KRT co-founder Curran J. Swint Turned his Barbershop Rides into An International Club

What started in 2017 with casual Sunday rides from a Philadelphia neighborhood barbershop has become an internationally recognized cycling club and brand called, KRT, short for Kings Rule Together. As co-founder, Curran J. Swint, emphasizes, the club makes waves because it chronicles the lifestyles of chronically under-represented riders. The fresh content and positive energy reflected by KRT/QRT on socials in infectious, which helps membership grow and reinforces the club motto, “Strength in Numbers.” It also helps cycling industry titans like Trek, who Curran represents as a brand ambassador, rethink what is possible through a full paradigm shift of what a club can offer. Curran’s story begins with a streetwear brand that fed his love for fashion and actually had nothing to do with cycling. Tune in to learn how KRT/QRT grew from the cofounders inclusive message of community, fun and multifaceted lifestyles. 

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Theme Music: Summer Vibes by Rizik

Transcript

0:13

Hey. This is Sam Huntington, and you're listening to Hill Climbers. Over the last 10 years, I've ridden bikes in Philadelphia and then LA and more recently, Austin, Texas. And it's been one of my life's pleasures to meet hundreds of cyclists over the course of this time. And, sure, there's been friendships and camaraderie built around some healthy competition on group rides and and on Strava. And and that's great, but Hill Climbers is really paying homage to those, cyclists I've met that I admire off the bike. These are individuals that have really fascinating stories. They're they're building businesses or or they're part of the cycling zeitgeist in alternative ways. And I think It is a a fantastic opportunity here with this podcast to tell stories of what they're doing off the bike that, maybe you you would never hear about on the group ride riding next to them. Episode number 3 of Hill Climbers is a special one because my guest, Coran j Swint of KRT Cycling and I both grew up in Philly and knew each other just kind of being on the scene. Speaking of the scene, Quran always stood out because he's got these signature rimmed glasses and signature braids, but most importantly, He was always the best dressed individual, really, no matter what the circumstance. So Quran was a A fashion and lifestyle blogger and eventually, launched a a streetwear brand called KRT, which stands for Kings Rule Together, with a really positive message and and tagline of kings inspire kings and queens inspire queens and queens inspire kings, etcetera. So, Quran spent a number of years building the brand, But then, it kinda lay dormant for maybe a year or 2. And then To my utter delight, I was scrolling on Instagram. This was probably in 2019, and I noticed that KRT had been rebooted as a cycling club and cycling apparel brand. So, basically, what I'm trying to say is the coolest guy in Philly was a cyclist And had decided to, launch a club and and cycling brand in a in a really big way. So I knew that Caron and I would, At some point, reconnect and and bond over cycling, but I had no idea it would be in the medium of of the hill climbers podcast. So I had the pleasure of of interviewing Quran about his story, which is remarkable. He he and his cofounders Launched the club a few years ago out of Wyldstyle's barbershop on on Germantown Avenue in in Philadelphia. And within basically 3 years, the club has gained this, international influence, on on cycling culture and and also on the industry. So Quran shares with us, how he thinks the the club has gained so much momentum over A short period of time and also how he leads by example. And and the third point is, he really emphasized how Important it's been to chronicle his journey as a black cyclist and entrepreneur, so that he can Share his message with the next generation of of cyclists and entrepreneurs that that look like him. So, Incredible episode. I do wanna give the spoiler alert that it only took me 3 short episodes to totally Mispronounced my guest name, Sokran. I'm sorry about that, but I think we managed to create a fantastic episode nonetheless. Enjoy. We are here in Rec Philly, Right in the heart of Center City Philadelphia, we've got the founder. I I guess, are are you the only founder? Do you have cofounders? Or Yeah. I have cofounders as well. Okay. Well, we got one of the founders, of KRT, Curran j Swin, who I've actually known for For quite some time, for probably more than 10 years at this point, Curran, welcome to to Hill Climbers. Thank you. Thank you. Glad to be here. You know, I was really excited to have this, session because, Yeah. I mean, I've been following your club for for years now, and it's been Pretty incredible just to see you guys, get started, get it off the ground, and and really, It seems like make a lot of noise, online, and then, when, you know, when the the tire hits the pavement, you guys have gotten quite an in real life, following, and and I wanna I wanna explore that and talk about that, but let's let's start at the beginning. Again, I I've known you since since probably 2010, which is right around when you start started KRT. So so how did how did the brand start? Can you tell us about the origin? It pretty much started by me changing my mindset and how I was thinking, you know how I was moving at the time. You know, I was a a fashion stylist. Mhmm. And, you know, I had a friend of mine who, He was a named Latif. He was a recording artist. So, you know, I used to help him get dressed for his, for his shows that he had coming up, and then I had another, A friend of mine, he was in the fashion. He had, like, a whole, like, vintage haberdashery in in in the front of his home. So when I went there the 1st time, I was like, yo, this is crazy. It's like, this is And this is in Philly? Philly in in in Mount Airy. So I'm like, What the heck? Like, I'm I go in in his home. He had all this mid century furniture and all these dope pieces. I went in there and spent all this money my first time going in there. So long Short, that was, those 2 guys who I started hanging out with a lot, I realized that I was really good and successful by myself. Mhmm. To help the people who Who was like minded, they pushed me to be even greater. So that's when I came with the concept of kings rule together. Okay. Specifically, you know, you say kings don't rule together or in medieval times, kings don't rule together. And Yeah. So it's like I realized that, you know, I'm good by myself, but with the helps of, like I said, these other people who are great in their own respective ways, us coming together, was able to build something even more powerful. Awesome. I was styling him. I was getting the clothes from my my old head, Tajie. Tajie was helping me. So we all it was like a a triangle. We're always helping each other. Kind of a collective. It was collective of of of of dope, energy. And and what I remember about Curran, again It's Karran, by Quran. Okay. That's that's important, man. You gotta let me know that. What, what, I remember about A Quran is is your fashion. You know? And and, it really it stood out, in in a big way. I mean, you were you were making statements almost almost every day. You know? So I'm really excited to have this conversation because part of the reason, you know, I'm I'm I'm starting hill climbers is is to talk about not just, like, the business of cycling, but also the culture. And There there is so much aesthetic and so much fashion, that that comes in into cycling. So thrill thrilled to have you here, and and I'm sorry for mispronouncing your name. I'm glad to be here. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Glad to be here. Thanks, man. Thanks. Back back to the question I was gonna ask was how how did you get into cycling? How how, you know, At the stage, what what was going on? Mostly, we all come from a bike culture of some sense. You know, when we as as adolescent, you know, we grew up riding bikes. In the city In the city, you ride bikes. I mean, how how many miles you probably put on our bikes when we have back then? You know what I mean? So I I used to ride my bike to work every day, which is 3 miles and, like, You know, only in the snow would I would I not ride ride my bike to work. So present so presently present day, 2017, I was walking around my barbershop, Wild Styles in Germantown, and one of the barbers, who I'm friends with, you know, he I I realized that he lost a lot of weight. So I said, hey, man. What happened to you? What you what you been doing? He said, man, I just we just start riding bikes, man. We we ride on Sunday. I said, really? Okay. What's up? I'll pull up what kind of bike do I need? It's like, you know, just pull up. Whatever bike you need, it's come. I bet. So my little brother, he had he had a mountain bike in the house, in my mom's house. So I brought his bike and his helmet. I actually just looked at the picture the other day. It was like it was definitely a mountain bike, but it was like a A hybrid type thing? Like a hybrid bike. So I took it down MLK and what Kelly Drive. We did a, like, 1 loop. We're supposed to do 2, but my gear wasn't shifting and all that. So I'm like, yo, man. They 1 1 of them had, like, a a track a$4,000 truck bike at the time. This is 2017 went, you know, $4,000 for a bike. Like, yeah. We already talked about, you know, spending $1,000 on a bike. So Yeah. It hurts. It hurts. So now you got a bike for, my other homie. He had a bike that was like a Fuji Hybrid bike, but it was like a nicer bike than what I had. So I'm like, you know, I I enjoyed this, but I need to invest this is about only one something. Well, you you mentioned something about being a little competitive. You're like you're like, yo. I'm competitive too, so I see I've seen, like, these guys in front of me. I'm like, how they in front of me that fast? I need to do something. So I that same week, I ended up riding with my friend again. We rode from, Mount Airy section of Philly, to Northeast Philly and back. Mhmm. So it was, like, 22 miles. And I kept up with the guy who had the $4,000 bike. So I'm like, I I feel high. I feel good. Yeah. So so that the next 2 weeks, I wanted a whole shopping spree for bikes. I went to DICK'S first. I'm like, look. Let me go into DICK'S real quick and see, what What type of bike I can get? My budget is $250 as we all know. It's not gonna get you too far. Get you too far. But when I got went in there, I've seen this red bike, and I'm like, yo, I like red bike, this is this is me right here. But I wasn't too for sure to purchase it yet. I'm like, no. You know what? Let me just come back. But this is the bike I want. I'm a come back for it. I started going to other places, start getting more research on different bikes, realized that I at least have to spend$1,000 on a bike. I can't spend nothing more not I can spend something more, but I can't spend nothing less than $1,000. So I found a a spot called Performance Bicycle in Philly, And, they did, financing. So Yeah. I can buy the bike. I was trying to work on my credit. What I did with my 1st bike. Yeah. So I'm like, I might as well work on my credit, buy the bike, Paid off within a year, and then I got into this to this sport and cycling with my my first purchase of of dead bike. Awesome. Was there anything that drew you to going the the culture, the sport, you know, besides the the fitness aspect? Well, I was never really a a person that like to work out. Mhmm. So I like to play ball. I like to do more things that's active, and I think me working out always, I needed somebody to to work out with me. I needed a partner. Yeah. You know? So with recycling, I seem like like when I tried it out and I did it, I was like, woah. You know, I can do this. I can do this by myself with with a group of people that was fun and engaging in in that aspect. So I think, and it's very therapeutic. Therapeutic. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, I can if I want to, I can listen to music. If not, I can just explore my Kinda zone out a little bit. To zone out. Yeah. You can just Look around and see certain things that you see all around, and I was on Kelly in in Kelly Drive and MLK Drive. For those who are not familiar, it's like the 9 mile loop maybe? Right about. Yeah. So, like, a 9 mile loop, and it's right off the water. And it's Beautiful. It I I would say, like, I and I'm I'm a very proud Philadelphian. I always say Kelly Drive is world class. Yeah. Like that, you could put that against any other city, and it's it's just beautiful. So just exploring that, you know, just just seeing, like, all the other things I probably can potentially explore. You know? I didn't know it will really get me to this point where I'm at right now. I just knew that it's something I What a journey. Yeah. Right? Yeah. I just knew that was something I enjoyed at the time, and I see myself doing it more. Right. So it was like a it was a balance just like a typical thing that I always was doing, which is basketball. Right. Or if I was going to the gym, you know, it's like I felt like cycling was something different. Always like doing things different anyway. Yeah. Exactly. That's what that's what I'm talking about. Yeah. And it makes me happy. It's like, why not explore it even more? It's a it's an option that, like, as a kid growing up in Philly, like, it it's not really an option. Yeah. Like, you you never consider that As a as a sport, that is a way to go do your thing and get and be active and compete. Yeah. So the I and I think that's why I'm I'm pretty fascinated by it. It's Why I'm doing a podcast? Like, it really is off the beaten path. Like, there there are these great circumstances like you've shared where you get into the sport and something, Like, hooks you in. Like like, create and, again, look at your journey. You start, you know, you started off at Dick's Sports, and now you've you've, formed this this incredible cycling Cycling outfit. Yeah. So, so so what what kind of cyclists are you today? I mean, are you are you just Keep it fit. Are you racing a little bit? Like, what, what's your what's your habit? I haven't raced yet. Mhmm. Do I ask me about racing, but I'm not a racer. I I do like to climb. I feel like I am a overall cyclist. Yeah. Like, I like All rounder. I'm a well rounded cyclist. I can go I can be on the flats. I can go on the hills. I can I'm not really the sender. That's what I'm not I I haven't I haven't matched a day yet. That's something I haven't I think it's more so about, I gotta know. Well, you need reps. You got you got like, and Philly is not the best place for, you know, mountains. Yeah. So, yeah, It takes time. It's yeah. I think it I have to get more, reps in with with going downhills and knowing where I'm going. Like like, I live on top So I can go down. I'm good. Yeah. Go right down that that hill and and, you know, or Central Hills or Umbria. I can go down Umbria, but When he's in LA, he's. I was gonna ask you right now. Switchbacks. I'm like, what's around there? Yeah. Let me is there a bump on on his right side? I'm like, I'm more cautious. Yeah. I think I got a family too. So I'm like Well, you're smart. Yeah. That's because you're smart. Some people just be ripping it down here. I'll be like, we once I go down at one time, okay, I get more familiar as I go again. Totally. Do all that. That's yeah. That's the way to do it, and people People ripping those switchbacks have done those many times. It started as a blog, so you're you're inspired. You're you're pulling influence from, you know, brands or or whatever your eye is catching. How how did you end up launching your own your own line? Because I always wanna, my own clothesline anyway, but I And I'm sorry. This this is an original pre cycling line. This is this is how KRT started originally Yes. With apparel. This is before I even thought about picking up a bike. It was pretty much Just I always wanted to close the line. I just didn't know exactly how I wanted to bring it out to the world. But once I started my blog And I started using certain tag tag taglines like Mhmm. A phrase like kings inspired kings, queens inspired kings. I started to use those type of things and start and put it on on shirts. So I was like so in 2010, that's when I started the blog. 2011, I turned to a clothing line. Mhmm. And just from pretty much just the things I was saying because I was actually inspired by a lot of different people. So one of the segments on my blog was Kings inspired Kings, and I would do, Bentley. Mhmm. I I met Bentley. I had a questions with him. It it was like a small, little, short And for those that don't know, I mean, I know who he is. For those that don't know, who's Farnsworth Bentley? So Fazbear Bentley, he was Well, how do I explain Fonson? He was like Diddy's muse almost. Like Diddy muse. Like, before, a lot of people knew about a lot of the fashion in the world, stuff like that. Fonson was ahead of his time. He was doing a lot of dope stuff. He was he was very artistic, and he had a he came down to to to CCP, Community College Philadelphia, for an event. And I'm and I went to the event, and afterwards, like, I was excited to to meet him because I knew, like, Who he was, what he was doing, this the the impact he had on Diddy and just the fashion industry in general. So I interviewed him for, like, a a few quick Quick questions, and I I put it on my website. So and that's that title was Kings inspired Kings, positive Bentley. Mhmm. In line with the brand. Yeah. Starting the theme together, and then was like, I wanna come up with a shirt, but I didn't know what type of shirt I wanted to come up with. And I was like, why don't I just do Kings Aspire Kings? I mean, in my whole thing, I was promoting positivity Yeah. Through through fashion Yeah. You know, and positivity to my words and my My artistic expression is by putting it on my website and stuff like that. So that was my 1st time that I actually, decided to come up with a clothing line based off of the things that I Already was, filling in my ideas that was coming in my head. So my first, design was the King and Inspire Kings, design. And I remember I I first released it at I had a a cookout coming up. Mhmm. We had, like, almost 500 people that was trying to come out to the cookout, and I'm like, yeah. I'm a sell all of these shirts. Got 50 to a 100 shirts from one of my dad's friends. Mhmm. He gave me the T shirts for free. So all I had to do was print print T shirts, pay pay the money, get the T shirts made, and I make my money from selling T shirts. I'm like, yeah. I got all these people coming into the cookout. I'm a mix of all these T shirts. I can't wait. I ain't selling no T shirts right now. Everybody was focused on the drinks The food. Yeah. The women. Yeah. And I'm like, dang. I ain't selling none of these T shirts. So, but that actually it was cool because that kinda inspired me to to start thinking differently moving forward. So what I did is Because I'd have to spend money on on buying the extra T shirt just to the printing, I made sure I made my money back, and I gave out all these T shirts to Different influential people in the city of Philly, and Yeah. Everybody was walking around with the same T shirt on. And I did make my money back, and I still got the message out there, and that kind of Started my journey with the my old fashion. So I I never like, I remember that that point in time and seeing people wear the T shirts around the city and then Celebrities wearing them, and I hadn't even thought about this, but, like, you you were original influencer marketing. Like Yeah. Right? Because The Internet wasn't what it is today. It was still a blog culture. It was still like, okay. The celebrity's wearing that in the blog. So it was like influencer it was social media influencer marketing before social really was what it is today. Right? Yeah. I mean, I think at that time, like, Facebook was was going on. You know, people was on Facebook. Twitter. But even even Facebook was on like, you know, I I got on in 2006, so it was only a few years old. Yeah. It was only a few years. It wasn't like how it is today. Like, even, like, back in the day, like, when you used to have a lot of people, Celebrities wearing their clothes, like, used to have to physically go to that celebrity and Right. It's own In hand. It wasn't like, hey. Let me stop this celebrity DM. Right. Or, Like, now you it's you have so much more access. There's a whole industry around it. Industry around it. Yeah. Like, you know, they have people that get paid for it. Hey. I I can get you, Your product's on a celebrity or whatever this may be. So so back then, it was like it was a lot easier. You know? My it was a lot harder, But it was more organic. You know what I'm saying? It wasn't everyone doing it. That's what I'm saying. Yeah. So yeah. Yeah. Very logical next question. You get into cycling. How how do you wed, KRT with with cycling? I mean, what was the The spark that motivated you to, transition your brand from kind of regular apparel to to cycling and and Beyond. Well, we we, we was pretty much we was looking for a name to name our our club, our group. You know? And since I He had a brand. It was like, it won't be this name of KIT Cycling Club. So you already got the the name. You already got the recognition. Mom just named it that. I'm like, alright. That's cool. You know? So it kinda just didn't really think too much of it. It was like, let's just call it k r t cyclone. You know? And we we first off we first started off Calling a Karate cycling team. Then we changed it to the Karate cycling club. And was this did you cofound it with your buddies that you started riding with or who what's what's the story with other founders? The my the other founder, Ryan, he he's a entrepreneur. He's he owned the barbershop where where I Okay. Where we So we used to always meet at the barbershop in Germantown, Wildstyle's barbershop. But me, him, and, Hassan and and and and lean, we we started off riding from the wild style barbershop. Okay. So we used to meet up there all the time On Sunday, so just be like, hey. Hey, y'all. We split on Instagram, come out on Sunday, come around with us. Once in a while, we get 2 people come out. Mhmm. 1 person come out. 3 people come out once in a while. And as time progress, we start getting more people and more people come out and more people come out. So and then it's like we kinda start connecting with other people. And since people already knew about the name, they're like, okay. Oh, yeah. Caratie. I know Caratie. Caratie said, oh, you you ride bikes now? Yeah. Yeah. We ride bikes come up. Was a slow trend. Mhmm. You know? We had the And what what year, what year are we talking? What This this is 2017. Okay. Thanks. Yeah. So that was in 2017. So we didn't really like I always say we we found the club in 2019 Mhmm. Because that's when we first got Our our 1st kits. Right. So we Actually established. Yeah. Yeah. We actually established, like, oh, we got uniforms. We had a ride that was 65 miles to bend the shore from fill Philly to Lansing, New Jersey. Mhmm. And, we had to get 10 jerseys. We only had 9 members at the time. Mhmm. So we ordered 10 jerseys. We all and 65 miles is the most Not a And I think I saw the picture on Instagram, where there's, like, kinda red and blue? Yeah. Red, black, and blue. So that was the first we had A a cyclist on our jerseys. Right. Like, right now, we would never do that. But, yeah, it's it's been a progression. It's it's only taken a couple years. Yeah. Yeah. So, So that was kinda like that was the start of it really. It was like, you know, this is where we really taking it more official, and more serious. And I've seen that I I was counting the cyclists on Ben Franklin Bridge because they they they cut off the, the bridge. Yeah. And I'm saying I said, well, that's They got 1900 on the Jersey. They got 2,000 cyclists out here. So I was just so amazed and so amused about, like, how How far this can go? You know what I mean? At that point, I'm like Yeah. You're telling me it's people from all over right here. They've got over 2,000 cyclists right here. They all raised money. They did this. They all got and we got the best kits, and we just threw this together Right. Like, a few Less than a week. Right. You know, type thing. Like so I was really amazed by that. And from there, I kinda just like, Let's keep the ball rolling. So we start getting samples of some some other next kits, and I'm like, at the wrong mic, why am I keep on going to get these samples from these plate people? I come from fashion. I come from designing and stuff like that. So let me do some more research and figure out how I can do this stuff for myself. Cool. So as far as As that initial community, do you think most of the people you were recruiting were were from, like, the the Barbershop and and sorta 1 or 2 degrees of separation. It that was the core? Yeah. Mostly everybody came from either the barbershop or friends of us that was, like, connected somehow, some way, or we started connecting with people that was in the cycling. We we just didn't know that they Yeah. Phil Philly's kinda small, so you start to connect the dial. So we start connecting with this guy over here who, oh, I've been cycling this long, and I was like, okay. Yeah. So we started forming a, a connection with those type of people. You know? And then after we did the the the 65 mile, ride from Philly to Lake City, that's when we got more people that was exposed to it. You know, they did that? Right? I was like, okay. Well, this they went from Philly to they went to Philly to Atlantic City. Wow. You know? So that kinda likes it was a snowball effect after that. So All the other people that might have been interested or might have been like, I do have a bike, or I wanna ride a bike, or y'all look cool riding a bike. Yeah. Let me get involved with that. And that was more so people that we connected to. Right. So after that, like, when the pandemic hit, that's when, you know, it was a a even bigger snow. It was a Storm. You know? Because everybody came around because they couldn't go to the gym. Right. They took took off the the nets off the basketball court. So I was like And they see we're still outside being active. Yeah. So that whole thing just just sparked the whole new Onboarding ramp. Onboarding ramp. Into the sport. Into the sport. Yeah. And that's all all across the board, you know, not just with us. That's for, like, that's when a lot of people started or really got the sport of cycling. Industry sold a lot of bikes. They sold a lot of bikes. Yeah. A lot of a little bit of everything. Yeah. With us, we try to offer things that's more than just Cycling. So it's like we want and at our club, it's like it's it's bigger than just cycling. It's like cycling brings us together, but we also do a lot of things like Movie nights, yoga nights, game nights. You know? We have ski trips. We we we travel. Mhmm. We have a good time. We go to we go to, Basketball games, football games, you know, you name it. So even if you're not riding a bike as consistent, we still want you to be a part of our community because we like to have a good We like to have fun, and we consider our our our friends, family. You know? So Yeah. If you're riding with somebody if you roll with somebody 2 to 3 times out the week or whatever the case may be. It's like you're more invested into that person. So, you know Yeah. And I I think I think that's really Important because, one of the experiences I had in riding my bike in a few different cities, is that it's not always welcoming. You know? It's not you don't always get warm and fuzzy and, like, make friends and and have a community. Like, I I think there's There's a a lot of group rides where you show up and, like, people are like, I don't wanna talk to anyone. And they wanna drop Hammer Hammer their bike and then leave. And and so, you know, I I think that's that's really special. As far as cycling, you know, what what what are you offering your club members, beyond just the, you know, the kits and the the new drops. Well, we started off doing 1 ride a week, which was On Sunday a few years ago Mhmm. And then we went to, 3 rides a week, and now we have pretty much 7 days a week we do, rides, especially in Philadelphia. Wow. 7 days a week? 7 days right now. Wow. So, like, we do a Monday ice cream ride. Tuesday, fast paced nose nosebleed Tuesday ride, which is hill Mhmm. Related. Wednesday, I'll begin a ride. Thursday, we're going to grab a ride. Friday is a foodie's ride where we go somewhere to get food. Mhmm. You know? And Those that so out of those 5 days, we have free social rides. Mhmm. So it's like we we realized that everybody may not want really wanna go too fast or or too far or climb hills. People just wanna get together and have some company. You know? So We do those social rides for that aspect. And then Saturday, we're doing a a fast paced, chasing segments. Okay. Saturday ride. And then Sunday is a all around, group ride for whoever wanna come out. We just do a nice chill 20 to 30 mile ride just for people to come out. That's That's really cool. That that's a lot of programming. Do do you have any difficulties sorta, you know, hosting and and just, spreading yourself thin? How are you resourcing against that? I mean, we we pretty much just build it within people that in the community. Like, you know, if it was just up to me, I wouldn't have that because I can't do all those rides, but we have people that want to do morning rides, want to do I I wanna go get ice cream. People like to eat. You know? So Or we have people that are more invested into, getting beginners to learn how to ride their bikes and more. Totally. And so we would we try to what we try to do with us, like, we have, different hubs. So we have over 350, members Between, like, 18 18, 19 states in 4 countries. So, you know, Philly is our main hub. Mhmm. And then we have, Hampton Roads, Virginia, Charlotte, North Carolina, Los Angeles, LA Mhmm. And New York. So those are, like, our 5 main hubs, but we also have people, like, all over. So a lot of the other places too have weekly rides. So All these weekly rides is just people wanna people ride their bike typically, like, at least, like, 2 times a week. Yeah. You know? So And they wanna do it with other people. They wanna do it with People so if we offer these rides, we have more people coming out to ride their bike. You know, we have more engagement, more community. Yeah. So you you mentioned, you know, these other cities, you mentioned Four countries. How have how has the the brand grown? How have you gotten reach? How have you got engagement in all these Places throughout the country and throughout the world. Just really social media social media and traveling to a lot of these places. Like, every time we go somewhere, we just came we we just Came back from LA, about 3 weeks ago, and it was 80 of us. You know? So That picture is awesome. Yeah. That and and that was, like, 80 people in that picture. I don't know if it was 80, actually. It looked like a lot. It was a lot. It could have been 80. Yeah. Yeah. Say a 100. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I I don't on the kit, on I I forget what the colorway was, but, it was it was, like, incredible to see that many people in your field. And thank you. So that's what we try to do. Like, we try to travel places. Normally, when we travel someplace, we come back with more members because people see what we're doing. They like, they see us on social media, but they were like, okay. Well So you do kind of a pop up in a different location. We do a pop up at different locations where it's an event going on, and we normally I tagline a number, so we go to these different places with a a big group. Mhmm. Last year, we went to the same event. We had only had 27 people. This year, we came with 80 peep 80 plus people. So so 80 people traveled to LA? So maybe about, like, 65 traveled to LA. A lot. But the rest of them was students out there LA. Yeah. So but that's the thing. It's like, And we actually got award at the All Club LA Gala for most member in attendance, and most of our members came from the East Coast. 3,000 miles away. So it's like, you know, just the fact that and that's what kinda was like It's a statement. It's a statement that, like, we're we're showing We're showing so much value within the cycling community because we're not just riding our bikes. We're actually coming up showing these events. We're traveling with our bikes. We're bringing people. We're bringing a new flavor, a new style, you know, new everything. Yeah. You know? So and it it it shows the type of impact that we not only We can make well, this the cycling industry in general can can really make if they're offering this type of stuff to everybody. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? So it's like we're Exposing what can be done and what should be done if you if you rearrange your way of thinking of how you how you used to be moving out here. So Yeah. Yeah. And I I mean, that's incredible to get 65 people traveling with you to to LA. And the the all clubs gala is is that can you tell me about the van? I actually don't really know anything about it. So it's his 2nd year doing it. It's, it's pretty much a gala, showcasing, like, the the the sealess people in the industry. Like, they had Zwift there. They had, Kai from Giant, a couple race like, national racers, Sharron Smith, Rashaan Bahati, former Olympian Nelson Bells. Last year, they had, lead the Legion Brothers there. Mhmm. It has somebody from Strava. So they had all types of people, and then they had a bunch of clubs there. So it's like they had all those type of people that's working in the industry. I think they had somebody from Brockton too. I mentioned them earlier. Mhmm. So it's the 2nd year doing it. This is a gala. You know? People come out, have their time, networking. They have rise, throughout the week. It's, you know, January, so it's a different weather compared to the East Coast during that time. They had, like, A q and a, not q and a. I'm sorry. They had a a Like a panel? Or They had panel discussions. Yeah. They had panel discussions and and when they had different people talking different things. Kate from Zwift. Yeah. She was one of the key Shout out Kate Murano. Yes. She's a strong cyclist as well. Sure is. Yeah. So We was riding around, PV. I Palos Verdes. Yeah. Palos Verdes. Yep. Yep. And it was some good riding out there. So Beautiful out there. Was a overall, it was a good weekend. Had a good time. You know, people got to, You know, throw it at the spandex, latex. You know? And and put some some tuxedos and gowns on it. On and, you know, and also good riding. Yeah. About there. The Eagles beat the the, 49ers out that side. Okay. So that was the the great weekend. Yeah. That helps. So So, I think they they asked you to do a keynote. Right? What what was the subject matter? What what did you cover? What message did you Just to talk about my mission, the things that I've done so far, just keep it real with, you know, who I am, what I what I've been able to do because, like I said, like, you know, being able to bring, You know, 80 people to an event. You know? People spending their money hard on money and doing these type of things that you know? And I think what we do and what I Pretty much talked about is just like a document. I document the things that I do. I document the benefit of our club, My experience, I told him about, you know, my 1st time coming over to LA. Mhmm. You know, how I was nervous about doing this ride called, Montrose.

Mhmm. Montrose, and they have, like, a 7:30, a 7: 35:37

45, and 8 o'clock ride. And the 8 o'clock, Like the it's like the the c, b, and a. Mhmm. So I was gonna do the b because I'm like, I don't know if I can do the a. I was told that I can do the a. I did the a, I end up doing good until, like, the last 4 miles where I got drunk. It's fast. Yeah. Well, it was fast the whole time, but the last the 4 mile mark, it was like it's like a hill. Okay. So it's like, If you're not aware, you gotta make sure you do that. You get dropped quickly. Yes. I got dropped quickly on that on that 4, the last 4 miles, but it was good. So I talked about that, talked about, like, this how the industry is open. Mhmm. You know? Like, you can do what you wanna do. You know you know, Have faith in yourself. I know we're a welcoming group. Like you said, everybody's not welcoming, but, you know, it all starts at the top. You know, if if I'm Good for it. That's type of energy that I'm bringing towards, and I know how I was received. I know how that you received, so I wanna make sure people are feeling that same type of way. So, I mean, I just talked about that. I was appreciative of just being In the room with some different people, you know, it's it's such a and and also such a short period of time. You know? Like, I don't take a lot of these things for granted. You know, just it comes with, like, hard work, dedication. No. That's easy to say. It's a cliche, but it really it really takes that. It really takes vision too, you know, Believing in myself, believing in what I can do, what we can do in this you know, keep keeping the foot on the gas. Yeah. That's that's a great message. And, again, like, I'm I'm kinda getting chills because we only started riding with 22,017. So this this is, like, a lot A lot accomplished in a short time, and I think, most importantly, a lot of people's people's lives impacted. One question I have is, like, is are there any anecdotes you have about any of your club members where, you know, they've started riding a bike because of Your club, and it's it's really, like, positively impacted them. And and not to put you on the spot, if nothing comes to mind, that's cool. But, no. I I think that's one of the beauties of the club. It's like I see the impact that it has. Like, when we just went to the Super Bowl party, club member invited, you know, people to his home to, you know, watch the Super Bowl. Mhmm. And 60% of the people there was cycling. It was through a cycling club. So it's like everybody has, some new friends. You know? Yeah. It's like it's hard as adults to, You know, find your your your new friend group when you when you're growing up as an adult. So it's like now you have a connection with a a group of people that you may not have if you wasn't a part of cycling club. A lot of them are are pretty good influences too. It's, like, kinda self selecting for that. Yeah. So it's like we all are kinda on the same mission. You we're trying to get healthy. We're trying to, you know, Get a little more fitness. Get a little more, just therapeutic. We're trying to clear our minds. You know? Yeah. I think a lot of things that I see too is, like, People will be going through a lot of things, and that bike really helps them out a lot. Yeah. I'm really I've been looking, at at your progress from Instagram, basically. So, you know, I see I see what you're doing, and You you've you know, your club is is represented by minorities in a in a, you know, sport where it it really lacks a lot of diversity. So, you know, is that, is that a big sort source of pride for you? Like and And and does does this elicit feelings other other than pride? I mean, how how does it make you feel? I feel like my my job is just just to make sure I'm documenting it. Mhmm. You know? Because I feel like we always had people in that space. It's just that I don't think everybody was always, passing the torch down, making sure that the the younger generation knew that it was cool to do what we're doing. Yeah. You know? So so me being who I am, you know, I'm going to Document the process. Document the process. That's a great point. Yeah. Document the process. Show you that I am a father, a soon to be husband. You know, I'm a I'm a Congratulations, guys. Thank you. Yeah. Entrepreneur. You know, I'm like to play basketball. You know, I like to Multifaceted. I'm multifaceted. You know what I'm saying? So it's like and me showcasing those type of things to The people will only get more people into the sport than I'm doing that look like me. Yeah. You know that? Because it's like, I see it's been it's a lot of people that's been riding that's After Americans for 30, 40 years, whatever it may be, but when you look at them, do you just look at them as, like, oh, they're this old old men Mhmm. Old women. Not relevant. It's not relevant. So it's like but I'm in that middle age. I feel like that can help them gap. Bridge the gap. So and I think that was the That's the that's more of the issue for me. It's like making sure that people see that, okay, I can look like him. I can be like him because he's There's a lot of other things that I like on top of something else that I may like. Yeah. So and I see that like, I I play ball on Mondays, and when I play ball, I'm running around people that's 19 years old. Right. They they go, oh, how old are you? I say, yeah. I'm I'm 30 I'm 35. Like, what? You're 35? Because I take care of my body, I do a lot of things that I'm supposed to do. You know? I eat whatever I want for real for real. Yeah. You know? But I just do a lot of other stuff that Makes make up for those type of things. So this is important for me to bridge the gap, pass it down to the next generation, so they can have a better understanding of of why they should wanna get into this type of lifestyle. And then, also, it offers more and it It offers more opportunity for us for the for the next generation, especially if we may not be getting those opportunities now. Well, if we're not getting those opportunities now, it's really because I feel like We don't have those oh, we're not owning anything for us to do that. So now is that I can't I don't have to go to a Ralph any other type of clothing brand. I can do this stuff myself. Yeah. So if anybody else had that same type of mentality, if you're not getting the doors is Not being open for you. You could break them down. You can do them yourself. Yeah. And that's what the I think this generation has teach us in general. It's like, we have leaders and and movers and Shakers that's starting way younger than we are. You know what I'm saying? Like, I thought I was doing something when I started something at at 22 years old, You know? Or even start some well, I'm we're at the age I am now, but we got people that's getting busy at a earlier age. But why? Because they have so much Information out there now. Oh, let me look this up. Oh, this person did this, and you can learn from the people that went before you. Or even reach out. Or even reach out, you know, DMs or just litter they literally have cheat codes and have, ebooks that you can just like, hey. I wanna learn how to be a success This. Right. Here's the playbook. Here's the playbook right here. So we don't have no more excuses really to try to be successful because there's so many people that came before us that showed us The way. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you you just covered, you know, so many so many topics, and it's it's Inspirational, but but also, like, you know, for me being a cyclist for the last 10 years, it's all I've always kinda rolled my eyes because it's it's this is dominated by by old white men, you know, or or not old white men, but but stereotypical white male. You know? And, to see, You know, new new faces, new new colors, and and all forms of people coming into it is is exciting for me, I think, because of of the relevance aspect that you mentioned. I think one of my inspirations for the podcast is I'm searching, to find more more relevance for cycling within within the context of my life, and and, you know, I I grew up, actually, you know, I grew up skateboarding. I I, was a DJ for a a lot of my, you know, 15 years old through my My twenties and, like, cycling has always been this category that's kinda like off here to the side that no one really understands that well, and it and it's not, You know, there's no real context for it. So as I see people getting into it, a lot of different kinds of people, it it's It's like one of the most exciting things for me. So yeah, man. I I, yeah. Go ahead. Yeah. And another thing about that too is, like, I feel like the more exposure we do as cyclists, The less accidents we have on a road with cars. Yeah. You know? Because it's like, I'm more mindful of how I'm driving now. I know that other people may be mindful now too because, oh, that my friend's a cyclist. Yeah. You know, I have to that might be his group. That might be him. Yeah. Because Somebody when I remember this guy, you know, he just got killed the other day, you know, in Virginia. He was a, you know, bike store owner, Mike Ship. You know, it was he's a bike. I saw that on Instagram. I didn't it was a car? Yeah. A car. Oh my god. I'm sorry. Yeah. He was, He was traveling. He I had no idea. Traveling to South Carolina. You know? He was doing a a a solo ride trip, and he got, you know, he got he got killed. Wow. So but, you know, a point of that, it's like, you know, we gotta expose more people so they can be more aware of, like we're not we're not just, You know, to be thrown away when you you see what's out there, like, we are husbands, fathers, family members, mothers, sisters. We're people. I think that's an another great theme with with cycling is it's just, There's there's a lot of love in the sport. I mean, I I was like, you know, I was throwing shade before about rolling up to the group ride, but, like, There there's there's a real understanding. And and you and I, I mean, we never really spent much time together, but I hit you up and thank you know, thankfully, you you, You shared your your time with me like it was nothing. I I think part of it is because we have cycling in common. Yeah. So yeah. Well, I, I think this was a great, great time spent, and I really appreciate you. And I I just wanted to give you Time to to shout out any, any sponsors or or anyone, that you wanna extend a a thank you to. Well, I wanna thank, It's my whole entire club. Yeah. You know? They're the ones that push me to keep on doing the things that I'm doing that we're doing, you know, all the way from LA to Egypt to Milan, you know, Virginia, New York, all the cities that we have, Charlotte, VA, everybody. You know? Just excited to keep on, you know, building with the people that we have. You know? I'm a brand ambassador for Trek. You know? So They've been supporting us since since day 1 for real for real. You know, also, JoJ, they're our nutrition sponsor. Mhmm. So What and what's what's JoJ? JoJ Is, they have a a nutritional bar. Okay. They do they also do a lot of gravel. So, that's, Jess And Sam of Legion. So they do, the last best ride in Montana in August. So, yeah, we definitely been doing a lot of gravel lately too. So Awesome. Excuse me. So yeah. So, just shout out all those people right there. You know? Just shout out to everybody that's just doing their thing, you know, Taking cycling to the next level. You know, like you said, we met we've been known each other, but this cycling has has bridged the gap. And it's like, I wanna see more people bridging the gap through cycling. You know? Because and that's important too because we we have so many people that do so much more outside of cycling. And, and you don't know that unless you talk to them. Right. You know? And that's kind of the point of the podcast. Right? Yeah. Talk to people, see what they do. Like Right. Don't know how what what they're going through, what what they can do for you, what you could do for him. Yeah. Just have a conversation. Be nice. Be welcoming. You know? Say hi when you see somebody out on the road. You know? So and that's what we try to do. You know? And everybody don't get that same experience when they go to every single club. Yeah. You know? It's top down, like you said. Yeah. So Yeah. That that, that's a great note to end on, and, yeah, just a great a great message to send. So, Quran, I, you know, it's been my pleasure. I really appreciate you making time, and And congratulations, and and I can't wait to see where where the club goes, where where it takes everyone. Thank you. I appreciate it. I'm glad to be on the show. Had a had a great time. That thanks a lot. Yeah. Alright. Cheers.