Welcome to Momentum, a motorsports podcast powered by High Gear Success. I'm your host, Heather Wilson Schiltz Here we share the stories and strategies that keep the world of motorsports moving forward. My guest today is Annick Magac the host of the FÉROCE podcast. So thank you so much for joining me. So you started FÉROCE last fall. Almost a year in. Yeah. So what has that journey been like for you? Uh, you know, it's, was six years in the, well, let's just say at this point, seven years in the making. So six years ago, before I started the podcast, I had this idea for it. I wanted to do it. And then all these things happen in life and it just kept getting put out further and further and further. And believe me, I wish I had started the six years earlier because it would have been a lot easier to get followers and like to grow it. It's a more difficult now, but it's always best to just start. which is what I always tell people like just start. And it's been a wild ride. A lot of it has been not what I expected in the best of ways. like for me, starting this podcast wasn't necessarily like in the plans. I was co-hosting another podcast prior to this, which also really wasn't in the plans. It just kind of happened. but then when that was coming to an end, I felt like I kind of enjoy this. Like I kind of like it. And I have a lot of ideas and a lot of stories that I want to be able to share with people that aren't necessarily my stories, but stories of other people. And I just think it's really fun to get to connect with so many different people and share different pieces of the industry. So for me, it's like, it wasn't even really a project that was on my radar, but then, I don't know, it just kind of happened. as things happen in life, Yeah. Sometimes you get pushed into a direction we weren't necessarily expecting. One of the great things about motorcycling in general is that it's just great people who do things, like go out and do things. If you ride, you most likely go out or you have other hobbies or interests that you're also involved in. It's super fun to be a motorcycle podcast. So with FÉROCE that means fierce in French, correct? It does, yes. How did you come up with that kind of phrase or that motto for your podcast? Well, both my parents are French and I was born here, but uh Annick is also a French name. It was part of my culture of being, you know, French American. And I just have always believed in living fiercely and really taking advantage of what we're given in life and to go out and do the things that we can do and pursue. So when I was coming up for a name, I was like, you know, like what would be interesting, memorable. and also maybe a little bit hard to pronounce, however, uh it does make it memorable. And I decided on FÉROCE because it really just kind of embodied what I was going for. I love that. I was doing a lot of brainstorming when I was coming up with this podcast name and I kind of alluded to it in the trailer a little bit, but it was a question for me that my dad had always asked, who's your friend? When I was riding my dirt bike and I had to respond momentum. So I felt like it was like the perfect pairing for both kind of that motorcycle. I don't know strategy and also just life. Well, that's awesome. I love that your dad had a part in that. I was listening to one of your episodes, actually that you had back in January where he talked about goal setting. I'm curious now that we're in the latter part of the year, if you've been able to check any of those off of your list yet, and I can have the list if you don't quite remember, cause I feel like I wouldn't remember a lot of my goals. I sitting there and I was like, I know that there's a couple that I'm going to forget. You know what? know. Give me the list and then I'll tell you. So one was taking one overnight trip. Okay. Done. And I know another one was, yes, another one was a class. So it ended up, right? Okay. So both of those were checked off. So I'll do the class one first, which I took the adventure, intro to adventure by Moto Vermont and they do an ADV class. It was a full weekend. So that is technically the overnight, but I'll do the overnight on the, uh, the dirt days rally that I just went to. Now both of these happen to be adventure oriented, but I also did Laconia this past summer as well. So that's also considered overnight. Okay, go. Perfect. Let's see what the other ones were attending motorcycle events. I feel like that kind of got lumped into it. everything's actually been overnight just because there hasn't been anything close to me. That's been happening recently. Purchasing, this is a bigger one, purchasing a new motorcycle for long distance travel. No, that has not happened yet. I've test ridden a lot of motorcycles this year, which I do in general, but it's been a great season for really getting out of my comfort zone. Like for the first time I rode Harley's, which in all my motorcycling experience, I had not. So that was really cool, but I haven't chosen yet what I'm going to get. And on another hand, because I've been riding so many different motorcycles, I haven't really felt the need to get one right now personally. because I wouldn't even have time to ride it. right now, yeah, Honda gave I'm on a NX 500, which is their midsize adventure bike. It seems to be a theme this year with the adventure touring, so yeah, I just, I not yet. And I'm not sure what it's going to be, but I wrote something recently that I was really intrigued by that. was like, Oh, this really fits. Well, I think it's perfect that you can test ride all these different motorcycles to kind of find out what you like. And you're not just like riding them at the dealership. You're taking them out on trips and really getting to get a long experience on them. And I can relate to riding a Harley for the first time when you don't come from that style of background. So when I was at, uh, Sturgis motorcycle rally several years ago was my first opportunity to ride a Harley and I had a 1200 sportster. that they loaned me. and that was a really, really fun like, I'm not a cruiser person but I felt really comfortable and it was really fun to ride. Yeah, I think the one thing that was like a big realization with the Harleys was actually how comfortable they are to ride. Like all of a sudden it all made sense. was like, oh, okay, this is why these guys will go out for a thousand mile days and like not think twice about it. Versus if I'm on a sport bike, like, I'll ride hard for like three hours. But like after that, you're like, I think I'll take a break. Well, and I think it's so interesting that people can have such different opinions about the same motorcycle. And I think there's so many different factors that go into that, based off of like just what you learned to ride on or what your background is in. with me growing up off road, I naturally lean towards more adventure style bikes. because that feels more comfortable to me than a cruiser. But then there are people who, uh, you know, started riding cruisers and they want nothing to do with a adventure style motorcycle. So I don't know if you've found that same to be true for you. absolutely. Like even after doing, you know, riding all those Harley's and seeing how they are comfortable, I still prefer to be on a sport oriented, upright motorcycle of some sort. So if that's like more, uh, like recently I rode an Aprilia Tuono V4 sport bike, know, upper, but upright, more upright handles, or even on this NX 500. Like to me, that's super comfortable. And I would be much happier on that ultimately than being more in the clam shape of the cruiser, just tends to put, even though they're very comfortable, puts a little too much strain on my lower back. Or sometimes I don't feel like I have the, um, the control of the motorcycle that I do with other styles. So yes, I totally agree with that. Yeah, it can be a very like stretched out body position. especially for like women where our arms aren't as long, the handlebars definitely feel very far away. You mentioned sport bikes and kind of having a background in that. So where did you first find your love for sport bikes? Well, immediately after getting my license, I ended up, I bought a vintage bike, which was like absolutely the wrong thing to do. And I don't recommend that to anyone because they are finicky and they break down. And if you don't know much about motorcycles, it's a tough learning curve. But right after that, I ended up falling in with a bunch of guys who I was in an internship at the time and they all raced motorcycles in the CCS class and AHRMA as well. And I ended up at the racetrack like within six months of getting my license. And then I proceeded to race for about two to three years after that. I'm now retired. oh It was amazing. it really obviously taught me a lot about riding in general and whatever I think you, you find your first love. Like you were saying, like you were in dirt bikes and such. me it was sport bikes. I just naturally feel more comfortable riding on the street than I do even at this point riding in the woods or even dual sporting. It's a much more natural thing for me. Yeah. And I feel like to whatever you get into first, like you kind of find your community in that. I'm sure at the racetrack, you probably became friends with people and that just kind of, I don't know, solidifies your, your love of that certain style. Cause you've developed friendships within that too. definitely. You know, I was thinking the other day, I was talking to one of my old racing friends and most of the people that I race with, I'm still friends with. And that was like 25 years ago. You know, so like you really, it's kind of, it's an amazing community. And that also was like one of the big reasons why I wanted to start the podcast was that we have such an amazing community. I really, out of all the years of riding, I've met so many wonderful people and I really want to highlight they were, what they do, and just basically just how great the motorcycling community is. I keep repeating myself, but it's like, we're just great people. It's hard to do motorcycling without needing somebody's help. You just kind of end up having this built-in community. Yeah, absolutely. actually rode a family Enduro over the weekend and I went by myself and you're lined up four people on a row. And so naturally, like, I always introduce myself to whoever I'm riding with and they're usually there with their friends or whatever. And this guy was next to me and, I introduced myself or whatever. And we were waiting on the starting line, like four riders take off every minute in an Enduro format. And he like put his fist out and like fist bump me. before we went going and I was like, I just thought that was like so nice and so cool. I mean, just like motivating and then a couple of laps in, they didn't show up for laps like two or three. was like all by myself and these guys were way faster than me. So I was like, what's going on? Like what, happened? And I, was on my third lap and I was riding. It's kind of like around the parking area was part of the track. And I saw him, he was like fist pumping in the air as I went by and like encouraging me. And I was thinking, wait, why isn't he out here with me? He's supposed to be out here. And I talked to him after the race and they had like messed up their timing because there was breaks in between the laps and they didn't realize that. So they just went right back out. and he was already done riding by the time, like I was starting lap three, cause they had finished way ahead of time, but I just thought that was so cool. Like that's the guy that I just met. on the starting line, introducing myself was like already kind of like cheering you on and just being really supportive. It's so great because you are in competition with each other and yet also supporting each other. I mean, it's the best. It's really the best. So I thought that was really cool. What has it been like for you to grow the podcast and the YouTube channel from zero to what it is today? Uh, it's been an unexpected journey. And I started with the vision of just wanting to do the interviews. Like I thought that that's all I was going to do was that that was the initial format for the podcast. What ended up happening was that on a, on a fluke, decided to do a solo show. I had been out riding and as one does, you you get into your thoughts and like, started thinking about a few different things. And then I was like, you know what? I think I just want to talk about this one subject that I think. people have questions about or have a hard time with, and that is how to find people to ride with. I was riding solo at the time. I primarily ride solo even now, but I think that it's one of those things that people always ask, oh, where do you live? So that they can be like, do you live near me? Can we go riding together? So I did the solo episode and that exploded. And I was like, wait, this is weird. I didn't... People want to hear what I have to say. I'm like, I'm not really interested in what I have to say. want to know what you have to say. So that started to get me to think like, was this a fluke? Was it just a topic or like, should I maybe try another solo episode? And from there I ended up doing a few more solo episodes on various topics. Some of it's like can be motorcycle review, but a lot of it, the solo topics for me are more on the culture of riding. And taking these different snippets that are either, uh, something motorcyclists experience or a topic like trying to find somebody to ride with or interpersonal motorcycle. I don't know then, so I don't even know how to kind of say it right now. And, uh, the more I did the solo shows, the more people liked them. So now, although I started off with just the interviews, the podcast has developed into me also talking about. these different motorcycle topics. And that is unexpected. And you mentioned like motorcycle culture too. So something that I often think about, or I remind clients about if they're hosting events is that not everybody grew up in a motorcycling family. Not everybody has been riding for years or decades. and you kind of have to put yourself in their shoes or go talk to them and figure out what they're thinking and feeling. Cause sometimes you just can't read minds. It's been so long ago or things have changed so much that you can't really. even imagine what it's like for them. but I know how lucky I am to have grown up in a motorcycling family and have the resources that I do and the knowledge. And so I think about how much more difficult it would be if I just randomly today had never ridden a motorcycle and decided that I wanted to go ride, like all the challenges that I would have to face and doing that. think it's a really interesting perspective. I I mean, I teach motorcycle safety classes and I meet a lot of new riders, but we don't necessarily have tons of free time to sit down and have a conversation with them or check in with them, you know, a year down the road. absolutely. And this year, having gone to more events, because there's been a period of time, and I think also with the pandemic, a lot of things didn't happen, right? So personally, I got out of going to events. And then it also coincided where out of, say, the 100 events that I went to, I went to one bad event. And I let that one bad event keep me from going to events for a while. And so pretty much I would say like in the past year and a half is when I started to go to events again, I was like, forgot, these are fantastic. And every time that I go to an event, like you're saying, I have a conversation with somebody and I'm like, oh, right. I forgot about this because again, I'm so far along in my riding career that I do forget what's it like to go out and pick out your first bike or, you know, what are you trying to find gear or like trying to find somebody to ride with? it's a... These things are important, especially if we want to get more riders. And like you telling your clients, it's like to put yourself into their shoes or their motorcycle boots is very important because we can definitely get lost on like where we're at, which may not necessarily resonate with the people who are actually watching you or listening to you. Yeah. And I think it's interesting. We kind of have these like unspoken rules sometimes in motorcycling, especially in different segments of motorcycling. And so sometimes I will see or hear somebody say or do something that seems like, what are they doing? Like that is so not something a motorcyclist would say or do. And then I kind of have to like take a pause and be like, wait, you know, like they are motorcyclists if they're riding. It's just not. It's just a different experience, different, yeah, I mean, different life experiences. ah I'm glad you bring this up because they're so one of the things that's been very interesting and like having the podcast and especially with YouTube, because it's much more, you can see people's comments and are much more visible. It's hard to get comments via just the audio. And I have realized in watching the comments that most people, a lot of people will maybe, I wouldn't say a lot, but like some people misinterpret what I'm saying. because I've realized in their comment that they are purely experiencing the video through their lens. So they misinterpret some things that I'm saying. Like I'll read back and I'll be like, I didn't say that like at all. You know, and I look at the comments and I'm like, but this person is coming from this viewpoint. it is fascinating because you don't have control over that. And like you said, like everybody's experience in motorcycling is so different and you know, where you live, what you ride. what your age is, ah what was popular when you started writing. There's so many different factors that go into it. I noticed that in your comments when I was reading through some of them for your videos, cause I think the latest one was talking about you're writing that Aprilia and a younger guy was like, do you even know what you're riding? And you kind of took it as like, he thinks that I'm not capable or I don't know what I'm riding. And then somebody else in the comments was like, but that's how you interpreted it. But maybe he didn't even mean it that way. And so, yeah, it's kind of interesting how just, again, based off of life experiences and through different lenses, we can say or do the same thing and interpret or take it a very different way. And you also have to be prepared for people to put words into your mouth because in that particular video, people put like, they were like, oh, you said this. I was like, that's not what I was saying. Like I was very specific. That was not what I was saying. But it's, at a certain point, you got to let that, let it go. As you have been building the podcast, how did you walk through the branding and what you want it to be? And I'm sure it's ever evolving, but how did you decide this is the brand, this is who I want to bring forward? Okay. I thought a lot about it and I had those six years that I didn't launch the podcast to really think about it. But my background, my education is actually in product design and design. So the aesthetics for the actual logo and the brand were really important to me. And however, it's not necessarily the most important thing. So coming from it, from a design perspective, I wanted a logo or a brand that would look good. on apparel because that's also part of what I'm trying to grow. In addition to the podcast, have t-shirt, hats, sweatshirts, different apparel that is available for purchase. And I want to grow that. So I was thinking about it in the way of like, okay, what is motorcycle sport oriented from a design perspective? What would just look super cool on apparel? or on a decal or anything like that. And also what was memorable about it. So one of the things just to break it down, like Feroce is the logo is slightly tilted, which shows speed. So it being a motor sports brand, the logo is showing speed. Now, as far as the Live Fiercely, I think that motto is also in, like I said earlier, the way I view life and wanting people to... you know, that the podcast to inspire people to live fiercely. I, the podcast is about showing what is available and what you could be capable of doing. And you don't have to ride to listen to the podcast. A lot of the stories are just about people doing very cool things. It's about inspiring people to just, you know, get off your phone, go outside, go to an event, go do something like we're just all too trapped in the normal day to day, go to work, come home, make dinner, deal with the family or whatnot, cut your lawn, all these things, that there's more to it. And I wanted the brand to really embody that. So there was a lot of thought put into that. also if we really wanted to get nerdy about the design portion of it, I wanted to also allow the logo or the brand to evolve over time for different colors, different placements and scenarios. So a lot went into it. But I can totally nerd out over all that stuff with you having a marketing background. like, those were all the pieces that I was trying to get in place before launching this too. sometimes again, I'll have clients come to me and maybe they've been doing events or, they don't even have like a logo. They don't even have an event name. It's just an adventure ride. And like the branding piece is something that I always try to work with them on. Like that's what makes it memorable and like stick in people's minds. so yeah, I can totally nerd, nerd out on that with you for sure. I, the last thing I want to say about that is also don't get so stuck on it that you don't start the project, right? Cause these kinds of things can evolve over time. And we always, always also have to keep in mind like a, like a many popular companies have changed their logo over time, whether for the good or the bad, you know, sometimes it's, but, cause sometimes I think people get stuck in that initial phase of like how everything looks, even launching their first podcast because they, They don't feel like the audio is good enough or like the story is not good enough or so they can like get stuck in these beginning stages. And you realize that it will evolve over time. Like I think even within like, you know, this year, my videos have gotten better as I've learned to edit better. My audio has gotten better. What, you know, as I've upgraded equipment or have changed my environment or like, um, it will evolve over time and it is good to go to the pro. So people should go to someone like you who's a professional doing this because. When you look at some logos, you're like, hmm, I could probably do better. To the pro. uh I'm not a logo designer, but I always say that I can direct graphic designers pretty well. Like I have a vision and if I can explain it well enough, I work with some really amazing graphic designers that can make it happen. So definitely not a graphic designer myself, but I appreciate, you know, a good clean logo. Yes, absolutely. And like you were saying, stuff transitioning over time right before we started recording, playing with the placement of this microphone and where I want it to be, if it's going to be up high or down low and how's it going to sound? So yeah, things are ever evolving and I'm trying not to change too much too fast. kind of like consistency is like key number one, feel like, just doing the thing. Like you said, not getting hung up in every little detail. But like do the thing and then you can start making adjustments little by little. And people probably won't even notice much of the adjustment. Like we do. Yeah, exactly. That's the most painful lesson. Because you really, it is hard to get out of that perfectionist thing. But it really, at a certain point, it does become more of a hindrance than uh a good thing. Do you feel pressure to show up in a certain way or, you be perfect every time you press record? And like, have you navigated that? I am so happy you brought this topic up. So happy because it's hard. This is like one of the hardest things, right? So I, you know, I was raised where in order to show respect to people, like you should show up looking your best. Okay. That's a cultural thing. Like not everybody believes in that, but also I think as being female and like wanting to look your best and feel good. I spend a lot of hours editing. So if I look at a video for hours where I don't feel like look that good, it's like, You know, like you're just like, my God. But here's the thing that I realized with motorcycling and I've had to let this go, which is that if I'm doing a video that's more vlog oriented, I may have been riding in rain for five hours or sweating for nine hours. Like I've just realized like as much as I want to control, like being able to show up like this in an interview setting with you, if I'm out there, There are some days that I look rough. The lighting's not good, my makeup's smudged, my hair's a matted mess. It looks like I haven't washed it in weeks. And for me, that's been hard to let go. But I've realized, so far, in the comments, people have been kind and not been like, wow, you look like a drowned rat today or anything like that. I think people just accept this is part of the sport or the hobby. just realize there's too many factors to show up. looking good all the time. And then what you can control, like I'll try to, you know, make sure my hair is done for you. Like, before I came on here, I brushed my teeth and put some perfume on. It's not like you can... I you through the screen. Yeah, exactly. It's just like these, you know, these old habits die hard and I don't think that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it is okay to like let some of it go as long as people can hear you and see you enough where you're like, you're not fuzzy or, like there's a blur on the screen or anything. Yeah. In my prior podcast, it was just audio. And I love that for a lot of reasons, because I could show up however I wanted to look. do convincing myself to do video. Like I had the desire to, but also I was really apprehensive about doing this, because we are putting ourselves out there in a completely different way. but I also know how many videos I watch and how much people connect with seeing somebody. Versus just hearing somebody to like that. Yes. The different senses and the elements that go into that. So yeah, it's taken some getting used to and yeah, I still pretty much do my hair and makeup before I come on, but I'm sure there will be times, especially in the winter when I tend to get sick all the time that it's going to be a little rough and they're just going to have to deal with it. So. It goes to your like, you know, the discipline and consistency that's going to far outweigh us looking like, you know, the best that we can each time. And I have to say that the worst comments, you know, that somebody's ever made with me, like visually or critiquing the way I look or, or whatnot. I've come to realize that the lurkers and all those people, they come out between midnight and 4 a.m. And most of those people, from what I see, don't have a profile picture. It's like a cartoon. No. But they're willing to comment on your appearance, but they won't even show up for you to look at them. Like, Totally. Totally. I'm telling you that witching hour brings people out. I think they've been, you know, having a few and then they're like, Oh, you know what? You're just like, thanks. Oh my goodness. going back a little bit. you're, you're Harley experience when you went to Laconia, you connected with some other creators in the industry too, correct? Yeah. So this is, you know, you're asking like about this past year. So when I started, this would never, it didn't even occur to me that I would be networking with other professionals within, you know, within the scene, like yourself, like you and I, you know, we connected when you from your old, your other podcast. And now we've like form a bond, right? So this Laconia came up because another YouTuber started watching my stuff and then he reached out and he was like, Hey, I'm going to go do this thing. Do you want to come along? which like all great motorcycle adventures start, right? And again, this is like, what's so great about our community. Like it wasn't weird. Like there was like nothing weird about him asking me this. And when I connected with him, I was like, yeah, like, yes, I'll go do this. Like, this will be a great adventure for me. And through that, doing that event and saying, yes, I met him and four other guys and we had such a blast. Like it was such a great experience. And for me, It's not like the usual motorcycle people that I would hang out with just because we run in different circles, not that we would never be friends. It just went across paths. So it was such a delight and a treat to have this come up. And since then there's been other things that have also come up. Like I went to dirt days because I went to Americade And then when I was at dirt days, I connected with this other guy that I'm going to be doing another event with in the fall. And it's like, just... It all comes together and some of the guests that I've had on, they've been like, hey, they'll call me up and they'll be like, hey, you know what? So and so this is happening with so and so, would you interview them? And I'd be like, of course I would. And it's been really great from a networking perspective and just having these random things happen because I could not have charted that out. Never would I have expected. Yeah. It's cool. Yeah. feel, feel that for sure. And like finding guests for me too, like obviously I been in this industry a long time and I know a lot of people, but there's still so many people that I don't know. And so I always ask my guests to recommend somebody and that inevitably leads to somebody else really cool to interview that again, maybe is behind the scenes and people don't really know about. So I think that's a really cool aspect of it. It is. One of the best interviews that I did came from a recommendation that somebody emailed me and said, you should check out these guys who own Skidmark Garage because they do this thing called MotoGo Cleveland. And they're bringing shop class back to schools. amazing interview, what they're doing and the whole generation of riders that they're bringing up and teaching kids how to work on bikes. Again, would never have come across this guy just because I don't know what's going on in Cleveland, Ohio. And now I have a sense of it and it's just cool. Yeah. are so many, I don't know, even just like little communities happening that you just would never know about until somebody else points you in that direction. Yeah. And for as big as the US is, there's these little, like the writing scene is so different in every part of the United States. So like, imagine that worldwide. It's just, it's, it's fascinating. Well, tell us what's next for FÉROCE. What are your plans as this continues to evolve? Well, one is to definitely grow my subscribers because I really want to be able to have a wider reach. I also would like to be a little bit more international. So at some point I would really like to go do some events in Europe or South Africa or even Australia or New Zealand. So I'm putting that out there if anybody wants to invite me to that. There you go. I don't know if I have any connections for that, but I think we can make that happen somehow. Put it out into the universe But it's really about like wanting to Spread that motorcycling is this amazing sport and hobby that people can do no matter what your age is where you come from what you do and uh would just be really nice to just get more people riding Yeah, I agree. That's awesome. I love those goals. Tell people where they can connect with you and the FÉROCE brand. So FÉROCE is available on all audio podcasts. And then we also have the YouTube channel, is underneath my name, Annick Magac but there's the FÉROCE podcast underneath there. In addition, there's the motorcycle reviews and the gear reviews as well. And of course on Instagram, you could find me either underneath my name or live.feroce Perfect. Well, thank you so much for joining me and thanks to everybody for tuning into Momentum. This has been a production of High Gear Success. If you want to connect or recommend a guest, head to MomentumMotorsportsPodcast.com. Until next time, keep the momentum rolling.