Jose Marin is a hardcore roadie—a guy who has spent countless hours in the saddle, logging copious miles on the tarmac (in tight, tight Lycra, no less), all in the name of testing his physical limits. Randomly, Jose is also a DJ who, for the better part of the last decade, has consistently spun wheels in two very different spaces.
And this is where the story really begins.
Jose has some tales of valor and carnage, both on the bike and behind the turntables, with the common denominator being that both can lead to the dreaded bonk.
On the cycling side, if you’ve spent enough time in the saddle, depending on your level of fitness and experience, you’re likely to have encountered the unholy bonk a time or two. The bonk can come on fast, and with symptoms including extreme weakness, fatigue, light-headedness, nausea, and brain fog, it can catch riders off guard.
In the same way—or so we’ve heard from Jose—the act of DJing can also induce a similar, but no less dreaded, bonk. The strategies one ought to employ to avoid this bonk—the party bonk—are less straightforward than those of its biking counterpart, elusive to many, and perhaps more varied.
Our man Jose can speak to both.
Reserve: Jose, you started working in the Santa Cruz Bicycles Wheel Department, building Reserves to go on SCB bikes, but now you find yourself in a Brand Representative role at Cervélo. Nicely done! Can you tell us a bit about the path that led from one role to the next?
Jose: I’ve always enjoyed working on bikes and really come to love working with my hands. I started with the SCB family back in 2019, building some of the best wheels on the market. Working in our department back then was awesome—many karaoke days come to mind with my boy David (shoutout to David), singing loudly in the factory and undoubtedly annoying our colleagues.
The factory floor karaoke was...memorable to those within earshot.
I also remember being one of the only two people in the entire company who rode road bikes. My buddy Cole and I used to send it up Empire Grade after work and descend in the dark on some legendary Santa Cruz mountain roads. On Tuesdays, if time allowed, we’d join the local Giro (Helmets) Ride at lunch with some local heavy hitters from the factory. Some great memories include Scott Chapin rocking a steel bike with a 60t chainring (built by the legend Paul Sadoff), Cole on his purple Klein absolutely tearing apart the front group, or the time Brent flung his quick-release skewer at us and accidentally took out another friend. Sorry, Aaron—I think he’s still upset. Out here risking our lives for the group ride... nice.
Fast forward about a year, and another road homie, PTI (shoutout to Part-Time Ian), recommended me for a position at Cervélo in Customer Service/Support. I jumped at the opportunity. From there, I went from answering customer questions to handling warranties to now working with our sales and marketing teams, supporting retailers across North America and beyond. I really enjoy talking to customers, being in the field, and making new connections, but most importantly, getting more people out on bikes.
I feel incredibly fortunate to share the stoke with our retailers and know our in-house team is just as passionate about what they do. Cervélo obsesses over the details and prioritizes aesthetics to create fast and stunning bikes. Sorry, had to plug that—it’s literally my job. Also, shoutout to Strack, one of our designers. Along with his team, he’s helped grow my knowledge base through amazing conversations about bike design and thought processes. It’s invaluable for educating myself and our customers.
I know you started DJing in college, and you’ve demonstrated your skills at a few SCB parties (one particular 1970s themed Christmas party comes to mind). What are some of the highlights of your DJ career?
Seeing my coworkers lose their shit. It's like I'm going around performing exorcisms on the dance floor. Nice.
Nice lol. We’ll leave it there to protect the anonymity of specific coworkers, we/they know who we/they are (ahem).
One PG instance: another colleague, Ian Backpack, jumped on a subwoofer and danced to New Kids on the Block’s You Got the Right Stuff. Nice, Mr. Backpack.
What else?
I've played a whole host of gigs, everything from Quinceañeras, backyard parties, weddings, even DJing for the Ying Yang Twins once. I’ve hit the raves, company parties, and everything in between. Now, I’m more of a chill guy on call.
One of my favorite stories (not sure if this will make the cut) is how I started DJing on vinyl. Back then, DJs used turntables like Technics 1200 MK2s and two-channel mixers. I remember hauling my gear to a college house party where a lady’s “enthusiastic dancing” kept smacking my table, making my needle skip everywhere. Only later did I learn about the penny trick (look it up). Not sure if it would’ve helped, though—this lady was determined!
True music heads will know all about vinyl vs. digital, and any DJ worth their weight should! What kind of music are you playing these days?
I love funk, soul, and disco—these are my go-tos—but I pride myself on being open-format. You’ll catch me mixing old-school house, garage, new wave, and even rock and roll. And, of course, I love throwing in some pop because... why not?
Classics all the way up to contemporary—nice. I have basically zero knowledge of old-school house worth listening to. Any specific artists you’d recommend?
I can do you one better. I’ve made a playlist (that nobody asked for) and included it below. It’s a mix of everything I’ve been listening to over the past few years and the music I use to guide the Rhythm of the Night (Editor’s Note: nice Debarge reference). I titled it Dave’s Mighty Mix after my friend Dave who once told me he liked disco on a road trip in the UK. Naturally, I blasted disco for five hours straight. Safe to say he wasn’t expecting that!
Have you ever tried your hand at making music, or are your musical efforts more curatorial?
I think most DJs aspire to produce their own music. I did try my hand at a few DAWs [Digital Audio Workstations], but I never found my groove. I found more enjoyment playing to crowds and making people dance.
For sure. There’s so much good music out there, and people love their favorites. Give us your gnarliest party bonk story from your DJing days.
Oooof. This has to be the Santa Cruz Bicycles company retreat in Quincy, 2022. I was DJing the closing slot after a band, playing until very late. There was a mobile wine bar parked in front of the stage—dangerously convenient. I’m not a wine drinker, but I made too many trips there.
When it was my turn to play, I remember looking over and seeing Brian Bernard from Cervélo standing there (in all black, of course). I said something incoherent to him, somehow made it to the stage, and started my "performance”. I remember thinking the music was too loud and trying to “fix” it. Somehow, I played for two hours before realizing everyone was gone. I thanked the sound engineer, walked off, and made it to my van 200 feet away to crash.
The next morning, people said I played too much Britney Spears but did a great job. I’m not sure about that last part, but I couldn’t complain.
I guess that answers the standing question of whether or not any amount of Britney Spears can be deemed “too much”. What are some things people (who may or may not be nursing a hangover when they’re reading this) can do to avoid party bonking in their future endeavors?
STICK TO YOUR ALCOHOL OF CHOICE. DO NOT experiment with different drinks just to hang out longer. Also, it’s pretty obvious: pace yourself. No one likes carrying your sloppy corpus around after a party. Drink water—like seriously guuurrrl, hydrate! And whatever you do, don’t mix and match drinks.
Solid advice. And yeah, everyone’s different. Give us your gnarliest bonk story from a life of riding bikes.
Five years ago, I was riding in the Angeles National Forest during the LA Tourist—a checkpoint-based ride/race. The objective is to find specific checkpoints scattered across the San Gabriel Mountains, tear a page out of a book at each location as proof, and return to base with all the pages. There is no set route, and the first to visit the checkpoints, collect the proof and return to base with pages in hand wins.
This particular event was hosted by Golden Saddle Cyclery (R.I.P.). I remember grinding up old mining trails that stretched endlessly along a ridgeline. We were probably seventy miles in, and I was over it—bonked out of my mind. My cousin Isaac (shoutout, Isaac!) kept pushing me to keep riding and pick up the pace. On that ridgeline, I wanted nothing more than to stop and flop over.
To make things worse, I flatted and sprayed sealant all over myself. It took me like 30 minutes to fix the flat. Isaac eventually circled back and “picked me up.” At one point, I even called my friend Keegan (shoutout, Keegan) from the ridge and told him that my cousin was trying to kill me. We dropped back into Pasadena after what seemed like an eternity; about 13,000 ft of climbing and probably well over 100 miles, and I remember riding past all the street vendors along Griffith Park Blvd. and my cousin denying me food. I was hunched over the bars and pedaling blind to get back to Golden Saddle. Once we got back I threw my deceased body on the floor and lay there for probably well over an hour. No we did not win. Thanks Isaac.
Brutal. How long did it take before you rode with your cousin again?
I’m not sure exactly, but I remember avoiding really long rides—especially this race—for a good while. To this day, I haven’t done another one of these rides, even though they host about three of them each year.
What could have been done to avoid that bonk?
Talent and fitness would’ve helped, for starters. I also didn’t fuel properly during the ride. I wasn’t eating enough, and at the time, I was just getting into gravel rides. Riding that long with bigger tires requires more effort than I was prepared for.
An ounce of preparation, as they say. Would you rather party bonk or bonk on a bike?
Party bonk—at least then I can waddle over to a nice patch of grass and take a snooze.
Valid. Sleep it off. What bike are you riding the most at the moment?
My Cervėlo Caledonia 5 in Carmine, complete with in-frame storage…perfect for large pizza slices. Pictured below, I’m gearing up for a bikepacking trip—destination unknown—with someone who shall not be named.
Road slices for the win. Which wheels?
42/49 Turbulent Aero, of course. Duuuh.
For sure. Hard to argue with those Turbulent Aero wheels. What did you do this NYE?
Just relaxed. My body couldn’t handle the abuse this time around. Or perhaps you could’ve caught me collecting some data on a local dance floor…who’s to say?
In addition to his dancefloor research efforts, you can also catch Jose at Cervélo events the world over plying his trade, on instagram @epicbrainbike, or on Strava where it actually matters @ jose marin