118 – Riding A European Road Trip with McTrail Rider
Todays Guest
Andrew McAvoy – The man behind the trail riding YouTube channel McTrail Rider
On episode #118 it is great to get Andrew on the show from his very popular YouTube channel McTrail Rider. I had watched a number of Andrew’s video’s a few months ago and really enjoyed them, but never really thought too much more about it. That was until Nathan McComb got in contact and said I really should get Andrew on the podcast. Andrew was visiting Enduro Malaga, Nathan’s MTB guiding business with Brian Kennedy off his YouTube channel BKXC, and I knew with Nathan’s recommendation I had to reach out and ask Andrew to come on the show.
I had Nathan on the podcast back on episode #50 (listen here). I also had Brian on the show on episode #28 (listen here) so I knew this would make a great episode and as I had watched a few of Andrew’s video’s in the past I knew he would have a great story to tell and make a great guest for the show.
I reached out and got Andrew as he was just back home form his epic European road trip with Brian. He was kind enough to say yes and make time to come on the show and tell his story about starting a YouTube channel full-time, filming everyday you ride, riding with Nathan and Brian, riding the best trails Europe has to offer, why he loves his Deviate bike so much and what he has planned for the future of his channel.
Thanks for tuning in, enjoy the show!
Find Out:
- How Andrew got started in mountain biking
- What his local scene in Scotland was like at that time
- Why he stopped mountain biking for a period
- Why Andrew decided to start a YouTube channel
- The gear Andrew uses for filming and his different camera placement
- Why he decides to film everything he rides
- How he got hooked up with BKXC and made the European road trip work
- What it was like riding and filming with BKXC
- What Andrew and Brian think of Nathan’s riding
- How much they enjoyed the Malaga trails
- What it was like travelling in a camper van to the best trails in Europe
- What Andrew thinks of this Deviate bike and other gear he uses
- How much time Andrew spends on YouTube and how demanding it is
- What Andrew has planned for the future of his channel
- How to find Andrews videos and get in contact
It was just good luck that I got Andrew on the show after a great trip with BKXC. They seemed to have a blast and really enjoyed riding awesome trails together around Europe. I loved the way they decided to share their video content and each release a video every other day, thus making you jump from Brians channel one day to Andrew’s the next making you follow their adventures via each channel. It was a great idea and Andrew chats about how cool it was for Brian to do that as he has well over 300 thousand followers and asking his audience to jump to Andrew’s channel is pretty awesome. While the guys were visiting Nathan at Enduro Malaga a local friend of the podcast and another YouTuber, Stephen from Monkey Wrench MTB was also there. Unfortunately Stephen had a pretty bad fall snapping his bike in the process, but all was good, there was no injuries and Stephen was able to ride the rest of the trip. You can check out Stephen’s video (here).
Andrew’s videos are great quality and his coverage is pretty awesome. With the gear Andrew uses and his camera placement it makes you feel like you are on the bike with Andrew or even steering the bike yourself. Andrew wanted this quality from day one of his channel. He knew how important it was to make the experience as realistic as possible for the watcher and after a bit of trial and error he found what worked and has never looked back. Andrew’s commentary and style are top notch, he keeps you interested and you get a great since of the trail he is riding.
Having a YouTube channel takes a load of dedication and time. It is not as easy as you would think and the time involved from recording to getting the finished film on YouTube for us to enjoy is more time consuming than you would expect. We chat to Andrew about how much of his spare time he spends between filming, editing, tagging and uploading etc.. Now you may be wondering why you would use a load of your free time to do this, why bother right? But Andrew is super passionate about bringing us guys inspiring content and letting us see what great trails the UK and further has to offer.
We chat to Andrew about his reasons for starting the channel and how he really just wanted to show people what Scotland had to offer and the great trails that are available for us to ride and experience. And to be honest, he has achieved just that. If you want to find out more about riding in Scotland just hit up his channel and you will find a load of great footage letting you know what to expect with tips about where to go and what trails to ride.
It was great to get Andrew on the show and chat about his adventures so far. He has lots planned for the future and his channel will only go from strength to strength, so tune in and find out what life as a MTB YouTuber is like, what great trails you can ride around Europe, what it was like travelling with BKXC and why Nathan McComb (aka ‘The Lizard’) is such an awesome rider!
Thanks for your support and enjoy the show!
To Connect with Andrew and McTrail Rider:
YouTube: McTrail Rider
Help support Andrew’s channel on Patreon: www.patreon.com
Instagram: mctrail_rider
Resources in this Episode:
Enduro Malaga Guided Holidays: www.enduromalaga.com
Monkey Wrench MTB YouTube Channel: Monkey Wrench MTB
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Thanks so much to Andrew for coming on the show and sharing his story of trail travel and YouTubing
And thank you for Listening!
Join me next week for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show!