Half a Decade of Slow Spin Society
Today I’ll keep it brief, because this is a strange article to write. But I wanted to take a moment to celebrate. To celebrate you, the 10,000+ people every month who read, watch, and (hopefully) enjoy what started here on Slow Spin Society.
Five years isn’t some extraordinary achievement. But after half a decade of pushing through, putting 90% of my energy into one thing, and standing by values shared with a community that has always been incredibly supportive, I can look back and clearly see how much ground we’ve covered since day one. None of this would have been possible without you, so, truly, thank you.
This year also marks 20 years of The Radavist and 50 years of Chris King, and it would be easy to look at those giants, feel small, and wonder how they ever made it happen. But oddly enough, it gives me confidence too; it’s a reminder that building something lasting, meaningful, and independent is possible, even if it takes time.
To be fully honest, we had plans to make bigger moves for the 5-year mark. We talked about a short film, experimenting with more narrative-driven video formats. But as usual, reality caught up with me (Paul) moving every few weeks, always running out of time, and barely managing to do everything I already planned. But I promise we’ll try to make something happen in 2026.
That said, some things are still happening this year, slowly but surely, and now more collectively. Jona has been editing the recent videos you’ve seen and is also taking care of the News Rodeo. Kim and So have been refining their photography and writing through multiple articles over the past few months. My close friend Go, founder of Fumikiri Gang, wants to share more of the beautifully strange details that make Japanese cycling culture so unique. And more recently, many of you have reached out, hoping to use SSS as a megaphone for your own work, adventures, and cycling stories from around the world. I can’t publish everything I receive, but I’m genuinely grateful that so many of you want to share your stories with me and with this community. SSS still sits in a very specific place of its own. No longer a personal blog, not mass media either, something in between, operating at a very human scale.
Over these five years, I’ve watched the cycling scene evolve, seen many of you grow, and felt myself change too. Whatever the stats say about the cycling industry, or however difficult it can be to secure sponsorship, I couldn’t be prouder of all the positive things that have happened here.
Thank you to all of you, and a special thanks to everyone who supported SSS financially, whether through Buy Me a Coffee or Patreon before that. Honestly, 5 euros here, 10 euros there might not seem like much, but it makes a real difference, enabling things like paying for gas to go to events, buying film, and so much more.
So if we’ve made it to five, we might as well aim for ten. Talk about SSS to your friends, your local bike shop, the homies, your uncle’s sponsor (seriously, we need to secure funding this year), your cat, and anyone you think might care. The more of us there are, the better it gets. Because without an audience, media is just words on a webpage.
- Paul
Can’t wait for another 1,825 days of Slow Spin Society.
