Watch the second episode of Red Bull Media House’s new bike docuseries Race Tapes, DIY, on Red Bull TV. In it you’ll discover the grit, grime and glory of going it alone, with World Champ and team owner of Intense Factory Racing Aaron Gwin, downhill racer and bike designer Neko Mullaly and YouTube bike legend Seth Alvo.
There are no instruction manuals when you ‘do it yourself’. The stakes are high, but the rewards can be off the charts. Just ask five-time downhill UCI World Champion Aaron Gwin. He’s still competing, scoring top tens at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cups, but he’s also now the team owner of Intense Factory Racing.
Getting top ten and running your own team is a massive feat. But I don’t think you can manage a team and not compromise your racing.
Laurie Greenland
Aaron has 20 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup race wins under his belt, but none are since he became a team owner in 2018. He’s still peddling hard to stay on top, but he’s got the brand and riders like latest signing, Dakotah Norton, on his back.
Neko Mullaly wanted a bike park, so he built his own. He wanted a US race series, so he started Downhill Southeast. And he wanted the perfect downhill bike, so he built that too, and now runs his own team and Frameworks Racing.
He is the ultimate do it yourself guy. for better or for worse.
Aaron Gwin
For Neko its about building himself the best bike for him to race without the constraints of having to sell a single one. He’s done the fun part now, putting the pivots where they make the bike ride best, but now he’s into the last 10% of fine details, or durability and quality control over multiple bikes. DIY was never going to be an easy ride but if Neko succeeds it will be worth it.
Seth Alvo was a web designer who wanted to make bike videos as a side hustle. But he quickly realised that “you don’t make YouTube videos in your spare time” and chose to take the leap with his DIY Berm Peak YouTube Channel.
When you do something yourself, first of all its more fun. And second of all its way more admirable and people notice.
Seth Alvo
His videos about all things bike peak at 20 million hits a month and although he’s working seven days a week, he’s living his best life on two wheels. OK, it’s time to take some risks of your own and trust your gut! Tune in to Red Bull TV for the second episode of Race Tapes and join Aaron, Seth, and Neko on their DIY ride of a lifetime, with a healthy portion of bike action to keep things spicy.
Race Tapes Episode Overview
- Ep 1) Road less travelled – 2020 Tokyo cross-country gold medallist Pidcock and three-time UCI MTB World Cup XCO champion Jolanda Neff show it is possible to excel in both road cycling and cross-country.
- Ep 2) Doing it yourself – What it costs to be an entrepreneur. Five-time UCI MTB World Cup downhill champion Gwin, Neko Mulally and Seth Alvo reveal what it takes to be a team owner, bike builder and YouTube star.
- Ep 3) Alt-Rock – Cross-country and endurance racing requires total dedication. Ten-time UCI MTB World Cup XCO champion Schurter, Laura Stigger, Payson McElveen and Haley Batten show us how it is done.
- Ep 4) The freeracers – Freeriding meets racing as British stars Kade Edwards and Kaos Seagrave balance the joys of both.
- Ep 5) Between the ears – Injuries, accidents and mental battles. Kiwi Brook Macdonald, Richards, 2018 XCO world champion Courtney and two-time downhill world champion Gee Atherton bring to light the price of racing.
- Ep 6) Parental advisory – Downhill star Höll and 2021 junior downhill world champion Jackson Goldstone experience the highs of Junior success and making the transition to the Elite UCI Mountain Bike World Cup circuit.