VTOPIA DESIGN
If you were asked what water tastes like or to describe whether breathing is perceived as an involuntary act or if you have to think about it every time, inhale and exhale, there is probably no right or wrong answer.
Similarly, VTOPIA was born as a response to an undefined impulse, which we did not think about or look for, it just appeared out of the blue.
It was simply there waiting. Over the years, we have seen many bikes, some we have ridden, others simply sat on and caressed only a few.
At some point, however, we noticed that something was missing; we were sitting still, passively observing and waiting for other people’s ideas and initiatives.
We felt the urgency to do something, to create something of our own, exactly as we wanted it to be.
We owed to ourselves.
DESIGNER
I wanted to go to art school, I was inclined toward drawing, but I chose to go into classical studies instead. I ended up in a strict environment, where Greek tragedy and Seneca were fed to me in moral slaps more than in books.
In such a context drawing during class was almost an act of rebellion but all those philosophers, writers and thinkers in the end left me something.
Drawing for its own sake, without the support of a concept behind it, vanishes into thin air and I think, from where I stand, this phase helped to stimulate and give depth, ideologically and culturally speaking, to what I do today.
I then studied architecture in Milan, and while high school first armed me with ideas, at this stage I refined my tools, observing how a project develops, from the initial mental draft, to a set of coherent lines.
On a more practical level, in college, I started using the computer and a whole new world opened up to me; 3D graphics and modeling gave my “artist” self, stifled from the beginning of high school, new ways and specialized tools to express myself.
Moreover, I have always greatly enjoyed the world of video games; they are important to me because they allowed my mind to get lost in simulated worlds the way I like them, with all the details in the right place.
At an early age I fell in love with “Wipeout”, a video game that portrayed spaceship racing in futuristic scenarios, all accompanied by soundtracks that introduced me to the world of the 90s Big Beat music; an aesthetic that still fascinates and captivates me today and with which I confront myself every time I design a motorcycle.
To this day, the concept of a motorcycle has to be consistent with that kind of aesthetic, it has to dance to the rhythm of that kind of music, sending a strong and decisive message of hiatus.
I prefer this being an architect.
Giorgio Cerrato
ENGINEER
Since childhood, curiosity has always been the core element of my experiences. In my imagination, all objects were like shells containing within them living and mysterious worlds.
In elementary school, I used to enjoy taking apart any non-functioning object, whether mechanical or electronic, with the desire to understand how it was made and why it had stopped working its magic; sometimes I even managed to repair them, I still remember the satisfaction.
At some point, unfortunately, I started to take apart even working items resulting, very often, in having to take them to be repaired. Imagine my parents’ joy!
For as long as I can remember I have felt a strong attraction to motorcycles and cars, which I certainly inherited from my dad. It was with my first scooter that I combined the passion for engines with the desire to know how they work. In no time I found myself working on all my friends’ scooters. It was a world where I felt at ease, among cylinders, pistons, carburetors, variators, tools, oil and gasoline.
Growing up motorbikes came into the picture, more complicated of course but even more fascinating. I remember how good it was to spend evenings in the garage with a workshop manual and a disassembled bike in front of me.
Then I started riding motorbikes on track and the fine art of suspension tuning and tyre pressure opened up to me.
Sometimes I messed up trying to learn physically on motorbikes, not for nothing my motorbike mechanic is one of my best friends.
I hated mathematics, but nevertheless I could not resist the allure of engineering. I enrolled in a course in automotive engineering, the physics and scientific fundamentals of mechanics, the concrete basis of all my past practical experiences. A dream. Of course, the exams turned out to be less exciting but what interested me was following the bigger picture, knowledge and understanding.
As time went by, I found myself with a small backpack on my shoulders with my rudimentary tools inside: competence, expertise and experience. Why not try to unleash my desire to create and invent, instead of optimizing existing projects?
And it is precisely from this thought that my journey began, to discover the things yet to be discovered.
Dario Dei Cas