10 Questions for H Bomb Films’ Wes Miller

photos by Kristen Matlock and John Lovell

In the last dozen years Wes Miller has continued to impress us with several accomplishments. Whether through his Huevos film series, Division 4 clothing, Bomb Squad freestyle events and Dirt Riot promotions he’s enabled riders to make a living from riding their ATVs, introduced our great sport to thousands of people that wouldn’t have given quad riding and racing a second thought and made himself a decent income along the way.
Wes Miller’s business thrived in its first decade, but as we battle through the toughest economical times most of us have ever seen, things have changed and so has his approach to his continued effort to promote our sport to the masses.
As we approach 2011, we were curious to see what’s new for the creative ATV ambassador, so we fired ten questions at him. Here’s what he had to say….

What’s new?
Things have been pretty crazy lately. With the demise of the DVD market, I had to shift our business paradigm. I recently partnered with a company called RGear based out of LA. We’ve moved our offices to Burbank and we’re now focusing on broadcast production work. We have several big projects in the works. We will have updates on our new site hbombmedia.com. That has taken the bulk of my time, but I still ride and race. I’m also still working with the Bomb Squad.

Has the economy effected sales for H-Bomb? What are you doing different to cope with the challenge?
We were hit with somewhat of a perfect storm. The economy went south, right as people’s viewing habits changed. People want instant gratification now and want it for free. Now days most of our content can be illegally downloaded from various sites for free. It’s tough, because we put so much time, effort and money into all of those shoots. And now kids take our footage and post it under their own names. It’s crazy, times have definitely changed as far as what makes sense from a business stand point. You can’t put much into something that everyone is going to just rip off from you in the end, so we’re forced to make some changes.

Business may be unpredictable lately, but your Baja racing career sure has taken off. What makes your team so strong?
Yeah, it has been awesome. I’ve been racing down there for so long and had so many heart-breaking finishes, so it has been amazing how it has all come together in the last few years. I have to give a lot of credit to my teammates and crew. Wayne Matlock does a great job of prepping the quad and organizing the team. I think we’re tough to beat because each and every one of us is extremely focused on winning.

Who has been your toughest competitor?
There are some fast teams that race down there. I think our toughest competition has come from the local teams. There are some very fast Mexican riders that have excellent equipment and really know the terrain. They keep us honest for sure.

Run us through an average day and night.
Right now it’s really not that exciting. I’m very focused on building H-Bomb Media and continuing to win in Baja. I usually get up, battle traffic in route to my office, work all day, battle more traffic on my way home and do the same the next day. I try to work out or ride as much as I can as well.

What do you look for in an upcoming freestyle rider? Do you hire new riders regularly, or do you hold on to the riders you have for a long time?
We look for the best riders out there. We don’t actually hire the riders. We generally just manage them by booking shows, securing sponsors, etc. I definitely like a strong core of guys and only work with the very best.

You’ve traveled all over the world for many years. Are you sick of it?
I love traveling, so it doesn’t really bother me much.

What do you love more, filming or riding?
I really love both. They’re very much two different things. Riding is my outlet to not have to think about business, relax and get away. I really enjoy going down to Baja, being in the middle of nowhere and just riding. I like that there’s no e mails, cell phones and problems to deal with. With filming, it allows me to be creative and make something that others will appreciate. There is a nice sense of accomplishment in pulling off a shoot and piecing the project together.

 

You’ve raced a few times this year at WORCS. Are you going to start hitting the series?
I was out there training for the Baja 500. I had a good time, so I wouldn’t mind doing more in the future. It’s a fun series for sure.

Any last words, or thank yous?
I would just like to thank all of the people that have helped me throughout the years. Sponsors, racers, riders, fans, employees…. I really appreciate everything that people have done for us.

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