An Atomic kind of update
Not one to bury the lead I’ll get the chase…. After 5 years helping Atomic, I’ve decided to shift gears and head a different direction.
The decision was not easy, did not come over night, or most critically a lack of innovation or energy at Atomic. Whether people like to admit it or not, Atomic’s MRX Masters car is performing extremely well and KimKim will continue to produce extremely impressive kits. I've will continue to be a die hard Atomic fan, I’ll continue to drive my Atomic cars, and there is a decent chance I’ll buy MORE Atomic cars in the future!
So why the pull back?
I’m an extremely loyal person and while I didn’t podium much, I’ve stayed the course with Atomic for just over 5 years. By my count that’s 13 different kits I’ve helped Atomic in some capacity and I helped some amazing people do some really fun things since 2021. I’m really proud I was in the right spot at the right time to help built out the first US Team Atomic website with Lee’s help, and produced and championed the Virtual Pit Chats to help fans of Atomic from around the world. More recently the work the in building out the knowledge base of kit guides for WolframRC has been extremely rewarding.
One thing runs through all of that work, all of that time. Helping people connect, helping people have fun. It’s pretty clear I was not doing it to win podiums. 🤷🏼♂️
Some even ask why be tied down to a brand at all? You have less freedom, more responsibility and the chat requests never end! For me, that’s part of the path to fun. While others might enjoy hoping from chassis to chassis, I enjoy settling into a space and helping people along the way. Having done that with Atomic this feels like the right time for ME to get curious about other things in the hobby.
What’s next?
I’m certainly not leaving the hobby by any means. Hanging out with my friends at Madison Mini RC is so much fun it’s hard to come home. I love fine tuning my cars, chasing that 100% perfect run and learning new things. While I’m taking a break from the national racing scene in 2025, I continue to race weekly and continue to fight for every corner. Hoping to get to some events in 2026 if things work out. I’m not going to try and hide my curiosity with Xbility. From all appearances Jose desires closely match my own and that excites me. I’ve no clue if the car is amazing or if it will podium but if you didn’t catch it above…. that’s not what I’m chasing and I’m ok being a little different then everyone else! Maybe something else will come down the path that I’ll get curious about? No clue what the future holds and that’s kind of fun to think about.
One thing that is certain is my interests in crawling are definitely not subsiding. I’ve now built out a second Vanquish 1/10th H10 Optic 4WS rig this summer and plan to enter my first crawler comp with my beloved Vanquish VRD Carbon in a few weeks. Coupled with my Ascent 18 for the indoor spaces, crawling makes for a nice balance in the hobby and I encourage others to find a second outlet.
Thanks…
If I’ve done anything in the last five years, it’s all due to KimKim at Atomic. His trust and support has been critical and I’ll miss those 4am chats with him hearing his excitement about a new design, or hearing his design methodologies. Equal thanks to Lee, Derek, Tommy, Ian, and Victor. These guys have always been there to help with questions and I’ve learned so much from each of them. If I ever did perform well at an event it was mostly them coaching me on setups. I’ll continue to cheer them and all Atomic drivers.
Based on a few DM already this AM I suspect some of you will be disappointed, perhaps even upset feeling this is some level of betrayal. While I could apologies I rather challenge those to step up and lead yourself. Help others, find your own path. I’ll be right along side following my own path to fun!
Thanks for reading and go Atomic!
