The other day I had the privilege to meet up with Mark Malatesta of Hoss Technical Gear. I met Mark a while ago on a ride at the Fullerton Loop. As you will see in the pictures, Mark is this super tall guy and has been known to ride Epic’s…for fun! On the day we rode, Mark was cruising at a pace that he might call “slow” but for me, I was just trying to keep up! Eventually I got dropped like a bad habit, but the cool thing was, the group we were riding with ended up waiting for me.
For the few of you that aren’t too familiar with who Hoss Technical Gear is all about, well it’s as simple as this, they make some of the best mountain biking clothing on the planet. It’s affordable, durable, looks great and they feel awesome too! If you still want some info about Hoss, just check out their site.
All those boxes are full of Hoss clothing.
Before my meeting with Mark, I made sure I had a few questions to ask him.
1. Any Women’s mountain biking clothing coming out?
2. Roadie Clothing.
3.Involvement with SHARE MTB
4. Favorite Beer.
Mark addressed each question with a plethora of answers, so much so I’m just hoping that I jotted everything down. So to the first question about Women’s mountain bike clothing. Mark mentioned that they are in the design phases of it and should have something ready by July or August, but definitely by Interbike in September. The women’s line should be fully ready by 2008.
Hoss will also come out with Knicker pants by May and a pair of board/riding shorts by June. The board/riding shorts are going to be very versatile by having a pocket to hold your iPod. These shorts will also serve as dual purpose clothing by allowing the cyclist to ride their bike to the beach and easily jump into the water. All that can be done by having a removable inner liner with chamois.
As far as Roadie clothing, Hoss will soon be introducing this line. The jerseys will be a club fit and included 3 rear pockets.
Hoss MTB warehouse.
Mark is also the Park Representative for SHARE MTB at Santiago Oaks Park in Orange County. In recent weeks, the park suffered a devastating loss due to a wild fire that erupted which consumed about 90% of the park. You may have seen my previous posting about SHARE MTB and how Mark was looking for volunteers to help rehabilitate and and patrol Santiago Oaks. Mark’s involvement with SHARE is out of pure love and dedication. SHARE is an all volunteer, non-profit organization, in which they spearhead any campaigns and effort to preserve parks and trails for future mountain biking use.
Hoss MTB Display.
When I asked Mark what should we expect for the rest of 2007 and for the 2008, he stated that Hoss will start to introduce lifestyle clothing. They recently launched a new Polo Jersey and are in the works for hoodies with tattoo artwork embroidered, head wear and socks.
Hoss will also introduce a “close out store” online by next month. Mark secured containers full of factory clothing closeouts from various brands. This means you can purchase jerseys and shorts that normally cost $70-80 for as little as $20-25. He even showed me some of the things they’ll be offering, things like under layers, sweet looking jerseys and more.
Did you know that Hoss is distributed by our buddies at KHS Bicycles? Hoss also has international distribution by having their products in countries like Australia, Israel and various locations in Europe. Hoss is also been known to design or produce clothing for big companies like Performance Bike, Marin Bikes, and Magura Brakes. They also do custom clothing for regular Joe’s like you and me! If MtnBikeRiders.com wanted to get some jersey’s made, Hoss can accommodate. With small minimums and custom embroidery, we can easily offer our own jersey’s to our readers. Heck if you’re part of a club or team, Hoss can take care of you too!
Keith and Mark of Hoss.
Hoss will be sponsoring a number of events such as SHARE MTB Poker Ride, and The Mystery Tour at Santiago Oaks. Hoss will also be at the upcoming Sea Otter Festival and at Interbike later on this year.
My visit with Hoss Technical Gear was great, I learned quite a bit about mountain biking clothing and how dedicated Hoss is in preserving trails for us and future mountain bikers. I think it’s great to see a company that is fully involved in its roots by giving back to the community.
As far as Mark’s favorite beer, he doesn’t have one, but he does like the beers at Tustin Brewing Company. However, the Italian in him would prefer a good wine.
