About Us
We are located at 2320 Central Ave unit 14, Duarte CA 91010. All products hand-made with strict quality control, designed to meet specific needs on adventures. Majority of what we offer has been your idea, something you needed which wasn't available, or you needed a heavier duty model. After design stage we enter testing stage, put to test in real world scenarios and some completely out of whack scenarios which you may never encounter. Updates on new designs and testing results are posted on social media and product pages on our website. If you need an item customized, we are open to accommodate any changes if we have the resources to do so and if it will not interfere with its original intended use or design.
We originally started in our family metal fabrication shop in Lebec California, just a few miles from Hungry Valley OHV area. Quality and ease of installation is our goal with every item.
Thank you for your interest in our products and taking the time to read About Us. If you have any questions, you can contact us by email, text or phone anytime. We answer all questions, typically in detail if we are not overly busy at the shop and we typically reply in minutes. You can contact us by phone, text, email, facebook messenger or even instagram. There is no such thing as a stupid question. We will answer all questions. Thank You for your interest in HK Offroad. Email: hkoffroad@yahoo.com History and Where It All Started HK Offroad LLC is owned and operated by Bash, President of Hye Krawlers Jeep Club. A back-country enthusiast and adventurer at heart. If you would like to know who you are conducting business with, it may be a good idea to spend some time and read this page in its entirety. Or, you can message him and he'll reply almost immediately.
|
As a kid, Bash would play carpenter with his grandfather Sarkis Krikorian. They would build wooden benches together, chairs, dog houses, work-out benches etc. His other grandfather Krikor Pashaian was always building things around the home and Bash would help him. He just loved working and helping his grandfathers.
At the age of 14, his father Armen (left of picture above) grabbed him by the ears and threw him in the family business during school's summer vacation. A small company called Pasha's Die Company in Sun Valley California manufactured Open-Back Cutting Dies for Leather good manufacturers. Cutting dies were critical back then for the leather goods industry such as shoes, belts, wallets, handbags, saddlebags, etc. High quality-end and high brand-name leather goods designers all trusted Armen and his sons to deliver precision cutting dies for their business. Bash worked in the family business up to the age of 21. During the seven years, he learned from his father how to bend blades in precision to complicated patterns and weld blades properly with different techniques, critical techniques.
As the manufacturing business decline began in the year 2000 when more products were starting to import from China, Bash left the family business in 2003 and was hired by the local Volkswagen dealership and continues to work for Volkswagen today as a General Sales Manager. Bash has gone through countless management and customer service classes through out his career with Volkswagen and that's where the "Customer Service" skill comes from. Taking into account his natural creativity to build with his hands, all the lessons learned from the family business, and all he's learned about customer service from working in retail with Volkswagen, he has incorporated all this together into HK Offroad. He also lives by the rule of thumb, treat others as you would want to be treated.
Prior to leaving the family business, in 2002, Bash went on a hunting trip with his 1999 Ford Mustang. When he found himself stuck in the unforgiving Kern County mud with his mustang, that vehicle was sold the following week to be replaced by a 1994 Ford Bronco and that's when the 4x4 bug bit and never let go.
In 2005 he replaced the Bronco with a Volkswagen Touareg and needless to say, he destroyed that vehicle. Although very comfortable and capable in its class, it was the wrong tool to itch the 4x4 bite.
In 2008 he replaced the Touareg with a stock Jeep Wrangler TJ and built it through the years until 2015 when the TJ was replaced by a stock 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ. Although the TJ was a great vehicle, highly capable and served its purpose well, Bash knew he needed more room to accommodate his growing family and still be able to crawl over the treacherous terrain.
The Beginning of HK Offroad
One day in November of 2014 as Bash was purchasing used vehicles for the VW Dealership used inventory, he comes across a Gray Metallic 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and makes an emotional purchase. An emotional purchase can be a costly purchase but he had no idea what was about to happen. Keep in mind, Bash had been eye-balling his Uncles Wj (Uncle Joe) for the past 5-years and deep down inside, Bash wanted a WJ.
As he sat in the General Managers office going through the invoices of used vehicles he had just purchased, his boss questions the 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and why he paid so much for this vehicle. Not knowing how to answer this question, Bash replies with "that vehicle is for me, I bought it for myself" and that's where it begins.
Soon after he takes the WJ home, he begins to think about adding a winch. After going through several websites of aftermarket bumpers, he doesn't like what he sees with the bumpers sticking so far out of the Wj's front end. After-all the 2004 Special Edition has such a nice sleek look and he doesn't want to ruin it so he decides to build his own winch mount. He removes the front bumper fascia and begins to examine the space in front of the radiator and that's when he realizes possibility of having a winch in the place of the crossmember. After taking measurements of the area and how much steel he will need, he visits the local steel supply shop and has them cut the material for him. He visits his fathers shop in Lebec California and builds the winch mount. After months of using the WJ on his solo back country adventures and hunting trips, the winch plate proves solid and worthy. Bash discovers a gap in the Wj market and decides to begin fabricating the winch plates for the general public. He builds a website, and calls it HK Offroad. The initials "H"K" derive from Hye Krawlers - Jeep Club.
May 2015 he receives his first order and still had no idea what was yet to come. As the months pass and the orders come in, he purchases more machinery and better equipment to keep up with the demand as he worked out of his fathers shop in Lebec, 70-miles from home. As months continue to pass and HK Offroad continues to grow with the addition of the Overland Bumper, the Kratos Tire Carrier followed by Glissade Rocker Replacement Slider, Bash decides to move the shop closer to home.
January 2017 the shop is moved to Temple City California in the same facility as 4WD Concepts which was owned by a good friend and fellow Jeeper, Nick. Bash worked out of the back half of the shop and Nick in the front half.
August 2017 Nick decides to move on from lifting Jeeps and decides to close down 4WD Concepts which would leave HK Offroad alone in a 2,000 sq/ft shop which we don't need.
September 2017 HK Offroad moves a few units down to Unit Q and began operating in a nice 1,000 sq/ft shop. For the remaining two years HK Offroad built and delivered plenty of products out of this small space. On September 3rd, 2019 Bash completed his last two bumpers and closed his doors to the Temple City location. For the remaining of 2019 he operated from his home garage full-filling orders all while putting together a new game plan, a new business-plan that is.
The New Location
For the next few months while finishing up the backed up order from 2019, Bash spent time developing a new business plan along with designing new products for multiple vehicles including WK, XK, JL, JT and JK. On February 13th, 2020 Bash and his new business partner Ace joined together and turned the hobby called HK Offroad into a true business now called HK Offroad L.L.C. and moved into a nice 1,500 sq.ft. location in Covina. Bash would design, research and develop new products for the WJ and the newly acquired WK while Ace handles all the legal matters of running a business in California. With a new growing team including Bash's brother Max, HK Offroad LLC now operates on a full-time basis. All the orders, follow up, quality control and customer service areas are still handled by Bash. When you place an order you will be greeted by him with a quick text message. Bash will not let anyone else deal with his fellow 4x4 patrons or answer any questions. He knows the product, he designed the product and he uses the product so who else better to answer your questions than Bash himself?!
Family
Married and a father of two, his daughter named Audriella and son named Sako and has been together happily with his high school sweetheart since 2001, Nina.
Hye Krawlers Jeep Club
As President of Hye Krawlers Jeep Club since 2010, Bash organizes events for the club in the back country every 4 to 5 weeks. They visit anywhere from desert to mountain and crawl over treacherous terrain just to spend time together, make memories and eat some good bbq. The majority of terrain covered is rock crawling which is where the products built are tested in real world scenarios. Along with recovery missions for people stuck in the back-country who may need help. The club also recruits new members who may be new to the world of 4x4 and begin to teach the do's and don'ts. The club has adopted trail 3N34D and maintains the road and the picnic area by the creek called Devil's Hole to ensure the area remains clean and open for many generations to enjoy.
The Love of Motorcycles
Bash also has a love for motorcycles, specifically Harley Davidson cruisers and is a member of The Deserted Military Motorcycle Club as a Road Captain. TDMMC is a club formed of Veterans and Patriots who gather monthly for good times, long/short rides and spend time organizing events to help Veterans who may be homeless or deserted from friends and family, deserted children and battered women. Hence the name The Deserted - Military M/C. Bash is proud to be a Patriot who loves to have the opportunity to serve those who served our country.
The Helping Hands
One thing is for sure, no one can do it alone. No matter how much you try, there always comes a helping hand whether it comes financially, physically or emotionally/morally. For that, those who help at the shop will never be forgotten. His father Armen who opened up the doors for him in Lebec California where HK Offroad Began. His brother Vick who helped hundreds of hours in the shop bending, tacking, welding, grinding, cleaning, sanding and packaging. His uncle Joe for moral support and letting him borrow the the WJ when our WJ was down. To club members who stop by and help and the brother from The Deserted Military M/C who also help when needed. We can also never forget close friends and fellow Jeepers who stand by and support us and lend a helping hand as well.
The Therapy - Camping
In the end, after all the hard work, volunteer time and family time, there comes times when nature calls and some solo therapy is required. Bash will hop in his Jeep or on his Harley Davidson and head over to a remote campsite, anywhere he may find on the map just to get away from civilization. Destination doesn't matter, it's the adventure getting there.
In Summary, Bash is just one of those type of guys where nothing is impossible and nothing can not be achieved or completed. If a vehicle gets stuck, rolls over, if it breaks down or whatever the case may be, he always replies with, No problem! Here's what we're going to do and immediately takes action. Same goes with the products he designs. Before even putting on paper or computer it all starts in his mind where he sees a need for a problem and comes up with a solution. That's how HK Offroad started anyway, there was a problem in the WJ market and Bash found a solution.
Thanks for reading and Welcome to HK Offroad.