Sunday, August 24, 2014

2014 Interbike Is Around the Horn

     Well, it is that time again. Going to be headed to the airport in two weeks and join my brothers and sisters of the Kali crew and start our annual pilgramage to Las Vegas for the bike industries Interbike. 
I look forward to this for reasons that are deeply personal and sometimes often forgotten by those that do not show the same appreciation that I do for this event of events amongst our peers.
     I started in the bike industry in 1993 at Specialized Bicycles. I had just moved to California and moved into the upstairs spare bedroom that my aunt, uncle, and cousin had set up for me.  I had not a clue of what to do, but I did go out there and start soliciting applications and getting interviews.  It just so happened that my aunt had been working at Specialized as an onsite travel agent contracter and managed to secure me an interview with this little company and their big red S. 
      Specialized was not the company it is today.  It, like many other companies of its time, was still fresh and exciting.  Innovative, competitive, and a family. Yea we had our ups and downs, but the staff from top to bottom (from my perspective) respected each other and had a singular goal. Bring our best. Bring the best in bike. Bring the bet in design. Bring the best in service.  It was because of those ideals I saw, I would want more. I wanted too move into sales. There was a problem. I didn't know anything about bikes. Sure, I knew how to ride one, but I did not know the industry. I began to understand that if I wanted to move forward, I would have to step back and step away from Specialized. I needed so experience. So, I left. I left to go get some experience and learn from some of the best characters I have ever met in my life. I left for Livermore Cyclery.
     It was there, at LC, that I would learn the ins and outs of the bikes. It was there I learned that I did have a nack for sales. Whether it was via genetics or observation of those around me, I picked up the tools I needed by observing those around me and asking questions. I saw Steve howard, the owner of Livermore Cyclery sell, fit, and accessorize a customer that had just picked up a shiny new road bike. I asked Steve to show me how to fit the riders. You see, it is through fit that I learned to listen and understand my customer. It was there that I started to truly start selling.  It was one thing to convince a rider to buy a bike.  It was another thing to gain their trust so that they would spend their hard earned cash on a high end bike, something that I never took for granted.
     You ask, what does this have to do with Interbike? You see, the first time I ever went to Interbike was 2009. That's right, I sent myself to the big show for the very first time because I was the store manager of a shop in Milpitas and I had never gone. I never asked. Never understood what it would take to get there until I ultimately took the bull by the dropbars and made the arrangements myself. It was there that I ran into the good folks from this tiny little company called Kali Protectives.  
     Kali was this up and coming company that from the outside, looked like that had this great product and that dealer from all over were clamoring to be a part of. I had no clue that in 2008, Kali would only really have 2 helmets that would eventually grow into a bit more.  It was there, I met up with Brad Waldron and his wife Charlotte. To be honest, I had completly forgotten that Brad had even worked at the big Red S.  Although it was a family atmosphere over at Big Red, I still did not know everyone, and I did not know who he as.  What I met was the most geniune person I had met in the industry and that bled through to the rest of the staff that was there. I thought to myself that at some point, I was going to be with that company in some shape or fashion.  
     I did not stay and hang out at the booth, but it was certainly a memorable visit for me. I met up with a lot of familier faces. I walked up and down all of the aisles during the day and up and down the strip with fellow South Bay shop employees and reps at night. It was good time and an innocent one too. Thank you to Scott who helped me through a hangover that I had on the Thursday morning of the show. I eenjoyed myself, because I certainly did not know when the next visit would ever be.  Turns out it was 2 years later in 2011. By that time, I was representing Kali on the inside and working the east coast and meeting up with shops that I had been talking to during prievious 9 months. It was there that I would let my hair down and get into some shenangons that i do not dare repeat. Lets just say, stickers were involved.
     This year marks my 4th Interbike with Kali. The company has grown and I feel like that I am, in some way, responsible for some of that growth. It is because of that, I look forward to this annual event to meet up with those dealers that take the time to come to Vegas.  I understand why some do not.  But for those that do come, it shows their independent spirt of choice in this industry. John and Joyce from a small shop in New England come by every year and they take time out of their visit to meet up with me to talk about the business and to talk about their history (which I always look forward to),  i will meet up with Mike, who has his shop in northern Florida and makes and will make sure to see me to also talk shop and talk about each other's family.  I enjoy these conversations, because it is the one time I get to see these friends of mine, face to face.  
     For those that do not appreciate this event, I will never understand. Yes, I will work my ass off. But I have a good time too. I have a good time with the crew. I have a good time with other manufaturers. I appreciate the time I have to meet up with my peers and the face time I have with the reps I work with directly and indirectly.  It is because of these moments, I will never get tired of this event. For me, Interbike is.....