Posted: 4/25/24
Meet the Team
The People Behind Axial Adventure
By Matt Higgins
Axial was founded back in 2005 and has been building adventure ever since. Over those years, the Axial brand has taken RC rock crawling from what some felt was a flash-in-the-pan trend to a long-lasting mainstream segment. From large scale to micros, a huge number of Axial vehicles have been released. From concept to design to release, each product is a massive undertaking that requires the efforts of many people. It’s a team effort. Here’s your chance to meet that team:
Randall Davis
Product Developer
Located in the off-road paradise of southern Utah, Randall is a long-time Axial team member. He has seen it all when it comes to the Axial and has been involved, one way or another, in just about every Axial release. Randall takes his highly modified full-size Jeep to the trail almost daily, guides other Jeepers, and has even raced in the famous King of the Hammers and competed in W.E. Rock professional rock crawling events. You can see Randall’s personal rock crawling Jeep here.
Travis Bair
Product Development Engineer
It takes some specialized talents and experience to take ideas and concepts and turn them into real working components. When Travis isn’t grinding away at the computer, he builds crazy custom RC projects and works on his full-size Jeep TJ.
Robert Villanueva
Product Developer
Whether it’s 1/24-scale or 1/10-scale, as a product developer, Robert is continually driving Axial products across the finish line. When it comes to RC, Robert likes it all from crawling, of course, to racing to bashing. Outside of work, Robert’s adventures often take him to where the fish are. Besides catching bass, Robert is also a custom rod builder.
Connor Patton
Product Developer
Connor is the newest member of team Axial, but we’ve known him for a little while already. Fresh from Pro-Line, Connor brings a ton of RC crawler experience to the Axial team, but he’s also a full-size off-roader. His 4-wheel steer caged trail buggy has conquered trails all over the southwest. Connor's family is also into RC crawling. Unless you live under a rock instead of crawl over them, you've probably heard of the popular Rock Pirates RC company. The Patton folks turn out a slew of great products—most of which fit Axial vehicles.
Todd Hodge
Director of Surface Product Development
Talk about a full plate. Todd oversees product development for not just Axial, but all of Horizon Hobby’s surface brands. Even with eyes on an incredible number of projects, Todd spends a great deal of time and focus on Axial Adventure. And, if you recognize the name Todd Hodge, it might be because he’s a former national-level RC racer.
Matt Higgins
Axial Marketing Brand Strategist
That’s me. I’ve been in the RC industry for years and I still enjoy the hobby as much now as I did when I first picked up a transmitter in the mid-eighties. In addition to absolutely loving RC crawling, I am also a full-size off-road enthusiast. I’ve owned multiple Broncos, Jeeps, and full-size Fords.
Scott Roberts
Senior Graphic Designer
Like Randall, Scott goes way back with Axial and the RC industry. Scott has designed numerous Axial vehicle liveries and boxes. While he’s not the only creative lending efforts to Axial, Scott is the point person behind the Axial aesthetic and knows the brand inside and out. In addition to being our creative powerhouse, Scott is an experienced game designer.
Paul Geudon
Social Media Marketing Specialist
A jack of all trades, Paul is the creative force behind Axial social media channels. He’s not just taking photos, styling them, and posting images of RCs, Paul is also a full-size Jeep enthusiast. And, not only does he drive a Jeep, but Paul does this in his home base of the United Kingdom, also known as Land Rover country.
Ryan Lujan
Surface Marketing Brand Director
Ryan is another new member of the Axial team, but he's no newcomer to motorsports. In addition to Axial Adventure, Ryan is involved with all of the surface brands such as Losi, TLR, Arrma, and more. Based out of southern California, Ryan comes to Horizon Hobby, Axial's parent company, from Monster Energy and Makita U.S.A.
That’s just the short list. As you can probably image, a lot of people contribute to Axial. In addition to the team members listed above, super talented and experienced innovators such as Mike Mellin, senior product development engineer, help make certain the best level of design is achieved, and even RC legends such as world champion Gil Losi, Jr., surface technical manager, work on Axial projects. If you’ve been to Axialfest, you’ve probably met Andy Ziegler, senior field marketing coordinator, and Isaac Esslinger, events coordinator. Videographers and photographers, such as Robert Bauer and Ben Woloszyn, respectively, an amazing web team, and many more are all an important part of bringing Axial products from idea to product. It's definitely a team effort.
