Robert, the Schwinn Man

Hope you guys had a great Fourth!   Mine was pretty mellow - no parties and no work (for once!)  - just cleaning up the house and getting some pesonal work done.  I was a slacker last month about postings; I was slammed a good portion of the month!  Spain, then back to NYC for three days, then Ohio, back to NYC and straight work.  Then last weekend, I went to London.  Anyway, I’m back until Tues, then it’s LA-Montauk-NYC-Montauk.  And that’s just through the middle of July!

Good thing I had free time this weekend because I FINALLY got around to retouching a beauty image from the Urban Chic story and a portrait of Robert, the Schwinn Man.  Robert lives in the neighborhood and is obsessed with Schwinns.  If you’re in NYC and have been to any parade or big bike event, well, you’ve probably seen the Schwinn guys.  They’ve decked out their bikes with TVs, multiple colors, figurines - really awesome these bikes.  Here’s a video of Puerto Rican Schwinn Club.

Robert’s got over 200 bikes kept primarily in two of his houses.  When I first met him, he gave me a quick tour of one basement jammed with bikes and parts.  A lot of bikes he keeps unassembled because of space constraints.  Generally, the bikes are older and restored; some stay “antique” looking (His bikes are also used in film/TV, so they’ve got to fit a variety of decades).

When I showed up for the portrait, 8 of his top bikes were lined up, and a couple more waited across the street.  This green cobra Schwinn is one of my favorites.

And this is Robert, the Schwinn Man.  Click on it for a larger version.  For some reason, it won’t get any bigger in the post.