Builder of the Month: Shawn (December 2023)

We're ending 2023 by featuring our good friend, Shawn Roche, from Arizona in our latest blog post. In this post, you'll read an interesting story about how Shawn met our founder, Jason, and how that fateful day led Shawn to become involved with Boom Racing.

Boom:

Welcome to the Builder of the Month! Can you tell us about yourself and how you got into the hobby?

Shawn:

My name is Shawn, I live in Gilbert, Arizona, and it is an honor to be here. In the 1980s, I always wanted a true RC, and the choices were limited or so expensive it was not achievable. In about 1993, while living in Germany, I got a used Tamiya Blackfoot and I was hooked, but it was fragile and the replacement parts all needed to be ordered from the U.S. and then I dropped out of RC. Several years later, I got back into the crawlers and after constantly upgrading and never being able to achieve a true "scale" truck, I was getting frustrated and about to give it up; at about that time, my very good friend Mike introduced me to a company called "Team Raffee". We got a couple of D90 Defenders and have been doing scale trucks ever since.

Boom:

How did you discover Boom Racing?

Shawn:

There is a good story behind that, a few years before Boom Racing existed, I was out playing with tiny trucks in the desert. There, I met these two guys from Hong Kong walking around lost in the desert. Those two guys were Jason Tsang and his father. We started talking and kept in contact, and one day, Jason told me he was thinking about starting a company called "Boom Racing." So, I guess how I discovered Boom Racing was from Jason.

Boom:

Can you tell us about your Boom Racing vehicles?

Shawn:

It all started with Michael Giles trying to convince me we should buy "scale" trucks, so I got a Team Raffee D90. 

Then a few years after meeting Jason, he asked me if I was interested in testing a truck he was thinking about making. I agreed and he sent me a BRX01.

After the BRX01 testing was completed I was then asked to test the BRX02 and of course I agreed and to this day it is still my favorite truck I have ever owned.

Then came the BRX02 Series 3 109 to be tested; since it was the first truck to be assembled, it had several issues that needed to be addressed before production so it could go to USTE 2023 and be unveiled to the world (in 4 short weeks).

Above: At USTE

Then came along the BRX02 Series 3 88 to be tested, and it has been by far the most challenging/rewarding, and fun out of all the trucks I have tested.

Boom:

Are there any future Boom Racing builds you are planning?

Me:

We have talked about some truly amazing things coming up in the future that I will be testing and all I can say is it will be a huge game changer.

Boom:

Where do you draw your inspiration from when you are building?

Me:

That is a tough question, I guess the inspiration comes from the things that make me smile and hopefully they make other people smile.

Boom:

What is the RC community like in the area you live?

Shawn:

In and around Phoenix, there is a lot of RC ranging from tanks to bashers, but the scale community is…. lacking, but we are trying to correct that.

Boom:

What cars or upgrades do you hope to see Boom Racing make next?

Shawn:

This is a never-ending conversation, but for me personally I want a Series 2 109 ambulance with a full interior.

Boom:

Do you have any tips or advice for others in the hobby?

Shawn:

Surround yourself with the things and people that make you happy; if your local group is not going the way you want, create your own group and create a story you can be proud of. 

I have been truly blessed by the people I have met in and around RC; this adventure has been a crazy one, from a chance encounter in the desert to representing Boom Racing at events around the Country. Behind it all, there have always been three people keeping me straight: Michael Giles has always been a great moral compass keeping me on track. Jason Tsang has shown me there are amazing people out there, and you just find them (sometimes they're lost walking around the desert). But most important has been my wife, Darlene; she has put up with an amazing amount of this RC nonsense, and through a never-ending stream of "How does this look?" questions, she always finds a way to smile.