Racer X: Firstly, how did PanicREV get its start?
Scott Parkinson: We started in 2003 and we were just a couple of guys that loved motocross and the sport. Our faith became really important to us at the time and we wanted a way to kind of express who we were, basically, at the track and reach out and be there for other riders. It was just a really simple idea. Me and a couple of buddies got a website started and began giving out free water to other riders at the track that had our website on it, and we began connecting with people. Soon we began doing chapel service and prayer at the opening ceremonies at tracks. Some doors started opening for us and the ball just got rolling from there.
Scott Parkinson got his start in amateur motocross, and is now the president of PanicREV.
Photo courtesy PanicREV
It’s been ten years since the company started. How have you seen it evolve?
We’re still the same, but obviously we’ve grown a lot. Our main purpose as a brand and a company—we are a non-profit—is to be there and try our very best to make a difference in people’s life however we can, and we do that in all kinds of different ways. Our motocross camps—we have five during the summer and one during the winter—are a great way to connect with families and people that are passionate about faith and dirt bikes. It’s a great opportunity to get everyone together and grow as people and riders and have a good time while we’re doing it. That’s just one example of many. We’ve also done a movie with Trey [Canard] called “In the Beginning.” We are out there trying to be there for riders and have an impact in the motocross industry.
Can you elaborate on what your camps consist of? How do they differentiate from the other training camps out there?
Well, we definitely do a lot of riding—the kids are out there, probably spending six hours on the bike everyday, but we also have a faith element to our program. We’re trying to just give kids and families a strong platform to stand on when times get hard, and we think that they are, and we are, able to do that through our faith. We are able to have chapel service in the evening and prayer and incorporate that into our program. We also have some of the top Christian athletes come out as trainers or guest speakers and be a big part of the camp.
You brought to attention the Trey Canard movie, but you and your brother John have done a lot of other videos as well. What got you guys started in video production?
John and I actually got our start in the motocross industry working for an amateur motocross magazine [Final Lap] so we come from a design/media/photographer/videography background. So that was just another way to use the gifts that we have to further the impact and reach that we have and give some of the riders we are associated with a platform to put their faith on their sleeve and share it with the motocross community on a broader spectrum.
Check out panicrev.org for more information on apparel and other products.
Photos courtesy PanicREV
Talk about your background. What got you started in the motocross industry and what led you down the path to where you are now?
My dad started racing when he was a kid, so we grew up in a motocross home. As soon as my mom would let us, my dad got me a dirt bike and I just loved it. It was a major part of my life until about college, when it kind of got away. I went to bible college and wanted to focus on that and take care of that side of things. Sometime, I guess halfway through college, I started PanicREV and started getting back into it.
You recently released a new helmet wrap. Is that something you guys see going forward, getting more into more product based things?
We have an apparel line, but we’re not an apparel company. We have the helmet wraps and graphics, but we’re not a graphics company. All those things are just a tool to get the brand out there and support the kids that want to be a part of it.
Basically, you produce a broad platform of things and brand it under PanicREV?
Yeah, yeah. We’re pretty fortunate. A lot of the things we are passionate about and gifted in we are able to kind of activate—whether it be designing clothes and getting that out there, or putting a helmet wrap design out there. We have some great friends in the industry that we partner with to be able to do the graphics and the helmet wraps and all that stuff.
Where do you see the company going from here?
I would love to see us continue to grow our camp program and to maybe even one day have some sort of facility on the west coast that would be like a Christian version of youth camp, or I guess a motocross version of that experience that a lot of kid experience at youth camps. I would just like to continue to activate the avenues that we are in, as far as having an impact on people’s life and just being a brand that stands for faith and family and for good times at the motocross track and continue to be a positive light in the community.
You can purchase a copy of "In the Beginning" at thetreycanardfilm.com.
Trey Canard has been, I don’t know if spokesperson is the correct term, but a big part of the company. How important has that been in your growth, as a company?
It’s been really cool. I mean it’s actually something that just happened recently. We have been around for a long time, and like I said our background was amateur motocross, so we built a lot of relationships back in the day and those relationships have continued over the last ten years. That’s just been something really cool that was unplanned, that just happened to happen and we are just really grateful to have those friendships and relationships and being able to partner with guys like Trey and Ryan Sipes, the list could go on and on. Those guys allow us to impact a much broader reach of the motocross community.
Thanks, Scott. If people want to find out more about your camps or products, what’s the best way?
They can go to panicrev.org and connect with us. We also have camprev.com for our camp program. We are also really big on social media. You can find us at @panicrev pretty much across the board.
