Two weeks ago, Katy Winton shared some of the struggles she went through this off-season in
Episode 1 of Keeping up with Katy. Today, she dropped
Episode 2.
Despite her EWS podium appearances, third places in the EWS overall standings in 2017 and 2018, and two top-five results in 2020, Winton found herself without a sponsor late in contract negotiation season. In our interview with her, she talks about her 2021 program and opens up about some of the things she learned this past year in hopes that other athletes can avoid the challenges she faced.
Who are your sponsors for the 2021 season?
Katy Winton: Moxie XI, SRAM, RockShox, Zipp, Nukeproof and Backcountry Research. With Troy Lee Designs, Crankbrothers and Michelin on board too... The list keeps growing though!
What is Moxie XI?
Katy Winton: Moxie XI is a badge of honour, we all have hardships, (this year more than ever!!) and Moxie XI stands for the courage and strength it takes to carry on and keep going - even if, and this is so important, even if that’s taking a break and coming back tomorrow. It’s a dogged persistence towards what we want. We all have our own Moxie XI in us and this is a way to notice celebrate that.
I came up with the concept in December when I was considering going outside the industry to get funding. I needed a “why” that was more than just me racing my bike. I wanted something that embodied everything I’ve learned and am still learning from competing at the highest level in sport - these lessons I’ve shared through talks at schools as they are so relevant to life, not just bike racing.
I firmly believe everyone has it within themselves to ‘achieve’ - whatever your definition of that is. By using racing and honestly sharing the journey, I hope to showcase everything Moxie XI stands for and inspire people to: find the courage within them to go for it on and off the bike, to have the self compassion to do what is truly right for them regardless of outside opinion, to persist in the face of adversity, and most of all that bike riding is GREAT.
It sounded like you didn't have a sponsor lined up until pretty late in 2020. Do you want to take us through what happened?
Katy Winton: Part of the process of being a professional mountain biker is that when your contract's up, you need to start talking about what’s next with your current team and start searching for other options in case your current contract doesn’t get renewed. I basically made the mistake of being too optimistic that I would get re-signed and then didn't end up getting re-signed... and had no backup plan. I was in a really difficult situation, through my own doing. I literally missed out on so many teams by a day. One team had signed their final rider the day before I spoke to them. Then budgets were all already assigned and this just went on and on. A big part of signing with a brand is being in the right place at the right time for opportunities. I was in the wrong place, wrong time.
I knew it wasn't going to be an easy move forward and I didn't have a lot of choice. I needed to think really carefully about my next move because I've had a difficult couple of years so I need to establish myself at the top again. That means I want to make sure I've got the equipment and the setup I need to perform. That was really important to me. The other thing that was really important for me was to make sure that I got fair pay, for myself and the job I do, but also for everyone that will come after me. Because if I devalue myself, I actually devalue everybody else that's doing the same job. It makes for some difficult decisions, but I kept chipping away, holding my ground. I had one team that made sense to me because it was like, "Okay, I might have to take a bit of a pay cut because it’s so late in the year, but I can get some decent bonuses if I perform. It's a proven set-up with everything I need to perform taken care of so I know I can still do well and prove my worth, and move forward from there."
| The other thing that was really important for me was to make sure that I got fair pay, for myself and the job I do, but also for everyone that will come after me. Because if I devalue myself, I actually devalue everybody else that's doing the same job. |
But they pulled out in January, just unable to find budget, and so I was kind of left with a couple of brands that could potentially work. But I just wasn't really getting responses. There was one brand that came back with low money, and I was like, if the product was really good to outweigh the pay cut then this is something I would do. But I wasn't 100% on the bike. I had spoken to my boyfriend, Joe Nation, who's also a racer, and he was like, "Worst case scenario," this was in November. "Worst case scenario, you sell the bikes you own, get a bike sponsor, and just fund it yourself." I was like, "Okay. I could do that."
The whole time I had SRAM in my corner being like, "We will support you. You just find a bike." So that was amazing for me to have them searching for options and fighting in my corner as well. To know I had their support and they had my back was absolutely massive.
But until I found a bike brand, I couldn’t move forward. After many follow up emails and no firm commitment from the brands I was still pushing for and bikes selling out like hot cakes I had to make a move to make sure I had actually had a bike to race on! So I stopped fighting. I knew the bike I wanted. Geometry wise, it's going to fit me, it's going to allow me to mullet it. So I'm going to be comfy on it. I'm quite small, and it's got everything I need. I just committed. And luckily, one phone call to Nukeproof, and they were just amazing, more than accommodating. They were so kind, supportive and understanding I knew I’d found a brand that was all about what I value too and had rad bikes! I spoke to them on the Tuesday and I had frames in my house by Friday. With them already having a strong relationship with SRAM it was the perfect fit and everything else fell into place after that.
But basically the short answer to the question is, I screwed up then had to make a lot of very difficult decisions. It's not just about joining any random team. I want to ensure I can perform at the highest level, and I need to make sure that the setup, the environment, the people that I'm working with and working for, are going to enhance that. I wanted a no excuses set up!
We don't really see the contract negotiations that go on between riders and brands, we just get the big shiny announcement at the end of the negotiations. How stressful is it as a rider? And what kind of advantage do you have, when you have that stability within a multi-year contract with a brand? What has it taken out of you in this off season? Were you still able to train, did you have sleepless nights? What was this like for your physical health, mental health, having to deal with all this, this year?
Katy Winton: I can't even begin to tell you. I lost a lot of weight. I couldn't start training for quite a while because I was under so much stress. We are lucky that the season doesn't start until June, so I knew there wasn’t a rush to get started. And actually if I had been training, I would have burnt out straight away because it would be too much stress. I was asking serious questions, am I going to be able to race again? Is this actually going to be able to happen? Is this what I want? I'm under so much stress now, how many more years can I cope with having such an unpredictable job? Is it worth it? Because it's so hard. And in the middle of January, things got really bad because I’m in this highly stressful situation and Scotland is in lockdown, so I've not got my normal coping mechanisms around me.
I couldn’t go and see my friends and do fun things with other people, there wasn’t much to look forward to. You're very isolated. The weather was terrible, it was so dark, snowy and icy. I was training indoors on a trainer and it was just relentless. I think everybody understands uncertainty now, we all really know what that's like with this pandemic. I was just sitting there waiting, because at any point any brand that came back to me and actually said, "We will support and pay you fairly," could have changed my life. That's what it it was like. I held out for so long but there are only so many follow up emails you can send... so in the end, I had to change my own life and make the decision to part-invest in my own project. But yeah, so much stress.
| I was asking serious questions, am I going to be able to race again? Is this actually going to be able to happen? Is this what I want? I'm under so much stress now, do I want to keep pushing for this? Is it worth it? Because it's so hard. |
Do you think that riders need to have multiple options lined up at the end of every contract year, as a just in case scenario? Is that kind of what you would do differently?
Katy Winton: Yeah, absolutely. If you're on a team, you need to be prepared and you need to be ready. Even just having conversations with people, so you get an idea of teams’ plans and them yours. So if an opportunity is coming around they know that you're a potential option. A big thing for me was a lot of people thought I would never leave Trek. So they didn’t think to approached me to find out if it was an option or not. You can't expect people to come to you though, you also need to put yourself out there.
So, that's the biggest lesson I've learned is you need to really make sure everybody knows when there is an opportunity to work with you. I think for riders as well, push for having those conversation timelines decided. So you know you’re going to discuss with your team in, say June, about the following year, whether they're going to re-sign you or not. Personally, I wasn’t assertive, but you have to be!
| We're really good at racing bikes and being the best athlete we can be, but being a business person, now that's a completely different. So it’s a good idea, especially if it doesn’t come naturally, to make a concerted effort to actually learn about and work on it. Otherwise you're going to be in situations like this. I've learned so much in this last six months, but it's definitely a side that, as an athlete, I would recommend to any rider in this industry, or aspiring to be in it, to look into negotiation, marketing and all of the business skills. |
Yeah, because even when you're an athlete and you're with one brand, it never hurts to have another brand's offer, just to have an idea of what you could be worth to another brand, right?
Katy Winton: Yeah, for sure. I think the worth thing's really hard as an athlete because none of us are contractually allowed to talk about what we're paid. So straight off the bat we’re already in a difficult situation because you're stabbing in the dark to certain extent. Luckily I knew roughly, and I've had back up for this, so I knew what I was asking for was completely reasonable. That was good reassurance.
But it was a real challenge creating budgets for my own program because you’re not just doing salary. You’re looking at expenses too, you’re pricing for brands based on whether they’re title sponsor or whether they want just frames or frames and clothing. It was a huge learning curve.
I did get told when I was talking to another brand about salary, "Okay, looking at this. Well, you don't get overpaid." I was like, "Okay, cool. What does that mean? Does that mean I was getting heavily underpaid or?" I think that makes it a lot harder for athletes as well.
IThe worth question I think is just so interesting. And I think it really defines being a professional athlete or not, whether you're making a living wage. And I just wonder how many athletes are actually making a living wage in the Enduro?
Katy Winton: It's definitely interesting. I have no idea! It's really hard to quantify and/or measure objectively how much, say a top racer with no social media, versus big social media with okay results. Everybody brings different things to the table, and that's all worth different amounts.
So there's not a set, if you're top five you're on this, or if you're a top 10, you are less. It is really difficult because everybody is actually worth slightly different. It's a really hard topic. I don't know the answers, it's just part of starting the conversation of how we can work together to make this a bit fairer.
| It's really hard to quantify and/or measure objectively how much, say a top racer with no social media, versus big social media with okay results. Everybody brings different things to the table, and that's all worth different amounts. |
It sounded when we were chatting earlier that you really focused on the other things you can bring to the table, like your new behind-the-scenes YouTube channel. Basically, it sounds like you're having to work a lot harder as an athlete all around racing as well.
Katy Winton: Yeah, definitely. I think more and more these days we're expected to have a good social media presence regardless of results. Racing alone and the exposure that comes with that doesn’t seem to be enough any more, you need to be strong in content creation too. Which is hard, to be striving for the top takes every ounce of energy if you really want to perform at the sharp end. To be creating quality content all the time on top of that is a big ask and a really difficult balance to strike. But it’s so important, especially this year, when there's so much uncertainty around racing, you need to get creative and make sure you provide the value to the brands that you've signed with.
Absolutely. And so for your YouTube channel, are you going to be offering these throughout the season? What's your plan with this, and how are you going to fit that into your program?
Katy Winton: The plan is to give some insight and a truthful look behind the scenes at the journey I’m on. I'm totally flying by the seat of my pants though! I had this "Keeping up with Katy" idea in my mind from November, or as soon as I started negotiations. How it was going to all unfold and how it was going to happen, I wasn't entirely sure, but I was just going to commit to making a series. I really didn't want to just pump out constant content, I couldn’t commit to that. It needed to have more of a focus just for my workload, because my priority is still racing.
I've not got time to be doing random videos all the time. I wanted to create a series that people really wanted to tune into to find out what happens next and feel and be part of my journey. Putting something more condensed and sort of spread out throughout the year was something I could commit to and do for my sponsor. It’s a lot of work, luckily knew how to do basic editing, but you have to tell the story right, you have to make all your YouTube artwork and everything. I actually love it though.
So you did enjoy it?
Katy Winton: Yeah, I definitely enjoyed it. I love creating from creating the video to the art work was really fun. Plus, it’s just telling stories, isn’t it?
But your goal for the season is to be the best racer you possibly can. The media comes second to that for you?
Katy Winton: Yeah, 100%.
It's more of a necessity that you've created this channel?
Katy Winton: Yeah. I couldn’t rely on race results when racing wasn’t guaranteed. So I saw it as a vehicle for me to create something different, increase my profile and value, and build an audience and following so big that I wouldn't be in this situation again.
When you show up to the Enduro World Series races this year, you'll be arranging all of your own travel. Will you have a mechanic? What's your setup at races going to look like compared to the past couple of years?
Katy Winton: I'll be organizing everything, but I'll have support from SRAM at the races. So they'll provide me some tent space and stuff. And I'm also going to be traveling with my boyfriend, Joe Nation, he's an EWS racer as well. We're a really good team, so I'm confident that the pair of us can do it well together. Although we've not got our own mechanic and everything else, between us, I feel like we've got a solid setup.
That's kind of what you were doing before you were on the Trek Factory Team?
Katy Winton: Yep!
One of your first years racing with Trek, you had Casey Brown who was also doing the EWS races. A lot of teams kind of have their one female rider but you were lucky enough to be a part of a team with two strong female medal contenders. How's the experience different being the one female rider on a team, versus being a privateer, and then also having a female teammate?
Katy Winton: Having Casey on the team was so rad. She's an absolutely awesome human, full stop. But as a teammate, it was just awesome to have someone to actually ride with. We rode on the tracks together, we discussed lines together. I could follow her and then she could follow me. And at that point in time, I was still building confidence with drops and jumps and stuff, and she's obviously rad at that. So she was a massive help and support for me through that. And then also, in 2017 when I was right up there on the podium and there were some difficult times, she was right there just like, "Come on, Winton. You've got this."
I think having another woman on the team was really, really awesome. And it was actually a really cool move from Trek in 2016, when the factory team was just me and Casey at the first races we went to. It's two women heading out your Enduro team. That's rad. And I've been the only girl on the team, but the thing is all through my life, I've been mostly the only girl in situations, like when I was in cross country, etc. I was mostly just the only girl. So I am personally quite comfortable in that environment as well, and I've experienced all, and it's all been positive.
| I think having another woman on the team was really, really awesome. And it was actually a really cool move from Trek in 2016, when the factory team was just me and Casey at the first races we went to. It's two women heading out your Enduro team. That's rad. |
You're one of the fastest women in the world, but you were also on a team with some of the fastest men in the world! Did they see some of the same lines that you did in practice and did you help each other with the line-choosing process?
Katy Winton: Yes. When we walk tracks, we look at the lines and mostly agree on them. It’s a full collaboration, of course there are some lines that are different. So from walking to riding to watching GoPros we’d discuss. Sometimes I’d miss some and others they’d miss ones I’d seen. Of all my guy teammates over the years it’s been a really positive and supportive crew where we can all learn from each other.
What about outside of the teams that you've been on? Who are some of your mentors who have helped you this season? Marketing yourself, YouTube, you've done a lot of new things in this past year. Who were some of the people that you looked to, to help you through a kind of difficult off season?
Katy Winton: There have been so many people helping me this off season, from Tracy Moseley getting me set up with contacts straight away and coming up with ideas. Tracy and Ruaridh Cunningham were both people with experience that I turned to as sounding boards. My boyfriend was a huge support even from NZ making time to be there for me in the time difference as well as my friend Emma, who was with me the whole way and kept me going through the darkest days! My family as well of course, it took a village.
A huge huge support though was John Dawson from SRAM. We started talking in December and he assured me of SRAM’s support. He then started hammering from his side, talking to potential teams that they sponsor to try and find a space anywhere for me. It was amazing to have someone in the industry really fighting for me. As well as knowing a massive brand like SRAM had my back and wouldn’t stand to see a top MTBer go without support. With so many denials it’s hard not to question your worth and place in the sport so I was, and still am, extremely grateful to everyone at SRAM group for standing by me and making this happen.
You had such a great season in 2017 and then in 2018 you also finished third overall, but it was maybe a bit of a struggle after you got a concussion beginning of the season. How does injury play into being a professional athlete? And how do you manage that on the team negotiation side of things, is that ever built into a contract that you'll be supported or? How do you manage the risk of racing at Enduro at a high level?
Katy Winton: Yeah, every team/brand is slightly different. When talking to Dawson about SRAM, he was discussing with me that they understand the risks, that injury in racing and training is part of the game you’ll still be supported... But, basically don’t break yourself riding a horse, skateboard, etc.
I think it gets tricky if you haven’t proven yourself before you get injured, you’re still an unknown. If you’ve had past results then teams/brand know you can be there and can get back to it once recovered, depending on the injury. I think for me, I had a couple of difficult years and then didn't really get to prove myself last year. So it plays into your future negotiation. Although your current contract will still support you when injured, it will affect your power to negotiate for a good deal beyond that.
Do you still have any symptoms from your concussion? Do you have to manage that on a day-to-day basis?
Katy Winton: No, I'm really good now. It was actually February last year I was racing at Cable Bay Enduro in New Zealand that was the first time that I was at a race, and I felt awesome. I was like, "I'm back, I'm here, I'm present. I'm not worried about crashing on my head or anything like that. My body's working with my brain, everything is working and complete." And it was kind of a little bit emotional because I was just like, "Oh, we're done with that now. We've moved on. We're okay again." Because for so long I was so worried about crashing on my head, that it would take me back. So yeah, there's no symptoms or anything now, I'm feeling really good.
You did have a really good season last year though, even though it was a bit of a short season, you had some strong results. Is that not good enough?
Katy Winton: Yeah. I mean, I was absolutely on fire at the start of the year, absolutely on fire. So I was really, really disappointed when that got postponed. It felt like I had a lot more that I could have done. There were a lot of people in that position. I had an off season, where everything had gone right and all the puzzle pieces were in place. It's very hard to do that, and I did it. I was like, let's go!
Yeah. And it's kind of difficult to just pick it up where you left off a couple months later.
Katy Winton: Yeah, and on a new bike with limited time on it before jumping into racing. After being so at home on the previous bike, it took a lot longer than anticipated to adjust.
I guess that's not something to be discounted either is, if you're changing teams every couple of years, you have to get used to new equipment. And that's also something that some riders are maybe better at doing than other riders.
Katy Winton: Yeah, absolutely. Especially if you move into a new team, you're moving into not just a different bike and components and tires, but everything. It's a different group of people, a different team manager, a different way of working. You're coming in with different riders, there's a different dynamic. The environment at the race can be different, and it can be in a positive way or sometimes it can be in a negative way, but you don't really know until you're in it. And that's part of the risk. So yeah, in making that decision, there's a lot more to it than just like, "Oh, I'm just going to sign for another team."
What do you think the most difficult tasks coming up for you in this season are going to be?
Katy Winton: That's a really good question. The most difficult task is going to be managing my time properly to do the media and all the admin that comes with running your own program, which is a lot, and still training really well and resting and recovering. That's the biggest thing. You can still train and do this stuff, but it's your recovery that takes the hit. So I think the biggest challenge will be getting the best recovery I can. I think that's one of the biggest challenges I've faced.
What are you looking forward to?
Katy Winton: Racing on a bike that I love. And having people around me that are great and support me 100%, and have stood by me through this difficult time. I can't wait for that.
Photos by
www.davemackison.com
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It would be great if everyone could get the job they want at the money they want but sadly they can’t.
Props to Katy for getting it in the end. Let’s face it, riding bikes for a living is a dream for most, and even those that make it must know it’s got a time stamp on it.
"The other thing that was really important for me was to make sure that I got fair pay, for myself and the job I do, but also for everyone that will come after me. Because if I devalue myself, I actually devalue everybody else that's doing the same job."
This is a REALLY tough thing to do, because you somehow have to be able to at least get a handle on what value you actually accrue to your sponsors.
As @Grunk points out, racing is useless to any company unless you are helping to build that nebulous concept labelled "brand equity" that then results in new and returning customers.
And here is the crux; according to research from the Marketing Accountability Standards Board:
"60% of major marketers report they do not have a standardized sponsorship measurement process, 40% don’t even try to measure and only a third adequately budget for the market research needed to evaluate the financial return on sponsorship."
I have been running a small company for 20 years and anyone running their own business understands that you have to constantly keep re-evaluating what value your company adds to its clients otherwise you will not have any,
For racers, it is doubly hard to do that because, according to research, a significant percentage of sponsors don't really know how to, or just plain don't, measure your value anyway.
And it doesn't take a degree in mathematics to predict what that means in times of economic uncertainty.
What I would say to add to your good point though is that all forms of sport competition these days quickly develop into an unhealthy activity, where outcomes become more and more dependent on genetics as the level goes up. even an athlete with prime genetics will struggle to do anything else but train, it is hard for them to conjure a plan B after career is over and then you are constantly under the risk of getthing injured and loose income. In a way, most sports these days are extreme sports. Very few people think about it, but Redbull Rampage isn't exactly putting you at any higher risk than road cycling, even on individual level. If you are a roadie, even an XCer, you ride load s on road being exposed to being kiled by a car. Then we have doping. It's not black and white, folks dope because level is insanely high.
To sum up, I see no point in pushing my kids into being professional athletes. I do not see being a pro athlete as a dream job. Not by a tiniest bit. Especially since we have a Bora Hans Grohe roadie in our family and see how "the dream job" looks like. High health risks and it feels meaningful when you are near the top and have many fans. Just like being a singer. While we all know what happens to folks after the fame goes down for singers, fashion models and actors, we rarely see what happens to athletes... and it ain't better, they just don't have this much money to buy coke. For good and bad.
Wow, level of intellectual discussion on PB went up after I left...
I have seen a lot more women out cycling since moving back to the UK than there were in the 90s though, so maybe in 20-30 years we will see some depth of field in the women’s. When that happens, the cash and contracts will follow.
I think whatever field you work in it’s important that you never lose sight of the fact that no one owes you a living. You must constantly strive to be the best you that you can be. Never count your chickens.
we can fix that very easily
I'm not a hater but I am a realist and I only speak for myself. I'm not particularly motivated to purchase based on the results of pros. I'm more motivated by looks, reviews, and price. I do pay attention to who is riding what... in the men's. If a woman is winning on something it doesn't matter to me at all. That same woman who is demolishing the field of six would probably do same on a 2002 Orange Patriot. I do look at what Sam Hill is riding. In this case, I would be interested to know who cares what Katy Winton is riding, and what results she has got on said bike, and then if that's women or men who care. And from that, are any of those people who care going to purchase a bike based on that information?
I sell toilets, and the day I lose my job selling toilets because either people don't need toilets or they don't like my toilets and/or sales technique is the day I get a job doing something else. This is not the only thing I can do, and I am not the only person selling toilets. I'm not the best toilet salesman in the world and anyway, most toilets sell themselves because people want toilets. In that sense, I'm not really selling toilets - rather, people are buying toilets.
The same could be applied to the situation of pro mountain bikers who get dropped. They can get another contract or change jobs. I guess there will be more of that happening because the covid and lockdown fiasco has taught us that no racing does not equal no bike sales. The industry is booming in a year when racing was cancelled. Being top-3 in a sport no one cares about does not guarantee you a pro contract.
Now my son... dad who is fastest in the world, who can do most backflips, who crashed hardest. Coming to dirt jumps: Dad which one of these guys is best?
Says a thing or two
Katy maybe on to her version of Hans’s scrapbook with these videos. In biking, only a few top athletes can get away with just being athletes. Most have to be a master of the business side to keep employment.
Here’s a link to Inside the Line podcast with Hans Rey:
www.vitalmtb.com/features/The-Inside-Line-Podcast-Hans-Rey,1872
I'll agree that if you could pull those numbers, dudes are likely outnumbering the women. But, do we really expect women to show up in droves to a party for the guys? Or do we work on building a community (content, sponsorships, jobs, etc) for women to bring them in? Considering there's a lot of us, it might be worth it to bring us in. My money is as good as some dudes and I'm not riding old bikes.
So let's assume women aren't reading Pinkbike as much as dudes are. Is that because we women just aren't interested in the recent edits, some new company's head tube angle, or whatever else? Or is it because nearly all the content on here is produced by men, for men, and features men. I would argue the second. If I see an article or video that features a female rider or was produced by a women, I click on it. That gives me.. not many clicks. More than it used to be, but still not many. Perhaps then, if there was more of this content, more women would be scrolling Pinkbike, no?
Furthermore, as a woman, I find walking into some bike shops intimidating, let alone the comment section on Pinkbike. Just because women aren't commenting, doesn't mean we're not here.
Of course, this is only my perspective, but I'm involved in women's group rides and a number of buy and sell groups, some of which are ladies only. My flawed memory would guess I've seen a similar number of posts from guys and girls looking for bikes this year. The difference though, is that often the women's posts come from the women's only groups, arguably a more welcoming environment. And, are women actually interested in riding their bikes? The problem with women's rides isn't find people to show up - it's finding enough space for all the interest. We have to limit numbers and beginner rides are massive because so many women want to learn how to mountain bike.
Whew, I may have gotten a bit ranty there. But. I am a woman who likes to race, cares about racing and firmly believes the women's field will catch up . If there's me, there's more, and I only started mountain biking 5 years ago. However, the women's field catches up IF companies and brands and media make an effort to support the very few women who are competing/racing/writing/filming. I can watch a rad new video made by some dude three times a day on Pinkbike, and maybe 3x a year from a woman on the same platform. Do we build the community, and hope the women will come? Or do we just expect the women to show up in numbers and maybe think about building them a small tent at that point next to the castle that is the men's mtb world.
And using sex to sell action sports
www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201821479/action-sports-and-using-sex-to-sell
honesty
Integrity
Courage
Rather than just worthless social media clicks and likes that may elevate brand awareness but (in my opinion) do little to increase brand equity(if not decrease it)
Congrats Katy
If there's anybody I despise in social media game it's bloody repost accounts stealing original content within all rules of the copyright law.
So there is value in that for everyone.
And even lower quality content like Eddy Masters “hour of power” when you know there is going to be marketing gold content which will represent your brand fantastically
Which redbull should I drink before my workout post are good for redbull in that they show the product. Measure the follower engagement so redbull know how many people are following the influencers and hopefully the follower to internalize I like original redbull. Which surprise suspise gave me thoughts of buying redbull which I quickly self vetoed .
But this dress or that dress (when you dont sell dresses) may give engagement indicators to the bike brand or red bull but its not selling mtbs.
But what I dont get Is people that dont seem to sell or represent there brand. My 9yr old nephew loves mtb vids from a certain Mr religious traveller. I wouldn’t want my brand associated with that content and how many 9yr olds buy ebikes.
@wakidesigned:
Imagine that happening to a male EWS racer.
Also wild considering all of the lip service brands have been providing for female riders.
not sure diminishing females struggles for equity has much to do with what you're trying to state.
Nobody ever takes me up on it, so I'm assuming they know their value isn't very high and are just hoping for some free stuff. I remember being a bottom of the barrel pro and trying to get free stuff too. I got a lot of it, but I doubt I sold a single bike for any of my various sponsors over the years.
Katy seems like a nice lady and I'm sure she'd blow my doors off in a race. But if I sponsored her, would I actually sell any more bikes? I sort of doubt it (this would go for an EWS male, too, for what it's worth - outside of the PB crowd, most serious mountain bikers couldn't name a single EWS racer, XC racer, etc, outside of elderly legends like Ned or Tomac).
Tri organizers did it right and made the sport so popular with participants that it's become a lifestyle thing and there are multiple avenues for pros to make a living (ie coaching, sponsorships, prize money generated by entry fees, etc). Mountain bike racing isn't any more fun to watch than triathalon, and an EWS race doesn't have 5000 amateurs racing alongside the pros, so I'm not sure why we keep pretending just being fast is something that makes you worthy of getting paid.
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Very happy that Katy landed deals with a set of great sponsors. Respect to all. Gives hope that the good times are not that far off (knocks on wood).
You already know that Isabeau will be 1st, and that 99% of the times, the same bike will be on the box at the end of the race unlike for men, where you know there is a hard battle, and the bike plays a role in this.
I've not watched racing for years. Possibly I'm not the target audience now as I get older though?
For me it's more about route tips/new trails/holiday ideas/recovery and nice pics nowadays.
but why is they an article directly below that outlines the long list of sponsors she is announcing? seems a bit off in terms of timing folks