The man with the best bike shed in Britain – Dutch van Someren
The man who spearheaded the creation of one of motorcycling’s hottest venues
‘It really felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us’
‘Paparazzi turned up and the Shed was born’
Since opening its doors in 2015, the Bike Shed in London’s Shoreditch has become a hotspot for the new wave of do-it-yourself bikers, driving a scene that not only appeals to the latest generation of enthusiasts but to those who have been around the block a few times, too. The driving force behind this destination is Anthony ‘Dutch’ van Someren who, after a successful 28-year career in media, decided to refocus his talents onto making custom bikes exciting again. “Back in 2010 there was this whole community of media folk who rode ‘bikes of character’,” says Dutch, “and when my wife Vikki bought me a Ducati Sport Classic for my birthday she suggested that I write a blog about customising it. Several of my mates were doing a similar thing and I thought it would be a good idea to group our blogs together, so I created a domain called The Bike Shed Motorcycle Club and used Facebook to share content. Other people soon began asking if I would share their stuff and it rapidly evolved into me documenting this custom scene as a kind of curator.” The transformation moment came one night in 2012 when Dutch and his buddies were sitting out the back of the Landseer pub on Holloway Road, discussing who wanted to go to the motorcycle show at the NEC. “It was a huge turn off for all of us,” recalls Dutch. “It was awkward to get to, we didn’t like any of the new bikes, the food was always dreadful and there’s that grubby market vibe of selling off last year’s kit at discount prices.
“So I suggested we should do a Bike Shed show,” he says. “It would be in Central London at the start of the season, with proper bars and really good food, pop up tattooists and barbers shops. There should be art and photography on the walls like an exhibition, plus every bike should be specially selected and never seen at another show.
“We funded it ourselves at a cost of £12,000,” says Dutch. “Entry was free and we had 3000 people from all over Europe turn up. This was all happening around the same time that the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, Wheels & Waves and The One Show were getting going, and riding on a feeling of zeitgeist we decided to do another the following October. “After our second show it was suggested that we should turn it into a business and I had this idea that it would be like a members club, where everyone feels like a VIP. We decided
it would need a proper restaurant and café, a retail outlet and event space in order to work. The idea was to hire people to run it, but the more we worked up the plan, the more we wanted to do it ourselves. It really felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so we quit our day jobs and started talking to investors. “We opened in November 2015 with the launch of the new Triumph Bonneville. To be honest we weren’t really ready – there was no glass in the windows, the doors didn’t work properly, and the gas hadn’t been plumbed in – but suddenly all these celebrities and paparazzi turned up, and ‘Boom!’ Bike Shed was born.” The Bike Shed has matured over the past few years and Dutch is keen to stress that there’s more to life than home-built scramblers. “We screen MotoGP and the Dakar, organise offroad riding and adventures, plus we put on trackdays as well as our Bike Shed Festival.”
Dutch and Vikki’s latest project is to expand the Bike Shed across the pond to Los Angeles. “If a couple of media idiots can open a functioning, profit making business around niche motorcycle culture in London, then going to LA where everyone rides and biking is in their DNA, should be a no-brainer,” says Dutch. “Hopefully it will be the first of many, because everyone deserves a Bike Shed in their city.”