SMQ profile/interview.

Dees, Windy ; Hall, Todd ; Todd, Samuel 等

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Name: Michael Ball

Title: Team Owner, Rock Racing; CEO & Creative Director, Rock & Republic

Education: Attended University of California at Los Angeles

Career: Team Owner and General Manager, Rock Racing Chief Executive Officer and Creative Director, Rock & Republic

How did you decide to start Rock Racing, and what was your overall vision and purpose for the team?

Well, the answer is two fold, because there are two entities. There's the (cycling) team that is Rock Racing, then there is the brand that I built in order to utilize the team as a marketing tool to push product. The original idea for the team was frankly to just do something local here in Los Angeles and to get my butt back into shape. That was frankly the original idea. Unfortunately, I am a habitual or serial entrepreneur in if I see an opportunity, whether it's building a team or building a brand, it seems I had no other choice but to follow that out.

So one thing led to another and we built the team into what it was in the first year--just a local team, and in some sense it was a laughing stock in the world of, at least, local racing because the guys were a rag tag bunch that showed up in black Escalades. We didn't have any kits. I had to screen the logos onto this lycra that I had found, and the shorts were ill fitting and we were all in black and white. In the first race we did, we got a one, two, three. So it made people stop for a second and go, "Who are these guys?"

So you guys took the scene by storm?

We got a lot of flak for the flash. It's a somewhat traditional sport. A lot of people weren't comfortable with the way we approached it--the way I approached it--but I didn't know any other way. I was pretty naive to the politics of this particular sport and by the time 2008 rolled around and I had put this team together that really became an extreme focal point. In some sense I became this lightning rod for ex or controversial individuals as it came to blood doping, doping, or drugs.

On that note, was it a specific strategy of yours to go with the "bad boy" cyclists and try to create that image for Rock Racing, or, like you said, was that just part of building the team?

There is no such thing as bad press as long as you know how to spin it. The truth of the matter is, I was just looking for some racers to build the team to be more competitive for 2008. I was willing to ride it and see where it would go. We were already considered the bad boys at that time so this would just add that much more "street cred," if you will, to the fact that we were this rebel or renegade team and this renegade team owner making his own rules and running a team like no one ever had in the last couple decades.

What is the strategy for Rock Racing now that the team is in place?

Frankly, just to go out and kick some ass. Go out there and be competitive because it is getting even more so with Lance (Armstrong) coming back and Estana having a powerhouse of a team and Saxxo and Chipotle are steady.

Again, I needed to bolster that roster and that was the intention and that's what we've done. What that does in turn is push us more out the door based on who we are as a team and as a brand. We're still the bad boys, if you will, if you look at the guys that I got.

How does Rock Racing fit into your overall business plan of Rock & Republic? How does it help you achieve your goals with Rock & Republic?

Rock & Republic, if you will, has pulled out. Rock & Republic had the intention of by 2009 not to have anything to do with it. That little bird needed to fly and get out of the nest.

It was a draw financially from the company and it did actually affect the bottom line. That was never our intention, so that bird needs to fly by itself with Rock Racing supporting it and other sponsors as well. Cadillac and GM was a huge supporter of us. This year they were coming in with a financial package that would have underwritten us quite a bit but as we know that is not to be. So the intention of Rock & Republic for 2009 is for it to be completely limited except from the ancillaries from the perspective of dressing the guys and providing their eyewear--nothing from a financial perspective at all. It's Rock Racing's job now as a brand and company to underwrite those guys.

So if we could just summarize what you've just said, Rock & Republic served as the launching pad for Rock Racing.

Yes, the catalyst, if you will, sure, absolutely. Rock & Republic's direction of where it's going is not in the world of racing anymore. It's about high fashion and retail rollout. It's a completely different perspective.

We were wondering where the connection between the two lay, in terms of the fashion and the racing, in terms of a target market for both products; where was the crossover for you?

Again I can hark on back to better days when an individual who would buy a $12,000 bike was buying my $350 jeans and an $80,000 Escalade. So it was kind of a no brainer. I knew the market was there, and I knew it was one of the more healthy demographics out there and I said, "why not?" Let's go see. Let's run this exercise and see if there is a return. And there certainly has been. Some of the numbers that you've heard is that our media impressions is twice that of the Tour de France winning team in a very short period of time, which is pretty amazing in and of itself in terms of a marketing perspective. In the hearts and minds of cycling fans of the world we've won.

From a budgetary standpoint, does Rock & Republic still input a certain amount of support?

Rock & Republic is done and will not put a dime into bicycle racing. They are on their own. It's an amazing thing that has happened, to create a small team and turn it into a world-renowned team and a brand that follows and supports it.

Interview conducted by Dr. Windy Dees, Dr. Todd Hall, Dr. Samuel Todd, and Joseph Green, Georgia Southern University