Julian Millis has been around the BMX scene and in the Australian bicycle
industry for a long time now. Considered a bit of a bad boy of BMX racing
in his time, having been suspended a number of times. He was also an early
pioneer of Australian dirt jumping. Of late he has mellowed out somewhat.
I guess you would have to say he's been too busy. The outspoken Millis
has single handedly put together arguably the greatest race team in Australian
history, and designed a range of BMX products that would rival any other
on the market today. Read on to find out more about Julian and Norco.
bmxultra.com: How did you first find out about BMX?
Julian: In 1980 some friend of my family were involved in the Lilydale
BMX Club, so I went a long to watch one time and from there joined and
began racing at the following meeting.
bmxultra.com: What made you want to get involved?
Julian: Words can't really describe how I felt at that first race
that I saw, it was like a buzz went through my whole body and the hairs
on the back of my neck stood upright, it just made me feel full of excitement
, it was kind of like the motocross scene but was so much more accessible
and affordable.
bmxultra.com: What was your first race bike?
Julian: Well my first BMX bike was a metallic green Madison, all
steel. 6 months after racing I actually got a "race" bike it
was a black Redline MX 2 with Skyway Graphite Tuff 2's, Skyway Graphite
Pedals, and all sorts of stuff that I'd love to still have.
bmxultra.com:
At what stage did you think you were ready to ride pro?
Julian: When you used to be able to race Age class and Pro at the
same meeting (can you now??) I was gauging myself against the guys in
my age class that had jumped into Pro before me like Dean Patch, Scott
Lewis, Adam Hillier etc, and once I was competitive with them I gave it
a go, not that I could ever beat Patchy.
I was only ever a winning A pro and a struggling 7th or 8th spot in a
AA Pro final.
bmxultra.com: You left racing the last time, coming back to watch
from the sidelines every once in a while, what was it that made you leave
and what made you get back on the track?
Julian: I left as a result of the Rock N Roll lifestyle poisoning
my soul, I got a job around 1996 as a DJ in the Heavy metal nightclub
"The Cathouse" in St.Kilda, Melbourne. I was working/partying
from 10pm to 7am every Saturday night/Sunday morning, I did that job untill
2000, ironically I DJ'd with Dean Patch who had also hung the bike
up at that stage. Thunder Dan Galea was known to show up every now and
then and Rock out!
I also floated in and out of rock bands in the Melbourne scene trying
to get something going, which now I finally have.
I don't consider that I have returned to racing at all, if at the moment
people see me on that track at the occasional race, that will be the first
time I have ridden a BMX bike since the last time you saw me on the track.
I have no time to ride between working for Norco, running the team, playing
in my band and trying to keep my girlfriend. I would love
to ride more, not race more.
One thing is for sure I love BMX, I am a rider that may race every now
and then, not a racer. When I did race all the time, I spent most of my
time dirt jumping at Croydon hills (Circa 1993) or riding Knox Skatepark.
bmxultra.com: What do you do at Norco?
Julian: My title is Product Manager, however my actual job covers
a lot more than product, I am part of the International design team for
Norco bicycles Worldwide, which includes working on all styles of bikes
in the Norco Range. As far as BMX product is concerned It basically is
put together by myself and Canadian Jim Jamieson, we basically take everything
from our concepts through to production. I am also the Norco Factory Team
manager for the Australian team for both BMX and Mountain Bikes, I am
also responsible for all media and promotional advertising in Australia.
bmxultra.com: Do you think it's a job that anyone can do?
Julian: Not at all, I have spent 9 years in Bicycle retail, 3 years
in bicycle wholesale (Repco/Haro/Diamond Back) and 22 years in the BMX
scene and somedays I feel like I am beating my head against a wall. The
hardest thing to balance is working for a company that wants to make a
good profit, management that have no interest in cycling, trying not to
prostitute the sport I grew up with, making the best value for money bikes
possible, have a killer image, work to a strict budget and still have
a good time. It's not easy.
bmxultra.com: My first contact with Norco was the green RPM
monocoque...what was it like to walk into Norco and develop the BMX range?
Julian: Ahhh Yes the RPM range, when I first started at Norco
the first thing I said was that the BMX program had to be overhauled or
dropped because the RPM range was not up to speed.
I went to Canada in May 2000 with some ideas for a BMX range that would
work along side the MTB range the same way that Specialized and GT did.
In Canada I met Jim Jamieson the product manager that had been in charge
of
BMX bikes to that point. Jim and I got along right from the start as he
also grew up with BMX racing and even has a RAD Movie poster in his office
at Norco in Vancouver!
The reason that Jim was unable to have had a more dedicated BMX product
line previously was due to lack of input and resources from the other
product managers at Norco, when I came on board and basically had similar
ideas and dreams of what the line could become, they gave us the green
light to develop the product line further.
bmxultra.com: Were you given free reign of the look and feel of the
bike?
Julian: Pretty much, there are some things that we have to
stick to, such as all bikes have to feature the Norco headtube badge and
I also have to keep in mind that everything that Norco manufactures has
to be commercially sound, the bikes need to meet what the dealers and
consumers are looking for at the various price points. It's not as easy
as going mental and developing the dream bike that I've always wanted.......that
one is still coming.
However all specifications, geometry and graphics are decided by myself
and Jim in Canada.
bmxultra.com: You got the product off to a good start in Australia
just before the demise of GT and when GT finally collapsed it seemed that
Norco was the dominant BMX manufacturer, and still is, where will you
go from here?
Julian: Thanks for the nice words there about being dominant,
we were a little lucky with the demise of GT, they were a great company
that had a serious commitment to BMX all the way to the end, it will be
good for the sport to see their name around again.
For Norco we will continue to concentrate on making quality bikes at affordable
prices, we have a few new products on the drawing boards for 2004, but
it's too early to lay anything out yet.
bmxultra.com: Where are the Norco BMX products available?
Julian: Norco products are distributed throughout Canada,
Finland, Japan, Mexico ,United Kingdom, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland
and through approximately 100 bicycle dealers Australia wide. At the moment
sales into the US are being concentrated on Norco's flag ship Mountain
bikes the VPS Series. However all interested US bike shops can buy all
bikes direct from Norco, contacts for this are available at www.norco.com
bmxultra.com:
You have put an awesome team of riders together Luke Madill, Khalen Young,
and Chloe Macpherson can you tell us what it was that made you sign each
of these riders?
Julian: Luke Madill - I signed Luke because I believed him
to be the fastest and most consistent Pro rider in Australia, he also
had youth on his side and had yet to come completely into his stride.
He was well respected by all riders and and had been around the sport
since he was four years old. I had watched him race with MCS, GT and Champion
Cycles as a kid before he was a pro on Powerlite. Luke was also a double
edged sword as he is an incredible mountain bike rider, so it matched
with Norco very well.
Khalen Young - This guy blew my brains out when he backflipped the doubles
at the Australian Titles in 2001 at Happy Valley, Danny Galea had pointed
him out earlier in the weekend to me during racing and he just had a killer
style on his bike. At the time we were looking to expand the team to include
a dirt jumper, and what better than a dirt jumper that raced at national
titles level. Khalen went on to double at the Aussie titles in 2002 showing
that he's a lot more than just a backflip. He's now also giving Mountain
biking a fair shot too.
Chloe Macpherson - Having a top Elite and Junior Elite rider all I needed
to complete the team was a top female pro rider, and quite simply Chloe
is the fastest. She is so fast and has so much power in her legs it's
amazing. Over the years I've watched a lot of top BMX Pros influence the
Australian BMX scene, however most of the companies that they have ridden
for have not taken those riders and promoted them in a way that both the
rider and company will benefit. It's almost like they sign the rider then
sit back and expect the sales to just start rolling in, all the while
their
investment is out their busting their ass in races and most of the companies
employee's don't know who they even are.
bmxultra.com: You must be happy with the Luke Madill signature products...did
it help when Luke went to the US to generate international interest?
Julian: We are very happy with the products that bear Luke's
name, he has helped us in every way that he can. The new line of bikes
is a testimony of his efforts in helping us cater for micro markets like
the junior Cruiser that we have done this season.
As for interest in the US market, for sure there has been interest generated,
but there are many factors that then go with that interest to turn into
actual sales such as bicycle dealers, distribution, freight costs, and
production delivery, it's so hard to gauge.
bmxultra.com: Were you ever worried he'd get offers from bigger companies
with bigger budgets?
Julian: Oh for sure, it's always going to be a fear of mine. But
we'd be a pretty terrible bunch of people to try to hold him back.
I have to hope that not everything is about money, and I know with Luke
that it's not.
bmxultra.com:
What's you're bands name?
Julian: The Deadthings
bmxultra.com: What sort of music do you play?
Julian: Punk Rock meets Heavy Metal, kind of Misfits meets Motley
Crue meets The Sex Pistols and looks kinda Punk-Goth
bmxultra.com: What sort of music do you listen to?
Julian: Mostley Obscure 80's hard rock or metal, some Punk ,some
Nu Metal.; Black N'Blue, Keel, Ratt, Motley Crue, Marylin Manson, The
Murderdolls, Disturbed, Rob Zombie, Shake The Faith, Orgy, Eve 6, Judas
Priest, Iron Maiden, BodyJar, Union Underground,Twisted Sister, Good Charlotte,
Marvelous 3, Fozzy, Drowning Pool, Dio.
bmxultra.com: How many CD's do you own now?
Julian: Around 1500 CD's and 600 LP's
bmxultra.com: What do you think of Neil Young?
Julian: I think he's still searching for that heart of gold......
I think that he influenced a generation of rockers that would be known
as the Grunge movement of the early Nineties, that were responsible for
the fall of Hair Metal and for that alone I will always hate him.
bmxultra.com: You've been in and out of the BMX race scene for a
long time, you would have seen the sport slowly change from it's Victorian
state titles televised on ABC with 1000+ riders at state level to no publicity
at 350 riders. How does this make you feel personally?
Julian: I think that if they televised it today, they would
have to present the sport from a different angle, similar to what Warwick
Wheeler (BMX Press / BMX Central) with picking the tracks that have bigger
jumps and bigger corners to showcase the cream of our sport;The Pro Class.
TV is a great way to reach people with the message of BMX racing, but
there are also a lot of grass roots levels of reaching riders that are
just being neglected. I would like to see the National sanction help the
local clubs with programs that can benefit every club, and that every
club can afford.
bmxultra.com: What do you think can be done about it?
Julian: The problem truly lies in BMX Australia not BMX Victoria,
BMX Victoria should not exist. There should be no state associations only
a National one that all clubs are affiliated with, then the clubs should
merge together to get initial rider counts increased so that there is
approximately 5 tracks in each state. Then the clubs should all work to
building rider numbers up and concentrate on local races only and never
be concerned about running open or sanctioned races.
From there the National sanction should set out a National series for
the Pro class and a separate series for the amateur class that will coincide
with some of the Pro races. The Series should be completely run by the
National sanction not the clubs that are host to the tracks that the series
is held on.
think about it :
Pro Class Series - 5 weekends of 10 separate races (Sat and Sun) with
a 6th and Final event held at the end of the Calendar year ,3 of the weekends
are single points , 2 are double points and the final event is triple
points.
Amateur Series - 3 weekends of 6 separate races (Sat and Sun) with a 4th and final event held at the end of the calendar year ,3 of the weekends are single points and the final event is triple points.
All of the amateur rounds excluding the Final event are held in VIC/NSW/QLD and all at the same tracks as the single point weekends of the Pro Class with the two other double point Pro Class weekends held in SA and WA, both the Amateur and Pro class Final events to be held in Canberra ACT at an indoor venue.
Why more rounds for the Pro riders than the amateurs?? Because the Pro riders are racing for Money and often can subsidize their travel form winnings of through factory sponsors. Most Pro's also travel alone or without Parents reducing the travel cost that the average family would have to otherwise take into account.
When would the season be? Would there be an off season?
The six weekends could take place once a month starting in JAN as round
#1 through FEB, MAR, (then the off season),OCT,NOV,DEC. approx. the middle
of each month.
That's a Pro Season with 12 rounds over Six months, leaving 6 months as
an off season for training or for Pro riders to travel to the USA every
year to offset the season. This way they would be more likely to return
rather than stay overseas.
Oh yeah, and big ass trophies for the amateurs at every round , approx. 3 foot high, with 5 foot high trophies at the final event!!! Big Trophies rule, no matter how much BMXAustralia says they don't.
bmxultra.com: Do you think it would make a difference to the Australian
BMX industry if BMX racing was promoted a better?
Julian: No doubt at all, BMX product had never been better value
for money , but people hate to want to race BMX to need equipment, at
the moment there are not enough people that want to race, and that in
some instances stops some
companies from putting any energy or money into the sport at all.
bmxultra.com: What do you think is wrong with the sport?
Julian: This could be a long answer, no not really . The answer
is simple. The sport is awesome, it's our BMXAustralia version of the
sport that is wrong, there is no excitement no hype, no atmosphere.
How hard would it be to put together a season and series like I spoke
of earlier, for a sanction that already exists they could do it now.
They need to learn something that should have been clear from the start,
the sport is about riders. No riders, No Sport.
Listen to the riders that have raced through all the associations failed
attempts at getting somewhere and are still racing......The Pro riders.
They were all kids once, you don't just start in AA Pro , so they've been
through it all, and in almost every single case a lot longer than most
officials.
bmxultra.com: What does it have going for it?
Julian: In Australia, it is still reasonably affordable, riders
can start on a local level at a reasonable cost and from there evaluate
how far they can or want to take it. I think that it's an exciting sport
that can also be used as a cycling platform if desired for Mountain bikes
or Track Cycling. It's a very visual sport that needs to be presented
that way with thrills and spills and high tech products, Professional
teams and good Prize money. These are the things that when
shown to younger new riders will get them stoked.
bmxultra.com: There are few channels in which a company can promote
their BMX products in Australia, how do you promote Norco?
Julian: We use free posters and stickers at major events,
a good presence at events with Team tents and product on display, Pro
riders around to be able to talk about the products that they use and
sign any posters or products that riders may want.
Also we advertise in BMX Press magazine, the only BMX mag that covers
racing, we have Luke Madill and Khalen Young competing in the BMX Central
TV races, so I'm hoping that will also play a part. We also produce a
BMX
Bike brochure that is available from all our dealers Australia wide.
bmxultra.com: What about the web? Do you think that has or can make
a big impact on sales?
Julian: I'm still a little unsure, we will be launching a new website
soon but I see it more of a way of getting information to people faster
and easier rather than a way to impact on sales, I think after they have
the information from the web and they are interested that a lot of the
other PR factors kick in and help with the sale.
bmxultra.com: What are your thoughts on the BMXCentral thing? Do you
think it will help grow BMX?
Julian: hard to make a call on something that we are all yet to
see. How can it not help, it's bringing BMX to people that are either
unaware of it or have an uneducated idea of it, so I am hoping that it
is successful and makes difference and I wish Warwick and the crew at
BMX Central all the best.
bmxultra.com: What sort of information will people be able to get
from the new Norco website?
Julian: The idea is give the brochure information which includes;
photos of all the 03 bikes, the specifications, the geometry and all factory
team information including profiles, interviews and results.
bmxultra.com: What do you think the future of BMX has in store for
us?
Julian: On the world scene I would say that someone (a sanction
of sorts) will get a hold of the Downhill BMX racing in the USA and make
a series or season out of it. If that does happen then we may see BMX
racing get a whole new
level of respect, this may bring a whole new twist to everything. This
could be seen as "Pro BMX racing" similar to the World series
level of base ball or the NFL or NBA etc, it will be a PRO only series
that is televised that young BMXers can aspire to and start out by racing
in the current set up of BMX Racing. Basically it's giving BMX what it
has always needed a Pro association like all other sports that has a new
level of riding that only entering the Pro Association can provide.
On the Australian scene, I'm not sure, based on it's current state not a hell of a lot.
bmxultra.com: Where do you think that BMX will be in 5 years?
Julian: In Australia, either rescued by a new association
or buried by the existing BMX Australia.
On the world scene, I'd say that Downhill BMX would have developed into
something more than one race a year.
bmxultra.com: If you were given the opportunity to do one thing that
would benefit BMX what would you do?
Julian: Sink the existing Australian BMX association and construct
a new association from the ground up, one that is designed by the riders
and for the riders, one that highlights the pinnacle of the sport "the
Pro Class".
I'd make sure that the people involved were up to speed with all of the
current developments around the world in BMX, such as Downhill BMX.
Nearly every single official and BMX Australia board member would have
no clue as to what Downhill BMX is, let alone know that it has been around
for three years.
bmxultra.com: Any predictions for future trends in BMX?
Julian: Functional -
Fashion -
Sponsorship -
bmxultra.com: What BMX websites do you check out?
Julian: norco.com, lukemadill.com, bmxultra.com, bmxpressmag.com,
metal-sludge.com, melodicrock.com, sixsixone.com, marzocchiusa.com
bmxultra.com: Where will people be able to find the new site?
Julian: www.norcobmx.com, I'll let you know when it is up
and running probably December.
bmxultra.com: Is there anyone you would like to thank?
Julian: My Girlfriend Kellie for putting up with the lifestyle
that I lead and still being there, Angelo from Norco Australia for letting
me be myself and all his support to get the job done. Luke Madill and
Khalen Young for being BMX's answer to Jeremy Mcgrath and Travis Pastrana
and for all there efforts on and off the track for the last two years,
The Madill family, Everett Young, David Page, Chloe Macpherson, Thunder
Danny Galea, Adam May, Dave O and JJ at Norco Canada, Warwick at BMXPress,
Grant and Gary at Elite Cycle Imports, Adam and Todd at Freewheel magazine,
All Our Norco Bicycle dealers, Everybody at the Norco office, bmxultra
for their support and this interview, the guys in my
band The Deadthings, and finally anybody that has purchased a Norco, Ironhorse,
AXO, 661, Marzocchi BMX, Tangent, Perv or Funn product.