bigbris1

I'm Scotched up right now but I'm going to try this anyway.

1991. Junior year in high school (Norman Thomas 33rd & Park Ave in Manhattan) I answered an ad, "Bike messenger needed. Must have bike & lock". It was at a photo lab on 16th street. I borrowed my dad's Aerowind, bought a length of chain at a hardware store & a Masterlock.

Mostly delivering film, it started a career I would never forget. I graduated to a SS conversion, then another being infulenced buy the sleek bikes of other messengers. I had several other name brand frames, but because of the time that has passed & drug use, the names escape me. I just know they were expensive & way too small.

Soon I had a Miyata frame in my size, pearl white paint & my first set of true FG wheels. I don't even remember how I got it. I worked for several companies, many times I worked for 2 companies at a time. I made loads of cash, most of which I drank & smoked.

I was homeless for a time, sleeping on subway trains with my bike locked to a pole inside the train, bag still strapped on, hugging it like a pillow. Many times my slumber was interrupted by train personnel nudging me like, "hey, buddy. It's the last stop. You have to get off".

There wasn't cell phones like now, just pagers & the "nickel trick" (you'd insert a quarter into a payphone, press the lever slightly until you heard a click, the quarter would drop out & you'd then insert a nickel & make the call. I knew every payphone in Manhattan that this trick worked on). The whole test to become a messenger was, the dispatcher would ask you an address like, "where's 1 Daghammerskjold Plaza?" If you answered correctly, you were hired.

Those were good times. I still sometimes want to go back to being a messenger. It was one of the only gigs where, fresh out of jail, you could get hired based on your knowledge of the city, then excel because of your speed & likability.

There were programs on local TV featuring messengers, highlighting that it's one of the most dangerous jobs in the city, yet we're not covered by insurance. They highlighted the different bikers that werekilled in the line of duty, calling for a "Messengers Union" (is there one now?)

I loved being a messenger. I salute those of you who pound it out every day. Ride safe.

tmh657

You can construct sentences better than a lot of un Scotched up posters. What do you ride now? And does it have a brake...

dylandom

ahh i went to summer school at norman thomas.i went for advance classes though. god i was so boring as a youth.

solbrothers

awesome post. when im drunk i post like " aahddg ghetnt the t the ugg buty "

Brvn

So that makes you what, approximately 32? I thought you were like 16 broham.

bigbris1

I'm 33. I am married with 2 sons, 14 & 5.

What's with the "brahs" & "brohams"?

cc700

very cool.

i know i couldn't do it for a living, but i also know serving coffee/food/selling things/helping people for a low wage is unbearable in ways that a messenger will never be.

Mr Wiggles

Cool story, but you suddenly cut it off! Did you get injured or hit or find a better job? Why did you stop? (I know it's a ****ty paying job you can't do forever) Just wondering.

Brvn

That is a good story though. Iv thought about delivering sandwhiches for jimmy johns via bike as a summer job.

peabodypride

holy **** im posting in a bigbris thread!!!!!

patrick8037

I definitely love doing this job. Reading this makes me all the more anxious to get back on the road.

ZiP0082

best bigbris post yet.

bitterspeak

Good stuff. I sometimes wish I could be a messenger part time for all the downtime I have at my job.

So what happened? Why did you stop?

bigbris1

I ride a Windsor Hour. Not the most glamorous frame, but at this point, it's all about what gets the job done, not how much the frame costs.

I was there when you could jump from the up escalator to the down. I understand they put up cages after I left. I had keys to the escalators & the elevators & sat at the first table (cool kids from Brooklyn you didn't wanna F with) when you walked into the lunchroom through the set of doors closest to the serving line. We used to jack the GO store for pretzels & whatnot.

You have to be young & crazy to really go at it these days. The older I got, the more I feared for my safety, what with being a young dad & all. I used to "hitch rides" holding on to whatever car or truck that would take me along for the ride. Really helped for those Wall St. to Harlem runs.

I ended up knocking out the owner of the last company I worked for because he yelled at me for not delivering a "9AM" package without asking the story. I tried delivering it 3 times & there was no answer. Then his wife offered me a position upstairs. I started taking orders on the phone & saw that they really wasn't giving us the 50% we signed on for. I stole $20,000 from them & left (not proud of it). ever since then, I've been shuffling paper in an office behind a desk wishing I was outside.

You go at it & go hard. Just be safe.

jasonmansey

Best job I've had in years. Worst money in years.

It evens out.

bigbris1

Brakeless for life, I learned in "the trenches"

The only times I was injured was,

1) I got doored by a lady in a Mercedes. I had a tacoed front rim but I was OK. After some back & forth about how I need my bike to earn a living, she gave me $50 cash which I pocketed because a messenger always has spare wheels.

2) There was a leaf stuck on my front tire & looking down trying to time it & pull it off I slammed into a double parked van face first. I bashed my knee on the stem so bad I had to use my bike as a crutch. I limped to St. Vincents hospital on 17th & the triage nurse said, "before we do anything about you knee, we have to fix you eye." I said, "what do you mean?". She brought out a mirror & my left eyebrow looked like lips puckering up for a kiss. 8 stitches. I didn't even feel it when it hit. Yeah, I bought a helmet after that. Yeah I have a helmet now. Ask me if I use it.

Box truck fumes made me angry.

After the hospital incident, I called my company & told them what happened & they sent another biker to get the packages I had & left me there. I had enough.

imoscardotcom

good thread bigbris. you have quasi redeemed yourself.

dayvan cowboy

I saw a now hiring sign in their window today and was so close to applying because my job isn't giving me enough work.

metaljim

just sayin'...

Hawk Wheels

I started in 92 at Champion, feel lucky to still be doing it full time although my knees are starting to creak.

No messenger union but there is a 501c3 Nonprofit! The New York Bike Messenger Foundation:
https://nybmf.org

Come out to Messenger Appreciation Day on Friday..



there will be trainer racing compliments of https://goldsprintsnyc.com

SingleSpeeDemon

I'll be damned, I'm older than you. I graduated HS in '91.

sneaky viking

You huff Scotchguard?

It all makes sense now.

bigbris1

That's what made it so easy to just sell my bike & move on.

NewYorkMantle

been at it a year and a half. i'm still enjoying the job for the most part, although it really helps being a student without many financial responsibilities. i don't think i could hack it as a career messenger.

metaljim

fair enough. it's not a long term job for sure.