Talk-It-Up Tuesday with Pro-Line's Matt Wallace

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Matt: Thanks for having me LiveRC! My first “real” R/C car was a XX-CR 2wd buggy that I got when I was about 12 years old. I remember saving up my money for a long time and being so excited when I was finally able to buy it. Of course, building it was a totally different story. All I can do is look back and laugh at the memories of diff balls flying everywhere and Hydra-drive fluid all over the table as my Dad and I tried our best to put it together with zero experience. I can still hear him saying “I never thought an R/C car could be so complicated!” Ha ha! Once it was built, I had a blast driving it around my front yard and a nearby dirt lot but I only took it to the local track once (Extreme RPM in Grand Terrace, CA). I didn’t start club racing until a few years later when I could (kind of) afford it and remember the days of using tires way past their prime. I even did the JBRL series back in 2005, which was a ton of fun.
 
LiveRC: What are a few of your proudest moments as an R/C racer?

Matt: I have won a couple local races, like last year’s Turkey Cup in Mod 2wd SC at Thunder Alley with our Pro-Line PRO-2 conversion truck, but racing for me is all about having fun and learning how to improve our products. I have accepted the fact that I will never be the fastest racer and gladly channel my competitive nature into developing products that beat the competition in the hands of our team drivers and also win on the sales floor. I am actually writing this from West Coast Raceway at the popular JBRL series and find myself caring about supporting Pro-Line’s team drivers and customers rather than beating myself up because I’m not the fastest guy. I did win the C-Main at the ROAR Nationals last year in Mod SC and I beat former World Champion and owner of a competing brand Gil Losi, Jr. That was really fun! :)
 
LiveRC: There are a lot of classes out there to choose from. Which is your favorite, and why?

Matt: Short Course is definitely my favorite class to race. It is inherently more forgiving and fun to race because of the big body and bumpers. The scale realism aspect of Short Course trucks is also very important because it allows people who know nothing about R/C cars relate to them and hopefully want one. I believe this kind of thinking will push the industry more mainstream and benefit us all. As far as between 2wd and 4wd SC… I think 4wd fits my driving style better and I’m definitely more competitive in that class but I enjoy the challenge that 2wd presents.
 
 
LiveRC: At what point did you realize you wanted a career in the R/C industry?

Matt: I know this sounds strange but I remember reading an interview in one of the R/C magazines when I was in high school with someone who designed R/C cars for a living (I can’t remember who it was though) and he said he had a mechanical engineering degree. At the time I didn’t really know what that meant, so I did some research and from what I learned I thought it sounded like the coolest stuff to learn about. I remember thinking if I did get the degree that I might have a chance at working in the industry but I never thought it would really happen. I am truly blessed to be doing what I love for a career and to work for an amazing company.

LiveRC: There are a lot of kids out there who would love to have your roles at a company such as Pro-Line. What advice do you have for them throughout their schooling and involvement in R/C?

Matt: Honestly, getting my engineering degree was the hardest thing I have ever done and the advice I would give to someone chasing a dream is to never give up and do what it takes from a schooling standpoint to achieve your goals. I see so many young kids around the track who have this dream of becoming the next top “paid” driver and they are trying to make that a career rather than going to school when they are young. While there are a few drivers who make a decent living solely racing R/C cars, you probably have a 1,000 times better chance of getting a job in the industry than being a career racer. There are other interesting careers in the R/C industry besides engineering that might suit your skills and personality better, like Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, etc. As far as track behavior, you should always have fun because that’s why you should be doing it in the first place. Also, be willing to help others out and never go on “R/C tantrums” that happen even at the highest level.
 
LiveRC: Let's talk about your main roles at Pro-Line. Can you tell us a little bit about what you do on a day to day basis?

Matt: My main role at Pro-Line is developing new products, whether it be tires, wheels bodies or accessories. But this doesn’t mean I’m always behind the computer drawing new products on CAD. Some days that means testing prototypes, supporting our team drivers at local events, figuring out the tooling required to make a new product (since we manufacture most of our product in-house) and gathering input on how to continually improve our products. I enjoy the whole design process; starting with nothing but an idea and ending up with something that makes people happy is extremely satisfying. I work closely with Gerardo Gonzalez, who also develops new products, and Tim Clark, the Head of Product Development and key member of Pro-Line for over 20 years. Everything we do is a true Team effort.

LiveRC: Where do the ideas for new style tires and bodies come from? For example, what made someone think to even try a "cab-forward" body or "Ion" style tread in the first place?

Matt: Ideas can come from anywhere and we are always looking for inspiration in our every day lives. Many of our race products start with ideas from our race team. For example, the Bull Dog design came to life with a lot of help from Team Driver Ty Tessmann. It is vital for us to make products that not only perform at the highest level, but have cutting edge style that our drivers will want to show off, and nothing works better than having the best drivers in the world have direct input. The Ion happened a little differently and I think it is worth going into some detail on the beginnings because of the incredible success they have achieved at tracks across the country. I really wanted to have new tires for Short Course and 1/8 Electric Buggy for last years ROAR Super Nationals at West Coast since we only had Suburbs as an option. West Coast is a fairly local track to Pro-Line in Southern California and we have all raced there many times, so we know what it takes to make top performing tires on the indoor clay surface. But I didn’t want something that just performed well; I wanted something that was truly unique. I thought a Tron style circuit board looking tread would be cool but struggled for a couple days coming up with something I liked. So, I started over and focused on the center tread, which is the most important part in my opinion since it will define the traction and wear rate of the tire. As a general rule, the further spaced the tread is front to back, the more forward grip you will have. But a spaced out tire tread will also wear out very quickly. To create something unique and solve the grip vs. durability problem I doubled up the center tread and then put in a considerable gap before the next doubled up tread. I laid out the rest of the tread, showed the guys in the office (Tim, Gerardo and Daniel) and changed a few things based on their input. We went for it and it paid off with Ty winning the 1/8 Electric Championship and Cavalieri winning the SC Championship on the brand new Ions! The Ions once again took center stage at this year’s Nitro Nationals where our team drivers used them to dominate qualifying with Drake taking the eventual Championship. We truly do put everything we have into making the best products possible for our racers and customers.
 
LiveRC: Pro-Line in addition to many companies in the industry are faced with trying to find clever names for their products. Who, what, when, and where inspires the names for products such as the "Crimefighter" tire or "Bulldog" body?

Matt: Naming a product is usually one of the last things we do. It can be fun and stressful at the same time because it so important. Everyone in the office shouts out ideas and the good ones go on the big board. This process can go on for a couple days until we finally take a vote and make a decision. I would like to think we have some of the most iconic and well-known names in the industry.

LiveRC: A Main Hobbies just announced that Pro-Line is the official spec tire for the ROAR Offroad Nationals stock classes, AND the IFMAR 1:10 World Championships. Congratulations to you guys!

Matt: Thanks! We hit another home run when we developed the new X2 compound for last years 1/8 Nitro Worlds, exhibiting unmatched traction and durability in the harshest of conditions. The A Main Hobbies crew tested all the tires and compounds on the market and found that the characteristics of the X2 compound translated extremely well to 1:10 scale and had the best traction and wear for their track. Ty Tessmann just won the Hot Rod Shootout in 4wd Buggy with the X2 Worlds Tires (where Losi Red tires have been the standard for many, many years) confirming the performance of our tires at the highest level.

LiveRC: Speaking of the upcoming Nats and World Championship, Pro-Line has a pretty strong lineup of drivers going into these events. Who do you feel at this time are PL's best shot at winning a National or World Championship?

Matt: The obvious choice, after winning both classes at the warm-up race, is Ty Tessmann and I really believe he has a great shot. But we have several guys who will be right there at the Worlds including Lee Martin, Dakotah Phend, Neil Cragg, Hupo Honigl & Elliott Boots. A few local Pro-Line guys who have the speed are Cody Turner, Drew Moller and Nolan Anderson, so don’t fall asleep on the young guns!

LiveRC: Pro-Line is always working on something new. Whether it's race tires, or rat rod bodies, there is ALWAYS something in the works. Can you give us a little inside to what might be currently in the works?

Matt: We have some incredible stuff coming in the next couple of months, but I will get taken out back and given a beating if I give you any hints! Ha ha!
 
LiveRC: What is your favorite Pro-Line product and why?

Matt: Right now it’s our new Pro-Bond Tire Glue. We spent close to a year developing and testing the glue, bottle and glue delivery system to make sure it was head and shoulders above anything else available. Once you try it, I know you will never buy any other glue.

LiveRC: If you could be a racer, engineer, and designer in any other form of racing, what would it be?

Matt: Formula 1 because they are always on the cutting edge of mechanical/aerodynamic design, prototyping, testing, manufacturing and race strategies. I get to do the same thing every day just on a smaller scale! :)

LiveRC: Matt, thank you so much for joining us today! We look forward to see the upcoming Pro-Line products in which you have been a part of, and of course we look forward to seeing the PL team at the track soon! Is there anything you would like add?