150 – Broken Bones To Broken Riders. How To Start An MTB Brand – Revisited

by Gareth Beckett

150 – Broken Bones To Broken Riders. How To Start An MTB Brand – Revisited

This episode (#38) first aired on Thursday 31st May 2018

Todays Guest

Tom Redfern – Founder and Owner of the MTB Apparel Brand – Broken Riders

On Episode #150 (#38) it is my pleasure to welcome Tom Redfern to the show. Tom is the one man machine behind the MTB apparel brand called Broken Riders. Tom found his way into the fashion word by accident, it just so happens that accident was on a mountain bike.

When recovering from his accident Tom had an idea to start a mountain bike brand for people just like himself, people who wanted something cool and comfortable to wear after a ride or simply down to their local shops, while not looking like they had just came from a Moto-x race.

Fast forward a number of months and Broken Riders was born. Tom had no experience in the world of fashion but had the necessary skills as a graphic designer to produce professional looking designs and come up with a very cool logo, a slightly different take on the ‘devil horns’ logo. Have a closer look and you will understand what I mean.

I chat with Tom about how he got started, where the idea came form, how much work it involves, his very important environmental stance and what cool stuff he has planed for the future.

Enjoy the show!

Find Out:

  • Where Tom got his idea for Broken Riders
  • Why Tom felt there was a hole in the MTB fashion market for a brand like Broken Riders
  • How he validated his idea
  • The support Tom has received from friends and family
  • How Tom’s background in graphic design helped him get started
  • Why Tom feels the brand needs to be of the highest environmental standard
  • How Tom sources his product
  • What Tom thinks future fashion trends will look like in MTB
  • What future plans Tom had for Broken Riders
  • How to best get in contact

I have a background in the fashion retail world and really enjoyed chatting with Tom. I really needed another hour to chat about everything that was on my mind regarding todays fashion in MTB.

It was fascinating to find out how Tom got started and how he took that initial idea and turned it into a growing and successful business. For me it is always very interesting how somebody takes that initial idea and often with no capital or cash injection, takes that passion and builds it into something that is successful and can make money. We chat to Tom about how he went about this and how he got this first shipment of stock.

Tom works hard and has a young family to support, so his spare time is very important to him but with building as brand spare time is something that is in short supply. We chat to Tom about how much commitment Broken Riders takes and how he balances his business and family life.

Tom is very environmentally responsible and he wanted this to show in the products he was producing. This is something that is also very close to my heart and something I consider when purchasing anything from food to white goods. So why should clothes be any different? We chat about this in detail from why Tom wanted to take this more difficult direction, to how he went about sourcing environmental cotton to finding plastic free inks. We return to this subject a number of times throughout our conversation but it plays such a strong part in Tom’s story and the story of Broken Riders that it was important to do so.

Join me as we chat to Tom about everything brand building related, from producing in the UK to his future plans.

Thanks for being here!

 

How to Connect with Tom & Broken Riders:

Website: brokenridersuk.com

Instagram: brokenriders

Facebook: BrokenRiders

Twitter: brokenriders

Pinterest: brokenriders

YouTube: brokenriders

 

To Share Your Thoughts or Get In Contact:

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  • Leave a note in the ‘Contact Us’ section on the website

To Help Out The Show:

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Thanks to Tom for coming on the show and sharing his awesome story!

Please check out Broken Riders, support UK brands, the environment and the UK MTB industry. Thanks guys!

And thanks to you for being part of the show!

Join me next week for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show.

 

 

 

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