After his recent trip to Europe, visiting everyone from potential donors to the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), I was able to sit down with Chris Morgan and ask him about our biggest benefactors, Touratech.
Chris Morgan in front of the Touratech Germany Offices
-So you just had a two week stint in Europe. How was the trip?
Chris Morgan: Really good. Really interesting actually. Met lots of people who are really into BEARTREK and got to go to Germany as well and meet the Touratech guys.
-Who did you meet when you were over there at Touratech?
Chris Morgan: The Bosses, Herbert [Schwarz] and Jochen [Schanz], and a bunch of their staff; Margit, Karin, Alex and Joe. I was able to meet the whole team actually, even some of the guys that work in the factory building the products.
-So what did you do while you were there visiting Touratech?
Chris Morgan: Went to their head offices and factory in Niedereschach. Touratech is a company that’s really growing and doing some exciting things, they create products that attach to motorcycles, which improve the motorcycles performance and functionality. So in my case on the BMW they made the saddle bags and added extras that I use on my bike everything from a radiator guard to side stand plates. One of the most important things is they make these gas tanks that you can strap on to the side of the bike and it increases the mileage range of your motorcycle. The Zega Cases saddle bags are also an important addition as I can get all my camping and research gear in them. I fell off my bike last year in Alaska and the saddle bags saved my leg because they’re so sturdy. They’re big aluminum tanks that go on the side and back of the bike, so they’re a real life saver sometimes.
Herbert Schwarz, Managing Director and Member of the Board at Touratech
- You have all the finished gear from them, what was it like seeing the factory floor?
Chris Morgan: It was really nice to see the people working back in the factory there and each of them has their own specialized skill. What was really nice, as well, was everyone in the offices knew what BEARTREK is, they all think it is a cool project and they’ve all been amazingly supportive. They’ve given us dollars, they’ve given us motorcycle gear and they put an 8-page article in their brochure about BEARTREK, so they’ve been a huge help. They’ve actually created BEARTREK decals to go on your motorbike or on your saddle bags, and they’re huge! And all the proceeds go to BEARTREK, so buy those stickers!
-How did you first get introduced to Touratech besides just buying their gear for your BMW?
Chris Morgan: When I first bought my motorbike in 2001 I immediately put Touratech saddle bags on it, this is all pre-BEARTREK of course, but they were just the best saddle bags to have on there. So I put them on and a couple of other little Touratech parts and just really liked them. Then I went and visited Tom Meyers, Paul Guillen, and others at Touratech USA, just right down the road in Seattle. I got to be friends with them and learned a lot about bike equipment from them. And they’ve been a huge support for BEARTREK, and then Tom and Paul introduced us to the folks in the main office in Germany. And the friendship and relationship built from there, to the point where they are our first major corporate sponsor.
BEARTREK article in Touratech catalog. At least 250.000 copies were printed, published in five languages and distributed worldwide.
-So how important is this relationship and sponsorship with Touratech for Wildlife Media and BEARTREK?
Chris Morgan: It’s a big deal for us. We’re in a really good position now to get more corporate sponsorships, but this is our first major one and we feel like they’re part of the family now. They’re just really helpful in so many ways beyond what we expected them to be, and beyond expectations. One of the things I did when I was in Germany was going to a motorcycle trade show and there were 40,000 people there. It blew my mind! And this was a small trade show fair apparently. And it just made me remember that this is what we’re trying to do with BEARTREK, to reach new audiences with natural history and wildlife adventure. And one of those new audiences is motorcyclists and that’s the reason there’s a bike in the show. We want to make sure people see this as an adventure beyond the natural history side of it.
-What was something new that you learned while you were touring Touratech?
Chris Morgan: One thing that Touratech is doing is they have a Touratech TV station, so they interviewed me for their internet TV station while I was there. I think they do a really good job getting word out through their web TV about what they’re doing and they’re being really helpful to us for getting the word out about BEARTREK in that way too.
Chris’s trip was a successful one. He was able to meet the people behind the scenes helping us get to Peru and in the end finishing BEARTREK. Chris repeatedly emphasized how important this relationship between Touratech and Wildlife Media is. And I think I can speak for everyone here and say thank you to Touratech for their continued support of Wildlife Media and BEARTREK.
–Jordan Green
