The Cycle Zombies at Home
Big Scott Stopnik (he’s the dad), Scotty, Turk, Taylor (the kids) and Chase (the cousin) are the constituent parts of Huntington Beach’s most celebrated artistic happening. Obviously, I’m talking about the world renowned Cycle Zombies. Okay, wait, there’s a contradiction here, this family group is real. I mean they are not performing for the general public, but they are showmen of a sort, like all professional sportspeople are, be they surfers, skaters or major-league footballers. They are entertainers but the performance is for themselves, their friends and the family. They are trying to gain on personal bests, compete with each other or just have fun by pushing the limits. They surf, skate, build and ride. If it wasn’t for the internet it would mostly be a private thing, but you can’t look this good and be this good without getting noticed in the era of mass communication. Yes, the Zombies sell some t-shirts and stylish merchandise to make a bit of cash to fund what they do. In a more serious mode, they also build high-level custom motorcycles – led mostly be Big Scott. Also, cousin Chase has a store on Sunset called HWY that’s packed to the brim with custom bikes and interesting stuff connected with motorcycle culture. This all needs to be mentioned to understand why I believe in the validity of this group as true pioneers of the alternative styles that Men’s File was set-up to record. These Californians seek no mass applause and their art remains largely internal and unknowable. After many years I was invited (okay, I asked) to their home-ground to see them at work. Seems just like any other day, but with the Cycle Zombies, you never know what will happen next.
We’ll try to keep you posted.
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