Now, after some time away from being involved in the bike industry, he’s stepping back into the ring, taking on an advisory role at Specialized. He will be involved in all things product, providing input and guidance where needed. From the sounds of it, the role isn’t a day-to-day schedule, but more of a board position that will have him providing feedback on certain projects and coming up with ideas to design teams.
I spoke to Rob and Mike Sinyard – the founder and CEO of Specialized – to get their thoughts on the new appointment.
Why Rob Roskopp? What was the appeal of this partnership for you?
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Well, first of all, I’ve always known Rob and had an admiration for what he did. And then, surprisingly enough, he ended up being my next-door neighbor, at first I thought, oh geez – because I’m always riding new bikes and I thought, this is kind of the pinnacle of my style here. Then I met him and then he said he was leaving that group [Pon Holdings]. So then we started riding together, and then I realized, wow, this guy is smart, I realized why when he was there he made a great brand.
And then I realized that he really knows a lot about how to ride a bike. He knows a lot about suspension, geometry, wheels and tires. So I was casually talking about things and pitching it to some of our team, and they really hit it off. So then we said, well, it’s just a natural thing. I think it was kind of a natural result of Rob’s involvement over the course of a year. So why I really respect him, and he’s a very direct communicator, and he has really great ideas about riders and brands and then he really helps our team, you know, with different things. So I just felt like he had that really great perspective to help us. I’m always looking to find good people, and you know, I feel really lucky that we have a lot of really good people. That’s why we can do well. |
Why specialized? What does the position mean to you?
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Why specialized? It was really just moving next to Mike and starting the conversation. I bought the house across from him about two and a half years ago.
And we’ve always been very serious competitors because I’ve always set Specialized as the benchmark for competition. Of course, there are others – you’re always competing against everyone – but Specialized was the target. Anyway, so I bought the house, and he was taking out the garbage, and I think I was checking the mail or something. He’s like, oh, hey, how’s it going? I’m like, hey, and we started talking. He’s like, so… Because at that moment there were rumors that I was leaving Santa Cruz. I say yeah, it doesn’t look like it’s going to work, and a few weeks later I saw him again, and then he said, oh, we need to talk. So that’s when we started riding, and really bouncing ideas off each other. I love bike stuff as we all do, and I’ve always been a product guy – Mike is too. I just wanted to be in the bike industry and I wanted to have a pulse on it and be associated with… I don’t want to say the leader, but they are in many ways, and I think they have the most potential, especially with what’s happening in the industry right now. They have the horsepower to develop the product and really make a difference in many ways, from the Outride program to the industry as a whole. So I’m on board, just to help provide input and steer the ship, so to speak, with Mike, and then give my input with the product and test it and help out where I can. |
I can’t wait to see what comes of this partnership, the story of a pair of neighbors who share a very entertaining common interest. For more on Rob’s story, head over to this longer interview that Levy and Brian conducted with him for the Pinkbike Podcast last year.
