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WEEK OF APRIL 3, 2025
VOLUME 118 | ISSUE 14
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Food truck bill would cut licensee red tape Bill could ease licensing, permitting requirements in different jurisdictions BY MONTE WHALEY MWHALEY@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Francis Bourgeoise interviews Jake Slater, a Dawson School 10th grader who built a rocket to launch at the C.R.A.S.H. launch site in Fort Lupton, while Shine TV cameraman Sam Redmond and soundman Alex Faucheux of Centennial record. PHOTO BY BELEN WARD
TikTok star comes to Colorado to fly rockets Fort Lupton rocket hobbyists host trainspotter on his path to space flight BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Francis Bourgeoise, who has made his name on social media watching as fast moving trains shoot past him, now has his eye on spaceflight — and he came to Fort Lupton in March to see if that’s possible. “This is part of the journey and inspiration to see the rockets launch. I’m looking to see if it’s possible for me to become an astronaut and to go through the steps along the journey of training and getting my body ready with the hope of becoming an astronaut,” Bourgeoise said. Bourgeoise was in Fort Lupton March 19 to meet the Colorado Rocketry Association of Space Hobbyists at their launching site, learning how they build the rockets and getting the opportunity himself to press the launch button as they blast off into the sky. It’s all part of documentary for Shine TV, a British television production company that specializes in reality show contests and
documentaries. The project is being led by U.K. Producer Jonathan Levene, who met Bourgeoise in 2021 through TikTok. “I met him in 2021 when I saw his trainspotting videos on TikTok, I reached out to him and said, I’m a TV producer, and if you ever wanted to do anything for television...” Levene said. “I told him I’d love to throw my hat in the ring, thinking that people ask him all the time. And he emailed back straight away saying, let’s chat. So, we’ve been working together ever since.” Levene described a documentary that takes the TikTok star around the world experiencing various aspects of space flight. The project does not have a title yet or an air date, Levene said. Rail to orbit
Bourgeoise said he has spent most of his life living in Somerset, along Britain’s western coast. He has had a lifelong passion for trains, which broadened during the COVID-19 pandemic when he began filming his
WESTMINSTER VOICES: PAGE 6 | CULTURE: PAGE 8 | SPORTS: PAGE 10
railway experiences and adventures. “Trains and railway enthusiasm has been a part of my life since I was a toddler when I was able to process the world. It’s when I knew I loved trains,” Bourgeoise said. Trainspotters is the British name for particularly ardent rail fans who make a hobby out of tracking trains, noting specific engines and recording their movements. “It existed throughout my life, and during COVID, I started filming my railway, trainspotting moments. Kind of by mistake, it has become my career now, and I’m here in America, which wouldn’t have been possible if I hadn’t posted my first video,” he said. He recorded most of his viral videos himself with a fish-eye lens on a GoPro camera mounted in front of his face to capture his expression as the trains zoom past. His social media fame soon blew up in 2021, and he claims to have more than 2.9 million TikTok followers and another 2.3 million on Instagram. SEE ROCKETS, P4
David Sevcik knows all about the Mac ‘Noodles, Mile High Cheeseteak and Walking Tacos as well as other culinary delights he serves up in his 10 food trucks that circulate in the metro area. His menu aside, Sevcik also has to keep track of which city and county requires him to get new health and fire safety permits to allow his truck grills to operate. The new permits are necessary in many Colorado cities and counties, even though he may have already earned the same permit from a different jurisdiction. New fees for health and fire inspections for each truck can quickly add up, Sevcik said. The Westminster resident said last year he paid nearly $10,000 in fees to local jurisdictions to stay in local compliance. “I am not trying to fail, I want to stay in business and make everyone safe,” Sevcik said. “But this can get expensive.” Sevcik Tuesday was prepared to testify in the State Legislature or HB25-1295, SEE BILL, P7
2025
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