Out of the bakwoods
The long drives were tiring, yet the spirit inside of them was constantly alert, kept unwearied by a passion that would shape the coming years of their lives. They were both entering their final semester in college in the spring of 2003. With graduation in sight, thoughts of the future were becoming the forefront of conversation to fight the boredom of the open road.
For Matt Roy and Chris Maffeo, a two-week cross country tour with Roy’s brother’s skate company, Movement, would be the roots of a business known today as Bakwoods.
“We decided that it would be a good job,” Roy said. “We didn’t want a nine-to-five.”
“The main focus was skateboarding and snowboarding,” Maffeo said.
“It all started with the movies we made. We filmed local kids in the New Paltz, Poughkeepsie area.”
Trial End Error was a collection of footage that Roy and Maffeo had gathered and decided to make into a movie. They held a release party at Mcgillicuddy’s in New Paltz, which hundreds of people attended. From this, Bakwoods was set into motion.
“The first movie was eye-opening for us,” Roy said. “People were really excited about what we were trying to do. We decided right then to do another film.”
Roy and Maffeo started making T-shirts to help promote Bakwoods as well. They set up shop in Roy’s bedroom at the time. Maffeo had experience working for a professional silk-screener in Kingston, N.Y.. This would prove to be valuable.
“If we were going to do it for ourselves we wanted it to be as professional as possible,” Maffeo said.
In a short amount of time Roy’s bedroom became too small for their growing business. A closet with one rack had become a house with many, all stacked with out-going orders thanks in large part to the success of their online store.
“We started creating our own clothing after the first movie,” Maffeo said. “Our intentions were to make films, but then we decided to get some T-shirts out there, which basically led us into getting our own silk-screening equipment.”
Today Roy and Maffeo run Bakwoods out of a house in New Paltz complete with a dark room, an office and a printing room. They live amongst friends that are more like family, which they say has been the dream all along.
“This company not only employs us,” Roy said, “but it also employs our artistic and creative friends as well.”
They are a tight circle that has been a strong foundation for Bakwoods since the beginning. With Senior photographer Todd Martin, photographer Anthony Aquino, web designer Joe Sturges and friend Corey Willis, Roy and Maffeo are working in an environment they have always hope for, and the future looks promising for all involved.
“If Bakwoods is continually going forward,” Roy said, “then there is no point in stopping.”
Relative to Reality, their second movie, was released in the spring of 2005. But it was 2006’s Horseshoes & Handgrenades that they are most proud of.
“Horseshoes and Handgrenades, in our minds, is our first real skate video,” Roy said.
It is a constant cycle full of hard work and travel. When one season ends, another one begins. This keeps them constantly working, for when one project is nearing its completion, another one is already in the works.
But the hard work is paying off. Productivity, exposure and overall business are increasing. Roy and Maffeo are working with more talented riders in each new project. They are currently working on their first total snowboarding movie and are expanding their financial opportunities. The clothing line has expanded with the addition of women’s products. The online store is very successful and Bakwoods is being sold out of stores across the northeast. For them, the experience is irreplaceable.
“We get asked all the time, ‘when are you going to stop?’,” Roy said, “but there hasn’t been a point in time where we’ve been at a standstill. If this ended today there would be no regrets.”
And with the dynamic between them, working together for Roy and Maffeo has been their greatest advantage. They aren’t afraid to speak out and push each other forward. They believe this is what made Bakwoods grow so fast, and what will make it continue to grow.
“With the determination we both have,” Maffeo said, “there is a great future ahead of us, that I am certain of.”
For more information please check out Bakwoods.com.
The long drives were tiring, yet the spirit inside of them was constantly alert, kept unwearied by a passion that would shape the coming years of their lives. They were both entering their final semester in college in the spring of 2003. With graduation in sight, thoughts of the future were becoming the forefront of conversation to fight the boredom of the open road.
For Matt Roy and Chris Maffeo, a two-week cross country tour with Roy’s brother’s skate company, Movement, would be the roots of a business known today as Bakwoods.
“We decided that it would be a good job,” Roy said. “We didn’t want a nine-to-five.”
“The main focus was skateboarding and snowboarding,” Maffeo said.
“It all started with the movies we made. We filmed local kids in the New Paltz, Poughkeepsie area.”
Trial End Error was a collection of footage that Roy and Maffeo had gathered and decided to make into a movie. They held a release party at Mcgillicuddy’s in New Paltz, which hundreds of people attended. From this, Bakwoods was set into motion.
“The first movie was eye-opening for us,” Roy said. “People were really excited about what we were trying to do. We decided right then to do another film.”
Roy and Maffeo started making T-shirts to help promote Bakwoods as well. They set up shop in Roy’s bedroom at the time. Maffeo had experience working for a professional silk-screener in Kingston, N.Y.. This would prove to be valuable.
“If we were going to do it for ourselves we wanted it to be as professional as possible,” Maffeo said.
In a short amount of time Roy’s bedroom became too small for their growing business. A closet with one rack had become a house with many, all stacked with out-going orders thanks in large part to the success of their online store.
“We started creating our own clothing after the first movie,” Maffeo said. “Our intentions were to make films, but then we decided to get some T-shirts out there, which basically led us into getting our own silk-screening equipment.”
Today Roy and Maffeo run Bakwoods out of a house in New Paltz complete with a dark room, an office and a printing room. They live amongst friends that are more like family, which they say has been the dream all along.
“This company not only employs us,” Roy said, “but it also employs our artistic and creative friends as well.”
They are a tight circle that has been a strong foundation for Bakwoods since the beginning. With Senior photographer Todd Martin, photographer Anthony Aquino, web designer Joe Sturges and friend Corey Willis, Roy and Maffeo are working in an environment they have always hope for, and the future looks promising for all involved.
“If Bakwoods is continually going forward,” Roy said, “then there is no point in stopping.”
Relative to Reality, their second movie, was released in the spring of 2005. But it was 2006’s Horseshoes & Handgrenades that they are most proud of.
“Horseshoes and Handgrenades, in our minds, is our first real skate video,” Roy said.
It is a constant cycle full of hard work and travel. When one season ends, another one begins. This keeps them constantly working, for when one project is nearing its completion, another one is already in the works.
But the hard work is paying off. Productivity, exposure and overall business are increasing. Roy and Maffeo are working with more talented riders in each new project. They are currently working on their first total snowboarding movie and are expanding their financial opportunities. The clothing line has expanded with the addition of women’s products. The online store is very successful and Bakwoods is being sold out of stores across the northeast. For them, the experience is irreplaceable.
“We get asked all the time, ‘when are you going to stop?’,” Roy said, “but there hasn’t been a point in time where we’ve been at a standstill. If this ended today there would be no regrets.”
And with the dynamic between them, working together for Roy and Maffeo has been their greatest advantage. They aren’t afraid to speak out and push each other forward. They believe this is what made Bakwoods grow so fast, and what will make it continue to grow.
“With the determination we both have,” Maffeo said, “there is a great future ahead of us, that I am certain of.”
For more information please check out Bakwoods.com.
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