The Red Bulletin June 2019
G U I D E Get it Equipment convinced that they achieve the best results when they start out with no pressure, feeling relaxed. Passion is the best motivation. Still going strong: Flossmann took up riding after injury halted his bodybuilding career helped pros Andreu Lacondeguy and Aaron Gwin triumph – at Red Bull Rampage and in downhill at the UCI MTB World Cup respectively – all without letting seriousness get in the way. The strategy clearly appeals: 17-yearold downhill prodigy Vali Höli is now signed to the YT family, too. Flossmann himself is a man who would never let normality get in the way of his vision, having started out as a bodybuilder before deciding to reinvent the mountain bike. He now sits at the helm of one of the most innovative bike firms in Europe. the red bulletin: How does a bodybuilder wind up making mountain bikes? markus flossman: Bodybuilding is a mindset you live 24/7; a sport that demands a lot of willpower. Preparation for a competition lasts five months and feels like a boot camp. You need a will of iron to come through. That mindset has “I started riding to have fun and relax. That’s still the main philosophy behind YT” Markus Flossmann left its mark on me. When I had to give up competitive bodybuilding due to injury, I learnt to love the relaxed world of mountain biking. Before I founded YT, I’d already been a committed mountain biker for 11 years and was very into technology. I’ve long thought of myself as a hardcore biker. Did you ever race? No. I didn’t start mountain biking [in the mid-’90s] for the sake of racing at the weekends, or to prove how good I was in competition. I wanted to create steep turns and ramps with my mates after work and go hard at it, then drink a beer. In other words, I wanted to have fun and relax. That remains the main philosophy behind our brand. How do you channel that into riders winning races on YT bikes? We never pressure our sportsmen and women into taking part in specific competitions or delivering results, and we never will. We’re What input do your pro riders give on the regular bikes? We hoover up their feedback. But the trick is filtering and analysing their comments so that ultimately an average rider can have fun on our bikes. It’s like fine-tuning an F1 car so that a new driver could handle one. The bike Aaron Gwin used to win downhill at the UCI MTB World Cup twice was standard except for the suspension set-up. Anyone can buy one. For how long does one count as a ‘young talent’? I’m sure everyone is harbouring hidden talents, no matter how old they are. The important thing is not to be limited by convention. Take me, for example. I only started motocross three years ago, aged 40, even though all my friends told me I was too old and that it was a sport you had to start young. As long as you enjoy it and feel comfortable, it’s never too late to discover a new talent or passion within yourself. Where did you get the idea of producing quirky ads starring non-bikers like Walken or Jones? YT is different. I found bike ads very one-dimensional – it was always just about the product. No one did anything original. But mountain biking is about lifestyle. We want to get our values across without putting a specific product in the forefront. If we break a few rules, have fun and encourage people in a way that pushes the bike industry in a new direction, it’s all good. yt-industries.com 110 THE RED BULLETIN
COPYRIGHT © 2019 MNA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DON’T ASK THE WORLD FOR ADVENTURE. FIND IT. WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING FOR? BFGOODRICHTIRES.COM
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COPYRIGHT © <strong>2019</strong> MNA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.<br />
DON’T ASK THE WORLD FOR ADVENTURE. FIND IT.<br />
WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING FOR?<br />
BFGOODRICHTIRES.COM
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