Reflecting on Eyes Up | Maxxis
Somehow, it’s been over a year since I was knee deep in the stress and excitement of planning the Eyes Up | Maxxis interview project.
The idea for this project was born in May 2022 when I was introduced to a member of the Maxxis Tires marketing team in the auto division. A fellow Kenyon College alum who had been following the Eyes Up journey works in the polymer world (which includes tires) and connected us after the common thread of wheeled machines and the positive mission to fight distracted driving crossed his mind.
My life plans shifted quite a bit from my first conversation with Maxxis in the spring of last year to when the project actually started in late October. Initially, we had discussed a situation in which I would meet up with Maxxis athletes along my ride as I traveled down the Pacific Coast and across the southern tier whenever it made logistical sense. You may be remembering that I ended up not riding the southern tier, and you would be correct. I felt hesitant about having this new pressure to ride beyond San Diego for the project and wanted to find another way to make it happen.
Late in the summer, I had a conversation with my good friend, Conor, about his truck. He was in the process of figuring out someone to rent it for the winter months while he headed to Maui to train for bike racing.
Late in the summer, I had a conversation with my good friend, Conor, about his truck. He was in the process of arranging someone to rent it for the winter months while he would be in Maui to train for bike racing. He had a loosely committed prospective renter in Jackson Hole and was thinking through how to get his truck out there from New England. I threw out the idea of driving it out for him as the logistics of interviewing athletes scattered across the country came a bit more into focus in my head. Conor liked the idea, as did I.
Rather than having to meet these athletes either at the end of a long day of riding my bike or taking time off to fit their schedules when I arrived to their areas, a road trip would allow a structured, predictable schedule that could easily be planned around. It also would take any pressure off continuing to ride back east after reaching San Diego. And, Conor would get his truck hand delivered to his renter out west. This plan was a win-win-win.
It was suddenly clear: I would travel from Connecticut to Jackson Hole in Conor’s truck and meet as many people as Maxxis could arrange and see what this turned into in terms of raising awareness for and spreading the Eyes Up message. Now came the challenging part: working with Maxxis to connect me with their athletes.
As it rolled from September to October, I became increasingly concerned that the project wasn’t going to happen. Nothing was solidified apart from my vision to drive west and Conor’s truck. All I knew was there existed a nebulous list of possible interviewees I had never seen and some loose commitment from Maxxis to provide some support for the journey. The target departure date of late October was quickly approaching and I was having a hard time getting Maxxis on the phone to hammer out the details and feel some sort of commitment and certainty.
Most elements of this project were the result of my own energy and effort to make them happen. They were also almost entirely improvised.
I was in the Netherlands visiting family, riding my bike, and eating stroopwafels in early October just days before I was set to head out on this journey. I still had a dozen loose ends that needed to be tied before actually doing this. Fortunately, I had time and was motivated to make this happen, I poked and bothered my buddies at Maxxis via email and text enough to finally set up conference calls that I took late at night in the attic of my sister’s Dutch home and pushed to get details locked down.
I couldn’t fathom how on earth it could be taking so long to get these people on board for interviews and was nearing the end of my rope. But, I wanted this to happen badly and maintained a positive, patient attitude. It took hearing it a few times from my friends at Maxxis for me to understand that professional athletes are generally (and obviously) sport-focused and lean less in the direction of type A and planning-loving personalities. They constantly train and ride their bikes and check email a couple times a month - fine, we are different.
It wasn’t just the athletes that held up my eager beaver, “let’s go” energy. I had a front row seat to the bureaucracy of large corporations and the frustratingly inefficient lines of communication that persist whenever more than a couple of hands are in the pot and making decisions. With the information I had, I did as much work as I could to make the project turn key for Maxxis. I created a brilliantly detailed travel itinerary that would maximize the number of people I could meet and a precise window of time during which we could record a conversation. I love these kinds of things. However, enough people at Maxxis were interested in the project and wanted to share input on granular details for the initial emails to the athletes. This caused the bottleneck that caused a large amount of stress and delays on my end of things. To me, it seemed unnecessary. But, as I learned, this is how big companies frequently operate.
With days until departure in single digits, my stress was alleviated as the emails finally went out to athletes. With the itinerary structure in place, it was now just a matter of plugging in those who said yes into the 6,000 mile, 21-state plan.
To my amazement, the responses slowly trickled in and nearly all of the folks were interested and could accommodate the date I had them slotted in for on the itinerary.
Maxxis reached out to about 25 athletes in those initial emails. I figured I would get at most 10 “yes” responses, a number I would have been thrilled with. To my amazement, the responses trickled in and nearly all of the folks on the list were interested and could accommodate the date I had them slotted in for on the itinerary. There were a few stragglers (including Kate Courtney, professional mountain bike racer) scheduled for the end of the trip who were radio silent and it was because of my persistence and careful communication that they fell graciously into place a few weeks into the trip.
When I departed for the trip, I was nervous, unsure, and scared because I had no idea what I was doing in all aspects of the project. I invested over $2,000 in audio, video, and lighting equipment to record these conversations without knowing what, if anything, they would turn into. All I knew was I believed in the mission and wanted to do a good job interviewing these people and seem professional. I have been able to fake it in other situations with pretty solid success, this was no different. The challenge was exciting and uncomfortable at the same time.
I left Connecticut on October 22nd in Conor’s truck with my bike, gear, and some snacks and this new adventure was underway. The first few interviews felt strange and I felt symptoms of imposter syndrome. I also had no idea if I was doing a good job recording or saying the right things. I am not a camera, audio, production, or media personality guy. What started as an idea to meet some of these pretty successful people to hopefully spread some awareness suddenly felt like a full-on production that I was making up as I went and pretending to know what I was doing. But it was working.
By the time I was in the Deep South, things were moving smoothly and felt more natural, and I knew what questions got the athletes talking down the right rabbit holes for their experience on distracted driving, digital wellness, and how that connects to their lives and profession. I also was seeing parts of the country I had never experienced before, meeting new people in their homes, shops, or studios and hearing their stories. My confidence grew and I felt in my gut that I was doing the right thing.
Not only did this campaign with Maxxis athletes turn into a pretty fun drive across the country with a deep purpose, it was fulfilling for my soul. I was fortunate to see friends and family in DC, Atlanta, Albuquerque, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mammoth, Park City, Ketchum, and Jackson Hole - all of whom I would not have been able to see otherwise. To me, there’s not much more satisfying than combining a trip filled with purpose for the greater good with connecting with people I care about. I feel fortunate that I was able to make this happen.
I also was seeing parts of the country I had never experienced before, meeting new people in their homes, shops, or studios and hearing their stories.
I hope you’ve taken some time to see some of the videos with these awesome people I interviewed and hear some of their stories. I am proud of the end product and it’s been fun to watch the videos roll out every two weeks. This post-production side of this project pushed me to try something totally new as well - I created the Eyes Up Life podcast so folks can listen to the whole conversation with the athletes after watching the 3-5 minute video.
Working with Maxxis on this project was not lucrative by any means. They provided partial compensation for the large amount of gas I bought, but I invested over $5,000 of my own money and time to make this happen. It’s impossible to measure what the return on this investment was, but because of the broad networks each athlete maintains, I am sure at least one life has been saved or improved because of my work, and that’s certainly worth it. What’s more, I learned a whole lot about myself and what makes me feel alive and I pushed outside my comfort zone to learn new things and roll with the punches. That’s living #EyesUp.
Stay tuned for the final two episodes of the Eyes Up | Maxxis series rolling out in the next month. Thanks for reading and for driving distraction-free.
-Ben Grannis
#EyesUp
