REEF: Q&A With The Founder of Reefs RC

Spending time behind the wheel of an RC crawler will invariably lead to you wanting to upgrade its performance characteristics, especially in the steering department. When you look up the go to name in crawler specific servos, you’ll find Reefs RC at the top of the list. The Corona, California based company provides quality servos, winches and other off road and crawler accessories to discerning trail and scale enthusiasts.

In four short years Reef, the man behind the successful company, has built a reputation for providing reasonably priced servos that outperform just about any other that they are pitted against. Join us as we sit down and pick the brain of the brand’s president and founder about how he started the company, what he loves about RC and much more.

RCCA: How and when did you come to start Reefs RC?
REEF: Thoughts of starting my own RC servo line developed in my head in early 2016. I was getting into the crawling side of radio control and was not happy with the current servos being thrown at this segment; I knew I could make things better. I began thinking of how I can utilize my family’s current engineering and manufacturing businesses located in Italy, Egypt and China. After many months of annoying all my cousins out there, we finally were able to make the internal components of a servo. This was not a difficult process for my family, as we have been a manufacturer of gears, bushings, and other parts for two huge name printing companies worldwide for over 20 years. Utilizing my partners, we completed our first servo, the 422HD Servo. I wanted to make an entry level, high quality servo that’s backed by our customer service in the US. I originally made these servos for close friends, and handed them out and said, “Try this and let me know what you think”, well it’s obvious now that they loved them. The name REEFS RC came very easy to me, all my friends call me REEF short for Sheref, so I rolled with it and now REEFS RC is a worldwide name in the industry.

RCCA: What does Reefs RC specialize in?
REEF: We specialize in high end, high quality electronic servos. Our servos started in the crawler segment and that is where we grew. Now, we make servos for different segments in the RC Hobby, from on-road, drift, and even planes. The quality, silence, and smoothness of every servo that comes off the line is like no other, all this while still providing a moderate price for our customers. I take pride in only producing a quality needed product for our industry, I talk to my customers and I enjoy the hobby with them. Not many company owners can say the same. Being outdoors and hearing what customers like is key. I try and make it to many events just to talk to people. I also talk to many customers over the phone to help them, which is something I love doing. Sometimes they are a little freaked out when they find out it’s “Reef” calling, lol!

RCCA: What types of RC do you enjoy the most?
REEF: My main passion is the RC Rock crawling segment. I love watching the RC conquer almost impossible lines, using our products of course. Sometime, I like to bash as well lol. We bring kids to our shop on weekends and let them enjoy many of our demo cars, which is amazing to see. The parents usually thank me for this, and tell me to pay the bill at the local HobbyTown in Corona, lol. This is essential in growing our hobby. Teaching the little ones control and basically how to drive will only grow our hobby even more.

RCCA: Which is your favorite RC vehicle and why?
REEF: My all time favorite RC is a very difficult choice, currently I have two favorite crawlers. The first is the Redcat Gen8. I love this truck and how it performs on the trail. We worked hard with Redcat to develop a specific 422HDv2 Servo for this limited edition release and it couldn’t have gone any better. The second crawler I love is our Element Enduro Sendero! This is my more aggressive comp crawl truck I use. I love this truck and all the options we make for it, truly enhances this already awesome platform even more!

RCCA: What was your first RC vehicle?
REEF: My very first RC was the Tyco Bandit; I was hooked ever since. I think I was about 12, and couldn’t stop playing and breaking RC’s since.

RCCA: What is a must have upgrade you would recommend for any RC crawler?
REEF: The first upgrade every crawler must have is a heavy-duty crawling servo. It is a must have, and will allow you to enjoy the RC way more.

RCCA: Is there anything else you want to let our readers know?
REEF: I just want to tell the readers, followers, and fans, how much I really value them and their support. They have made Reefs RC a worldwide name in a short 4 years, which is crazy! I take pride in our quality and our customer service; it is crucial to where we are today and where we are headed. Thanks for being amazing my friends, and come say hi when you see me out playing. Peace!