Staff Directory

A writer and editor with more than 20 years of publishing experience, Toby joined the BRAIN editorial team just before show season in 2011 — a baptism by fire for a longtime mountain biker who had never worked in the industry. His résumé includes several years on the news and business copy desk at Southern California's Orange County Register before moving on to edit for several entertainment and business trade publications, including The Hollywood Reporter and Workforce Management magazine. As a veteran but woefully unskilled mountain biker he has amassed a laundry list of medical claims, and at his advanced age now prefers to keep his knobbies close to terra firma. However, Toby’s the first to lead the BRAIN lunch road ride onto dirt whenever the opportunity arises. He lives in the mountain bike mecca of Fullerton — where he can be found dodging ear-budded dog walkers on the legendary Fullerton Loop trails — with his wife, daughter and two dogs. … Make that three dogs. Good boy, Norman!

Val is BRAIN’s newest staff writer. She comes to the magazine with a varied background including stints as a bike shop manager, bicycle tour guide, and race and event director. She also worked as a freelance writer in the outdoor and travel industries. Most recently, she taught women’s clinics and drove a demo van, working with Giant retailers all over the west. An Idaho native who has lived all over the northwest, Val is excited about her recent relocation to sunny southern California, where she can mountain bike, trail run, and garden year round. She lives in Silverado canyon with her boyfriend Brian and their two dogs.

Matt is one of the magazine’s original editors, penning his first article in BRAIN’s second edition in 1992. With a penchant for obscure parts, frames and brands, Matt ended up as the technical editor. He also had more bikes and bike parts in his garage than all the other editors combined. Matt said he’s looking forward to his 30-year sabbatical at the company and hopes to spend some of that “free” time walking around Interbike and checking out the goods instead of writing copy for the Show Daily.

Colin is passionate about the intersection of publishing, design, and technology and brings broad experience to BRAIN as Digital Director. Before Joining BRAIN as an employee, Colin contracted to redesign, develop and maintain the most recent version of bicycleretailer.com as well as contribute graphic design for the Interbike Dailies for each of the last seven years. Besides contract work for BRAIN, Colin has held positions as diverse as Art Director for Mountain Gazette magazine; web developer, project manager and strategist for multiple digital agencies; and ran his own consultancy where he photographed weddings and events; filmed and edited documentaries, commercials, and YouTube series'; and designed, developed, and strategized digital solutions for the web. While Colin claims that someday he will buy a mountain bike to ride the world class trails near his home base of Paonia in Western Colorado, he currently settles for road rides across the mesas below.

Since the age of 4, Karl Wiedemann has loved bicycles and the freedom they brought. Always a tinkerer, Karl grabbed a wrench and removed the training wheels from his first bike because he couldn't corner as well as he wanted to. Through the years, Karl has raced mountain bikes, worked in bike shops and managed the marketing and public relations for brands such as Pedro's, Thule, Chariot and Park Tool. Today, Karl is still an avid cyclist, hiker, paddle-boarder, runner and skier. Karl splits his time between Georgia and Vermont.

Sales territory: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and in Canada the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario.

Email: kwiedemann@bicycleretailer.com

Focus is the key feature of Wheel Giant's attitude and that focus centers on publishing and as an independent sales agency for foreign bicycle magazines. We have been the sales agent in Taiwan for more than 40 specialized foreign bicycle magazines including Bicycling, Bicycle Retailer & Industry New, Mountain Bike Action, Tour and Mountain Bike. We have become an important globalization partner for Taiwanese companies by strategically placing advertisements and supplying information for the industry. In addition we publish the Chinese-language Bike Market Update distributed in China and Taiwan. Wheel Giant, Inc. 193 Tze-Chiang Road, Changhua Taiwan, ROC Fax: 886-4-73560789