When John Parker was sacked by his business partners years ago, he went into hiding. After that, he was never seen in the bike scene again. In 2002 and 2003, the American then auctioned off his entire Yeti collection on the Internet. We spoke to him afterwards:
Do you still own a bike?
My wife Jenny and I each have a Yeti cruiser. We drive them from time to time when we live by the ocean. I also still have a whole collection of tank cruisers from the 40s and 50s.
Are you still into these old motorbikes?
Sure, to old Indians. Jenny and I have three of them.
Didn't it hurt your soul to sell all the Yetis?
Yes, it was a very strange feeling. I actually wanted to sell the collection to Yeti's last owners. But they weren't very co-operative. Then I spoke to Doug Bradbury about the possibility of putting the bikes in the "Mountain Bike Hall of Fame" in Crested Butte. But they are currently reorganising. We thought it would be best to sell the bikes to enthusiasts on eBay.
Why did they have to leave?
I spent a long time searching for my soul, after which I decided to sell the bikes. Why should I lug the bikes from one storage container to another? I have experienced so many wonderful moments in my Yeti time, made so many friends. Do I really need these bikes to remember them? I wasn't surprised that many of the bikes went to Germany. In Europe, the passion for biking is much greater than in America.
Which bike was particularly important to you?
The bike from Juli Furtado. For me, it symbolises the good old days. But what I love most is the Yeti, which I developed with the Kaiser Space Product Company. I like what it stands for: the future. It was the first thermoplastic bike in the world. And it passed the legendary Kamikaze downhill.
What do you do for a living?
I'm working again as a welder for the film industry in Hollywood. We do the special effects and often work 14 hours a day, seven days a week. The job is hard, but the pay is good. I'm 50 years old now. My dream is to start a retro motorbike company, together with my old friend Mert Lawwill.
Which films do you work for?
A lot: for example, I've worked on Lethal Weapon IV, X-Men, Planet of the Apes, Sword Fish and Oceans Eleven. I'm currently working on a film called Cursed. A brand new Benz crashes into a ravine. But there's only one doll in it.
Still interested in biking?
Doug Bradbury and Zapatta Espinoza (editor-in-chief of Mountainbike USA/editor's note) are good friends of mine. So I get some news regularly. I follow the Tour de France, but of course my interest in the bike scene isn't as huge as it used to be.
Your departure from the bike scene came in a flash. What actually happened?
It's very hard for me to talk about it. The decisive factor was the takeover of Yeti by the Schwinn/Scott Group. At some point I realised that the people there had a big problem with the truth. Everyone was only thinking about their own advantage. They didn't care about our spirit. I still get a stomach ache today and feel bad about the Yeti fans. I let the fox into the house. There was a huge row. In the end I was sacked! I packed my things and left.
Do you know the current Yeti collection?
In the past, we at Yeti mainly wanted to win races. Hot bikes were practically just a by-product. Today I am proud of my ex-partner Chris Herting from 3D-Racing and the work of Frank "The Welder". The new Yeti regime leaves me cold. Where is the innovation and passion? I don't see them. But I have hope, because Yeti has a new owner again. I'm also counting on Andrew (operator of www.yetifan.com). He keeps the Yeti spirit alive beautifully. I wish he was running Yeti instead of the yuppies who bought control of a poor old bike company.
