Archive Record
Images
Metadata
Title |
Oral History of Steve Potts |
Collection |
Oral History |
Scope & Content |
Esteemed mountain biking pioneer Steve Potts was born and raised in Tamalpais Valley. From an early age, Steve learned to live with and off the land, learning to hike, fish, and hunt. These formative experiences led to a lifelong connection with Mt. Tamalpais and the great outdoors. After taking to bicycle riding as a child, Steve developed an interest in motorcycle racing while at Tamalpais High School and became a professional motorcycle racer at the age of 17. Shortly thereafter, Steve turned his sights to mountain biking. In his oral history, Steve shares his passion for mountain biking and explains how he ventured into building and repairing mountain bikes; first as a personal project, and later, as a profession. Steve was a co-founder of Wilderness Trail Bikes, a successful producer of mountain bike parts, and later began selling custom, hand-built bicycles through his own Steve Potts Bicycles brand. Steve shares his insight as a craftsman and builder, emphasizing the important lessons learned from developing a skilled trade. He also discusses the changes he's witnessed in Mill Valley and the importance of family, particularly the influence his parents had on his life and his connection with his two sons. |
Audio and Transcript |
Click here to hear recording. Click here to read the transcript. |
Dates of Creation |
2014-12-06 |
Interviewee |
Potts, Steve |
Interviewer |
Schwartz, Debra and Vogelheim, Charlie |
Extent and Medium |
Transcript: 37pp Recording: 01:56:02 |
Search Terms |
Bicycles Bicycling Breeze, Bill Breeze, Joe Cunningham, Charlie Entrepreneurs Exploration Motorcycle racing Motorcycles Mt. Tamalpais MV history - Music and counterculture (1960s and 1970s) Oral history - Local business Oral history - Sports and recreation Potts, Brennan Potts, Daniel Potts, Frank Potts, Jeanette Potts, Lloyd Potts, Ron Slate, Mark Youth |
Object ID |
2016.017.001 |
Object Name |
Recording |
Copyrights |
Transcript and recording copyright Mill Valley Public Library, 2014. Materials are made available for research purposes only; all rights are reserved to the Mill Valley Public Library. Requests for permission to quote for publication or for any other usage must be obtained from the Library. |