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The Surprising Turn of Events
Behind the scenes of American Inventor try-outs with season one finalist,
Francisco Patino
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from the August 2007 issue of InventHelp's free newsletter for inventors |
There I was, in line for the castings of "American Inventor" season 1. I had found out the day before of such a thing; a bit nervous but ready to show my product. This was more than a product to me; it was my toy, a tool to take my little brother to school. The "Double Traction Bicycle 2x2" and I had no idea of what was about to happen to us.
The most important thing to me at the moment was to have fun; with that in mind, I walked in with a big smile on my face. Next thing I remember, I was holding a ticket to fly to Los Angeles to show my invention in front of the cameras, I had made it.
The second round for the show was worse; all the inventors had only a minute to explain their invention, with ten cameras coming from every direction. With only a minute to explain, my uncle and I thought of something clever, something that will explain the bicycle in less than 2 seconds; we rode the bike into the studio. The judges loved it, and before we knew it, we were the top 50 of the competition. Hugs and tears of joy came down our faces; a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment filled our hearts. At this moment, we knew the bicycle was part of something big. However, the bicycle was not the only thing that would reach such recognition.
March 16, 2006 the show had its premiere. At this time, I was part of the semifinal 12, already working on further developing the product. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to watch it. The next day, I had my biggest surprise. At the mall, people did not look, they stared. I heard many whispers saying, "Hey, that's the bike kid...Its Francisco." Within the hour, little kids would come up to me and asked for autographs, pictures, to say hello, and many said that they were proud of me. This was the biggest shock I had ever come across, due to the show, people knew who I was and felt my passion across a T.V. screen.
During five weeks, all we did was work on our products. Before we knew it, we were in front of the judges once more. Due to the vast difference from the first prototype to the final one; the judges sent me to the finals. I was final 4 of the competition, truly something unbelievable.
It was now in the hands of America to vote for the winner. Unfortunately, it all came to an end. I was the first one eliminated, however not before Lance Armstrong and Trek Bicycle Corp. gave me a word of inspiration and an internship to work at their corporate headquarters. I had just gone through, by far, the highlight of my life. I was and will be forever grateful for such an opportunity.
At 17 years old, Francisco Patino was a 2004 INPEX® exhibitor. He and his bike stole our hearts, so much so, that we have hired him as a goodwill ambassador for INPEX® and InventHelp®.
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