He was the kind of kid who always liked tinkering with household appliances. He'd pry things apart, loosen the screws, twist off the knobs, and pull the springs out just to see if he could put everything back together in its original form. By the time he turned thirteen, Champ could build a bike more easily than the average person could put together an Ikea nightstand. Then he got the idea of improving on the vehicle's design in homage to the candy-colored Oldsmobile "scrapers" he'd see rolling through his neighborhood in East Oakland. He began adding 22-inch or 26-inch rims, gold aluminum foil (meant to resemble the "spinners" on scraper car wheels), and bright, electric paintjobs. Despite his mother's disapproval ("She was like, 'Don't make no mess, don't get no spray paint on the wall, that better not be my foil'"), Champ became passionate about his "scraper bikes," approaching them with the studied intensity of a craftsman making an abstract sculpture. As a senior at McClymonds High School, Champ launched his own mom-and-pop bicycle boutique, which later inspired a popular rap video and landed him in the sanctified pages of UrbanDictionary.com.

Champ is a bicycle enthusiast with a DIY business model that would garner approval from any punk rocker or Critical Mass activist. The yard outside his mother's apartment is a checkerboard of dirt and scrub grass, with scrap bikes piled in one corner, all in varying stages of disrepair: Some have handlebars but no wheels; some are just skeletal frames with the paint peeled off; some are rusted, while others reflect oily light from the sun. Around the side of the house he keeps seven bicycles that look like part of a modern art installation. There's a beach cruiser with chameleon pain that changes from purple to green, and a street bike with Reese's peanut butter cup wrappers woven in the spokes. Other bikes have similarly flashy accessories: gold aluminum foil; Capri Sun juice boxes; Oreo cookie wrappers; two-toned paintjobs; spray-painted 22-inch rims.

On a recent Sunday, Champ sits atop a washing machine in the basement of his apartment building. He is wearing baggy pants, skate shoes, a green Mack Bee T-shirt (from his friend's Vallejo-based clothing line), and an engineer's cap covered with silver sequins. On his right arm are tattooed epitaphs commemorating both his father and his cousin, who died two years ago when he rode his bike though an intersection in West Oakland, and was struck by an oncoming car. A treble clef and musical notes are scrolled across his neck on the left side. His flashy clothes and winsome smile belie his businessman's nature: Since selling his first bike at age fifteen, Champ has constantly been on the move seeking ways to expand his tiny empire. He currently customizes about five bikes a week by adding spinners and candy wrapper wheel decorations, and even tricking them out with real car stereo systems ($175 for the whole package if you bring your own set of wheels).

Champ calls himself an "opportunist," in the sense that "If I see an opportunity, I'm gonna take it." On this day, he's already gotten called to demo the scraper bikes at the Oakland Museum of California, and at a Father's Day picnic in Mosswood Park. Over the past couple months he's assembled a loose-knit street team called the Scraper Bike Boys, already about thirty men deep. Champ uses an each-one, teach-one approach: He made their bikes, showed them how to do it, then got them to ride around town and advertise his product for free. Thus, the self-proclaimed "Scraper Bike King" is at once a true populist, and a shrewd businessman. Champ figured out how to keep his overhead low by stashing about a dozen bikes outside the East Oakland apartment that he shares with his mother, and the rest at his grandmother's house on 74th Street. The itinerant business model is pretty cost-effective, though Champ eventually hopes to open his own shop (he got a couple complaints from grandma when she began planning for a recent backyard barbecue). For now, his storefront is the web site ScraperBikes.net, where Champ hawks bikes, bike accessories, and apparel, and also cross-promotes his rap group, Da Trunk Boiz. Their song "Scraper Bikes" gained its own cult following without any traditional A&R, and spawned a low-budget music video that's already gotten about two million hits on YouTube.

It's all pretty brilliant. Both Da Trunk Boiz and the Scraper Bike Boys (whose membership overlaps) do everything from a grassroots sensibility. The five crew members shot their Scraper Bike video in somebody's front yard, and on the street outside; the group's demo album, which they mixed and edited in Champ's laundry room, has an equally lo-fi production style (as in, so lo-fi, it's practically no-fi). Last Halloween Champ amassed some fifty bike riders at the corner of 51st Avenue and Foothill Boulevard to ride from East Oakland to West Oakland on their splashy vehicles. He promoted the event on radio station 106 KMEL by proclaiming it the inaugural "Scraper Bike Day" celebration. Making it to the Urban Dictionary was probably their biggest break thus far. The entry for "scraper bike" reads: "A new trend that is a part of the San Francisco Bay Area Hyphy Movement in which people ride their tricked out bikes and go stupid, dumb, retarded while on their bikes ... The term was coined by the rap group Trunk Boiz of Oakland, California."

It's no huge surprise that the scraper bikes are catching on in a period of economic recession, when prohibitive gas prices are deterring many folks — Champ included — from purchasing the actual scraper BMWs. In fact, said the Scraper Bike King — who unwittingly became a bastion of progressive environmental politics in East Oakland — "I have my bike, I don't need no car." He says that recent rap video cameos (for the Federation's "18 Dummy" song and Kafani's "Fast Like a Nascar") helped catapult the scraper bikes to national renown, though he's still trying to get the investment capital to launch his own shop. Even if he doesn't get rich, Champ will surely be remembered for his role in the greening of hip-hop. He said his mother finally gets it.

(via EastBayExpress.com)

-This Is Our Least Favorite Interview, The Writters Tone Sounds Very Negative, And Non-Supportive...Just An Opinion...Wat Do You Think?

"Youth Radio" Interview The Scraper Bike King About TV Show "Gang Wars"

2009-11-06T12:17:00.000-08:00

September 29, 2009

The Discovery Channel's recent two-part documentary "Gang Wars: Oakland" has been the talk of Tha Town. We asked the founder of the scraper bike movement, Baybe-Champ, about what he thought about the controversial mini-series.

(via YouthRadio.org)

Scraper Bike Featured On "WireTap Magazine"

2009-11-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

December 15, 2008

It's a Wednesday afternoon, and in the administrative offices of East Oakland's Edward Shands Adult School, Tyrone "Champ" Stevenson is talking the finer points of legal patents. He's two weeks shy of his twentieth birthday, but already has a budding business to look after.

Stevenson invented "scraper bikes," and for the past two years, they've been seen almost everywhere in Oakland. The classic scraper bike is a small BMX frame with larger, 10-speed wheels decorated with foil, colorful tape wound between the spokes of the tires and elaborate custom paint jobs. Particularly ambitious folks can get high-quality speaker systems installed.

As the self-proclaimed Scraper Bike King, Stevenson coined the name "scraper bikes" because they were modeled after "scrapers" -- late-'80s model sedans tricked out with oversized rims, custom paint jobs and sound systems that came to fame during the rise of the Bay Area "hyphy" music movement. The bikes were a less expensive, do-it-yourself alternative that didn't require a driver's license.

But the "scraper bike movement" -- as it's called among riders and admirers -- isn't just a colorful way to get noticed. Stevenson describes it as a deliberate effort to meld artistry and entrepreneurship to develop skills and opportunities for young people in Oakland.

Something New

The scraper bike movement is characterized by one simple organizing strategy: Each One, Teach One.

Stevenson began building bikes when he was 13. After repeatedly getting into trouble at school, his mother grounded him, adding that he should put his energy into something he was good at that would keep him out of trouble. He eventually found himself in his backyard, being schooled by a cousin on how to put together bike rims. Soon, he was adding his own styles and colors, and by the time he began riding his customized scraper bike around his neighborhood, other people wanted in.

"At first, my friends thought it was something new, something they had never seen before," he says.

Slowly, he began to teach. Stevenson occasionally hosts informal workshops in backyards around his neighborhood. He invites friends, who in turn invite other friends, and together they learn practical skills such as building bike frames and adjusting sound systems. The idea is that those friends then go and teach others. In all, Stevenson says he's personally taught about 20 people how to build the bikes. His eventual goal is to open a bike shop.

The bikes are also available for purchase. Buyers can get a new, custom-made bike for two to three hundred dollars. If you bring your own bike frame to be customized, the price runs anywhere from $50 to $175. Stevenson also points out that he's quick to give away bikes for free to neighborhood kids interested in learning the trade.

The popularity of the scraper bike movement was bolstered by a homemade YouTube video featuring Champ with his rap group, Da Trunk Boiz. The video shows the crew on colorful, custom-decorated bikes proudly exclaiming, "I don't need no car!" The song gained a strong following, and Stevenson estimates that the video's rough and final versions have received a total of almost three million views.

According to Stevenson, bike orders started coming in from as far away as Germany.

There's also the Scraper Bike Crew, whose membership fluctuates in number and age. The crew, which averages about 20 men and women between the ages of 11 and 25, has been invited to local events, such as Grind for the Green, the first solar-powered hip-hop show in the spring of 2008, and the Living Word Festival, an annual spoken word event whose 2008 theme was "sustainability." The crew rides, shows off their creations and is ready and willing to enlist anyone who's interested in building their own.

"Any event that we go to has to be positive," Stevenson says. "[It's] a way of bringing the youth with me on their bikes and... showing them that there's... something else out there and people to support you being creative."

Organizing Against Violence

The movement's organizing strategy and business model are grounded in efforts to create better role models for Oakland's youth. The goal is to show that there's an alternative to potentially dangerous street lives.

The Oakland Tribune recently reported that Oakland has the fifth highest crime rate in the country. In 2007, the city reported 127 homicides. As of December 2008, 119 people have been murdered in the city. According to the Ella Baker Center, an Oakland-based non-profit, much of the violence affects young people under 24.

Stevenson's personal motivation to create better role models is in part inspired by the fact that, while growing up, he was missing one of the most important figures in his life. When he was in the third grade, his father died of complications from AIDS.

"A lot of the guys I ride with don't have fathers, and I didn't have my father, so we connect on the same level and help each other out," he says.

While his father's absence shadowed his life, his mother's presence anchored it. During his senior year at McClymonds High School, the scraper bike movement began to get attention in both the community and the media. News articles popped up in Oakland's independent weekly, East Bay Express, and on NPR. Stevenson admits he was caught up in the experience, letting his grades slip and failing to earn enough credits to graduate.

"My mom told me that if I wanted to be serious about my business, I had to get an education."

Eventually, Stevenson enlisted the help of adult mentors to work as a conduit for news reporters. He also began to collaborate with Bay Area organizations like the Ella Baker Center and Oaklandish, an independent clothing company also based in Oakland.

But can a youth-led bike movement help stop Oakland's violence?

"Scraper bike [culture]... is flamboyant, beautiful, colorful, creative... but it's also positive," says Nicole Lee, the political director for the Ella Baker Center's Silence the Violence campaign.

Through her work with Oakland youth over the past two years, Lee sees potential. "I think we already have our solutions at the community level," she says. "The question is how do we get the resources and how [do we] take youth seriously enough to build stuff up to scale?"

Stevenson is also optimistic.

"If we had a center, where a lot of kids could just come, I feel deep in my heart that would really reduce a lot of the crime," he says.

After we spoke, Champ was meeting with an editor to put the finishing touches on a $5,000 innovative small business grant application with Oaklandish.

He's now only three credits away from getting his high school diploma at Edward Shands Adult School. When he found out that one of his favorite teachers at Edward Shands, Mrs. Block, was married to a longtime businessman, he began to get serious about patenting his work.

"I can actually have a business with this, something for Oakland to have a trade," he says. "It's much bigger than me and the bikes."

(via WireTapMag.org)

The Trailer For The "Scraper Bike King" Short Documentry

2009-11-06T12:03:00.000-08:00

This is the official trailer for "The Scraper Bike King". To purchase copies visit: www.GreenEyedMedia.com Description: A touching documentary about the original creator of the Oakland-based Scraper Bike Movement.

Scraper Bikes Featured On "Built From Skratch"

2009-11-06T12:00:00.000-08:00

Jan. 7th 2009

Scraper Bikes Featured On "Current TV"

2009-11-06T11:17:00.000-08:00

Nov. 7th 2008

Oakland shows us the Scraper Bike, the attention grabbing two-wheeled answer to the Scraper cars and low-riders.

(via Current.com)

Urban Dictionary - Scraper Bike

2009-11-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

Scraper Bike (n.)- A new trend that is a part of the San Francisco Bay Area Hyphy Movement in which people ride their tricked out bikes and go stupid, dumb, retarded while on their bikes. Generally, the bikes have nice designs, such as duo-tone paint jobs, and rims or spinners. The term was coined by the rap group Trunk Boiz of Oakland, California.

Example:

Jerome: Me and my buds was on our scraper bikes picking up on girls. My scraper bike go hard, I don't need no car.
Tyrone: That go!
Jerome: We was ghost riding them too.
Tyrone: That sounds like hella fun, bud.

Scraper Bikes Featured On "NPR"

2009-11-06T10:46:00.000-08:00

September 13, 2008

(Listen To The On-Air Weekend Edtion Of The Historical Interview With The Scraper Bike King, Only On NPR)

YouTube has spawned many sudden sensations. Take scraper bikes, for example. A music video about the tricked-out bicycles posted to the site by some teenagers in Oakland, Calif., has attracted a cult following, with nearly 3 million views.

The video spawned what is becoming a worldwide movement, even as it changed the lives of the young men who customized the bikes and made the video.

"Actually, scraper bikes saved my life," says Tyrone Stevenson Jr., who prefers the title "Scraper Bike King."

"Because I was at a young age, getting into a lot of serious trouble, selling drugs and on the verge of going to jail. So my mom told me this is a way to channel anger and frustration, just focusing on something that's creative, something that's me, and the bikes is me."

Oakland is a town where hip-hop is king and cars known as "scrapers" are huge. They're large, bright and have rims so big that they scrape the inside of the wheel well. Stevenson and his friends took those aesthetics and applied them to bicycles, fitting large wheels on small frames.

Stevenson, 19, started making scraper bikes a few years ago. He couldn't afford a car, so he made do with a bike. But not just any bike.

"The idea from the scraper bikes, it basically came from the cars that ride in Oakland — we call them scrapers — basically it's an old model car, such as a Buick, that's painted a custom color to match the rims. I wanted to take that and put a bike onto it."

To do that, he put the few resources he had to work. He added colorful foil food wrappers — from Oreos or Skittles — to the spokes, so when they roll they flash with color. Then he spray-painted the frames to match.

But scraper bikes didn't really catch on until he and some friends recorded a music video about them and posted it on YouTube. And now…

"Oakland has been taken over by scraper bikes," says Stevenson. "On the Internet, it is worldwide. There's people from literally across the world making these bikes, from Portland, Oregon, to Japan to Australia to Jamaica."

Stevenson says he's already making a living scraperizing bikes, but he's got big plans for the future: trademarks, patents and, someday soon, a scraper bike shop.

"The true meaning of a scraper bike is basically, I want to give back something positive to the community," Stevenson said.

"Because there's so much going on. Drugs and killing and stuff, this is a way of giving the kids a way to a positive future, but being creative at the same time."

Jacob Fenston reports from member station KQED.

(Via NPR.org)

New Scraper Bike Song!! zSHARE - Baby Champ - On The Scene.mp3

2009-11-06T09:37:00.000-08:00

Download The Newest Scraper Bike Song By: Baybe-Champ The Scraper Bike King. Titled: "On The Scene" Produced By: Big Hurt And Mixed By DJ BASTA...In Stores Now On The Roots And Branches Comp. ....Scraper Bike Album Coming Soon....

zSHARE - Baby Champ - On The Scene.mp3

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Original Scraper Bikes

2009-10-20T22:12:00.000-07:00

The Scraper Bike History

The Scraper Bike Movement has been around for about 5-6 years and is now starting to get exposure worldwide. We recently put a video on Youtube.com and watched it touch people all over the country as well as the world. The video is at 2.6 million views and still going. Scraper Bikes has been featured in countless events such as, The Birth of The Cool Remix (Artistic Individualism), The Black, Red and Green: Living Word Festival (Green Society/ Spare the Air) and The International Bicycle Film Festival (Health/ Motor Skills). Along with countless interviews from NPR, to The Christian Science Monitor (Stop the violence) to Current TV; Scraper Bikes have been getting a lot of positive feedback from people around the world (Communities of Unity). We have set up a lot of events over the past few years to bring awareness of this grassroots movement (Free for All). Oakland is the birth place of the Scraper Bikes. We plan on creating a bicycle shop that focuses on customizing bicycles, bicycle repair skills, and youth mentoring services. We plan on creating a sustainable, positive, educational, and "Green" way of life in the inner city.

The Mission

The Scraper Bike Movement seeks to capture the creativity of youth living within dangerous communities. It gives them a positive outlet that is fun, educational, and promotes healthy lifestyles. The Scraper Bike Movement offers youth a sustainable group of peers that is positive and motivating. We want to expand and enlighten young peoples perspective on life through fixing and painting bicycles. Our goal is to support youth entrepreneurship and cultural innovation.

The Music

The Music Behind the Scraper Bike Movement brings together the Green Collar Movement, The Bicycle Culture, and Bay Area Hip Hop all in one. Baybe Champ The Scraper Bike King (Tyrone Stevenson Jr.), a member of the popular rap group known as The Trunk Boiz has put together a solo music project that highlight this Grassroots Movement, with eco-friendly and kid-friendlyy lyrics. The upcoming Scraper Bike album is sure to have a positive effect on the world, due to our positive inpack of our community. With Scraper Bike Fans ranging from all over the world, different age groups and ethnic backgrounds were sure to have a successful project when its complete.