S03E015: Bike Community Manager

BIKE COMMUNITY MANAGER: SUPPORTING COMMUNITY DRIVEN GROWTH IN GOODR’S ECOSYSTEM
In season 3, episode 15 of CULTURE goodr, Shaun and Stephen discover that their copywriters are wasting the first paragraph of every blog with random bullsh*t: TV plot summaries, movie references, and extremely irritating self-referential “meta” posts. As punishment, Shaun and Stephen reduce the copywriter’s salaries from $1 million a year to $900,000 a year. Outraged, the copywriting team goes on strike, because they’ve gotten used to that faaancy life. Ultimately, the two warring factions decide to solve everything with a “Tables, Ladders & Chairs” wrestling match -- ohhhhh nope nope nope nope nope, this isn’t CULTURE goodr! This is random bullsh*t! Let’s try again.

In season 3, episode 15 of CULTURE goodr, Shaun and Stephen do a deep dive on the BIKE goodr vertical. BIKE goodr struggled at first, when it launched in 2019. We f***ed up by making assumptions about cyclists based on our experience in the running space. We course-corrected by getting cyclists on the team, such as Doug, the BIKE goodr community manager, and avid Crocs enthusiast. With Doug’s help, we spoke more authentically to cyclists, and celebrated all types, from roads to mountain gravel. Doug taught Stephen about the importance of talking about mental health, and created a cycling club called Velo. The tagline is, “You can still be sad when riding your bike, and that’s okay.” Follow Velo on IG to learn more! (And don’t EVER badmouth Crocs.)

In the lightning round, Doug reveals his nickname (“Dougie Fresh”), the last album he downloaded (Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour), and whether he would rather speak every language in the world or be able to talk to animals. (“Talk to animals, they’re probably more interesting than people,” he says.) He also discusses his journey to goodr, from bike shops in Austin and Boston to the goodr Lagoon in Los Angeles.. Shout-out to Doug’s mom for finding the goodr job listing and sending it to him! You owe her, Doug. Call her RIGHT NOW and tell her you love her. RIGHT NOW. We’ll wait. TELL HERRRRR!!!

Doug’s real title is The Bike Guy. He has his hands (and beard) in everything BIKE goodr, like social posts, product launches, campaigns, partnerships, athletes (Ashton Lambie), the Flamboyance (goodr ambassador program), etc. (Doug’s also a HILARIOUS copywriter, and always crushes it in Copypaloozas, events where the goodr copy team and other creative flamingos gather to crank out IG Feed posts and read them aloud.) Specifically, Doug manages social media, monitoring comments, responding to people, scheduling content, connecting with potential partners/events, and coming up with even more ridiculous stuff to top what goodr did the day/week/month/year before.

The vertical campaign for BIKE goodr is called “You ride you.” Doug explains that cycling has a stuffy, elitist reputation, but more and more people are getting into cycling, especially since the pandemic hit. Cycling can be a really intimidating sport to get into. There's a lot of unspoken rules. People can be judgmental and gatekeep. It’s lame. Doug encourages everyone to ride, and just be yourself, without worrying about the rules. If you’re riding a bike and having fun, you’re doing it right (especially with our cycling sunglasses). It doesn't matter how expensive your ride is. It doesn't matter if your kit matches every piece of equipment. It doesn't matter if you're on a commuter bike, a road bike, a mountain bike or a gravel bike. You ride you. (NOT “ewe ride ewe”. It’s cruel to stack female sheep. Don’t do it!)

Doug goes to describe the origin story of “You Ride You,” the Rig Rundown social initiative (highlighting real bikes/cyclists, not just the fanciest), his favorite partnerships, the BIKE Flamboyance, his daily life as a community manager, and the joy of working with Ashton Lambie. (Never underestimate the importance of a killer mustache.) If you want all the juicy details, listen to the podcast! Perhaps while riding a bike.

In closing, Doug offers three cheat codes for anyone in the bike space:

1) “Authenticity, you just be yourself.” As we say at goodr, if your goal is to be authentic and people don't like you, it's okay. If the goal is to be liked, and people don't like you, you're fucked.

2) “Just show up, show up to rides, show up to the bike shop, tip your bike mechanics...talk to them, ask them questions. Be curious.”

3) “Get into gravel. It's so fun. It's a blast.”

See you next week! Remember, you ride you. (NOT “EWE RIDE EWE”!!!!!)