From a press release:

ORIGINAL SCULPTURE STOLEN FROM HELMET HOUSE

Specially-Commissioned Bronze Piece
Was Highlight of Headquarters’ Entrance

(Calabasas Hills, CA) “The Ride”, an original bronze sculpture commissioned by Helmet House to grace the outside of the national distributor’s Calabasas Hills, CA headquarters’ entrance, was stolen on Thursday night, October 9.



Weighing 400 pounds and mounted on a custom-made, four-foot tall concrete and granite pedestal, the sculpture itself was over three feet high. “It’s not something the thieves could have slipped into their pocket,” said Bob Miller, Helmet House president. “They needed torches, a truck, and a pre-determined plan. They had to heat or cut the steel rods – or both – that connected the sculpture to the base. It’s very upsetting that somebody went to all this trouble to steal it.”



That sentiment was echoed by a number of Helmet House staffers. Administrative Assistant Tiffany Tadeo said “Discovering it was missing caught me by surprise when I got to work early Friday morning. I was shocked. It’s so upsetting, like somebody violated us.” Customer Service Rep Debbie Staples added “We felt really safe here. This is a good neighborhood. I guess there’s no where that’s really untouchable. It really hurt my feelings and I take it very personally. We took it for granted that it would always be there for all of us to see every morning. The sculpture’s ours.”

Reacting to his employees’ comments, Phil Bellomy, Vice President and Miller’s partner, added “We were touched and even more saddened by the reaction of our employees to the theft. We didn’t realize how much it meant to them.”

“The Ride” was among the first projects of the “Art In Public Places” program of the city of Calabasas. It is the work of sculptor Steve Posson and art director Liselotte Bjorck-Posson. Steve is most famous to motorcyclists as the creator of “Glory Days”, the highly-regarded theme sculpture that is the centerpiece of the American Motorcyclist Association Museum in Westerville, Ohio.

Anyone with information on the missing sculpture is asked to contact Joanne Golden or Mark Gandy at Helmet House, (818) 880-0000.