Channel Mastery - Ep. 153: Eric Porter, Diamondback Athlete
Diamondback
Building an audience as a professional athlete
“...And so what that got me thinking was how can I connect to my audience and come across in a way that really is me and that isn't trying to jump on a trend and trying to make it on YouTube, but really just putting across my thoughts. And so that was, you know, I had to figure out how I wanted to come in the videos and how I could sound like me and talk to the camera...I really wanted to come across in [my videos] as me.”
- Eric Porter
EPISODE PREVIEW:
Eric Porter is a professional mountain biker that I have worked with over the years in a variety of different ways. At the end of every year, he’s traditionally planning his trips for the new year, but just like so many of us in 2020, he had to change how he approached this past year. With cancelled trips, races and essentially all plans, he pivoted to focus on video production and ramped up his Youtube Channel - Porter MTB - over the past year. His goal throughout the year was reaching 100k follower and for him, he’s committed to turning out high quality videos, ensuring the videos he shares feature him authentically and that he’s connecting with his fans and followers. As we’ve all seen in 2020, we have to adjust to where our consumers are and how their behavior has shifted. Eric and his fellow athletes at Diamondback and other brands are practicing what they preach and providing authentic content that speaks to their followers. Listen to the full episode to hear how he reached - and exceeded - that 100k followers goal and what’s next to come for him!
GUEST PROFILES:
Eric Porter
Eric Porter is a father, fly fisherman, backcountry snowboarder, and Professional Mountain Biker. He grew up racing cross country mountain bikes, then switched to downhill and won Collegiate National Championships, and then switched to freeriding, where he was the first to grind handrails on a mountain bike. He spent the next 8 years on the World Slopestyle Tour and filming for big free ride videos, which piqued his interest in traveling the world. Since 2011 he has been on the forefront of mountain bike adventuring, riding his bike places no one else has been, and sharing those adventures with the world. He spends time on all of his bikes, from the road bike at home while training, to dirt jumping in his legendary backyard riding setup, to the XC bike for endurance and adventure racing, and mixing in a healthy dose of bikepacking as well. He is also trying hard to help as a public lands and trails advocate, volunteering as President of Wasatch Trails Foundation, helping to build and maintain multi-use trails in Utah.
SELECT QUOTES:
“...And so what that got me thinking was how can I connect to my audience and come across in a way that really is me and that isn't trying to jump on a trend and trying to make it on YouTube, but really just putting across my thoughts. And so that was, you know, I had to figure out how I wanted to come in the videos and how I could sound like me and talk to the camera...I really wanted to come across in [my videos] as me.”“...I do feel like a large majority of the people that are getting bikes and getting into mountain biking. Now they're not going to leave. It's one of those things that once you discover it, I think you're in it's really fun. And the more you do it, the more fun it gets and you, you don't have to have a team. You don't have to have you know, you can just go out and ride and have a good time. So I'm hoping that you know, a lot of people stick around for longer. And so think part of that with my channel is that I can speak directly to a lot of those new consumers and on some of the ethics of mountain biking and tell them that trail advocacy matters because they're new.”“It's been 10 years that I've been on Diamondback and every trip I go on, almost every time I hear a story from somebody that I meet in a new town or wherever on the trail about their first time and back, everybody's got a story about it. So yeah, a lot of people have a really personal longtime connection to this brand.”“I have no idea where I'll be able to go or what I'll be able to do, but I do know that my job is to connect with consumers that are potentially looking to buy stuff from the brands…”
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