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05/17/2008
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Thomas
Vanderham signs with Fox
Sombrio releases The Kid
Cam McRae
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| The Kid has come of age. Thomas Vanderham
has been turning heads with his bike since he was 14 years old - which
was when the flow of free clothing from Sombrio began. Thomas rode the
intro to Kranked III and began appearing in Digger's NSX videos when he
was still in High School. Recently quite a few boy wonders have begun
appearing and while the competition among young riders has become more
fierce Thomas' riding has continued to evolve and his appeal has only
grown.
There is little doubt that natural ability could have carried Vanderham
a long way but Thomas has been blessed with some of the best mentors in
the business. Early on Wade Simmons took Thomas under his wing and gave
him an introduction at Rocky Mountain Bicycles. Wade's word is the gospel
at RMB and they quickly signed him to a contract. Riding for Sombrio gave
The Kid access to Dave Watson and Andrew Shandro's DH racing skills as
well as their industry savvy. His own hard work and help from good friends
has helped Thomas become one of the most sought after riders in the world
of freeride. |
Photo ~ Sterling
Lorence |
This time last year it was looking like Thomas was going to remain the third
pillar in the Sombrio Cartel for some time to come. Together they had worked
out a three year deal that, along with salaries from Oakley and Rocky Mountain,
would allow him to ride full-time and earn a good living. Oakley is pushing
their clothing line and Thomas is one of the few athletes they pay to wear their
footwear and eyewear alone.
It must have been a tough decision for the boys at Sombrio to let Thomas go.
While they were no doubt paying him a fair wage it became pretty obvious that
a larger, more established company would be able to sign him to a much more
lucrative deal. It was actually Andrew Shandro who called Chris Gagan of Fox
Clothing to let him know that TV was available. "They decided to cut him
loose so he could get in with the big players" said Gagan "it speaks
volumes about the way Sombrio does business."
"Thomas is one of the best - if not the best - freeride athletes out there
so when we found out he was available we flew him down, started talking, and flushed
out the details" according to Gagan. The timing couldn't have been better.
Thomas was just about to leave for a winter trip to Utah to ride for a new project
called The Collective - a film you will be hearing a lot more about. "We
were down there with Super T (Tyler Klassen) and (Darren) Berrecloth," Thomas
told me, "and it went really well but it was a tough time of year to be in
Utah - at night it went down to -10º (Celsius)"
Thomas and Tyler Klassen heading back to the motor home in Utah.
Photo ~ Sterling Lorence
It must have been bittersweet for Thomas to leave Sombrio after riding with
them for so long. "We left on good terms - I was riding Sombrio since I
was 14 and we sort of outgrew each other" he said. "Fox is a big company
and they put a lot of support behind their riders - they are also interested
in having us develop products." Gagan, who lived on the North Shore before
moving south to work for Fox is excited about having Thomas "representing
604 on what he'd like to see for upcoming products." Vanderham just returned
yesterday from a meeting about Fox's spring line for 2005. It will be interesting
to see if the Fox line moves away from the more colourful motocross-inspired
designs and towards the cleaner look favoured by many freeriders.
One of the most attractive things about Thomas for Fox was his close working
relationship with Sterling Lorence, who Gagan called "one of the best lensmen
in the business". "When we use Sterl we know we'll get good shots"
he added. "Thomas brought me some of Sterling's images from the Utah trip,
and they're breathtaking. There's an insane wall ride shot that we'll be using
in the catalogue for sure." The riders and filmers spent most of their
time in central Utah near Cainesville scoping new terrain - you have to know
a group that contains Berrecloth, Super T and Vanderham pushed the sport in
directions that will blow our minds when we finally get to see the footage.
| Since Gagan's arrival Fox has been quietly
building an amazing squad of freeriders. Besides Super T, who was signed
shortly after Gagan arrived at Fox, the group includes phenoms Cameron
and Tyler McCaul, street rippers Jeff Lenosky and Aaron Chase and all-around
riding stud Kirt Voreis. It's tough to find another company in the business
with a group that even comes close.
Unfortunately Super T broke his foot on the last day of shooting for
the Collective and it looks like he'll be laid up for much of the off
season. Tyler had just returned to form after missing the Red Bull Rampage
because of a leg injury. The good news is that his part for The Collective
is in the can and ready for the editing room.
Thomas Vanderham, just two years out of high school is in a pretty good
spot. His salary from Fox alone will easily pay him enough to live on,
he recently re-signed with Giro
and he has solid cash coming in from both Oakley
and Rocky Mountain
- his most lucrative deal. His other sponsors include Whistler
Mountain, Dakine
as well as Shimano
and Maxxis through
the Rocky Team. TV will continue to film with the best in the business
- returning to work with Derek Westerlund next year for New World 5. For
Thomas Vanderham the future is indeed looking bright. |
The young Emperor's new clothes. Photo ~ Sterling
Lorence |
Fox doesn't yet have rider info on their site but you can check out their gear
here.
You can see what Sombrio is up to for Fall and Winter as well as Spring '04
here.
You have to check out the new intro page on Sterling
Lorence's page. Epic. Watch for Sterl himself shooting the action from above.
Cam McRae
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