"I am just a gear head with some engineering experience, and a history of hands-on fabricating, building, modifying, fixing, and creating. I am also a mechanical engineer by profession."
In this article we would like to introduce you to our distributor, partner and friend - Travis from Wheelman Designz. We’ve been working with Travis for more than 3 years now. He is the best in converting 5th scales to electric and we are happy that he does so often with our brushless combos . Read more about Travis in the article and maybe contact him if you need help with your own conversion. Sky is the limit for this guy!
Hey Travis, how are you doing lately?
I am doing great! Always busy, between my day job, hobbies, and family, so life is good!
Who is WheelMan Designz?
My full name is Travis Mills and I am a gear-headed hobbyist who’s interested in pretty much anything with wheels and an engine/motor. I have some engineering experience, and a history of hands-on fabricating, building, modifying, fixing, and creating. WheelMan Designz is a brand name I created to identify my work.Designing high-end aftermarket parts for R/C vehicles has become a big hobby of mine. I’ve done a lot of my own special custom R/C builds, as well as a few custom builds for people I know. I thrive off of bringing new ideas to life, and not only designing new products, but creating one-off projects as well.
Impressive.. Who is Travis outside this RC world?
Outside of the RC world, I am a husband and father of one 4-year-old son. I am a small-town person and I live in the country. I live for summer weather, and hate the cold. I love to camp, fish, ride motorcycles, work on cars, build just about anything, and of course mess with RC.
What other hobbies do you have?
My primary hobbies aside from RC, are cars & motorcycles. Any and all free time I have in life is consumed with these hobbies.
Do you remember what got you into RC World and when was that?
My local hobby shop when I was about 10 years old, got me into RC. I would go there with my mom when she needed craft supplies, and I would spend the whole time eyeing the RC section. A few years later my parents caved and bought me a Traxxas E-Maxx. That is where it all started.
Story like from a movie.. and what are you actually helping people with?
Right now my primary business in RC is helping customers with pretty much any 1/5 scale project I can. People come to me with requests for all sorts of 1/5 platforms. I help with custom parts when I can, and with sourcing parts/electronics they need for their builds. Also I build complete RTR vehicles for customers who either don’t want to or can’t on their own.
What was the biggest break, when people started noticing you? Was it before the Kraken Vekta.5?
I would say I’ve gained the most recognition from the Kraken builds I’ve done. Before I started doing the Krakens though, I did have some recognition from several projects I did with a good friend of mine, for the Traxxas E-Maxx platform. Our parts for that platform turned out to be quite popular.
What else do you do besides Kraken? Do you also make other RC cars or other RC models?
Right now I am mostly doing the Krakens, and then any custom work I can provide upon request, for customers that have other 1/5 scale projects going. Also, I am getting into RC boats. Hoping to provide the same service to customers for those as I am for the trucks/cars. I am also making custom carbon fiber parts, for any application people may need, but primarily for the trucks/cars and boats.
Do you take it more like an extra income or more simply because you enjoy it?
The work I do under WheelMan Designz name is mostly for the love of the hobby. It provides financial support for my personal belongings in the hobby. But other than that, it is not an income for me at all. It is something I thoroughly enjoy, and do it for the love of the hobby.
When and how did you find out about MGM CONTROLLERS company?
I found out about MGM Controllers Company around 2015-2016. A year or so before ever owning any of their products. I came across them while looking at some custom high voltage brushless builds on a forum (can’t remember which one). I knew from that point I wanted to get into large scale brushless RC.
What can we look forward to in the future?
My plans for the future regarding WheelMan Designz, is to continue doing what we do, but hopefully keep adding new capabilities. We’ve added custom carbon fiber capabilities, and would like to add other services as well. We’d like to get into custom boat building also, which we’ve already started.
Have you considered lending your Mustang to us? We can arrange a special discount
Haha, my mustang, you guys are welcome anytime, discount or not. You’ve seen my YouTube video of it. Those tires have been replaced, so game on! Let's make some smoke!
Where can people contact you?
People can contact me through our Facebook page , Instagram and also my own personal FB account.
