Nicholas Hagelin and Isaac Whalen are two friends that came together to create Zarkin Froods. Zarkin Froods is a zine dedicated to the enthusiasts of the road and the motorcycles they ride. We plan on featuring upcoming issues of Zarkin Froods shortly, but until then, please take a moment to get to know the editors.

How did you both cross paths?

Nick - I'm sure I met Isaac at least once before, but my first real memory of this dude was him showing up to a party I was throwing. He was dressed up like Hunter S. Thompson and had a briefcase full of tacos.

Isaac - Nick and I met at a Halloween party he and his roommate Stefan threw back in about 2015. They invited outside a bar two days before the party and I even though I was a complete stranger I showed up anyway. We all had a blast and got well "into our cups". I ended up breaking their coffee pot--in my defense, it was in their refrigerator at the time--so I had to come back the next day and give them a new one. Since then, I kept showing up at Nick's house, and we eventually started talking bikes as well as cartoons. Nick and Stefan were the ones who convinced me to buy a Harley in the first place, bucking the narrative of the "clean-cut cafe-racer” persona I'd imagined for myself. The rest is history and confidential and not to be repeated on pain of death (We have all agreed to this).

How did Zarkin Froods come about?

Nick - After hanging around each other a while, Isaac was like "we should do a ‘zine." So, hell yea let's do that and have a party. We bugged our friends for pictures of them and did up a copy in my basement, printed a few at Kinkos and invited people over for beers. That started it.

Do you showcase certain motorcycles in the zine or are all welcomed?

Nick - All are welcomed, as long as you have some relationship with the bike that you can talk about. We've moved more into doing choppers recently, but we're not married to that. We want to know what your motorcycle means to you and how that came about. Preferably though we take more notice of bikes that the rider has had a hand in creating. We understand that not everyone is a builder or fabricator just as long as you have something more to say than "look how badass I am with all these skulls and flame mirrors."

Isaac - Zarkin Froods is "the people's ‘zine." We feature anyone and anything. We've showcased Hondas, Yamahas, Harleys, choppers, street-fighters, stock-bikes, mopeds, events, book reviews, art reviews, etc. I want to put more fashion in the 'zine and Nick is building up a comics corner. If you got the goods, we've got the pages.

What does it mean to be a Zarkin Frood?

Nick - We're figuring it out. We just wanted a name that was not out there yet. A Zarkin Frood is a reference to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and is defined as a "cool dude who knows where his towel is." In the book, it's this random item that gets you out of trouble and keeps the adventure going. On the road this proverbial towel can be anything— it's that one thing that gets you out of a sticky situation you didn't think you'd need. Sometimes it's a bar of soap for leaks, a bit of barbed wire from a fence to hold your exhaust on, or a seemingly magical hooter that some highway construction worker gave you and all of a sudden your bike fires up again for no discernible reason... or a towel. Those are nice to have and are overlooked when packing for trips.

Isaac - Do you own a towel? Do you seek out the awesome in the every day and your fellow humans? Have you been to space? Have you ever eaten a pickle? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions then GOOD NEWS! You're already a Zarkin Frood. To quote the great philosophers William S. Preston & Theodore Logan, "Be excellent to each other..." and then you're a Frood.

What type of motorcycle(s) do you currently own?

Nick - Currently, I'm riding my ‘97 Evo wannabe chopper everywhere. It's my bug-out bike and can take me, pretty reliably, everywhere. I've been all over the country and most of BC with it. But I also have Isaac’s old ‘81 Shovelhead in near perfect stock form and another shovel motor I'll make into something stupid if I ever have money.

Isaac - I uuh... don't have a bike right now. I gave my '81 Shovelhead to Nick.

If you could ride on one stretch of road in the world where would it be and why?

Nick - One stretch? Damn, that's a hard one. I'd really like to ride the Great Ocean Road in Australia if for no other reason than to get drunk with some rowdy Aussies. I'm not really preferential to the road, as long as it's not a three-lane highway and I'm able to come back with a story, good or bad. It's the people you are with/run into and the problems that may come that make a great trip.

Isaac - George Washington Memorial Parkway. It was the first real highway I rode on, and it's still my favorite. It's got everything you'd want: a river, beautiful trees, traffic, shitty pot-holes, and a great view.

Do you have anything in the works that would interest our community?

Nick -Issue 5! Whenever that happens. I want to organize a group ride/campout at a drive-in sometime this summer, but I'm terrible at planning so who knows if that's going to happen.

Issac - Just working on the next issue and finalizing our website. We want to start doing OOFs (Online Only Features) but to be fair, we have a hard enough time keeping the 'zine on track! -we're keeping our plans small. But expect more in the future, dear readers!

Anyone you'd like to thank?

Nick - Everyone. There are so many people I've run into over my short time of riding that sucked me into doing fun, dumb stuff — helping hands all over the place. Particularly I'd like to thank my buddy Stefan for forcing me to buy my Evo and getting me started. Also Motovida in Kelowna, BC who let me use their tools when I broke down twice rolling through there. Unfortunately, they've recently had to shut their doors.

Isaac - DC Triumph, Dunn Lewis, ChopCult, Lowbrow, Dirt Church, DC Motor Babes, the DC Litas, anyone we've ever featured, and just about everyone I've ever met.

How can our readers find out more about Zarkin Froods? ZarkinFroods.com or reach out to us via Instagram and zarkinfroodsmag@gmail.com. We love it when people reach out and always looking for people to contribute anything they'd like to write about. - Nick & Isaac