bonspeed Wheels threw what many said was undoubtedly the party of the year; in conjunction with SEMA 2008! The exclusive invite only party was Wednesday night in a huge Hard Rock Hotel celebrity suite on the penthouse level high above the Las Vegas skyline.
The party was hosted by
bonspeed boys; Brad Fanshaw (President & Owner), Michael Anthony (Owner and founding member of Van Halen) and Larry Dixon (
bonspeed sponsored 2-time World champion top fuel driver). This was just like a backstage experience and as the invite stated; "In Vegas there are plenty of places to party like a rockstar; only
bonspeed wheels invites you to party with the rockstars"! This party had rockstars aplenty and not just the musical type, the guests included the most talented builders, racing legends like Bob Bonduraunt, TV celebs like Genevieve Chappell, magazine editors and more.
All of the
bonspeed Bash guests were treated like rockstars with laminate backstage passes, cocktails, and when they departed each received a limited edition t-shirt (only 150 were made) and our VIPs each got a very cool swag bag.
bonspeed plans to make this an annual event for its top customers and industry friends. The
bonspeed Bash is certain to grow and in 2009 even more celebrities and surprises are sure to be expected. There is no better way to show off the newest wheels and products that
bonspeed has to offer than with friends and a few cocktails during the SEMA event week!
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE!.......
ABOVE: Oh yeah, just like some hot nightclub there was a line to get into the
bonspeed Bash!
Warren (Hard Rock Security with the clip board) was monitoring for party crashes while Troy Ladd of Hollywood Hot Rods (Black Hat) gets his laminates.
ABOVE: Once inside, joint was jumpin'!
ABOVE: Frank from Prodigy Customs (Black Shirt) grabs a cocktail.
ABOVE: bonspeed's dealers and VIP guests were invited to draw for some cool prizes. These included pinstriped bottles of Ed's Red wine,
bonspeed Watches,
bonspeed Titanium Knucklenut rings and limited edition
bonspeed skateboards. Here Troy Trepanier draws for a prize while noted hot rod builder Bobby Alloway (Balck Jacket) waits for his chance. In the background laughing it up (Green/White shirt) is Bill Hancock the head sales guy at
bonspeed.
ABOVE: Art Morrison and Craig Morrison talk chassis ideas with Michael Anthony.
ABOVE: Steve Strope (an old rocker himself) admires Michael Anthony's custom bass that was designed by
bonspeed's art guy extraordinaire to commemorate the winning GT40 race cars. Watch for Michael to be wielding this ax on his next tour with Sammy Hagar.
ABOVE: Just before the party started our favorite Top Fuel pilot; Larry Dixon had time for a quick photo with Michael. Dixon is so fast he is hard to get in any photos!
ABOVE: Genevieve Chappell from Velocity TV was at the bash talking cars and looking for new story angles. She also took time for a photos with Steve Strope of Pure Vision (again) and Brad Fanshaw.
ABOVE: Jason Hill of Hill's Hot Rods, one fantastic truck builder scored one of the limited edition
bonspeed Wheel skateboards.
bonspeed created three designs and just ten of each board, these limited edition boards are highly collectible art pieces. Each board was signed and numbered by our art director Rick Martin and the
bonspeed boys; Michael and Brad.
ABOVE: bonspeed's super sales guy Bill Hancock (green/white shirt) was working the room all night. Here he is cheering on Hal from Godfather's Customs while he draws for one of the VIP prizes.
bonspeed Wheels began a new tradition at this years bonspeed bash, skateboard decks that double as wall art. These highly collectible decks were shown for the very first time at the party and they were met with great excitement.
ABOVE: Michael Anthony holds up two skateboard decks that bear his name.
Everyone who attended the 2008 bonspeed Bash walked away with a limited edition t-shirt. Our celebrity and VIP guests each received one of these cool swag bags. Each bag was loaded with a limited edition bonspeed Bash t-shirt, an autographed bottle of Michael Anthony's hot sauce, two of Michael's very rare bonspeed guitar pics, a carbon fiber pen from Lear Jets, an issue of Velocity Magazine and a Flexjet cap. bonspeed would also like to thank Brian Benson Cellars, the makers of "Ed's Red" wine for participating and Knucklenuts Titanium rings.
ABOVE: Oh yeah, just like some hot nightclub there was a line to get into the bonspeed Bash!
ABOVE: Once inside, joint was jumpin'!
ABOVE: Frank from Prodigy Customs (Black Shirt) grabs a cocktail.
ABOVE: bonspeed's dealers and VIP guests were invited to draw for some cool prizes. These included pinstriped bottles of Ed's Red wine, bonspeed Watches, bonspeed Titanium Knucklenut rings and limited edition bonspeed skateboards. Here Troy Trepanier draws for a prize while noted hot rod builder Bobby Alloway (Balck Jacket) waits for his chance. In the background laughing it up (Green/White shirt) is Bill Hancock the head sales guy at bonspeed.
ABOVE: Art Morrison and Craig Morrison talk chassis ideas with Michael Anthony.
ABOVE: Steve Strope (an old rocker himself) admires Michael Anthony's custom bass that was designed by bonspeed's art guy extraordinaire to commemorate the winning GT40 race cars. Watch for Michael to be wielding this ax on his next tour with Sammy Hagar.
ABOVE: Just before the party started our favorite Top Fuel pilot; Larry Dixon had time for a quick photo with Michael. Dixon is so fast he is hard to get in any photos!
ABOVE: Genevieve Chappell from Velocity TV was at the bash talking cars and looking for new story angles. She also took time for a photos with Steve Strope of Pure Vision (again) and Brad Fanshaw.
ABOVE: Jason Hill of Hill's Hot Rods, one fantastic truck builder scored one of the limited edition bonspeed Wheel skateboards. bonspeed created three designs and just ten of each board, these limited edition boards are highly collectible art pieces. Each board was signed and numbered by our art director Rick Martin and the bonspeed boys; Michael and Brad.
ABOVE: bonspeed's super sales guy Bill Hancock (green/white shirt) was working the room all night. Here he is cheering on Hal from Godfather's Customs while he draws for one of the VIP prizes.
The bonspeed Bash was a "Who's-Who" of the automotive world! The party that was hosted by the bonspeed boys, Brad Fanshaw and Michael Anthony had enough automotive talent in one place that anything could have happened. bonspeed's master art director managed to corral some of the crew for a quick photo at the party.
ABOVE: bonspeed "JAG-X" shown in brushed center/polished outer
ABOVE: bonspeed "S/S" shown in polished finish
ABOVE: bonspeed "VinSpeed" shown in polished finish
SEMA 2008 is just around the corner and the guys at CGS are busy wrenchin' on another in a long line of projects. This year they are building one trick Ford Flex the new crossover from Ford. In addition the many mods, including a one-off front fascia bonspeed Wheels will machine a special set of 22" wheels.
This is one bad-ass frame dropped blazer with 22" bonspeed Huntington wheels and they look like monsters under this truck. Check out more pics by clicking the link below!
A recent cover of SUPER CHEVY MAGAZINE featured this fine 1969 Camaro owned by Ned Jackson. You see, Ned wisely chose a set of bonspeed "Delta" wheels for his pro-touring ride.
Recently, we were doing some web surfing of our own and found that by searching at the Truckin' website we could see over 100 trucks with bonspeed Wheels. Click below and check them out!
You might know bonspeed as a wheel, but our design firm creates and builds too! Back in 2004 when Ford was introducing the new F-150 they handed one over to the bonspeed design team and we went crazy.
Check out Truckin' Magazines online home for a recent feature of a sweet 1988 Chevy truck rollin' on 22" bonspeed Huntington wheels. There is a link below to the article and be sure to visit the bonspeed Wheels website.
Hot Rod TV is re-airing the episodes featuring the bonspeed boys, Michael Anthony and Brad Fanshaw as part of a Saturday marathon. Tune in Saturday, August 2, 2008 for the following episodes:
Truckin' has published the 2008 Hot Rod Apparel Guide and it is full of bonspeed stuff!
personalization that makes a car a hot rod.
Truckin' Magazine just posted a build-up on a 2008 GMC Sierra shortbox pickup. The red truck features a nice look with bonspeed "Clutch" wheels. Check out the link below to see the online build!
bonspeed's Award-Winning GMC "King Sierra" Featured in Truckin' Magazine