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People in the Industry
MANUFACTURER -
CARTER OLCOTT,
BEL-RAY COMPANY
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“I’m the youngest of three boys and we grew up in northern New Jersey on eight acres in what I liked to call the country,” stated Carter
Olcott. He told us his oldest brother, Dave, came home one day with a 1980 CR80 Elsinore and started riding around the property. “It was a little loud for my mom and the horses so he sold it and got a Honda XL 200,” he explained, adding, “Dave would cut trails in the woods, ride on the horse trails around town and just go all over the place. Our neighbors, who had 60 acres bumped up to the local corn field, were so into Dave riding that the dad one day bought an XL 400 and two Honda Odyssey’s for his kids. So you can imagine that by this time I was getting the itch to ride.”
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Carter explained he started out with a couple of
go-peds when he was around 7-8 years old and then got his first bike, a 1979 Honda Z50, when he was 11-12. “It had the fold down bars, headlight, taillight and a big cushy seat,” recalled
Olcott, who laughed and added, “My best friend Hugh O’Mara got a newer Z50 and there were so many times my mom had to load up my bike in the station wagon and haul it four miles across town to Hugh’s house so we could ride together.” Later he bought a late model 1980’s XR 100 after outgrowing the Z50, he continued. “I can remember wanting it so bad because it had pro link suspension,” Carter explained, “I just thought I was all ‘factory’ having a bike with one spring and shock for the swing arm rather than twin springs.”
From that point on, Carter said he has always loved riding bikes in some way shape or form, though his was never a racing family. In high school, Olcott turned his focus towards learning to fly and snowboarding, he told us, and it wasn’t until 1999 that he started getting back into riding, buying his first big bike, a 1992 YZ250 from his brother Dave. “Ever since, I have just fallen in love with the sport,” said Olcott. He added, “I started enjoying the summers more than the winters and when you’re working at Burton Snowboards and living in Burlington, VT, as I was, it was pretty much a sign that I should probably look into changing industries. But the thing I love most about motocross, which is 99 percent of what I ride, is that I always feel like I can progress my riding every time I’m on my bike. I always feel I can learn something new and come off the track better than when I got on it.”
Carter told us at this stage in his life, he rides purely for the fun and exercise, not the competition. “It’s no fun being laid up with injuries but that doesn’t mean I don’t push myself. I just do it at my own pace,” he explained, “I can still get the feeling that I am progressing each and every time I jump on my bike and that is what I truly love about riding motorcycles.” Olcott said he tries to ride as much as he can, which is about one to two times a week if he’s lucky. “I mainly take my 2007 YZF250 to practice tracks like Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ,” he explained, “I’ll still get out and race maybe two or three times a season. I just get more bang for my buck at the practice tracks.” Recently he has started riding street bikes and Carter told us he really loves it, though it does scare him more than riding MX.
In 2005 Olcott was pretty much done with the snowboarding industry and moved back to New Jersey, when one day he got a call from his friend Brent Merriam, who worked for a company in Italy called Novations S.p.A., Carter continued. The company just completed a deal to become partial owner of Oxtar Boots S.p.A (now called TCX) and was looking for a U.S. person to work with its new, and current, distributor Helmet House to travel around the country with their rep force talking to dealers about the benefits of the product line, as well as managing its entire U.S. race program. “Brent recommended me to Oxtar, Oxtar suggested I meet with Helmet House and the next thing I knew I was Oxtar’s new U.S. sales and team manager,” he told us.
“I had many years of working with athletes, between working at Burton as a team manager and Octagon Sports Marketing as an athlete client manager, but the sales aspect was a whole new ball game for me,” Carter explained. He added, “Ninety percent of my sales role with Oxtar in the beginning was damage control because the previous distributor before Helmet House pretty much destroyed the brand’s reputation by flooding the dealerships with product and then not offering any support to help move them out the door. Fortunately for Oxtar, I was able to work with a great group of sales reps from Helmet House who all had great relationships with the dealers and we were able to not only help them move old product but get them to stock new product that they could instantly turn over. It was quite the crash course in sales, dealer and distributor relations.”
In 2008 Carter moved on to his current position as the channel marketing manager for Bel-Ray Company, where he said he handles all marketing aspects of the brand for all three divisions (consumer, industrial and mining). “On the consumer end I am in charge of all magazine relationships with advertising and anything that has to do with our MotoGP, WSBK and SX/MX teams, along with our support of rider and regional track programs,” informed Olcott. Carter told us he, along with their creative manager, Scott Davis, collaborate in establishing budgets, building ads, as well as managing their Web site and social networks on a daily basis and having open communication with their global distributor network to make sure they have everything they need to support and sell the brand. “Lastly, I work hand-in-hand with our global sales force to provide the marketing structure to help them sell the best oil and lubricants in the world,” he added.
Ultimately being able to work in an industry and make a living doing something that he has a passion for and really loves participating in is what he likes most about working in this industry, explained Carter. “I never wanted to have a job just for the sake of having a job and I hope I can always work in a field that allows me to continue this lifestyle,” he explained, adding, “I really enjoy coordinating the events that we put on and that I get to go to. I love going to the races both on a pro and a regional level … The combination of traveling around, meeting cool people for the first time, working with a great group here at Bel-Ray, it all adds up to being a positive opportunity for me right now.”
“For Bel-Ray, the economy will always dictate what the consumer is doing out there,” stated Olcott. He explained their biggest battle is educating riders who think that all oils are the same and that an oil bought at Wal-Mart is just as good as a bottle from Bel-Ray. “There are big differences between motorcycle specific oils and automotive oils and it’s our job as marketers to educate the consumer about what a cheap oil can really cost them with their engine and bike,” Carter stated. But, on the other hand, the greatest growth potential for Bel-Ray is in its own product line, he noted, adding, “Our R&D department is constantly developing new formulations to offer greater protection and higher performance throughout all our grades. The advancements that are being made in the lubrication field are really the greatest strengths for our market and Bel-Ray is on the forefront of those developments.”
“The only advice I can offer is to try to make every situation, a win-win situation,” said Olcott. He concluded by advising others to “support the companies that support you and the sport you participate in. The best advice I think I have ever gotten is that oil is the cheapest insurance you will ever pay for so don’t cheap out on what you put in your engine.”
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DEALER - EVAN BELL, IRV SEAVER MOTORCYCLES
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Evan Bell’s first introduction to motorcycles came when his brother bought a used CZ 125 when Evan was just 14 years old, he recalled. The Bells lived on a small ranch and being 18 months younger than his brother, Evan said he thought he should be able to do anything his brother did. However, his first ride he ended up under an orange tree, laughed Bell.
He continued by saying he started working as a mechanic in August 1959 at Irv Seaver Motorcycles, before moving on to become the parts manager and then the general manager. Evan told us the shop was founded in Orange, CA, in 1911 and has had three owners over the years with Bell becoming the current owner in 1979. “Some of the employees have been with me for 30 years,” he exclaimed, adding, “The picture [shown] is my wife of nearly 50 years and myself. My employees put together this surprise party on the 15th of August.”
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As the owner and President of Irv Seaver Motorcycles, Evan told us his job is to order motorcycles, oversee inventories, as well as assist the general manager, parts manager, sales manager and service manager. “I enjoy making a living doing what I enjoy,” stated Bell, “It is a pleasure to deal with customers and industry people.”
Evan told us his hobby is restoring old BMW motorcycles and he loves touring the streets by BMW. One of his favorite moments was riding the new K1200 at N¸rburgring (a motorsport race track in N¸rburg, Germany), he continued, and he and his wife still ride. “Our last trip was to Ireland and the year before to Japan. The year before that was to Copper Canyon, Mexico,” listed Bell.
To him, government regulations, paper work and taxes are the main threats to his market. However, as a BMW exclusive dealer, Bell said he believes people are seeking the higher-end type of motorcycles. “Our customers are looking for reliability and state-of-the-art engineering,” he added. Evan concluded by advising others in the industry to continue to enjoy what they are doing.
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DISTRIBUTOR
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TERRY BAISLEY, WESTERN POWER SPORTS
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Terry Baisley said he was first introduced to motorcycles when he was 10-11 years old. At the time, Terry told us he was into racing bicycles and he and his family were driving back to Southern California from the National Championship Velodrome races in New York. “We stayed at these people’s house in Oklahoma that we knew for a day and the kid’s dad had an old Kawasaki enduro in their garage – it was like a 100cc bike with tape on the headlight and all the trick stuff,” Terry explained. He continued, “I couldn’t stop looking at the bike, so finally he asked if I wanted to ride it, I said, ‘For sure.’ He got it started, put me on it and I rode ‘til it almost ran out of gas.” After that ride, Terry said he got the “the motorcycle bug” and all he could think about was how to get his own motorcycle.
“My dad told me that he would pay the second
half of the cost of a motorcycle, so I had to come
up with the first half,” he added.
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After months of mowing
lawns, selling used newspapers, pulling weeds and more
Baisley was able to come up with his half and the two
bought his first bike, an SL-70, from Carnes Honda in
Sunland, CA, he told us. “Soon after, we had it at
Long Beach Honda to get it ‘hopped up’ for racing
and we were at Indian Dunes, Escape Country, etc. every
weekend,” stated Baisley, “The trip home from New
York changed my life!”
A couple of years later, Terry said as a 13 year old, he worked after school at a small shop to support his racing. “When, I was 15 I had the great fortune of that store being bought out by Scott Forward, who started a new store called Scott’s Scooter Service, which evolved into Scott’s Performance as it is known today,” he explained. Forward had a great race-based retail store, said Terry, and he did a lot of innovative suspension and porting work. “I opened the store in the afternoon and closed it each night and did whatever needed to be done in-between,” he told us, adding, “I left Scott’s in my last year of high school to go to work for Sudco International as a part time sales-rep in 1977. That evolved into being a full-time sales rep in the L.A. area.” At that time, Sudco was the master importer of Mikuni, Tsubaki, Sunstar, Yokohama, G.S. Battery, Nippondenso and other products, listed Baisley, who told us he left Sudco around 1980 and bought a Snap-On Tools franchise, but found it boring, so he sold the company and went back to working in the motorcycle industry.
“In 1981, I returned to Sudco International and worked as the distributor accounts guy,” he continued, “We sold to all the major distributors in the U.S. market and I got to meet a lot of great people in the industry.” Three years later Terry said he accepted the position as motorcycle product sales manager for Western Power Sports (WPS) and moved to Idaho, where he later met his wife of 23 years.
The two moved back to Los Angeles in 1986 where Baisley worked with Nelson Rigg to help develop a distributor network for the Nelson Rigg line of products, he explained. “I learned a lot from Nick Cretikos; he had a ‘don’t loose any battles’ type attitude in business,” said Terry, who continued by saying he moved to Minnesota in 1988 after accepting a position as national sales manager for Wet Jet. “After a year of frostbite, mosquito attacks and not being a good swimmer, I knew it was not a good move for me,” laughed Baisley.
The next year he served as national sales manager with Nichols Motorcycle Supply in Chicago where he was involved in starting and developing the Pro Sport brand, which ended up being distributed worldwide, said Baisley. “I also had the opportunity to develop the range of Kings Tire brand of motorcycle and ATV tires and bring the distribution of that brand (for motorcycle and ATV) into the U.S.A. and Canada,” he added, “Spending so much time in Asia and other international areas during these years, I had the great opportunity to develop many friends and business contacts all over the world.”
He moved back to Idaho in 1996 and was given the chance to go back to WPS as national sales manager, Terry told us, and he had the opportunity to be involved in the starting and developing of the FLY Racing brand, which has grown “from a name on a napkin to the fastest growing offroad brand in the world market.” Still at WPS, Baisley now serves as the vice president of sales and his duties include managing the FLY Racing, Sedona Tire, Shinko Tire, Asterisk and Omega brands, he listed. “I get to work with our distributors internationally, our WPS sales team domestically and our factories internationally,” he explained, adding, “I get to work with the best sales team in the business and each of them, along with our product managers and purchasing managers have one goal in mind … to be the best we can be at WPS.”
“We sell fun,” exclaimed Baisley, “I can’t think of selling toilets, or tampons, or ice for a living. Not everybody gets to work in a business doing and selling what they like to do! I get up each day, before the alarm clock rings, because I can’t wait to do what I do each day. I couldn’t think of doing something I didn’t want to do for a living each day.” Terry told us he has too many favorite moments to list here, but he really enjoys working everyday at WPS surrounded by great people.
The biggest threats to the powersports market include issues such as land closures, regulations, unit financing, as well as keeping dealers financially healthy and helping riders keep a “motorcycling lifestyle”, listed Baisley, who added these are all problems the industry must address and continue to work at on an ongoing basis. However, there is great potential for growth in this industry, he continued. “Innovation, ease of getting product to the consumer and new technologies have growth potential in the offroad, street and the ATV/UTV segments of our industry,” noted Baisley.
He concluding by offering up this piece of wisdom: “My advice: You get out of it (accomplishment and financially), what you put into it. Don’t kid yourself … there is no substitute for hard work, putting the time in and not making excuses. There is a common denominator of success in our industry and in life: ‘Successful people make a habit of doing the things that they don’t want to do, in order to succeed’.”
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