We get a question pretty often: “what is Love Machine?” Well, the short answer is ‘I don’t really know.’ Here’s the long answer.

Love Machine is a passion project. It’s run by myself (Max), and my good pal Cam. We’re not a brand, we’re not a bike shop, we’re not really a club and we’re certainly not an organisation of any semblance. Love Machine exists solely to help push forward the culture of gravel bikes in southwestern B.C.

Broken down, it consists of two equal parts:

1) To help grow gravel cycling in the area, and to work to keep it from developing a culture of gatekeeping.

2) To serve as an outlet for my personal creative practice.

Gravel cycling is a really interesting world to be in these days. It’s an ‘outsider’ sport. Because it’s so new and fledgling, we have the opportunity to mold it into something actually equitable. So many outdoor sports have deep undercurrents of gatekeeping — secret ‘locals-only’ spots, hidden trails or just an overall hesitance to share helpful info to newcomers. Kooks. Freds. Jerrys. It's boring. So let’s skip all that. Gravel cycling will be better if we decide to make it welcoming, and openly share helpful info like the best spots to ride.

As a designer, Love Machine is a place to experiment, to break traditional design rules, to try all the weird typographic, illustrative and motion stuff I wish I could do at my day job. Vancouver and the outdoor industry are (understandably) intertwined. And both the outdoor industry and the city have a habit of re-using the same visual tropes over and over. The visual language of seemingly every local brewery, restaurant, or outdoor company can feel kinda cookie-cutter. I can only take so many brands ‘inspired by Japanese and Scandinavian minimalist design.’ Nothing stands out when it all blends together. With Love Machine, we try to create work that more accurately reflects our local community, fills a need people are asking for, and actually stands-out as a result.

But, Love Machine is a side project that is always evolving, So, next time someone asks me “what is Love Machine?” I’ll probably just keep it simple and say ‘I don’t really know.’

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