Rich Houseman's guest appearances

Rich Houseman

The Inside Line Podcast - Vital MTB

Downtime - The Mountain Bike Podcast

BMX Weekly 

Jack Russell

James Anderson

Hans Rey

Greg Minnaar

Leigh Donovan

Joe Smith

Matt Walker

John Hall

Jamie Scott

Rob Copeland

Shaun Hughes

Aaron Gwin

Laura Robson

Simon Burney

Greg Callaghan

OwlTail

Rich Houseman forged a successful career as an American mountain bike racer in the late nineties and early 2000s. Taking wins in downhill, dual slalom, 4x and dual, Rich has seen all the different trends and changes that mountain bike racing has taken over the last two-and-a-half decades. As his race career wound down, he found himself at a company called Sponsorhouse, which managed athlete and brand sponsor partnerships. Sponsorhouse changed its name to Hookit and Rich has remained an integral part of the business for 19 years. He continues to oversee athlete and sponsor relations and discusses how Hookit uses data-driven information to help companies and riders succeed in their marketing efforts.Thanks  to JENSON USA  and MAXXIS TIRES  for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast.Watch this podcast on YouTube Discussion Topics0:00 - Introduction and Fontana7:10 - BMX to Basketball to Downhill16:50 - World Champs DH in Cairns19:57 - First Sponsors, Racing for Tomac24:54 - Slalom, Dual &amp; 4X30:59 - Bike Setup Back in the Day34:28 - Why Did 4X Die?35:56 - Proudest Racing Moment38:08 - Making a Living Racing MTB42:48 - Discovering Aaron Gwin54:05 - Sponsorhouse to Hookit1:00:17 - From MTB Racer to Desk Job1:06:26 - Social Media's Impact on MTB Sponsorship1:19:53 - What Makes a Successful Social Media Pt?1:32:52 - Difficulties Female Athletes Face on Social Media1:35:27 - Athletes Succeeding on Social Media1:40:14 - Leticia Bufoni using Hookit1:47:32 - Lew Buchanan Riding for OnlyFans1:51:22 - Wyn Masters' Sponsor Value1:56:11 - Dad Life#MTB #Mountainbike #bike

Rich Houseman forged a successful career as an American mountain bike racer in the late nineties and early 2000s. Taking wins in downhill, dual slalom, 4x and dual, Rich has seen all the different trends and changes that mountain bike racing has taken over the last two-and-a-half decades. As his race career wound down, he found himself at a company called Sponsorhouse, which managed athlete and brand sponsor partnerships. Sponsorhouse changed its name to Hookit and Rich has remained an integral part of the business for 19 years. He continues to oversee athlete and sponsor relations and discusses how Hookit uses data-driven information to help companies and riders succeed in their marketing efforts. Thanks  to <a href="https://www.jensonusa.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">JENSON USA</a>  and <a href="https://www.maxxis.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">MAXXIS TIRES</a>  for supporting The Inside Line MTB podcast. <a href="https://youtu.be/67F-Er89r_Y" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Watch this podcast on YouTube </a> Discussion Topics 0:00 - Introduction and Fontana 7:10 - BMX to Basketball to Downhill 16:50 - World Champs DH in Cairns 19:57 - First Sponsors, Racing for Tomac 24:54 - Slalom, Dual &amp; 4X 30:59 - Bike Setup Back in the Day 34:28 - Why Did 4X Die? 35:56 - Proudest Racing Moment 38:08 - Making a Living Racing MTB 42:48 - Discovering Aaron Gwin 54:05 - Sponsorhouse to Hookit 1:00:17 - From MTB Racer to Desk Job 1:06:26 - Social Media's Impact on MTB Sponsorship 1:19:53 - What Makes a Successful Social Media Pt? 1:32:52 - Difficulties Female Athletes Face on Social Media 1:35:27 - Athletes Succeeding on Social Media 1:40:14 - Leticia Bufoni using Hookit 1:47:32 - Lew Buchanan Riding for OnlyFans 1:51:22 - Wyn Masters' Sponsor Value 1:56:11 - Dad Life #MTB #Mountainbike #bike

Rich Houseman - Downhill MTB Racing, Sponsorship and Social Media Discussions

Rich Houseman knows a thing or two about what it takes to get sponsored. As the youngest ever factory-sponsored BMX rider, aged 6, he went on to become BMX World Champion and have a successful DH and 4X career. Rich moved into the world of sponsorship in 2004 when he started at hookit.com. He went on to manage the one and only Aaron Gwin, and has been behind the scenes for much of his career. We sat down to find out about his background in the sport, and what it was like racing in the 90s. We cover how he met Aaron and what it’s like being involved in the sponsorship of one of the highest value athletes in our sport. Then we get onto the mountain bike sponsorship environment in 2021. How important is social media, is racing enough, how do influencers and YouTubers fit into the picture and much more. So hit play above and listen to this episode with Rich Houseman.If you want to head to a specific part of our conversation, then here are some rough timings.Rich's background - 03:00-22:00Hookit overview and his work with Aaron Gwin - 22:00-38:00What it takes to be sponsored in 2021 - 38:00-1hr:30You can find Rich on Instagram @bigzcasa. You can see the Hookit athlete rankings here.Rich is proudly supported by Nukeproof, ODI, Shimano, O’Neal, VonZipper, FOX, MRP, Dumonde Tech, KENDA, Smanie Saddles, TruckerCo, Nezium, Marsh Guard, Hookit, and Team Houseman Racing!Supporting PartnersWe Are One CompositesThis episode is supported by We Are One Composites. We Are One have been big supporters of what I’m doing from the start, and for that I’m really grateful. They also make amazing carbon fibre wheels which are hand made in Canada, and have recently added their DaPackage bar and stem to their line up. I’m running their Faction 29er rims on my bike, and they look and feel amazing. They’ve managed to find the sweet spot between stiffness and compliance, making a wheel that tracks, but doesn’t feel harsh to ride.They’ve got a whole line up of wheels, so there is always something to suit your needs. Head to weareonecomposites.com and check out what they have to offer. If you’re tempted, then as a Downtime listener, they are offering you 15% off during January. All you need to do is enter the code ‘2021herewego‘ at the checkout.Podcast StuffIf you want to support the podcast, and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that's using renewable energy. So check it out now over at downtimepodcast.com/shop. The new t-shirts are super soft and a lovely fit, so treat yourself and help the podcast at the same time. We've got sweatshirts and hoodies too!For everything video, including riding videos, bike checks and more, subscribe over at youtube.com/downtimemountainbikepodcast.Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, then don’t forget to subscribe. It’s free and means you’ll get every episode delivered to your device as soon as it’s available. You'll find all the links you need at downtimepodcast.com/subscribe. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google and most of the podcast apps out there. While you're there, why not join our newsletter, to get our Weekend Warm-Up email every Friday, full of interesting bike-related stuff, competitions, product recommendations and more.If you want to share tips and advice with other podcast listeners on anything mountain bike related, you can join our Facebook group, head to www.facebook.com/groups/mtbperformance/ request permission to join the group and get involved!Our back catalogue of amazing episodes is available at downtimepodcast.com/episodesPhoto - Kris Magenheim

Rich Houseman knows a thing or two about what it takes to get sponsored. As the youngest ever factory-sponsored BMX rider, aged 6, he went on to become BMX World Champion and have a successful DH and 4X career. Rich moved into the world of sponsorship in 2004 when he started at <a href="http://hookit.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hookit.com</a>. He went on to manage the one and only Aaron Gwin, and has been behind the scenes for much of his career. We sat down to find out about his background in the sport, and what it was like racing in the 90s. We cover how he met Aaron and what it’s like being involved in the sponsorship of one of the highest value athletes in our sport. Then we get onto the mountain bike sponsorship environment in 2021. How important is social media, is racing enough, how do influencers and YouTubers fit into the picture and much more. So hit play above and listen to this episode with Rich Houseman. If you want to head to a specific part of our conversation, then here are some rough timings. Rich's background - 03:00-22:00 Hookit overview and his work with Aaron Gwin - 22:00-38:00 What it takes to be sponsored in 2021 - 38:00-1hr:30 You can find Rich on Instagram @bigzcasa. You can see the Hookit athlete rankings here. Rich is proudly supported by Nukeproof, ODI, Shimano, O’Neal, VonZipper, FOX, MRP, Dumonde Tech, KENDA, Smanie Saddles, TruckerCo, Nezium, Marsh Guard, Hookit, and Team Houseman Racing! Supporting Partners We Are One Composites This episode is supported by We Are One Composites. We Are One have been big supporters of what I’m doing from the start, and for that I’m really grateful. They also make amazing carbon fibre wheels which are hand made in Canada, and have recently added their DaPackage bar and stem to their line up. I’m running their Faction 29er rims on my bike, and they look and feel amazing. They’ve managed to find the sweet spot between stiffness and compliance, making a wheel that tracks, but doesn’t feel harsh to ride. They’ve got a whole line up of wheels, so there is always something to suit your needs. Head to <a href="http://weareonecomposites.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">weareonecomposites.com</a> and check out what they have to offer. If you’re tempted, then as a Downtime listener, they are offering you 15% off during January. All you need to do is enter the code ‘2021herewego‘ at the checkout. Podcast Stuff If you want to support the podcast, and represent, then my webstore is the place to head. All products are 100% organic, shipped without plastics, and made with a supply chain that's using renewable energy. So check it out now over at <a href="http://downtimepodcast.com/shop" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">downtimepodcast.com/shop</a>. The new t-shirts are super soft and a lovely fit, so treat yourself and help the podcast at the same time. We've got sweatshirts and hoodies too! For everything video, including riding videos, bike checks and more, subscribe over at <a href="http://youtube.com/downtimemountainbikepodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">youtube.com/downtimemountainbikepodcast</a>. Are you enjoying the podcast? If so, then don’t forget to subscribe. It’s free and means you’ll get every episode delivered to your device as soon as it’s available. You'll find all the links you need at <a href="http://downtimepodcast.com/subscribe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">downtimepodcast.com/subscribe</a>. You can find us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google and most of the podcast apps out there. While you're there, why not join our newsletter, to get our Weekend Warm-Up email every Friday, full of interesting bike-related stuff, competitions, product recommendations and more. If you want to share tips and advice with other podcast listeners on anything mountain bike related, you can join our Facebook group, head to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/mtbperformance/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.facebook.com/groups/mtbperformance/</a> request permission to join the group and get involved! Our back catalogue of amazing episodes is available at <a href="http://downtimepodcast.com/episodes" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">downtimepodcast.com/episodes</a> Photo - Kris Magenheim

Getting Sponsored in 2021 – Rich Houseman