Business | U NewsWriting

Andy Bell competing In freestyle motocross

SALT LAKE CITY — In motorsports, winnings, and sponsorships don’t generate enough income for athletes to sustain their lives. Subsequently, these athletes compete and accomplish things in sports that some can’t even fathom, all while conquering the business world.

Andy Bell, formerly a freestyle motocross rider, knew from a young age that he wanted to own his own company. “I started racing FMX (freestyle motocross) in 1999 till about 2004,” he says. While riding FMX, Bell saw his first business opportunity. “A lot of athletes, when they are at the top, act too cool for school,” he says. “I saw the opportunity to not only befriend all the athletes but the promoters as well.”

When promoters wanted athletes at their event, Bell realized that he could broker the deal. He leveraged the friendships and connections made as an athlete to start his own production company. “Even while competing, I was never interested in just being an athlete, I knew I wanted to do more,” says Bell.

After several years on Nitro Circus, Bell tried to work as a stuntman, but stunts weren’t bringing enough income. He decided he needed to make something else work. “I knew nothing about production, other than being in front of the camera,” says Bell. Still, he started his own company with a plan to create 3-D content around action sports “because, at the time when you went into stores and looked at 3-D TVs, all they had for content was, like flowers opening.” Though Bell’s original idea for 3-D videos got sidetracked, his production dream came true when Travis Pastrana asked him to star in a webisode for Red Bull called “On Pace with Pastrana.”

Travis and Andy Bell on set for On Pace with Pastrana

Bell asked Pastrana if they had a production company yet. One thing led to another and Bell was a producer. After two seasons producing “On Pace with Pastrana,” with Red Bull, Bell expanded his business, using his connections from “Nitro Circus” and as an FMX rider. He contacted Toyota, told them about Sweat Pants Media (his production company) and immediately started producing content for them.

Recently Bell traveled to Canada to produce Toyotas TRD pro commercial, which will showcase Toyotas’ new vehicles expected to hit the market later this year. The commercial will be shown in February at the Chicago auto show.

Bell is one of the many athletes who has taken their love of motorsports and created businesses. Travis Pastrana has done amazing things through the connections and knowledge gained from competing in motorsports. Pastrana started in motocross which because of his success MX, opened additional opportunities.

Travis Pastrana Jumping Over a plane

Pastrana has always been a daredevil. “(Producer) Gregg Godfrey sent me a Sony 2000 camera and Final Cut Pro 3 to edit on,” he says, “Everyone was coming over to learn backflips that summer. I documented everything and helped build jumps to make their dreams and nightmares come true.”

That was how “Nitro Circus” began. Pastrana has been able to help other athletes make their dreams, or in his word’s “nightmares,” come true. Not only did he created “Nitro Circus,” but he has started a two-event series around it — “Nitro Circus World Games” and “Nitro Circus Live.” Pastrana hosts 70 plus live shows a year, and although his primary business is producing spectator events, he still gets to ride motocross and race cars.

Todd Romano has also created a business by leveraging his knowledge and connections. Romano started out racing mountain bikes in college and soon realized that the guys beating him on bikes were also racing motocross. His sponsors, Specialized and Fox, supported his switch to MX (motocross) where he found his competition racing something even bigger and faster: off-road cars.

Romano discovered a market for aftermarket products for off-road vehicles, specifically side by sides. His first company was Dragon Fire Racing, which sold aftermarket products for (RHINOS). Later, he sold Dragon Fire and opened Finish Line Marketing, a business to help other motorsports companies with everything from basic business strategy to marketing.

Todd Romano Jumping Wild Cat XX. Glamis Califronia

Romano has many lucrative connections with sponsors and companies he’s met. He’s been successful pitching himself and his company, leading to partnerships with industry leaders like Hawk Performance. Romano was contracted by Hawk to help grow their company through improved marketing and smoother business operations. Currently, Romano is working with Textron where he has partnered with Robby Gordon to design and produce the Wild Cat XX. He also owns a company that sells aftermarket products for new Textron vehicles called Speed Side by Side.

These are not the only athletes to create business out of the knowledge they have gained from competition, and their success goes to show, you don’t have to give up on your dream to make an income.

Wc 917

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Story and photos by BRITT BROOKS

A swipe, a like, a comment, a follow.

To get a look at marketing in the 21st century, go no further than your smartphone. Today you can look at any online platform and find a person, product, or brand that sparks your interest. But the businesses that perhaps utilize social media the most are those in the fashion industry.

Whether it’s celebrity-sponsored posts, live streams of runway shows, or notifications for product drops, fashion can be an immersive experience now more than ever. The elite fashion gods such as Gucci, Versace, Chanel and Balenciaga all have millions of followers on social media. But what about the startups?

Three up-and-comers in Salt Lake City’s fashion industry gave insight to their experiences with social media. The impact can be positive or negative depending on how active users are with the content presented to them.

Sydni Zaugg sat in a window seat at Salt Lake Coffee Break, her platinum blond bob stood out against head to toe black clothing and silver jewelry. Zaugg, 19, is a college student who attended the International Fashion Academy (IFA) in Paris in 2017. The program spanned three weeks and allowed her to attend Paris’ spring Fashion Week in early March.

Zaugg said she wouldn’t have even known about the opportunity had it not been for Instagram. After following IFA professor and trend specialist Agus Catteno on Instagram, Zaugg realized her wish to be educated about fashion in France was a possibility.

Zaugg direct messaged (DM’d) Catteno and asked questions about her job at IFA and the opportunities for classes. Without her connection to Catteno, Zaugg wouldn’t have had a welcoming person to show her the ropes, and probably wouldn’t have gone to Paris for classes in the first place.

Parisian fashion influenced Zaugg’s personal style. And it serves as her template for advising others as she pursues a career as a stylist and photographer in Utah.

Social media give Zaugg a platform to share her availability for styling sessions and examples of her work such as dark, moody and romantic photoshoots with friends and models. But as with everything, it isn’t perfect. Zaugg mentioned the downside of pursuing likes and comments: a loss of creativity.

Avant garde clothing still graces the runways, but Zaugg has noticed brands moving toward more streamlined, minimalistic styles. This can be attributed to regular trend cycles. But Zaugg sees it as a reflection of the heavy use of social media marketing. Current fashion can be more about who you are, not what you wear. Big entertainment names like Kardashian and Hadid can be more influential than the brands themselves.

The integrity of the fashion industry can quickly fall victim to the whims of celebrities and influencers. Copycats are bad for any creative-based industry. To combat this ever-present sameness, Zaugg has a perfect mantra: “Clothes should give you confidence to express yourself how you want to, not how everyone else dresses.”

Someone curating new and wearable pieces for women is Madison Martellaro. A 21-year-old senior at the University of Utah, Martellaro has already started a company. In April 2017, she began working on her online clothing store, Fleur Fashion Boutique. She can be seen wearing multiple pieces from her boutique’s line including jeans, bomber jackets and everyday T shirts.

Martellaro came into the fashion industry alone, with virtually no connections. After months of research and hard work, she was able to start her business and advertise through social media to grow a following before the boutique launched on Nov. 9. She credits her online following of nearly 1,000 people to creating brand awareness before items were even available for purchase.

To get a good idea of what her customers actually want, Martellaro used polling features on social media. Polls and comments influenced the way the boutique website looks and functions. For example, followers wanted to know the models’ sizes and dimensions as well as see the clothing from multiple angles. These are two details about Fleur Fashion Boutique that came directly from future customers’ wish lists.

During her first photoshoot, Martellaro held a livestream. The feature on Instagram enabled her to connect even more with her future consumers. “I want to show people really what goes behind a business,” she said. In a world where new competition crops up every day, a behind-the-scenes connection with followers is priceless.

Martellaro takes a lot of pride in curating pieces that women of all sizes can wear and personalize. One of her biggest goals is to sell clothes that can be worn day to night, and look glamorous no matter the occasion.

Packaging is an important part of her brand’s final presentation and delivery. For a cohesive image, all clothing and accessories come wrapped in tissue paper with the greeting “Hello Beautiful” in bold font on the outside. Fleur Fashion Boutique encourages its recipients to take selfies with their deliveries, creating a wider community of people that talk about the products.

“That was the biggest thing for me,” Martellaro said, “making sure women felt empowered and special.”

Keeping a cohesive and unique image is one of the top priorities for Davis Hong. A polished and composed 24-year-old, Hong graduated from Salt Lake Community College with a design degree. Sitting in a wrap-around black coat of his own design, Hong said he likes to wear his own creations.

Recently rebranded under its new name, BYSHAO has been in the works for over two years, and is set to launch in 2018. Hong has made huge strides toward creating his ideal company and style.

Sustainable, ethically sourced materials are of utmost importance for BYSHAO. Only natural fiber fabrics like cotton and linen blends are used in the designs. To avoid creating more waste on our planet, Hong prefers working plant-to-piece with certified organic materials, and avoids polyester. Natural textiles and humane working conditions are the core of his passion for sustainable clothing, and it’s something he’s sticking to.

The pieces of BYSHAO are best described in Hong’s own words as minimalistic, gender-neutral and timeless. Specializing in overcoats and tops, BYSHAO is both modern and classic with structured silhouettes and neutral colors.

Participating at the 2017 Art Meets Fashion show in Salt Lake City, Hong’s brand was one of the five main shows. Events like this help secure a following that he hopes will subscribe to BYSHAO’s e-newsletter. Emails are more of a personal connection with consumers, directly informing them about lookbooks and future sale dates. A great way to foster a connection that leads to loyal customers is to start on platforms like Instagram and Twitter.

As Hong’s demographic isn’t necessarily in Salt Lake City, he finds it important to get to know his followers through social media. He mentioned his use of geo tags, event announcements, stories and live videos to view people from the other side of the planet. “You can basically be right there and see the people there as well,” Hong said.

Networking locally and internationally has furthered Hong’s knowledge and increased the presence of his brand. Social media form connections that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. He’s found photographers, models and hair and makeup professionals to work on photo shoots and runway shows.

The internet is a fantastic way for startup businesses to get their name into the hands of others. “Social media is very much an open portfolio,” Hong said. The ability to view others’ work passively before making real-life connections is something new to the world. This can acutely affect professional creatives, as a lot of their work can be judged from a 5-inch screen.

Without social media tools, Hong would have had a much harder time making local and international connections in the fashion industry. It’s unlikely that Martellaro would be the owner of a business she built from scratch at such a young age. And Zaugg never would have known about the opportunity to study fashion in Paris, or launch her career as a stylist.

Connecting with customers, mentors and possible collaborators — no matter where they are in the world — is perhaps one of the greatest online inventions of all.