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The Basics
Age and occupation. How long have you lived here, where did you come from, and where do you live now?
Zach: 33, born and raised in NYC, owner, Vespa Soho
Wen: 26, born in Toishan, China, owner, Vespa Soho and Red Agency (PR) raised in NYC since age 4.
Both currently living in a sublet in NoHo
Three Quick Ones (while he's away)
1. Transportation in NYC occupies the extreme ends of the convenience spectrum. Many options are available but taxi drivers are crazy, the subway smells, buses barely warrant a mention, owning a car and parking it is a death sentence, motorcycles are loud, and let's face it, walking can be tiring. Are Vespas the answer to our city's congestion and headache problems or do they just look cool?
NYC has all the same problems as Milan, Paris, and London - no parking, high gas prices, terrible traffic. Those cities have a few years head start on NY for Vespa sales, but have all answered this question with a big YES. The looking cool part and having fun is a nice side effect.
2. Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted on a Vespa in London last summer, have you sold any to "celebrities" here?
Our customer list includes Mathew Broderick, Uma Thurman, Joel Coen + Frances McDormond (the director, half of the Coen brothers), Bijou Phillips, Mark Consuelos + Kelly Ripa...
3. How do I know if a Vespa is right for me? Like, say I'm into amphetamines and Quadrophenia, is that enough?
If you would own a car if you lived somewhere other than NYC, then a Vespa will work for you. Easy, fun, and cheap to own, and you always have a parking space where ever you go. We bought our first Vespa because we thought it would be a cool toy - instead it transformed our lives and ourrelationship with the city. No more do we fear diagonal crosstown journeys or visiting friends in the other boroughs.
Proust-Krucoff Questionnaire
Please share a personal (and hopefully interesting) NYC taxi story.
Dude - I haven't even been in a taxi since I bought my first Vespa.
What's your New York motto?
FUCK YOU, PAY ME!
Best celebrity sighting in New York, or personal experience with one if you're that type.
Uma Thurman and her new boyfriend sucking face in the Vespa Soho wash stall.
Describe that low, low moment when you thought you just might have to leave NYC for good.
Every time we get robbed.
Just after midnight on a Saturday - what are you doing?
Hiding from the B&T crowds at home with our personal stash of....
What's the most expensive thing in your wardrobe?
Zach's set of racing leathers - who knew you could race Vespas?
Finish one of the four following sentences:
1) "Outside of his building, on E. 9th Street, Chip took money from Enid and..."
bought a knock-off Von Dutch trucker hat.
What was your best dining experience in NYC?
Not telling - we don't want ya'll swarming our secret spots.
Just how much do you really love New York?
Heaps and Heaps, Piles and Piles
What happened the last time you went to L.A.?
We were kept up all night by a third-rate porn movie being shot in the next room at the Carson Civic Center Hilton. They were probably moaning so much because the sheets were like burlap. That shit hurts!
Medication: What and how much do you take?
Herbs and lots of them.
Of all the movies made about (or highly associated with) New York, what role would you have liked to be cast in?
Al Pacino's character in Devil's Advocate.
If you could change one thing about New York, what would it be?
We would make it less FILTHY
The End of The World is finally happening. What are you going to do with your last 24 hours in NYC?
Violate every traffic law on the books.
For more info about Manhattan's only dedicated Vespa boutique, check out VespaSoho.com.
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i can't wait until 2020, when new york looks like rome and zach and wen are our new billionaire overlords.
Excellent celebrity sighting at Vespa. Page Six will be running there tout de suit.
Random C-List celebrity Vespa connection: I was at Rocco's last summer, chatting with the since-fired manager when a guy came up to take Rocco's Vespa to be repaired. Rocco had really messed it up somehow.
uh, fact checking time...hello???
"Red Agency"? Are we sure this exists? Do we just take everyone's word on everything these days? If it's a "real" PR agency, there seems to be a lack of info about them and this Wen person's PR career on the 'Net.
Perhaps the shortest store owners in the city.
vespas are not cheap, they run about 5g's new!
Yeah, but chicks dig 'em. And think of all the cab fare you'll save.
yeah folks, just another example of the bizarre Jew/Asian obsession the site's owners have
Vespa's are bit below $5k, but not much. The real problem is how to park them in Manhattan.
It's lots easier to park a Vespa than a car. Vespa-as-car-alternative I think is the issue, and in Manhattan Vespa wins hands down.
to vespa or not to vespa, that is the question. as for parking cant you just roll it up onto the side walk or do the sideways thing onthe street? how easy are they to steal?
to vespa or not to vespa, that is the question. as for parking cant you just roll it up onto the side walk or do the sideways thing onthe street? how easy are they to steal?
I always assummed sidewalk parking was illegal - isn't like a $100 ticket? As for parking between cars, I would be a bit scared of a *CRUNCH*. I would love to have a Vespa though!
according to my friend who has one in chicago, yes, they are very easy to steal.
It's not clear that there is an advantage over a bicycle. It's certainly different, and somewhat less effort, but you will waste time finding parking, and you will spend a lot of money on a scooter that you could put towards other things, both transportation and otherwise. It was my experience that I got no more respect on my scooter than I do now on my bike, even though both have a legal right to use the roads. I would still be cut off by cabs and tailgated by 18-wheelers. If you don't like to drive in NY, the scooter is in many ways worse. Of the East River crossings, only one is scooterable: the Brooklyn. The pavement may have changed since my scooter days, but it used to be metal grates that were hard to ride on a two-wheeler.
"i can't wait until 2020, when new york looks like rome and zach and wen are our new billionaire overlords."
How about wait until 2006 when they are out of business and the streets are reclaimed by the non-yuppie majority?
Is it me or did most of this read like and ADutorial.
I would vote for a bicycle; much cheaper, environmentally sound, and you can save a lot of time not going to the gym. Plus 2-cyle engines are nasty. I will admit the 50’s and 60’s vespas I see riding around are pretty sexy.
you're thinking of "advertorial" but that would be wrong. in the industry, we call this an "advertview." did i mention i got a free vespa out of this? (ok, it was just a test-ride around the block but it was still awesome.)
krucoff = whore.