151 – Chatting Bikes, Brands and Business with HKT Products

by Gareth Beckett

151 – Chatting Bikes, Brands and Business with HKT Products

Todays Guest

Davi Birks – Founder and co-owner of HKT Products and the host of the HKT Podcast

On episode #151 we are chatting with Davi from HKT Products (HookIt) & HKT Podcast. Davi has been podcasting for around four years and has a wealth of information regarding the mountain bike industry as he has been running his own mountain bike distribution company since 2014 called HKT Products.

I have been a listener of Davi’s podcast for a number of years, so it was great to get him on the show and have a chat about the state of the UK mountain bike industry, e-bikes, brand development and a tonne of other interesting topics.

For the first time Davi chats about why he stopped mountain biking for a few years, even when he was running his mountain bike distribution company and having to interact with mountain bike store owners on a daily basis. This was a difficult time for Davi, but he pulled himself through the dark days and has came out the other side stronger, both for his business and his personal mind space.

Davi has also been kind enough to offer all MTB TRIBE listeners 20% OFF EVERYTHING on his website! Tune into the show, visit the Show Notes or the Resources Page for more information.

Also stick around to the end of the episode to hear about a toilet problem Davi had when he was interviewing Claudio Corti!

Find Out:

  • Why Davi started his own MTB distribution company
  • How starting his podcast helped with his distribution business
  • What the scene is like around Sheffield
  • Is it easier for moto X or trials riders to start mountain biking?
  • Are we going to see a number of these people crossing over into the MTB scene?
  • What Davi thinks about the growth e-bikes
  • Why Davi never rode a mountain bike for around 3 years
  • How he got over personal issues and got himself back on two wheels
  • How the operating structure of HKT Products has changed over the last year or so
  • What happened when Davi had a toilet issue while interviewing a guest (did he have the camera switched off?!)
  • Future plans for HKT
  • How to get 20% OFF ALL PRODUCTS on the HKT website
  • How to get in contact with Davi and HKT

 

For most podcast episodes I have a rough plan of what I want to chat about with the guest and I normally have a number of questions planned out that I want to touch on, but with Davi I knew this was not required. I wanted this episode to be totally free flowing, no set plan or structure and just see what direction our conversation went. Yes, I had a few things in mind that I wanted to ask Davi, simply to get his views and input but 99% was just off the cuff and followed the conversation.  

I really enjoyed our chilled out chat and we covered a tonne of different topics, just like a couple of mates who haven’t seen each other for a while chatting over a coffee. Davi touches on how doing his podcast really helped his headspace and get him through some dark times. Davi has never chatted about this and the reasons behind it, so it was a great honour that he choose to share this very personal story on our podcast platform. And as we chat about on the show, even though the mountain bike scene and community are great and super cool, things aren’t always rosy and there can be difficult times for everybody involved in the industry. Like any industry there are many competitors and certain revenues that have to be meet, which come with deadlines and times of stress, but at least we are involved in something we enjoy and love. Sometimes, like Davi says we have to actually take a step back and look at how lucky we are to be involved with this great lifestyle and community.  

Davi also shares a very funny story about how he had a toilet issue when interviewing Claudio Corti. This was a big interview for him and he obviously wanted to come across as professional and make it a great show. All I will say is, I really hope he hadn’t the camera turned on at the time or that it was for a YouTube interview! Hang around to the end of the episode to have a laugh and also cringe at the same time.

Don’t forget that Davi has kindly offered MTB TRIBE PODCAST listeners 20% OFF ALL PRODUCTS on the HKT Products website. To claim your discount simply type the following promo code in at checkout: TRIBE (all uppercase).

The promo code is only available until Friday 4th September so don’t miss out!

Thanks for tuning in. Enjoy the show!

 

To Connect with Davi and HKT Products:

Website: www.hktproducts.co.uk

Podcast: www.hktproducts.co.uk/blogs/podcast

Instagram: hktproducts

Facebook: hktproducts

Twitter: hktproducts

 

To Share Your Thoughts or Get In Contact:

  • Share this show on, Instagram or Facebook
  • Leave a note in the ‘Contact Us’ section on the website

To Help Out The Show:

 

Thanks to Davi for coming on the show and sharing the HKT story!

And thanks to you for being part of the show!

Join me next week for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show.

 

 

 

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