In 1994 Roger Malinowski, a bicycle industry maven, met Philip Novotny, an airline mechanic, in the California town of San Luis Obispo. Philip had turned an old bike into a versatile, lightweight, single track bike trailer. Roger knew a great idea when he saw one and together, they took Philip’s invention and built a booming business. Originally, the name of the company was Beast of Burden. That mouthful was soon shortened to its acronym BOB.