They Gave Up Everything to Build the World's Fastest Bike | The Athertons

0:00Isn't that expertise and bringing it in this kind of concept from the designers and engineers was a really good combination and then add the Atherton brand into the mix and it just seemed to make sense. A huge risk, huge risk and still is to this day. And is that because you shifted the model? We basically took out the main sponsor of the race team, the comfort blanket that that brings and brought in the complete unknown of starting a new business. Yeah, we were riding for Trek at the time, you know, that's the biggest brand in the world and to suddenly start your own bike company, they all thought we were mad.

0:34What stops founders from building something meaningful isn't the lack of ideas, it's the fear of getting started. I'm Alex Chisnell, and this is Screw It, Just Do It, the podcast for people who are ready to stop waiting, take action, and make things happen. This could be a career, and what other options were there? I just remember basically doing what Dan told me to do. He was like, you can race. so I was okay I'll do that and then he was like you can be good at this you can win races like you could be world cup you could win world cups and I was like okay I just sort of I just I just trusted him so much and I looked up to him you know he was he was you know not I'm not gonna say a father figure to G and I but you know when your parents separate and he split they split up like dad was always there for us 100 % but Dan was just such a he just believed in G and I without before we even realized what there was to believe in you know and i think having that unconditional belief whether it's from a parent or a sibling or a coach or or anyone in in the life of a young athlete is you know like i i didn't even know you could make a career out of downhill mountain biking and and dan was you know he was already racing world cups and he was thinking you know these two could be good at this like he just saw it and believed in it and and i kind of just went went with it i wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for him 100 and i've said it before you know we we owe i owe all my success and and my career to to dan definitely yeah a huge risk um huge risk and still is to this day and is that because of that you shifted the model yeah yeah i mean we were we basically took out the main sponsor um of of the race team um the comfort blanket that that brings and brought in the complete um unknown of starting yeah we were And riding for Trek at the time, you know, that's the biggest brand in the world.

2:24Yeah. To suddenly start your own bike company, they all thought we were mad. These guys have started working with Jamie Edwards is his name. In 2008, he came on board and he basically walked into what was their house in mid Wales at the time and just looked around shaking his head and just said, this isn't how world champions live. And it was, you know, it was quite a... I came in in 2006, we'd done quite a lot, progressed through 2007, and then Jamie came in 2008 and kind of, that was a big step change then really and just got us to look at what we were doing and how we were doing it. Yeah, that was a big kind of catalyst really for making things more professional and bringing some structure to what was chaos.

3:09Yeah. And where did you find him? Yeah, he worked with Red Bull athletes. He worked with cricketers like Freddie Flintoff. Oh, okay. Yeah, he'd been kind of always there. It's not like we had a plan saying, like, you know, we're going to race for 10 years. I feel like other athletes and other people are very, like you say, structured, and they're like, right, I'm going to do this for 10 years, then we're going to start a bike brand, then we're going to do this. It's always been quite organic and, like, quite a natural progression, you know, because you don't know what's going to happen in life and how you're going to feel and what your interests are going to be in five years, you know.

3:42But it's about really listening to, like Dan always says, like, what makes you get up in the morning? like why do you want to get out of bed and push whatever the reason is that's what you've got to find you know so that it's you're you're getting up excited you want to get out of bed and you want to do it and and for me that was racing and for dan you know it's racing for a bit and then he was pretty done after the injuries he had and it was it was creating this sort of center of excellence and it's always been about you know really listening to that that voice inside and and and giving it a voice because if you're not honest with yourself, it's not going to last very long, you know.

4:23It's not going to, if you're pushing against the grain, you're not going to, whatever it is you're trying to do, it's just not going to happen unless you really love it and you believe in it. Yeah, I think, I mean, I think people do underestimate just how much time you do need to spend doing, you know, your chosen sport. and I think that's where the consistency comes from. And, you know, in a sport like mountain biking, where you've got so many variables, so many different tracks, different weather conditions, you know, you have to be on the bike a lot to hit all of those different conditions.

4:59And so, yeah, you know, we would just do two or three sessions a day, every day, you know, unless it was a rest day. And, yeah, you just kind of get into that, you just get into that mindset. and I almost, I've always thought like the better you get at something, the more you love it and it's like a snowball effect, you know, you just get better and then you ride more and more enjoyable. Yeah, you just, it just feeds into it, you know. But that's why you've always said like you've got to love it, you've got to love it because to put that amount of work and dedication and through the hard, the hard times as well, if you don't love something, you're just not going to do it, like you're just going to take the easy option as soon as it comes around.

5:42The bike company came about at an opportune moment really where we were coming to the end of a sponsorship contract with a global brand and there was an opportunity to join forces with a group of designers engineers who've got a pretty cool idea behind the product where they were printing 3D printing metal to make the complex areas on the bike which deal with the loads and then joining them together with carbon fiber which also allows you to make some really good fitting bikes because you could make them ultimately in any size you wanted. So tying in our kind of expertise from developing bikes for other brands, which we had done for those 15 years, we designed bikes with a number of different brands, using that expertise and bringing it in this kind of concept from the designers and engineers was a really good combination.

6:33And then add the Afton brand into the mix, and it just seemed to make sense. A huge risk, huge risk, and still is to this day. And is that because you shifted the model? Yeah, I mean, we basically took out the main sponsor of the race team, the comfort blanket that that brings, and brought in the complete unknown of starting a new business. Yeah, we were riding for Trek at the time. You know, that's the biggest brand in the world. And to suddenly start your own bike company, they all thought we were mad. We were lucky to work with a suspension engineer called Dave Weagle, who's well known within the sport.

7:07We've known Dave probably since the start of racing really. So we got a bit of a relationship with him and that helped us work together in designing a suspension kinematic, which is kind of how the bike responds to bumps, hips and turns. And then kind of tying that together with the engineering and the work that had gone into the kind of concept behind the product. and then ultimately design it for the first kind of 18 months, racing it on the World Cup circuit, race, you know, one, two World Cups on a very prototype product, one that was changing from one race to the next. It was ridiculous. It was hard to keep up with, wasn't it?

7:49Yeah, it was ridiculous. I think it was the fact that we, because we were 3D printing it, we weren't stuck to like the concept of a mould. We could make changes. and so the temptation was always there every race to make changes. Right. And it's ended up with a very refined product now. Well, I think the bigger milestone was having a non-Afferton winning on an Afferton. Yeah, that's true. Yeah, it's very powerful, isn't it? You know, when Afferton bikes becomes bigger than Afferton athletes, individuals, is when we know we're making progress. Yeah, and that's where you dream it gets to, really.

8:23Afferton is the name of the bike in its own right. That's the company. and our family name and our career is in the past, you know, and the brand stands alone, and that's the goal, really, isn't it? What moments would you say were, just screw it and just do it anyway? Yeah, definitely. The Forest Purchase? Well, yeah, that's true, I forgot about that. I forgot about that one. Yeah, Vine and the Mountain and the Forest. Yeah, that's a big commitment. There's been so many times when Dan's, like, phone us up, guys, you've got to decide in the next hour, this is a massive opportunity. Like this hotel's come up for sale or this has come up for sale.

9:02We're like, Dan, we cannot buy something this big in one hour. And then it passes you by. And it's about really knowing what opportunity is right for you. And at some point you're right. You do have to, it is a risk. You have to kind of grit your teeth and say, yeah, screw it. You're just going to do it because you can't set out everything perfectly. there is a risk to everything you do and at some point you need to commit to it and and just give it your your effort and give it your all a single-minded drive to to yeah to do something it's it's it's incredible yeah i think coming back to your question before about what would you take from it all i think just not being afraid to commit everything and i think we learned that from racing you know every athlete will say that um but when it comes to business i think you just it's terrifying but if you're going to be successful you do have to literally commit everything you have you know you're remortgaging your houses you're you're all in you know so it can't fail because there's a lot of competition out there and there's a lot of talented people and they're gonna you know if you don't go all the way they're they're they're gonna yeah and i feel like yeah because we we've had an interview like that with someone to work with and and he wasn't willing to take those risks you know we were just like you've got to be willing to put it all on the line and and i think it's terrifying like and it's yeah it it can go you know two ways but yeah if you're not all in i guess it is only going to go two ways yeah but i feel like i've always thought like having a plan b it's a terrible idea because like dan said you're not when it comes to that extra 1 % where you're like, I've got to do it, you know, you've got a fallback plan and you're safe.

10:53And that's, I feel like that's a terrible idea because you need to have that 100 % commitment to it. And I always do this, but the Eminem song, like success is the only option because failure. Like he was in the ghetto, like he was in that caravan and he wanted to get out. And the only way he could get out was to make something for himself. Eight mile, wasn't it? Yeah, and so many people like that, so many athletes and singers, successful people, they've come from the gnarliest places, and they just wanted out, and the only way is to succeed. And you can keep doing that in life, even when you have succeeded, by taking on more risk.

11:34So you take a massive mortgage to buy a mountain. Well, you've got to make it work, so you need to pay off that mortgage. There is no plan. Yeah, exactly. and like you take those risks and you have to make it work and yeah i feel like that's a really good or terrible way to to push yourself thanks for listening and if today's episode has inspired you to take action why not take the next step come and meet me at the festival entrepreneurs this november at the nec in birmingham you'll be able to meet many of the founders you've heard on this podcast along with hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs from across the uk i'd love to see you there.

12:11So just go to festivalofentrepreneurs.co.uk to register for your free, yes, free ticket.