The Joker: A Custom Frame for Lucas Bourgoyne
I first met Lucas Bourgoyne on a mellow group ride before the 2023 Gateway Cup. He was riding for the Austin Outlaws at the time—and on a frame I’d painted for the team. We got to chatting. Nice guy. I started paying attention to his results that weekend and into the next season.
By 2024, Lucas wasn’t just racing—he was dominating. Winning sprints, stirring the pot, and doing it all with flair. His boldness wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it made things interesting. And to my surprise, he remembered me from that casual ride the year before.
Painting for a Provocateur
In early 2025, I got the call: Would I be interested in painting a custom Specialized SL8 for Lucas’s upcoming season?
Absolutely.
Lucas had a vision. Over the winter, a phrase kept circling in team conversations—“Why so serious?” Critics had taken issue with his style. The starts. The antics. The showmanship. But like the Joker from The Dark Knight, Lucas wasn’t trying to blend in. He wanted a bike that reflected that energy. Loud. Flashy. Unapologetic.
This wasn’t going to be a subtle paint job. It was a full-send project. Something that could “break the internet” or at least make a statement in the peloton.
Building the Joker Bike
We started with concepts that blended multiple versions of the Joker: the animated series, the comics, and Ledger’s legendary portrayal. I designed two versions—one more punk, one more cinematic. Both pulled heavily from classic Joker color palettes and chaotic visual motifs.
Step one: crackle texture.
Instead of using a standard kit, I reverse-engineered the look by hand. I built a custom mask in Illustrator based on cracked paint textures, then layered it over a black base before spraying a silver chrome undercoat. This gave depth and contrast for what was coming next.
Step two: candy magenta and green.
Candy paints are translucent and vibrant—like a lollipop. Over the chrome, they practically glow. These were layered carefully to mimic the Joker’s costume.
Step three: the grin.
A demonic, mutated Joker smile formed the visual centerpiece. Dozens of hand-cut masks, then freehand airbrushing to bring it to life. We integrated the Specialized “S” into the teeth and tucked a “Why So Serious?” reference right into the grin.
From there, I added comic panel-style borders and blocks of saturated color, pulling your eye toward a second Joker—this one from the 90s cartoon I watched as a kid. Less shading, more bold outlines. A different kind of mischief.
We finished the piece with nods to vintage comics: halftone dots, POW!-style word bubbles (filled with Lucas’s nicknames), and hand-lettered Joker laughs trailing along the chainstays.
Signed, Sealed, and Psychotic
As a final touch, we branded the frame with our logo not just under the downtube, but on both seatstays—it was a sponsor bike after all. Lucas even asked me to sign it, which I appreciated. After a full clear coat and polish, it was ready to roll.
This was one of the most creatively demanding projects I’ve taken on—and one of the most rewarding. We don’t often get the chance to go this far. When we do, I give it everything.
