THE EASTPAK STORY. SINCE 1952

THE FILM OF EASTPAK'S HISTORY: « EASTPAK AUTHENTIC SINCE 1952 »
To celebrate its 60th anniversary, EASTPAK reveals its origins in this heritage film, showcasing the evolution which has made it the authentic urban lifestyle brand we know today.
The film conveys the milestones in the development of the brand's world-famous expertise and the meteoric rise to its current status as the leader of the (back)pack, from American soldiers in 1952 to today's urban consumers.

OFFICIAL SUPPLIERS TO THE PENTAGON
IN THE 50s, EASTERN CANVAS INC. signs a contract with the Pentagon to supply high quality bags and safety equipment to the US army. The company establishes its expertise by creating hard-wearing products tailored to the military's highest standard of materials and construction.  For a soldier, product quality can mean the difference between life and death.
FROM THE 60s ONWARDS, the company produces millions of iconic army duffel bags for American GIs.

WINNING OVER U.S. COLLEGE CAMPUSES
IN THE 70s, cool students on American campuses begin to wear army issue bags to school, and  in 1976, EASTERN CANVAS starts producing a range of bags and luggage to meet the increasing market demand, thus creating EASTPAK.
The brand's first iconic pieces are produced in Seattle, introducing the Lifetime Warranty, thanks to military manufacturing standards.

THROUGHOUT THE 80s, students can't get enough of emblematic army bags and EASTPAK takes over American campuses from coast to coast.
In 1985, Marty MCFLY dons the brand's future classic, the PADDED RETURNITY, for his adventures in BACK TO THE FUTURE.
At the same time as this cinematic exposure, EASTPAK becomes the first bag manufacturer to add flashy colours and all-over prints to its collections.  It's also the first in
the industry to use provocative and quirky ads in lifestyle magazines and on MTV.  These campaigns have an impact on an entire generation.

THE URBAN EXPLORER
THE 90s see EASTPAK  graduate to the city.  The brand's aficionados bring it to the urban jungle, and it becomes a fully-fledged urban lifestyle brand. The urban playground fuels EASTPAK's creativity without distancing the brand from its  origins: QUALITY, EFFICIENCY, CREATIVITY.
THE YEAR 2000 heralds EASTPAK's iconic collaborations with world-famous artists, designers, musicians and celebrities, including Kris Van Assche, Raf Simons, BLESS, Wood Wood, Colette, A.P.C., Gaspard Yurkievich, Kaiser Chiefs, Prodigy, Ed Banger...
The authentic urban lifestyle brand, EASTPAK, is proud of its heritage since 1952. Enriched by its past, the brand constantly seeks new challenges to continue to offer products that are built to resist and tailored for city life.

Scramble ME: A Triumph Scrambler Adventure with Ernie Vigil

Professional freestyler Ernie "EDUB" Vigil started working with Triumph a while back. He and his partner Nick "Apex" Brocha recently ran an Iron Butt Association Challenge -- Border-to-Border Insanity -- where Ernie got to know and love the Triumph Scrambler. He wanted to create a film to demonstrate the Scrambler's up-for-anything versatility -- "from track to dirt to date," as Ernie put it. Who were we to argue?

Porsche Cayenne Vantage 2 Red Dragon by TopCar revealed

 

One of the many Cayennes modified by the Russian tuner

 

TopCar has released yet another customization program for the Porsche Cayenne, this time with a red/white theme and dragon stitching on the seats.
The Russian aftermarket specialists installed red-trimmed alloy wheels and a carbon fiber body kit consisting of a front spoiler bumper, front fender extensions, rear spoiler, side skirts and hood. The rear of the high-performance SUV hosts a new diffuser with LED brake light strips and fender wings.
 
Inside the custom-made cabin the striking red theme is continued by the quilted leather and a carbon fiber trim resulting in a truly love/hate bespoke interior.
As a reminder, TopCar released last year the Vantage 2 Lemon with the same body kit but featuring citreous and lime accents, as per client's request.
 

Source: TopCar
via Worldcarfans

BILLY JOEL RIDES A MOTORCYCLE

Billy Joel is telling Tom Cotter a story about his buddy, fellow hall-of-fame rock-’n’-roller Bruce Springsteen.

“Bruce is always looking for a character bike. He has one of the new Triumph Bonnevilles, which is a great bike. I told him about our shop, so he came down in the middle of winter. It’s freezing—minus five degrees—and he wants to take out my Sacred Cow bobber. I said, ‘Are you crazy?’ It’s so cold, and he had no gear, just a helmet. After a ride, he came back and said, ‘I want you to build me that bike.’ So he gave us the specs, and we’re almost finished with it. It started out as a Kawasaki W650. The frame is black and the tank will be metalflake gold. Man, he’s hard core.”

“Rockin’ Garages,” written by Cotter and Ken Gross and published last year by Motorbooks International, is a beautifully illustrated, 192-page, coffee-table-style book. Focus is on the mostly automobile collections of 20 musicians, among them Keith Urban, Arlo Guthrie, Sammy Hagar, Brian Johnson, John Oates, Nick Mason and J Geils. Joel and Pat Simmons of Doobie Brothers fame are the only subjects fixated by motorcycles.

“In 1977,” described Cotter, “Joel, then 27, bought a Yamaha 400 Special and thought life couldn’t get any better—at least until he traded up to a Yamaha 750 Virago, then to his first Harley-Davidson, an AMF-era Sportster. ‘When I bought the Harley, people thought I had arrived,’ said Joel.

“Joel has never had a Japanese-bike phobia. ‘They are lighter, better, cheaper and their engineering is brilliant,’ he said. ‘And Japanese bikes got more people into motorcycles, which we should all be happy about.’”

A crash in 1982 nearly cost Joel his music career. “The impact pulverized the bone in my left thumb and pulled my right wrist out of its socket,” he told Cotter. “I’m bleeding, my hands didn’t work, and a police officer asks me for my license. So, I told him to pull my wallet out of my pocket. He looks at my license, then yells to the woman, ‘Hey, lady, you just hit Billy Joel!’”

Joel has owned a number of Italian motorcycles, including a Ducati Mike Hailwood replica. “Moto Guzzis are my personal favorites,” he said. “I once rented a V7 Classic in Lake Como in Italy. That would be my all-time favorite bike.”

“Rockin’ Garages” is available for $35 from www.motorbooks.com.

from cycleworld