Not only was Greg the original "S" in S&M (we'll get to that part later on), but as you can see by some of the photos, he was a ripper back in the day. How does a guy go from entering high-air contests at King Of Dirt events to being the General Manager at one of the most high-end P&A brands on the race scene? That's what we wanted to know. Prepare to be enlightened.

Where did you come from and what's your BMX background?
Whew, that's a long story. I'm from Catalina Island where there were no BMX tracks. Growing up on a small Island, it was all about riding trails. However, when I was 13 I was able to petition the City of Avalon to provide an area for a race track. With the help of my Dad who was the President of the Lion's Club, we were able to get the ABA involved to sanction a track. So, in 1982 they sent Harry Leary over to the Island to help design and build the track. Working with Harry Leary who was one of my BMX idols was a huge highlight in my life at the time. The track did not last very long but I knew then that BMX was my passion.

I graduated from high school (in 1985) and moved off the Island to go to college. I took a job at South Coast Bike Shop in Santa Ana, California where I started a shop team. While there, I hooked up with Chris Moeller & Barry Nilson to ride with. Chris and I became great friends and decided to go into business with our own frame and fork design. That is how S&M got started (me the S and Chris the M).

While running S&M, I left the bike shop to go work for Todd Huffman and Bob Morales at MOR Distributing as a salesman. That company was short lived so I moved onto GT Bicycles working in the warehouse pulling and packing orders. I was married and just had a baby girl at the time so I was really focused on my job at GT (which had benefits) and quickly moved up the ladder and became the shipping manager. While things were going good with GT, I really let things go at S&M. I wasn't very smart with the money and wasn't making good business decisions. Both Chris and I were spending too much and not putting enough back into the company. We soon got ourselves into debt with his family so we decided to part ways leaving the company (and debt) to Chris. I've had nothing to do with S&M since 1991 and Chris is really the guy who made the company a success! But, I am very proud to have been a part of starting that company!

Around 1993, I moved into the GT/Riteway purchasing department where I had very little experience as a buyer. GT paid for me to go back to college and graduate with a certificate in Purchasing Management. That really helped me so I became the aftermarket BMX Purchasing Manager for nearly five years. Overall, I worked at GT for 10 years.

During all of this, I was racing and entering some jump contests. Highlights of my riding career would have to be competing in the Guinness Book of World Records and in 1987; I was the co-winner of the very first King of Dirt at Richard Bartlett's house with Fuzzy. That was pretty cool!

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How did you get hooked up with Crupi and how long have you been there? (Did you have a relationship with Don Crupi before you started there?)
While I was working as the BMX Purchasing Manager at GT/Riteway, Crupi was one of the brands I brought into GT/Riteway. GT needed another BMX line other than GT to sell and Crupi being such a high end product was a perfect match. We purchased a lot of product from Crupi and we didn't think they would be able to handle our volume, but they did. I was very impressed with Crupi and soon became friends with the owner Benny Joseph. Benny had recently taken over ownership from Don Crupi who had retired. Although Benny had always been the manufacturer of Crupi Parts, Don was the guy who came up with the products, took care of sponsoring riders and did all the marketing and sales. When Don retired, Benny needed help with these things. I was helping Benny as much as I could from my desk at GT/Riteway but Benny had higher aspirations for Crupi and needed more. So, after 10 years with GT I felt it was time to move on and in 1998 took the job with Crupi. I've been here ever since!

What's it like working there? Cool atmosphere? Corporate?
Despite Crupi's large image, it is a very small company and anything but corporate. It was a huge culture shock moving from GT/Riteway who was at the time the biggest bicycle company around to Crupi who was tiny. After I learned how to work within a small business atmosphere, I realized that it was the greatest atmosphere to work in. Crupi is a family owned and operated business and that is how I am treated; just like family! I love it!

How much control do you have as to where the brand goes?
Benny has a lot of faith in me so I have total control as long as the company money and Benny will support it!

Do you remember your first day there? If so, what did you do?
My first day was scary for me; Crupi was the size of a two-car garage. I didn't have a desk or a computer so for the first month I just observed and took notes on what I thought needed to change. I can remember wondering if I had made a mistake in leaving a very comfortable job with GT after 10 years of service and going to this tiny company. It turned out that it was not only a wise decision, but a lucky one as well because of GT's demise around that time.

What's your "official title?"
Although I am a jack-of-all-trades here at Crupi, my official title is General Manager.

Have you always held that title or did you start doing something different?
Crupi had a GM at the time when I started so I was brought in to handle marketing as well as all new product development. After about two years at Crupi, it was clear that the GM didn't understand where we wanted to take Crupi, so Benny made me the GM.

What are you responsible for?
Virtually everything; our machine shop is run by Benny Jr. (Benny Sr.'s son) and the accounting department is run by Christy (Benny's daughter). I'm in charge of all the day-to-day business, which includes shipping, packaging, all purchasing and International sales. I'm still in charge of product development and all marketing. I've just recently self-taught myself how to handle our Web site and create all of our own advertisements in house. So I now handle everything on our Web site and create all magazine advertisements, too.

How many times have you been to Taiwan?
Crupi has always been focused on making everything here at our machine shop and keeping the "made in USA" theme. But like most BMX companies, we have had to go to Taiwan for some of our newer products. Since we don't do very much in Taiwan, I've never been there.

Any formal education for what you're doing now? If so, has it helped?
I have an Associate in Arts degree from college along with a certificate in Purchasing Management and that has helped quite a bit. However, I really consider my 10 years at GT as the place where I learned about business. GT was really my college for the bike industry!

Name some of the benefits about working there (401K?) What are the best/worst things about working there?
All of the basics of a really good job are included, a 401K, medical & dental plus two week's vacation time. Benny knows that I have his company's best interests in mind so he really takes care of me.
The best thing about Crupi is almost the same as the worst thing. Its great working in a small company environment but with a small company comes the growing pains of a small company! Coming from a very large company, things would happen very quickly. It's really hard to make them happen quickly in a small company!

Rate your boss on a scale of 1-to-10.
Benny is easily a 15! I've had a number of boss's in the past but Benny is very understanding; he is open-minded and puts his trust in me. He is the only owner I've ever worked for that truly has his employee's best interests in mind over his own. Benny has a few other companies that he owns. He has employees that have worked for him for up to 30 years. Boss's like that are hard to find!

What does a typical office day consist of?
I come in around 7:00AM, take care of all my e-mail and phone messages. Then I print all of the internet orders and prepare the orders for shipping. I make sure that product we need is being built and assembled and if we are short on products, then I have them prepared to go out for polishing, anodizing or laser etching. That is my morning.
My afternoon consists of working on projects like our website and keeping it updated, creating magazine advertisements, product development projects etc...
The end of my day is making sure all the orders have been shipped and that customers have been contacted if there are any problems with their order. Then I create any new purchase orders for stuff we need and get them sent off. I keep pretty busy each day.

How many weekends do you get to spend at home each year?
For the last few years, I've been able to spend most weekends at home. However, in the first few years here at Crupi when Benny and I were trying to grow the company, I would be on the road for 15 to 20 weekends a year. It was fun at first seeing the country but then it got old.

What are the hardest parts of your job?
Deadlines are sometimes difficult to meet, sales goals are always hard, and where I'm partly responsible for any success, I'm directly responsible for any failures of the business and that can be hard, too.

How did you select the people you wanted to work with?
Part of Crupi's success is that everything is a team effort. I don't pretend to know it all and I've learned over the years that fresh and new perspective from others that have similar but different experiences in the industry are really good. I really like to work with people who have lots of cycling knowledge so we can bounce ideas off of each other and know that the ideas are solid.

What kinds of things do you look for in your employees?
Primarily those who are passionate about BMX; but then I look for those who I think have a lot to offer Crupi and those who want to learn, as well. I'm always learning new things!

How much travel does your job involve?
Not as much as it used to but I still need to be at some races in order to keep in touch with our market. I do Interbike every year and Benny and I are starting to travel out of the country as the business is really growing in other countries.

When you look at various manufacturers in the industry, who comes to mind as a brand that's doing things right?
I've always had respect for Profile and how they always seem to be on the pulse of the industry. But now I'm seeing a change in our market where high-end is not always the customer's first choice. Although there will always be a market for high-end product like we make, the majority of BMXers out there cannot afford it. There are some newer companies that seem to be doing the right thing and their product is all made in Taiwan. Companies like FSA, Avent, Intense and FMF seem to be getting it right for today's BMX racing market.

As far as other "industry professionals" go, is there anyone who impresses you? Anyone you look up to?
I'm really impressed with my old partner Chris Moeller as he has taken our company and really made a success of it. Chris was still in high school when we first started S&M and he has now made a great career for himself.
I have a lot of respect for Jeff Devido at MCS/Custom Cycle Supply and Joey Licata at Answer and what they have accomplished. The guy I most look up to would have to be my old boss at GT/Riteway Bob Braseny. His managing style really pushed me into learning every aspect of the industry and how things work. He was my mentor!

Name three professional goals you'd like to accomplish this year.
1. I'm pushing really hard to update our product line
2. I'm working hard on improving my computer skills and trying to learn CAD so I can create drawings of products I would like to have made that will interface better with the machine shop.
3. Open up more Crupi business outside of the USA.

Where do you see the BMX industry in general headed?
BMX racing sales are slow right now; freestyle and dirt seem to be the strongest parts of the BMX market and it makes sense. Today's kids want to ride, jump and do tricks, but in their own neighborhoods. I see the freestyle end of the market continuing to remain strong for a long time.
The International BMX racing market is growing by leaps and bounds due to the Olympics coming up. It just doesn't seem like the Olympic bug has really hit the US yet. I think and hope that once the Olympic bug does hit the USA, that racing will grow again. When that time comes, Crupi will be there with all of our high-end racing products!