Doug Martin is the North American Director of Marketing for Felt Bicycles and he is a very busy man. He doesn't really like to be in the limelight but we cornered him and asked him a few questions.
Slowtwitch: Thanks for your time here.
Doug: My pleasure.
ST: Where you busy this past weekend at an event or were you able to hang out at home?
Doug: I was lucky to be at home, though with the amount of different places our athletes were I could have been at any one of six or seven events.
ST: When you are at home can you actually stay away or get away from work?
Doug: I can, but staying connected is a choice I am happy to make. As anyone in this business will tell you, it is a labor of love. I like knowing what’s going on either because I am closely interested and involved in it, or simply because it is easier to avoid the Monday morning email blues by staying on top of it. Following competition is a given – that’s 24/7.
ST: Quite a few races were happening last weekend and you guys had a win at 70.3 Switzerland among other nice results. Does that kind of stuff make coming in the office on Monday morning even better?
Doug: No question about it, and certainly not just for me. When we get a win or a major result everybody in the company shares in it. This last weekend was a great example between Andi winning in Switzerland, Rinny and Terenzo each grabbing 2nd’s at Rev3, Becky getting on the podium at Alcatraz, PB/2012 dominating Mt. Hood and Exergy racing with so much animation in Philly – it’s difficult not to grin. The core culture at Felt is largely built on two primary initiatives: design and create the very best products we are capable of - then go racing. This stems back to the very first bike Jim ever built.
ST: Going into this year you lost the big Pro team. You are still involved with road times of course but at a smaller level. Was that a big crush for you?
Doug: No, I wouldn’t say so at all. For each of the last four years Garmin was a great fit but it was time for us to move on. There are two truths about sponsorships: First, they should fit objectives on both sides including making sense both on and off the bike. Second, they are going to come and go. No sponsorship is forever. While we would have preferred to not sit out of the Euro pro peloton, we are not going to sponsor a program just for sake of sponsoring a program. This year we are thrilled with the domestic teams we are working with and for 2012 we’ll just have to see. We are willing to be as patient as we need to be.
ST: Is it in the plans to have Felts under a Pro Tour team again?
Doug: Like I said, we are willing to be patient. We would certainly like to be back and if something comes together for ’12 that makes sense we’ll look at it. If not, we have a lot queued up for next year even without a WorldTour team. Olympic years are always particularly exciting and between tri, TT and track we know we are going into London with a lot of potential.
ST: Meanwhile though it seems there has been some extra love in terms of Felt Pro triathletes. So is that making lemonade out of lemons?
Doug: Triathlon is at the foundation of this company and the fact that we picked up Rinny, Andi & Patrick (Evoe) really had nothing to do with any changes in our road racing strategy. These three new pick-ups coupled with several key re-signings were part of our thinking well before anything shifted on the road side of the equation. It was all about balancing our tri roster. It does all play out when it comes time to manage a budget, but it’s not like we found ourselves with some extra money and decided to go longer on tri. Tri will always be a mainstay at Felt.
ST: Terenzo Bozzone, Mirinda Carfrae and Andi Bocherer are more recent Felt signings but others like Emma Snowsill have been around for a while. Do you handle all the athlete signings?
Doug: Yes, I would say I am involved in virtually all of the signings at some level, but not necessarily on the front end. It really depends. Felt tends to operate the sports end of its business as a team which includes myself, Jim Felt--our company founder and someone who is very actively involved in the athletic side of things--and Pete Coulson, who is our team and athlete liaison. Each of us brings a different background, experience and perspective, and together we tend to be more complete than as individuals. Jim and Pete deserve the bulk of the credit when it comes to the architecting of our 2011 triathlon team.
ST: So even European based athletes like Andi don’t go through Felt Germany / Europe?
Doug: Andi was an exception and signed via our Euro office. In this case, they had the relationship and felt it was particularly healthy for the Germanic market(s) to bring him on-board. We agreed. The US office does traditionally handle all sponsorships, but there are some exceptions. It just depends. Very often it boils down to who has the relationship or where the emphasis or anticipated impact might be. Comfort is huge when it comes to a team or athlete making the decision to sign for one company or another. No matter how it takes shape between our US and Euro offices, we make every effort of maintaining a global approach and doing what's best for all concerned.
ST: With so many newer bike brands out there now and some of them somewhat desperate for exposure, does it get harder and harder to get good athletes who are also good brand ambassadors?
Doug: There are definitely some new brand entrants in triathlon, but it just validates our presence in this category. With respect to attracting and retaining the type of athletes we want, that is largely unaffected by the number of bicycle company’s in triathlon or not. This goes back to the road team discussion – the fit has to be a good one.
ST: The new DA looks very good and has received quite a bit of interest. Is it shipping now at full throttle?
Doug: Yes it is. Delivery was a bit later than anybody would have liked and we sincerely apologize to all those who patiently waited. Hopefully it was worth it.
ST: Although we know it has barely reached the market do you feel there is pressure to come up with something newer already?
Doug: I believe any engineer or designer worth his weight in salt will tell you they are never 100% satisfied. Even as great as the 2011 DA is, there are always ideas being volleyed among the design brain trust. So, if there is pressure, it is internally based. We have an exceptional development group here at Felt. That lack of total satisfaction is a characteristic that tends to accompany exceptional thinking.
ST: Along those lines, what can we expect from Felt in the near future?
Doug: I think the triathlon and cycling community will be very pleased when it sees our 2012 line-up this fall. In my opinion this will be our best line-up ever. I think you know Slowtwitch has a reserved front row seat to our unveiling!
ST: It seems whenever we see you Jim Felt is not very far. Have you guys become brothers of sorts?
Doug: Jim is definitely both a colleague and a good friend and because of the nature of our mutual work--specifically when it comes to teams, athletes, wind tunnel testing, events, etc--we are often in the same place at the same time. It is a real pleasure for me to work so closely with him.
ST: How did the Tri-Centive bonus plan for Vegas and Kona come up and can you explain it further?
Doug: I wish I could say it was all my idea, but it wasn't. Both Dave Koesel (aka: Super Dave) and Jim Felt have a motor sports background and each talked about this being something the internal combustion industry has done for years. Run a sticker and get paid a little something if you win. To that end, we are very sensitive to the investment that comes with being a triathlete on any level, including when it comes to equipment, particularly a bicycle. We also know we have a very dedicated and passionate group of owners. We do not take this for granted. So we threw around the idea of a worldwide bonus plan and it took shape very quickly. Tri-Centive is a way to say thank you for believing in Felt - we believe in you, too.
ST: Are you expecting a bigger presence in the bike count, Tri-Centive or not?
Doug: What bike count?
ST: Anything else we should know?
Doug: Not other than saying thank you for the chance to chat. Much appreciated.
