185 – Mechanicing On The World Cup Circuit and Building The Viris Brand with Andy Ward
Today’s Guest:
Ex World Cup Mechanic, Founder & Owner of the very cool new goggle and glasses brand Viris. Mr Andy Ward.
On episode #185 We are chatting with Andy Ward about mechanicing on the world cup circuit for such names as the Atherton’s, Lapierre and Mondraker, and how his world cup experience helped him follow his passion in founding his own brand, Viris Brand.
Andy has been into mountain biking for a long time. He grew up working the paperboy round for his parents who owned a newsagents (I can remember those days) and after lifting a mountain bike magazine, flicking through the articles and looking at all the cool images of riders doing crazy things he had found his passion.
It wasn’t long until he and a bunch of his mates had saved their hard earned pocket money, bought bikes and took to building trails and jumps in their local forest. The love of bikes and riding never left Andy. He started racing downhill and fixing on bikes which got him a few jobs as a mechanic in local shops and stores. This helped him find his way onto the World Cup Circuit working with top teams and names in the industry for a number of years, before finally hanging up his tools to concentrate on his second passion, of owning and building a successful MTB brand.
Join us as we chat about these crazy days on the World Cup Circuit, what it is really like being a full time mechanic at that level and how Andy went about starting his own mountain bike brand, plus much more.
VIRIS DISCOUNT CODE!!!!!!
Andy has been super kind to offer all MTB TRIBE PODCAST listeners a Viris Brand Discount Promo Code.
Simply use the code “mtbtribe10″ at checkout or when in contact with Viris.
The discount code will be available until April 30th – Snap up your discounted gear before it’s too late!
For more information visit the following link: www.mtb-tribe.com/resources
Enjoy the show!
Find Out:
- How Andy got into mountain biking
- What his local scene was like at that time
- How he got interested in racing
- How Andy got into the mechanic side of things
- How he landed a job on the World Cup Circuit
- What the scene was like then
- What his job responsibilities were as a mechanic
- How Andy started working for the Atherton’s
- What his job role was as head technician (this may surprise you)
- Other teams Andy has worked with
- Why he decided to hang up his tools and concentrate on something else
- How the Viris Brand was born
- What Viris Brand produces and his vision behind the brand
- How he build such a strong following quickly
- How ambassador’s have played a huge role in building the brand
- Andy’s future plans for the business including manufacturing and design
- How to get in contact, follow and find out more
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When Andy landed the Head Technician job for the Atherton’s, he was living the dream. He enjoyed the job and loved the team of people he was working for, but these jobs come with certain sacrifices. There are long days, sometimes working seven days a week, constant travel, which may sound awesome, but living out of a suitcase and being away from family and friends can take its toll.
Andy didn’t mind the long hours, afterall he was doing something he loved and at the top level, there are plenty of people that dream of being in that position. He was finally living the life that he had read about years ago in those magazines in his parents’ newsagents, including the parties and all! But, after almost ten years any job can become stale and you start to think about the future and what will be next. So Andy decided to hang up his tools and chase after his second passion in life which was owning and building his own brand. Viris Brand was born.
Now if you listen to the show you will find out that this is not the first time Andy had started a mountain bike brand. While working on the World Cup Circuit he started a watch brand with a good level of success, but ultimately with the lifestyle of being on tour and a few bad business decisions the brand fizzled out. But, Andy had learned from his mistakes and was determined not to make the same ones again with Viris. He had a vision for what he wanted to do and a clear direction for the brand, and if you check out Viris you will understand what I mean. It’s bold, fresh, colourful and just that little bit different.
The brand now produces riding glasses, goggles, riding gear and clothing. The products look great and have been received with great excitement and social coverage. There are a lot of happy people out there receiving their new Viris product and they seem super stoked.
Put your feet up for an hour and find out what it is like to wrench on the World Cup Circuit, work for some of the best teams in the industry, start your own brand and work very hard at building your passions into reality.
Thanks for tuning in and for supporting the podcast!
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Don’t forget to get some discounted gear!!!!!!
Andy has been super kind to offer all MTB TRIBE PODCAST listeners a Viris Brand Discount Promo Code.
Simply use the code “mtbtribe10″ at checkout or when in contact with Viris.
The discount code will be available until April 30th – Snap up your discounted gear before it’s too late!
For more information visit the following link: www.mtb-tribe.com/resources
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To Connect with Andy & Viris Brand:
Website: virisbrand.com
Instagram: virisbrand
To Share Your Thoughts or Get In Contact:
To Help Out The Show:
- Rate and leave an honest review on iTunes/ Apple Podcasts
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Thanks so much to Andy for coming on the podcast and sharing his story!
And thank you once again for tuning in!
Join me next week for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show!