In the late 2000s, with increasing excitement over the fixed-gear movement, and in particular over Cinelli’s collaborations and friendship’s with MASH and RVCA, Cinelli President Antonio Colombo found himself traveling to California more and more frequently and socializing in the new scene created around these bicycles. On one of these trips in 2008 he met Mike Giant, already a world-renowned tattoo artist working more and more in illustration. As well as being an avid everyday rider, Mike had an extremely strong interest in fixed gear bikes, their subversive politics, and the kids riding them.