In this installation of Industry Insider, Vurb sits down with one of the busiest men in the industry. Jason McCune of Leatt Corp wears many hats, but it all started with him wearing a Leatt Brace at the local tracks in effort to build awareness.  Today, the Leatt Brace has changed the face of our sport from a protective view and done so in little time. Jason McCune takes us behind the scenes of one the fastest growing companies in the history of the sport.

We are aware that you have a background that includes both two and four wheel experience; tell us about your history within motorsports going as far back to the good old days ripping it around on Big Wheels?
Well……to be honest. I really wanted to drive racecars for a living. I started in karting and won a lot of local and regional championships. I was also racing off-road buggies in the desert with my Dad. That’s where I first started riding motorcycles through the ritual of prerunning. Eventually, I moved on to the Jim Russell school where I was picked to represent the USA at their annual runoff in England (Silverstone…for those of you who follow F1) driving formula Fords. I came home and tried to get something else going but just ran out of money and sponsors. After that I got into motorcycles, as they were much cheaper, and I found I could do it on my own………no crew or additional help needed. Through motorcycles, I’ve met some amazing friends and even had some success along the way. I even have a BEAR from Mammoth!!

Define your role at Leatt and give us some industry history that helped pave the way into your position?
My official title is sales manager, but just like most others, I wear many different hats. I obviously focus a lot on the sales stuff, but also work with advertising, marketing, and handle all the sponsorship stuff with our riders/drivers. As far as industry history….that’s kind of funny because I didn’t really have any before Leat...just a huge passion for moto!

There is story behind every brand and with Leatt I assume it’s pretty powerful. Let us inside the beginning stages of what has become an industry icon in so little time?
Trying to make a long story short……I actually broke my back in 2005 at A Day in the Dirt. During my recovery, I wanted to find something that would help protect me as much as possible. Through a close friend, I discovered the Leatt Brace. It still wasn’t in production yet, but I was very interested in the product. Through a chance meeting, I ended up in Geoff Patterson’s body shop to get my truck repaired and we started talking about the brace. Anyone who knows Geoff would understand that he immediately felt the same passion as me for the brace. He contacted Chris Leatt and somehow convinced him that we would be the guys in the USA to distribute the Leatt Brace. Geoff went to South Africa and brought back two prototype braces. I rode that night for the first time with the brace. I knew from that point forward neck protection in motocycles would be very different. We knew a couple industry people, but for the most part we just started spending everyday at the track. It was so new and so different that most people didn’t want to try it or even look at it. It took about 6 months before someone we actually heard of wanted to try the brace. You may know him…Troy Lee.  He was our first real “named” guy in the industry to support the brace. Jessica Patterson was at our first ride day, Mike Sleeter was actually the first one to wear it in Supercross competition and soon after that, we received a call from Kevin Windham…very surreal. He wore it and loved it, our first top 3 in San Diego 2006. He even wore it on the podium! About a week later David Bailey came out with his video and I think the rest is history.

You just got back from South Africa and I’m sure your calendar is packed with travel. Bring us inside a typical month in in life of Jason McCune?
South Africa is far! That is my second trip and it’s just to far to go! It’s a wonderful country, but it takes almost two days to get there! Because South Africa is home to Leatt and a 10 hour difference in time, I spend a lot of time on Skype. Most of my conversations are at either Midnight or 5am.

Fortunately, our rider rep, Kristin, does most of the traveling to the motocross stuff. I will attend 3-4 outdoor nationals this year. I travel about two weekends a month on average and although I’m very tired of traveling, I’m blessed with being able to do something I truly love. Next weekend I’m traveling to Whistler, BC to speak at a Mountain Bike symposium. We’ll get to do some downhill in one of the most beautiful places I am told. I guess I can’t complain too much about that!

Leatt simply swept the sport with the introduction of the Leatt Brace. Can you bring us inside the management of a business that exploded with such magnitude?
The first year and a half were a blur…..literally. It all seemed to snowball and happen so fast. We actually didn’t have enough product for the consumer! It took some time to get organized and to a point where we could simply satisfy the demand. It was a catch 22. We were happy we were so busy, but it was almost too much….if that makes sense? Anyway, we made it through and now things are definitely a lot more structured and organized. Lately we’ve spent a lot of time working on new products and designs.

Leatt can best be described as an innovator/originator and it’s no secret that the success of Leatt has spawned the birth of other products trying to establish themselves as a neck protective company. From a marketing standpoint what have you been able to do in effort to protect the brand image and to further educate the buyer in regards to the protective value found in Leatt?
We’ve been trying to really focus on educating the rider on neck protection and the science behind the Leatt Brace. What some people don’t know is that Dr. Chris Leatt spent nearly 6 years engineering and developing on the brace before he finally put it into production! We want to focus on that. We believe we do have the best product out there. Educating the public is what we need to continue to do! I believe it’s important that people know the science and biomechanics behind all major protective gear. You can see one our first educational videos titled “Why Leatt?” at www.leattbrace-usa.com.

Building upon the brand you have introduced a mix of braces suited for different budgets. In addition you have also introduced the soc kits. Give our readers an overview of what Leatt is doing to reach out to all consumers?
Most of you who are familiar with Leatt know, we have 3 different braces. The Sport brace, the Club brace, and our most recent, the Adventure brace.
With the introduction of the Adventure Brace, Leatt has answered the demand for a more affordable brace. The key to that was to not compromise the protection that it gives you. With the Adventure brace, you get the same quality protection at a more affordable price.

The Soc Kits have become a very popular addition to the brace. You can wash them to keep them clean and they help protect the brace as well.

2010 will bring new and exciting things to our product line as well. I’d tell you more, but you know...You’ll just have to wait!

Leatt has grown into the four wheel market and mountain bike markets, how is the product being embraced in those markets?
Leatt in the four wheel market has been a lot of fun for me because of my background. We have the MotoR which is completely innovative compared to the HANS device. We have taken our motorcycle brace technology and transferred it to four wheels. It is proving to be very popular in the off-road/sprint car market. I’m also working with NASCAR for future use in their series as well. It’s amazing how many of those guys/gals ride motorcycles and are already very familiar with the Leatt name. I’ve been very fortunate to be able to work with a few of the top level NASCAR teams regarding the brace and I look forward to the day the drivers can actually wear our product.

The downhill mountain bike industry is really beginning to embrace the Leatt. I’ve had the opportunity to attend a couple of the national events this year and it really seems to have become a hot topic within the downhill community. Like motocross, they have seen their share of serious accidents. The Leatt is something many riders are now looking at for additional protection.

For the first time, Leatt Brace will be at Interbike this year. If you are there, come by and say hello!

Rider relations have been key to the brand in many ways and I would assume that it all started with David Bailey. I know that you also work closely with James Marshall and ton of Pro and Amateur athletes, bring us inside your athlete relations and the role that plays with branding strength?
It definitely all started with David Bailey. He is the man! James has become a very close friend of all of us at Leatt as well. I also can’t say enough about our riders. A lot of them started with us in the beginning. They believe in the brace and share a similar passion for it as we do. They are a very key ingredient to the success of Leatt Brace. We want them to wear the brace because it is their preferred piece of neck protection. We believe that says a lot about a product.

Motorcycles are dangerous as we all know and we want to see everyone as protected as possible.

Leatt plays a big role in the annual Day in the Dirt race. What does Day in the Dirt mean to you?
Day in the Dirt has become a way of life for myself, my family, and a lot of the other people that attend the annual event. It’s a place where I think the racing takes a backseat to family, friends, and fun! It’s an opportunity for you to enjoy your time with all these people and throw in a little motocross as well. Kenny Alexander is the promoter of the event and he and his staff always seem to make it better and better every year. As a company, Leatt enjoys its association with A Day in the Dirt and we hope to continue that for many years to come.

If you haven’t been, you need to go.