The Build

Our Short History: People are always asking us so here is our short history. In the Spring of 2003, David Veal was watching too many biker builds on cable and wanted to learn more about bikes in general. It was the amazing interaction of art and engineering that grabbed him at first, then it was the mystic of riding.

The idea of a trivia game came to him. He searched on the web and in novelty shops but didn’t find what he wanted, so he called fellow artist and biker Steve Schader with the idea of actually creating and producing a motorcycle trivia game. Steve is an award winning illustrator and had been riding for over 20 years. His family rides. Many of his clients ride. Heck, his dog would ride if he could grab the clutch.

The next day led to developing the first game layouts and swapping ideas on how to play it.

David: “From there the story goes that I had a good nights sleep, woke up the next day and Steve had the whole damn thing finished”.

Actually it took him a few weeks to create a logo and tighter sketches while we refined the strategy of the game. The game wasn’t finalized though without some advice from Steve’s father, Ken, who instructed them to simplify the concept and make it a poker run. At that point “American Throttle™, The Game” was born. From there, Steve finished the logo and produced a working prototype for testing.

Then What: The rest of the three plus years dealt with the basics of building a company. We had bikers and non-bikers play the prototype so we could test our efforts (Summer of 2003). All who played had a blast, laughing and joking with one another.

We spent many months generating a pretty good business plan which helped us to gather the funds we needed to finalize the artwork and to get the manufacturer into the production of our dream. It was hard work and a heck of a lot of fun too!

A Note from David: One of the cool aspects of American Throttle is that the game is for veteran riders and for those just starting out. Steve and I reflect that particular detail to a tee. Steve rides his Harley Fat Boy on trips around the country every year. I’m taking lessons and thinking about buying a used Yamaha V-Star 1100, though I have not made up my mind just yet. One way or another with all of the rallies around the country that we’re going to attend and with all of the bikers we have already met, this Summer of 2008 should be freakin awesome!

A Note from Steve: When David first approached me with the idea of a “Biker Game”, I was blown away by the concept. I wanted it to be something I would personally play with all my biking buddies. Seeing an idea go from very rough sketches, to a product you can touch, play, promote and sell has been a long time coming and, at times, I thought the thing was going to die. After playing it for the first time, I am hoping that everyone else who sits down with their friends has as good a time as I did.