The First to Cover Us – What Bikernet Meant to Crank & Stroker

Keith Bandit Ball and Crank & Stroker first press feature

The year was 2010.
Crank & Stroker had already been alive for three years — born in 2007 with nothing but a stack of T-shirts and a dream to fund a Swedish-style chopper I was building using a frame from Chopper Guys.

Back then, I did what I thought made sense: hit up local bike shops, trying to sling a few tees. Most would only take them on consignment — and of course, I got burned. Shirts disappeared. No payments. Lesson learned.

By 2010, I figured I'd give it another go. But this time, I went direct-to-consumer. Built a website — early days of ecomm, way before Shopify made it easy. I had no clue how to drive traffic, but I knew I needed to get the word out.

Check out our full line of leather motorcycle vests that came out of this era.

So I started cold-emailing every magazine and motorcycle site I could find. One of them was Bikernet.com — the online epicenter for the V-twin world.

Didn’t expect much.
But then… Keith Ball called me back.

I was shocked. At first, I didn’t even know who I was talking to. So I looked him up — and there it was:

Keith “Bandit” Ball. The guy behind Easyriders Magazine.
The same mag I’d been reading since I was a teenager. The same one I idolized — not just for the bikes, but for the way they told stories.

Those article titles? Man, they had soul. In just a few words, they could capture the entire essence of a build. That style stuck with me. It’s the reason Crank & Stroker garments are named the way they are. Every product we make tells a story — because that’s what I learned from Easyriders.

All of that… came from Keith.

And there he was. Giving me a shot.
He didn’t need to. He didn’t know me.
But he believed in the brand enough to post our first T-shirts on Bikernet.

That post changed everything.
After three years of failing, suddenly people noticed. Orders started coming in. For the first time, Crank & Stroker wasn’t just a name — it was moving.

But if I’m honest… I didn’t know then what I know now:
That moment wasn’t a launch. It was a seed.
One that would take years — and a hell of a lot of pain — to grow.


🔗 Now the story comes full circle…

Keith was the first to back me when no one else would.
And now, all these years later, he’s the first to share our comeback.

👉 Read the full comeback story on Bikernet here.

This brand isn’t about trends. It never was.
It’s about grit. Loyalty. And building something that actually means something.

Thank you, Keith. You were the first. You didn’t just feature us — you shaped us.

Now a word from my sponsor:

Check out the Original Preacher Denim Motorcycle Vest — the first vest ever made.

 

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