Welcome to the team! Steve Boehmke joins the Dirt Rag crew

Boehmke, on the right, with Dirt Rag’s Publisher Maurice Tierney.

Longtime industry veteran Steve Boehmke has been hired by Rotating Mass Media—publishers of Dirt Rag and Bicycle Times magazines—as its newest advertising sales account representative. Boehmke is based in Orange, California, and replaces Gary Boulanger, who was named Bicycle Times editor in late March.

Boehmke will handle print, digital and online advertising sales for both publications, including sponsorship development for the annual Dirt Rag Dirt Fest in May, and the new Bicycle Times Adventure Festival in October 2015.

“I’ve known Maurice since the earliest days of Dirt Rag and have been really impressed with how it has grown from a ‘zine to one of the most respected and read mountain bike publications,” Boehmke said. “Bicycle Times intrigues me because bikes are the answer to many of our problems. I can’t wait to use my connections to increase sales for the market, while growing the market for the planet. I’m on a mission to get 1 million more people on bikes, and this is a great venue to help make that happen. My focus will be on the hundreds of companies in Southern California and other companies where I have outstanding relationships to connect them to passionate readers who need their products. I’m a connector.”

From his early involvement with Charlie Kelly’s Repack races, Boehmke has worked with Shimano, RockShox, Giant, Hutchinson, Interbike, Okole Stuff, WTB, Ergon, Adidas eyewear, Red Bull, Nike Cycling, GU, Clean Bottle and Selle Anatomica. Boehmke was inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2001, the year before Dirt Rag founders Maurice and Elaine Tierney.

“Bicycle Times and Dirt Rag speak to real people who buy bikes and bike parts,” Boehmke added. “Not elitists who expect things for free from their local bike shop. And while many of us in the industry feel like Dirt Rag is mainly an East Coast publication, our history shows that people all over North America read the magazines, and we actually have slightly more readers in the West. If you want to sell bikes and parts, you have to advertise and you have to attend events. We currently have four of the best properties to do that with our magazines and festivals.”

Boehmke can be reached at [email protected].