For this edition of House Blend, Bombtrack featured its dealer in Kyiv, Ukraine called Big Toys. Read on for an intimate look at how the owner Anton has kept the stoke alive as his country is engaged in an endless war…
Kyiv photos by Anastasiia Hutianska
My name is Anton, I run a bike shop in Kyiv for more than a decade, a shop where BMX riders and adventure cyclists alike find a place to fuel their passion.
Since that day in February 2022, our world has been turned upside down. The Russian invasion came crashing in without a real or concrete warning, and it’s hard to put into words how deeply our lives have changed. We just moved the shop to a new location a few months before this very first attack in Kyiv. My previous shop location was actually heavily struck by a Russian missile, which demolished several floors on the top of the building. At that certain moment, I was at home just 5 km away, and I literally felt an earthquake at the moment of explosion. The sound had some metallic taste if you can describe it that way. Pretty scary moment that I won’t ever forget.
The first few weeks were like stepping into another reality, and I was still a little bit shocked. The city was a ghost; transportation had stopped, stores were emptied, and business slowed to a halt. Our shop wasn’t an exception; sales dropped to nothing. Only some basics spares like tubes and patches were ordered. We also helped volunteer couriers with free tubes and patches so they could deliver medicine and food to older people etc., such rather little jobs have been my tasks for months and even years now. So I have been delivering orders on a bike, all over Kyiv’s right bank. As for a time, I couldn’t cross to the left bank; the bridges were closed, some even mined. So, each delivery, every ride, became its own small journey. Air raid alerts became routine, a constant hum of tension beneath the wheels, a reminder of the missiles lurking somewhere in the skies above.
If there’s one constant in this situation of war, it’s: we keep riding. These days, cycling actually feels like a lifeline for everyone it seems, not only to each of us working here, but to the whole community. Bikes had become essential. They required no fuel, no electricity, no waiting in line. Even those who hadn’t ridden in decades found themselves drawn to their garages, dusting off old bikes that had long been forgotten.
Even with curfews and restrictions, people still find a way to ride—especially out west, where the roads are safer. Out there, into the open, you feel a piece of something you can’t quite name: peace, freedom, maybe even hope. Bikes became more than getting from one place to another; they’re an escape. A few hours on two wheels can make the world feel lighter, even if just for a moment. Indeed, a bike helps you take care of your mental health and somehow manage all those huge amounts of stress you’re facing 24/7.
That’s something my shop has probably been giving people since we opened, and it’s a reason our team keeps showing up every day, helping others get on two wheels.
Wishing you all peace—keep riding, no matter what!
Follow Big Toys on Instagram. Thank you, Anton, from all of us here at The Radavist, stay strong.
