Now, after some time away from the cycling industry, he is returning to the ring and taking on an advisory role at Specialized. He will be involved in all things related to the product, providing information and advice where needed. The implication is that the role is not a day-to-day watchdog, but rather a board position that will have him providing feedback on certain projects and coming to the design teams with ideas.
I spoke with Rob and Mike Sinyard – the founder and acting head of Specialized – to get their thoughts on the new appointment.
Why Rob Roskopp? What made this partnership appealing to you?
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Well, first of all, I always knew about Rob and admired what he did. And then, strangely enough, he became my neighbor, at first I thought to myself, God – because I always ride new motorcycles and I thought to myself that this is a little bit of my style. Then I recognized him and then he said he was leaving that group [Pon Holdings]. So we started riding together and then I realized, man, this guy is smart, I could see why he made a great brand when he was there.
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 just casually talked about things and introduced him to some of our team and they really hit it off. So we thought, well, it’s just kind of a natural thing. I think it was just a natural consequence of Rob being involved for over a year. So why I really respect him and he’s a very direct communicator and he has really great ideas about drivers and brands and then he really helps our team, you know, with different things. So I felt like he had a really great perspective to help us. I always try to find good people and you know, I feel really lucky that we have a lot of really good people. That’s why we succeed. |
Why Specialized? What does the position mean to you?
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Why Specialized? It was really just to move next to Mike and start talking. I bought the house across the street from him about two and a half years ago.
And we’ve always been very serious competitors because I’ve always put Specialized as a benchmark for competition. Sure, there are others – you’re always competing against everyone – but Specialized was the goal. Anyway, so I bought a house and he was taking out the trash and I think I was checking the mail or something. He’s like, oh, hey, how’s it going? I said hey and we started talking. It’s like, so… Because at that point there were rumors that I was leaving Santa Cruz. I say yeah it doesn’t look like it’s going to work and then a few weeks later I saw him again and then he said oh we should talk. And so we started riding around and really bouncing ideas off each other. I love bike stuff like we all do and I’ve always been a product guy – Mike is too. I still wanted to be in the cycling industry and I still wanted to have a pulse and be associated with… I don’t want to say leaders, but they are in many ways and I think they have the most potential, especially with what’s going on in the industry right now. They have the horsepower to develop the product and really make a difference in so many ways, from the Outride program to the industry as a whole. So I’m on board just to help provide information and steer the ship, so to speak, with Mike, and then provide my input with the product, test it and help where I can. |
I look forward to seeing what comes of this partnership, the story of a couple of neighbors who happen to share a very fun common interest. For more behind-the-scenes information on Rob, check out this extended interview that Levy and Brian did with him for the Pinkbike Podcast last year.