- We're quite lucky here at GMBN
that we've been able to turn our passions
about mountain biking into our jobs.
But how can you do it?
And what sort of jobs can you look at getting
to make your life all about mountain biking?
Well, you'll be surprised just how many opportunities
there are, let's have a look.
(relaxed electronic music)
So first off, where do you even begin?
Well, if you're still in school,
then you can think about the sorts of skills
and education you'll need to get the right start.
Photography and writing are solid skills
for the media side of things, otherwise,
if you want to race professionally,
then racing and getting great results
will lead to opportunities.
And for design and engineering,
make sure your maths is up to scratch.
What about looking for jobs?
You can start a normal job website, of course,
and search for industry jobs,
but oftentimes the right positions aren't that searchable
on those types of sites.
Fortunately, there are some dedicated bike job websites
that offer far more opportunities.
A great resource in the UK is BikeBiz
and in the US, Bicycle Retailer.
There are jobs ranging from shop mechanics
to sales, to brand managers and even journalists.
Other resources are brands themselves
like SRAM, Shimano, and Santa Cruz for example.
You can often find jobs and even internships
being advertised on their own dedicated job websites.
Otherwise, your local bike shop and bike paths
are always looking for helping hands,
especially during the high-season.
For some of the resources we found,
check out the description down below.
The first port of call for most riders
looking to make a living out of mountain biking
is by getting sponsored for riding itself.
It's pretty much the dream because
who doesn't want to get paid for riding
and get free equipment at the same time?
It's brilliant.
However, it's easier said than done,
you really need to be fast, stylish,
or very very good at getting noticed, but it's doable.
Though a couple of other ways are
to build up your style points and social media following
to become an ambassador or a lifestyle athlete
or an influencer.
Another riding-based way to get paid
is to ride and become a skills coach or a guide.
You're paid to be outside on your bike
and all without chasing sponsors or followers.
Yet another way to get paid to ride
is by teaching others.
Skills coaching allows you to get paid
to be out on your bike while also helping others
to become better riders themselves.
A really rewarding career that is still
very much about the riding.
- My name's Neil, I'm an ex-professional downhill racer.
And an ex-professional mountain bike skills coach.
And I got into it, if I'm completely honest,
'cause I was at a bit of a loose end.
When I finished racing downhill,
I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do next.
And skills coaching felt like quite a natural thing
to be able to do.
I'd still be able to ride my bike,
and actually from there, I got back into racing
so I then started racing enduro.
Again, sort of turned professional,
got some good sponsorship, so I was then half coaching,
half professional enduro racer.
I think my advice would be
to get some good training, to be honest.
I did it early on with an organization
in the UK called the CTC.
And it definitely taught my how to look at someone's riding.
I'd been a pro rider for 10 years,
but actually pulling apart someone else's riding
definitely takes a bit of skill
and you might need a bit of help with that.
And then it's all about experience.
I used to coach an awful lot,
quite often I'd see 30 or 40 people a week.
And actually over a year or two,
it really builds up your skills base.
So you can watch someone ride, video them,
and really pick apart what you think they're doing well,
which can help with their confidence,
but also what they could do better.
And sometimes it'll be just two or three really small things
can actually make a big difference to their riding.
Whether it's getting their foot position right,
changing a bit of bike set-up,
or just looking at a specific bike skill
that should really translate to improving all their riding.
And it is a really rewarding thing to do.
It can be a really fun thing to do.
I would say, the disadvantages are
that sometimes it looks like you're riding a lot
but actually you can go and stand
in the same place every day
and talk people through a similar problem,
something you saw the other day.
So, it can sometimes be a bit repetitive.
But at the end of the day, if you're really helping someone
improve their riding, and you're getting
to ride your bike yourself, then it can be great.
(upbeat ska music)
- By far the easiest way to get a job in the bike industry
is by working at your local bike shop.
It's probably the best entry point
and allows you to get behind the scenes,
looking at how a lot of it works.
You'll also get some inside information
and may even meet some pretty cool people along the way.
Meet the right people, and you can probably get
the opportunity to move into a more interesting role
in the industry itself.
Many of the bike journalists and race mechanics
started out wrenching in their local shop.
So, it's a great place to begin your career in the industry.
Notable bike mechanics include Danny MacAskill
and our very own Henry on Tech.
Who was, until recently, a very well renowned,
World Cup race mechanic.
So let's get a bit more insight directly from him!
- I'm Henry, I'm 27 years old,
and originally from the West Midlands.
My position has always been working as a mechanic
starting off in shops before eventually
progressing into race teams.
I got into it by, I've always loved working on bikes.
And it seemed a bit of a goal of mine
to work out how to get paid for it when I left school.
Started off just working in local shops
and then decided to travel, chased the summer seasons.
That was really good, it meant I got exposed
to a lot of fantastic mechanics to learn from
as well as a lot of different places.
Got to ride my bike, meet a lot of cool people
who also do the same thing, and eventually fall into sync
with the racing season.
I got into the bike industry,
well, out of school, I just wanted to learn
how to make money from my passion.
Originally started working in local shops,
before deciding to start chasing summers
and going between the Northern and Southern Hemisphere,
riding my bike all year round.
This was really good as I not only got to meet
loads of like-minded people, but I also got to learn
from loads of really really good mechanics.
If I had to give somebody advice
on how to get into a similar job,
it'd probably be not be afraid to take some risks
or do things, perhaps, slightly unconventional.
When I was 18 or 19 years old
and all my friends were off to university,
I just said, well actually, I want to go ride bikes
and that's how it worked out.
Definitely took some risks,
some stuff didn't work out, some stuff did.
But always fine in the end.
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst,
that's my saying when traveling.
I always went over with a reasonable amount of savings,
although sometimes, I remember one time
I got down to five New Zealand dollars,
and that was everything.
But then it somehow turned out alright
so I was very lucky, I guess.
But certainly took some risks,
especially when going between France and New Zealand.
Sometimes I went for jobs that I thought I could rely on
and they didn't quite materialize.
But on the contrary, sometimes I just fell in
to really really good jobs
without any expectation on my part.
Why do I love it?
Well, I just feel so lucky to be able to work
with a thing that I'm really passionate about.
For me it's always a really cool process
learning a new skill, especially around bikes and mechanics.
And, working with some people
that you really really really respect.
Some of the shops I've worked in,
the mechanics have been so good.
And to be able to learn from them
was always hugely satisfying.
When I left school I always just thought
being a bike mechanic was the dream.
I just thought it was amazing to get paid for it.
And to eventually, not only learn, but then also teach,
it was a really cool thing for me.
Working on World Cups was something I always wanted to do.
And it was a real satisfying of an ambition of mine
to eventually get to that level.
- Working in the media side of the bike industry
is another potential dream job for a lot of riders.
You already read the reviews and watch all the videos
and you think you can do the riding yourself.
Well, you know what?
You could do this role, there are quite a few opportunities
around that will get you right into the middle
of the MTB media scene.
They mostly involve writing, filming, social media.
But vary in the actual roles quite a bit.
Here at GMBN, we pretty much have
the whole spectrum of media jobs.
You may not think you've got the outright skills
and talent to race professionally, I mean, not many have.
But you can still get paid to ride, right?
Writing about bikes allows you to get your hands
on some of the newest and most exciting bits of kit
long before the public, and riding that kit's pretty cool.
Knowing that precious few riders have even seen it.
But let's hear from someone who's done his fair share
of mountain bike journalism.
- My name is Andrew Dodd, some people call me Doddy,
in fact, everyone calls me Doddy.
It's a bit weird, just call me Andrew, to be honest.
I'm director of tech, actually, on the GMBN Tech channel.
To you and me, that just means I'm a presenter
and do a bit of organizing.
Well, I've been a bike journalist
for most of my working life, since 2001, in fact.
Working on one of the biggest mountain bike magazines
out there, called Mountain Biking UK.
I used combinations of photography stuff
and media stuff that I'd studied.
English skills doing that, and obviously that transferred
into the written word a touch.
And as things started changing,
going towards moving image, it became a logical choice
for me to come and work here, really.
Transferrable skills, I know how to talk about bikes,
I understand bikes, it's the same in writing
so it's the same format really.
Or similar, at least.
Study hard, enjoy what you do, as well.
If you're not enjoying it.
(both riders laughing)
I couldn't even be serious!
I was just, out of control the whole way!
- [Blake] How much fun is that?
- You need to have a reconsider about what you're doing.
You obviously need good basic skills,
what I mean by that is good English skills,
being able to write and speak correctly.
- In Frejus, it's held between Frejus and Roquebrune,
Roquebrune, Roquebrune-sur-Argens.
Roquebrune-sur-Argens.
- Know your way around a bike, really,
so working in the bike shop part time, perhaps,
at weekends, that's a great way
to build up those mechanical skills
and things like that, and do some filming with your friends.
You don't need any fancy equipment,
you can just do it with a phone.
The phone that you might be watching this on, in fact.
And the bike industry is a surprisingly small place.
Full of people that I love and know very well, so,
from that respect, that's why I love it,
but also bikes are my number one
favorite thing in the world.
They always have been.
I first got into bikes reading the first ever copy
of Mountain Biking UK, October 1988.
So I've been into bikes a long time,
so why would I want to do anything else?
- Internships are becoming more common
along with freelance opportunities.
This route, you may not be jumping
right into a full-time career in MTB journalism,
but you can build it up and it's a great way
to meet people in industry and make important contacts.
What about something for the more visually creative?
Well, creating videos can be the ideal situation.
We all love mountain bike edits
and having the chance to create and craft videos
that everyone wants to see is super cool
but enough from me, we have enough video creators here
that know far more about it than I do.
- I'm Tom Grundy and my current position is a creator,
or otherwise known as a filmmaker, I'd say.
Film and edit the videos here at GMBN.
So originally I got into filmmaking
and making films about bikes through riding bikes,
I'd go out and ride bikes with my friends,
and I thought, this would be good to film,
or at least take photos of.
So I used to sneak my mum's camera out the house
and make little videos with my mates,
put those on the internet,
and it spiraled out of control from there.
I realized that I really enjoyed doing this
and this is something that I might want to do with my life
and so, I went from there and pushed on,
focusing on doing that and making more videos
and learning the craft of filmmaking,
and putting those films on the internet.
So my advice for someone who wants to get into the industry
would be you've got to love it first and foremost
because you're going to spend
all your time doing this, hopefully.
And it takes a lot of commitment, I'd say.
Getting out there, going to events,
going to races, that's how I did it first of all,
going to national downhills and then World Cups.
And getting myself out there and making stuff.
Forcing yourself to make that stuff,
maybe giving yourself a deadline,
I'm going to make a film a week,
I'm going to make a film a month,
and forcing yourself to make more stuff
and put it out there.
And show people you're committed.
You've got to love it, though,
I think that's the most important thing
because you're going to be spending a lot
of your time doing this and so
it's got to be a passion of yours.
I think because there's so many different sides
to filmmaking, here at GMBN, you go out
and you film, or you concept and then you film
and then you're out in the woods
and you're out there being creative
but also riding your bike.
Coming up with ideas and concepts
and then working with other people.
And then when you get back, you come back
and you edit, and it's a whole different side of things,
then, you're crafting this piece with ideas that you had,
ideas are still constantly changing throughout.
And then you get to see it go out there to the world
and see what people think of it
and maybe learn from that
and then start the process all over again.
And that whole process and the changing elements
within that process,
it's just varied and fun, creative, interesting,
and a bit technical, there's so many different elements
to filmmaking which is why I think I love it
and it keeps it interesting.
(upbeat electronic music)
- There are quite a few different jobs
to make up a brand, it's not just the top guys
making all the big decisions.
Everything from engineers and designers,
to sales and marketing, brands are just companies.
And they need all the normal roles to be filled.
And they're also a perfect place
to find your way into the industry.
Now maybe you think that the bikes on offer these days
aren't quite what you're after, they're all wrong.
And you think you could do better,
so why not just make the bike you want?
We did look briefly into building your own bike frame
on the Dirt Shed Show recently,
and I've done it in the past.
So what about going a bit further?
The bike industry is rife with designers
and engineers doing their magic
to make our rides better and better.
And this is one of the best ways
to both make a mountain bike a lifestyle
and make a big difference in the sport itself.
The most common way to get into this side of the industry
is through studying design or engineering at college.
From there you can see if there's any internships around.
Most brands advertise these jobs on their sites,
but it's probably worth contacting them
to see if there's other ways to work in the industry
whilst you're at college so you can get a foot in the door.
- My name's Ken Avery,
I'm the vice president of product and marketing
at Vittoria Industries North America.
I get to basically handle the offered categories
for Vittoria globally as far as product design goes.
I grew up mountain bike racing.
And I started racing when I was 11 years old
which was about 30 years ago.
Bikes were a lot different then.
But basically, passion was the same so,
I was at a race one time and I got a flat tire.
And a notable pro gave me an inner tube
because I didn't have any inner tubes.
And it was the 90s, so people used inner tubes.
And,
saved my race, basically, because I didn't have
anything extra at the time.
And I was so grateful, that basically after that race,
I went and bought one and gave it back to this person.
And we became friends.
And so, I was in high school at the time.
And in study hall, I would just obsess about tires.
And I would just draw tire treads in study hall.
And I would start faxing them to this pro!
And they were kind of like, whoa,
this is crazy, but they started, just as a favor,
sending them to the tire company
to see what they thought.
And inevitably, they started paying attention a little bit.
And all I was trying to do was help out, really.
And around that same time, I earned a UCI license as a racer
so I had a bit more credibility on the race side.
And after university it turned into a job,
and 20 years later, I'm still in the tire game.
And loving it.
Show gratitude.
That was my open door, you know?
You're going to meet a lot of people,
there's opportunities around you all the time.
And if you can help other people,
it could be anything, it could be how to change a flat tire,
it could be how to set your bike up,
it could be how to set your suspension up,
how to get over this log, whatever,
it'll come back to you, I really believe in that.
You know, it's the kind of thing where,
ride your bike a lot, go to some events,
talk to some people, see how you can help out.
And that's the best way to get in this industry.
(relaxed electronic music)
- Now what about if you align particularly
with a brand, and feel like you'd be
the best person to represent it?
Then why not do just that?
Brand managers are often the first port of call
for the media to get hold of the brand
and get the necessary information about products.
You're often required to take people out on rides,
and often show off the products
and you need to know the brand inside out.
It's not an easy job, but it can be extremely rewarding
especially if you love that brand.
Thanks for watching, and let us know
in the comments section down below
what job you'd like to do in the bike industry,
don't forget to check out the links
in our description as well.
If you'd like to see more videos from GMBN,
then click just here or here, hit the globe to subscribe,
give us a thumbs up like and I'll see you next time.