Brand Communication Since 2001
Hard Rider
My strengths include conveying complex technical content in a precise and clear manner, as well as emotional storytelling with wit and esprit.
In 1999 Hardride Magazine went online. An expression of my passion for Downhill Racing, Dual Slalom, 4-Cross and Freeride. Born out of a diploma thesis in communication design, Hardride was the first German-language MTB online magazine and my door opener for a career in the bike industry. From 2001 to 2009 I worked in marketing for the manufacturer Nicolai, from where I took the path to self-employment. |
Since then I've been working as a freelance journalist for bike magazines and blogs, as well as a copywriter and consultant for various bike manufacturers and accessory brands.
As a tester and photo rider, I have found access to photography. Cycling, action, technology and tourism are my main focus here. Since 20017 I am also working as a studio photographer, with my own studio in the port of Lübeck at the Baltic Sea. |
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Brand Story Megavalanche
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Gates Carbon Drive
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The start from one of the front rows not only brings a real margin in meters. The start area is largely free of snow this year, but the first section of the course at the summit leads over ski slopes and snowfields, and the firn is wet and soft due to the warm weather. The slopes are rolled for the race, but the tires draw deep ruts. Only the riders in the front rows have any chance at all of finding a clean line. The further back you ride here, the more difficult it gets. The bike then follows the worn grooves, shifts and lurches wildly, the rider becomes a passenger. Crashes and pileups are common here. At the start, the infamous techno siren sounds: "Alarma! El Ritmo Fatal! La Bomba!" The huge field of riders starts moving almost simultaneously. Frank, from the third row, is already struggling with deep ruts in the snow, but no comparison to the chaos that erupts behind him.
share the whole breakneck experience |
It's Hard To Be Loic Bruni
Interview
Is this pressure coming more from the outside or from yourself? I mean, is it the expectations, or are you putting pressure on yourself in terms of what is now suddenly within reach?
Laurent, our team manager, was sure from the start that we would finish further ahead in the overall rankings this year. I was rather skeptical. But after Lourdes we were suddenly in the lead. I hadn't expected that at all before. I didn't want to set my personal expectations and self-assessment of my performance too high. I firmly resolved to just stay cool, but somehow I ended up indirectly putting myself under pressure. As in previous years, I wanted to do my best, to be the best I could be. I always try to do things as well as I possibly can. read the full interview to become a champion |
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Nicolai Nucleon 16
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A Press Release to Success
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Dear editors, dear journalists.
The following press release packs a punch. Our brand new Nucleon 16 Supre not only breaks numerous standards and design rules that we have established over a long period of time. For the first time, we are using a new drivetrain and suspension system: the patented Supre Drivetrain by Canadian engineer Cedric Eveleigh from the company LAL BIKES in combination with a new high-pivot design. The model name Nucleon has always been reserved for technology carriers of revolutionary drive and gear systems. When a new technology has such serious advantages over established standards that it at least poses a serious challenge to them, if not overthrows them outright, we speak of disruption. In this PR, we would like to take you on a journey deep down the rabbit hole of dynamic mechanics and show you why we believe that the Supre drive in combination with the new Nucleon 16 design has the potential to be a disruptive technology. Doddy GMBN: "Easily the coolest thing I've seen here at Eurobike" |
Full Metal
A Brand Book
25 plus 1 equals 26. And 26 is actually not an anniversary number. But in terms of mountain biking, it has a special meaning: It all started with 26 inches. The big Nicolai book "FULL METAL - A Mountain Bike Technology Reference Book" is published 26 years after Leigh Donovan became downhill world champion on the first bike built by Kalle. With over 500 pages, the book illustrates the long journey from startup in his parents' garage to a modern, industrial production facility. It shows the development from the first working full-suspension bike to the latest 29er Enduro geometry, accompanies the leap from the analog to the digital age, from the milling machine with manual control to the high-end CNC machine. FULL METAL tells the stories of the many people who, together with Nicolai, have achieved impressive sporting successes and celebrated remarkable results, from Elmar Keineke to Yvan Lapraz and Benoit Coulanges. And it brings us close to those people who, over the past 25+1 years, have put all their skill, ability and creativity into building ever better bikes and constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible - and who are far from finished.
Get the book. Come on. Get it! |
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Quotes
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"
Hunter S. Thompson “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” Herman Melville "Cowardice is the most terrible of vices" Mikhail Bulgakov |