December 26, 2004
Written by Ang Tian Teck.

Wow! It was like a dream come true. I was really excited when asked to go to Sydney for a business meeting in August 2004. It was not because of the meeting, but the opportunity to visit Bont factory and get my feet molded for another pair of custom boots.

Getting to Sydney was the easy part then. Getting to Bont was quite challenging. That was because I had only 2 days in Sydney and they are all packed with meeting schedule. After looking at all the alternative free timings that I had in between meetings, I decided during breakfast that I should make that trip to Bont before the start of my business meeting.

I made a call to Bont's office and Inze Bont was kind enough to accommodate my last minute request. I jumped into a taxi from my hotel in the city and got to Harp Street in about 40 minutes. I had only 25 minutes to spare after which I needed to get back to the city in time for my meeting.

Fortunately, the molding process was simple and fast. I already knew what I wanted. Type of boots, colors, specifications, etc. So I was quick to fill up the Custom Boots order form, while Inze prepares the ingredients to get my feet molded. I was surprise to see how quick and simple it was. Unlike using the molding socks, which one has to massage it to get into the shape of your foot, with this process, you just stand in the wooden blocks and gel get poured into it. Wait for about 5 to 6 minutes for the gel to solidify, and woola! It's done.

Inze used a butter knife to slice open the soft gel through the gap in the wooden blocks. I then took my feet out and there I have, a perfect mold of my feet. Inze then put the blocks back together and poured clay into my mold and set it aside to dry.

He then brought me to tour the factory and showed me how the boots are made. I could see racks of molded socks and clays of skaters' feet from all around the world awaiting to be made into speed boots. Each individual speed boots is hand made and I had the chance to meet all the craft men in the factory that made these wonderful boots.

After the tour, I settled the payment of my new custom boot, took some photos, and off I went, back to my business meeting. Everything happened in less than half an hour. It was an interesting experience for me. Now all I have to do is wait for my new boots to arrive in Singapore.

Almost all Viruses in the speed category have a pair of Bont custom boots. Some of us have more than one. I am fortunate to have skated in 3 of them. My first pair of speed boots was a stock Bont Boxer. My second pair, custom Bont Pyrotechnics molded with socks. And now... read on, I will tell you about my new Bont factory custom molded Pyrotechnics.

The BONT Experience II :Next >