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An interview with Greg Villalobos, who is not only a trail rider but also works extensively in media. A great chat discussing a wide range of topics.

Greg’s name kept cropping up in my conversations with customers, because this guy called Greg had done a great review on YouTube on the Montana 700i GPS unit, from a trail rider’s perspective.

1. First of all, Greg, what is Trail Riding?
2. How did you get into it?
3. Away from Trail Riding what is your full-time job? Adventure Spec, well come to that a little bit later – Look after all their media and communications
4. Part of the team that launched the TET, and built the TET website amongst other aspects.

In 2012 Greg bought my first dirt bike and joined the Trail Riders Fellowship to learn where to ride. A new world of adventure riding was opened for him, however the way the organisation presented itself was a far cry from his experience. It’s brand had not kept up with the times.

Train Riders Federation

Greg then presented a proposal to re-brand the TRF and over four years helped to steer the perception of the club into a more positive, dynamic and welcoming organisation.

Membership rose from 3,000 to 5,000 and the TRFs influence within the trail riding world as well as public bodies concerned with green roads shifted.

He continues to work with the TRF as a contractor and particularly enjoy being part of a team that has long-term goals that we are able to help steer the ship towards. My roles cover a wide range of duties including strategy, media generation, marketing, fund-raising, design and communication.

Perception of Trail Riders – how can this be improved?

This is how it all started (video production relating to motorbikes?) – 2016 – Can you ride a dirtbike from the north of England to Buckingham Palace and back on dirt roads with no map and relying purely on the kindness of strangers to show you the way?

YouTube film – https://youtu.be/UWcgLnmIkkA

Broadcasting The Dakar Rally – Lyndon Poskitt

The Dakar Rally is one of the biggest events in motorsport, in fact its viewing figures are only beaten by Formula 1.

Any Dakar fan will tell you that they live for the 2 weeks at the start of January when the best off road racers in the world take on the South American desert.

They will also tell you that despite the size of the event, the coverage is also terrible, with short slots on satellite TV broadcast each evening that mostly focus on the front runners.

In 2017 adventure motorcycle racers Lyndon Poskitt changed the game.

I was part of a team put together by Adventure Spec to disrupt the traditional Dakar experience and broadcast as close to live as possible Lyndon’s efforts in the desert.

My role was based back in sunny England, in the middle of the night, receiving media, and telling the story to thousands through social media.

We opened the lid on what had been a very closed book.

In 2018 we did it all again, this time with professional film maker Dario Leonetti on hand filming and editing in the desert with Lyndon.

I don’t think he’s ever worked so hard in his life.

I also wrote and directed ‘Malle Moto – The Forgotten Dakar Story’.

Adventure Spec – https://www.adventurespec.com/ – this is my main client (and is grossly underrepresented on my now out of date website!). I look after all their media and communications.

WHO WE ARE

Adventure Spec was established in 2007 by Chris Colling and Dave Lomax after a chance meeting on a trail in Yorkshire, UK. We are a small team who believe travelling light opens up opportunities and experiences that are unique to motorcycle adventure.

We ride small and mid-capacity bikes and pack quality gear with a focus on saving space and weight. Experience and knowledge are part of our tool kit.

We believe that adventure travel gives us a grounded view of the world and helps us appreciate the wonder and diversity of people and cultures as well as the humanity that connects us. In our opinion lightweight motorcycles are the best way to experience this.

WHAT WE DO

Adventure Spec manufacture clothing, hard parts, luggage and accessories for motorcycle adventure. Our gear is built around the philosophy ‘light is right’. Staying light is better for the rider and keeping our impact light is better for the environment and communities we encounter.

Our clothing takes its roots from the world of alpine mountaineering where layering is used to adapt to conditions and efforts are taken to reduce weight whilst retaining strength and durability. All our gear is designed to be easily repaired ‘in the field’, increasing product life and reducing waste.

As much as possible we minimise the by-products of our manufacturing and distribution processes and adopt innovations to help support this. Manufacturing equipment has an impact on the environment, we do what we can to reduce this.

And of course, the more recent Garmin films on YouTube looking at the Garmin Montana 700i from a trail riders perspective.

And FinallyAn interview

• Many thanks for listening and let us know anything you would like to be covered in the Podcast please do let us know and if you know of anybody interesting that you would like to hear interviewed in future podcasts please do let us know.
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• Many thanks to Greg for joining me on this month’s podcast.