Let’s hear what Jun from Blockhead Motors has to say about radio-controlled cars and bicycles.

You got yourself a great bike! It looks so cool.

It really is. And thank you, too. The biggest reason I went with this bike was my connection with CRUST BIKE.

They were the ones who first got in touch and said they wanted to carry BHM products.

At the time, I hadn’t entered the world of cycling yet, so I didn’t really know who they were. But I thought it sounded interesting, so we started talking.

It’s impressive that you could find it interesting when someone from a world you knew nothing about reached out to you.

I’ve always wanted to connect with people from worlds I didn’t know. I used to design sneakers, too, and back then I tried to bring different cultures together by releasing polka-dot Hornets and Reebok Pump Furys at the same time. That was around 2012.
For some reason, I’ve always wanted to bring RC cars into other worlds.

You didn’t really know what kind of brand CRUST BIKE was. In a way, you drew them to you…

I really didn’t know anything about them. But I checked out their website and liked what I saw, so I figured it would be fine. I don’t think I realized CRUST was famous until I met you, Monja (laughs).

As I mentioned in the announcement for this pop-up, it all started when Tanaka spotted Tamiya RC cars appearing on the CRUST web shop and said, “Damn, they got us!” That got him excited about RC cars again. And to think BHM was behind it all.

That’s interesting!
I did care about the colors and parts, but more than anything, I chose this bike because of those connections.
We should’ve invited CRUST’s Matt to this pop-up, too (laughs).

RC cars are getting popular in the cycling world, too. The Bike Lore RC Car Grand Prix was already amazing at its first event in Tsuchiura, and it looks like the one in Akigase will be even bigger.
What did you think when you saw it?

I was surprised by how big it was.

I guess I thought, “People in the cycling world really know how to have fun.”
Whether it’s bikes or RC cars, I think coming up with new ways to play is pretty tough.

Mantsu did a great job setting up the venue, too. And I feel like the people who are taking part or showing an interest at this stage tend to be especially good at finding ways to have fun.

It’s easy enough to build an RC car, drive it around the neighborhood, or take it to a track. But what do you do next to enjoy it? There are so many possibilities that it can actually be hard to figure out. We end up judging things by existing standards, asking whether they’re acceptable or not.

Taking an RC car along on a bike to create a certain style, or racing at Bike Lore—those are great examples of new ways to have fun.

I see. That makes me happy to hear.
Do you work with other fields besides cycling, too?

We recently held an event at a skate park. I can’t skate, but I’ve always admired it. I’m also trying to bring RC cars into all the different cultures I was passionate about in the ’90s and 2000s (laughs).

There’s one more thing I wanted to ask. We middle-aged guys grew up during the RC car and Mini 4WD booms, so it’s easy for us to understand what makes RC cars fun and cool. But how do you explain what’s so great about them to people who didn’t grow up with them, or to younger people?

I think it’s better to think of them as part of custom culture, rather than focusing on RC cars. People customize cars and sneakers, and remake clothes. Customizing is something that will never go away, no matter the generation. RC cars have that same appeal, and I think bikes do, too.

That makes sense. The fun of customizing something to suit how you use it and your own style is just like with bikes.

And to be a little more practical, RC cars are cheap (laughs).

They’re not that cheap (laughs).
Maybe that’s just how people in the cycling world see it.

You can get a basic RC car kit for around ¥9,000.

That’s cheap for a base you can customize. Even something close to high-end is only around ¥20,000–¥30,000, right?

That may be true.

If you want to win races with an RC car and buy all the equipment for it, you could spend around ¥500,000. But still…

I think it’s something that’s easy for people who ride bikes to get into.

Plus, it looks cool on display at home, it’s fun to build, and it’s fun to drive around in the park. It’s an all-around great hobby. It’d be a shame to limit it to people who tried it as kids.

I think what drew us to RC cars and Mini 4WDs as kids was that the mechanics and cars themselves were just plain cool! That urge to experience that initial excitement again is what gave rise to BHM.

That’s right. We call that a desktop garage.

A lot of people who are into RC cars enjoy tinkering with them—building them, driving them, maintaining them, and customizing them.

Some people even look for a model with lots of customization options right from the start. There’s a real joy in making it your own over time.

And while hobbies like cars and motorcycles come with all kinds of practical and family-related challenges, RC lets you create your own world right on your desktop.

A garage is where you bring to life, as an adult, the miniature world you imagined as a kid. RC lets you do just that.

Tell us about the BHM store. Where is it located?

It’s in Tsudanuma, on the Tokyo side of Chiba. That’s where I’m based, so that’s where I opened the store.

Originally, I built a desktop garage at home and shared it on social media as Blockhead Motors.

But I started feeling like it needed to be more tangible. Online, you can make things look like anything you want.

You can create a fiction just to get likes. People edit photos of girls so heavily that you can’t tell if they really look like that until you meet them in person (laughs).

Exactly (laughs).

I wanted to create a place where people could experience this world for themselves. I think a good store is one where you can get the idea right away just by visiting.

The story behind BHM’s store is really interesting. I also asked a little about what inspired BHM’s whole aesthetic, but let’s save that for the talk at the pop-up (laughs).

That’s right (laughs).

It’s the story about how, as a kid, I thought RC cars were imaginary vehicles Tamiya had invented from scratch (laughs).

I thought the same thing (laughs).

It’s fascinating how that led to BHM’s custom builds, decal designs, and store decor.

In an age when you can buy anything online, RC shops are closing all over the world. But what matters to me about having a physical store is whether customers leave feeling glad they came. Not just glad they shopped, but glad they got to see the place for themselves. I think that’s the role of a brick-and-mortar store.

Exactly. At Circles, our challenge is to make people value who they buy from and how they buy, in a time when you can get anything, anytime, anywhere. We want the pop-up to be that kind of place too.

I’ve even forgotten the basics myself, so I’d like to ask: what do you need to get first to start with RC?
Some people might think that buying a kit is all they need to get it running.

Besides the RC kit, you need the electronics to make it move. Tamiya offers some kits that include the radio controller, servo, battery, and so on, so if you get a kit and the electronics, you can get it running.

It’s like how a bike needs components in addition to the frame. You have to put the parts together, right?

What will you be bringing to the pop-up?

Of course, I’ll bring RC kits. They’ll mainly be off-road models, with a variety of options—from 2WD and 4WD to models from the ’80s through today.

I can’t bring that many, though, so the options may dwindle as things sell (laughs).

That’s true. And since the RC kits are Tamiya products, BHM’s own offerings are things like custom parts, decals, and apparel, right?

That’s right. That’s where BHM started. The way you apply stickers can completely change the look.
They’re magic—you just stick them on and your car looks cool (laughs).

We also put a lot of effort into apparel, because we’re not just an RC shop.

Looking forward to it!

So, for the parts of this interview we had to skip over, Jun will talk more at a pop-up talk show on Saturday the 13th at 7 p.m., on the first floor of Circles. Shinya Tanaka will also join him. It’s also scheduled to stream live on YouTube, so be sure to check it out. Hope to see you there!