Dwid & Am, SMILINGCHAINLINK

The Bikes College: Disruptive do good legends...

There must be easier things you could be doing in the normal 9 to 5 world that would probably pay better. So why do you bother?

Dwid: Why not? Be under no illusion it's really hard to do good most of the time but if I'm in doubt I stand in the middle of our shop and look around. There are many other places and jobs I could be in but why bother - I do the most challenging job I can think of in the most underrated industry I can think of with the best people I could wish to call my friends. The money isn't the major issue when you're having that much fun. The Bikes College started from a very dark place at the darkest time of my life and to see what one can create out of the darkness is truly rewarding. Why bother you ask? Why not? I respond.

Am: For me personally I never fit anywhere else in full so this is my niche, my passion, my channel of expression. That it happened to be in cycling that was passed onto me as a hobby by Alan, my dad. All I wanted was to be a bike mechanic and I grew to be an advocate for the sport along the way. Once we removed the element of profit from the business plan we grew bigger, faster and in better direction. I never wanted to be anything else and this seems like my dream come true so why not?

What are you proudest of in terms of your work?

Dwid: Being able to show different perspectives, to influence behaviours and to change lives. I have a very limited time here on earth and the more people I can influence the bigger the impact I can create. What else matters more?

Am: It must be the ability to treat people the same regardless of where they are from and what bike they ride. The biggest difference is made by the smallest things in my work and to be able to drive this as a full time job is the proudest achievement of my life.

What’s the success that surprised you most?

Dwid: I do not recognise many successes in my life - I'm really hard on myself and it does stop me from enjoying what others might consider a success. If I was to choose a thing that surprised me the most it might be the chance I was given by people who I idolise, respect and proudly now call friends; Amelia being my biggest success - for me to be able to impress a lady of her calibre is absolutely insane.

Am: I do not see many successes in my work - we just keep our heads down and work harder every day. To be finally recognised as a vital part of the SMILNGCHAINLINK is my personal surprise.

What’s the funniest screw up?

Dwid: My job is to stop screw ups from happening - I treat it really seriously. The biggest so far? When I made a total fool of myself making an inappropriate joke in front of the CEO of the company I was trying to make to work with us - it was seriously out of place and delayed the entire operation by about 18 months. I was worried it'd set us up for a failure but Michael Braybrook from Extra convinced me to send a professional email which worked in the end.

Am: It must be when we accidentally gave someone a wrong bike (both were pink) and the other person never noticed either. We had to organise a 4 way conversation with 2 bikes, 2 girls, 3 parents and 2 mechanics to undo it all. It all was fine at the end but this was a messy mix up.

What do you find hardest?

Dwid: Giving up at anything as I'm chronically optimistic about stuff that I believe in. It's truly difficult for me to see any negativity in things I believe in which occasionally gets me excited about things no-one sees as viable or even possible. I remember speaking to Keith Scott from Banshee about a problem or two and realising that people see me just fighting at all times.

Am: Not to strangle Dwid when he winds me up! And to match his drive and passion just to continue against all odds.

What’s the bit you never get tired of?

Dwid: Getting up in the morning. Every day is a blessing for me since my accident and I refuse to downgrade it to a daily task - I once was not meant to wake up and to be able to do it every day now is a privilege I will not take for granted.

Am: I believe we are all on borrowed time so every day is a blessing. And to fill all these days with something I love doing is a privilege itself. I will never get tired of fixing bikes.

Dwid and Amelia as riders...

Uphill or downhill rider / sweater or jumper?

Dwid: Down until my legs give in. Occasionally up until my bum gives in. Jumper more than a sweater these days but I do enjoy a good pedal out (I moan about climbing but some say I'm stubborn enough to survive the majority of it). I believe I just enjoy riding a bike - I always wanted to be average at everything with no speciality so I can enjoy anything the day brings.

Am: I was a roadie but Dwid introduced me to MTB and the adrenaline; now I am hooked. I enjoy jumps and downs much more than long rides these days.

Uphill or downhill mentality? E.g. do you tend to make things harder than they have to be or take the easier option

Dwid: I absolutely rue things made complicated and difficult for no reason; life is full of these things; but I also do everything with a sickening (even to myself) amount of planning and analysing. I'm an overthinker who spends his time on just contemplating all the possible scenarios to make sure that once we're off we are going with a downhill mentality at full steam. I do worry and I do speculate a lot but it's only to ensure people around me can help me to deliver the best outcome at the least risk physically possible.

Am: I used to be the over complicating, uphill, ‘nothing is easy’ person. But with experience and with some self belief anything is possible. You just need to plan, ask for help and stick to your vision, and stuff will snowball.

Favourite sort of ride?

Dwid: On a bike. With Amelia. With our friends. Everything else will sort itself out.

Am: On a bike. With Dwid and some good people. Everything else will fall into place.

Favourite riding destination?

Dwid: That's a tough one because I haven't been everywhere yet. For now it must be Petzen's flow trail in Austria - Simon Nieborak's suggestion - I know some of the builders and it's the best fun trail I have ever ridden.

Am:  <giggling> Anywhere with an uplift.

Favourite bit of clothing?

Dwid: I'm a bit of a hoarder of clothing - people secretly get rid of my clothes as they fall apart while I refuse to bin them after years of use. An old Polaris rain jacket was the best rain jacket I've ever had but I got a tad too fat for it so I passed it down onto someone else. These days I appreciate a pair of good shorts as I am a person who wears shorts even in the winter - Madison's Freewheel shorts are my favourite clothing on the trails and off the trails I enjoy a decent cotton shirt (I love my TM Lewin shirts).

Am: A decent gilet and decent chinos. I am in love with heated jackets and Madison's waterproof dungarees have saved my bum many times over.

If Polaris could make you a piece of custom kit what would it be?

Dwid: A good loose fit MTB jersey or all weather jacket.

Am: Padded casual trousers.

What’s your secret skill?

Dwid: I'm infamous for being able to destroy things considered indestructible and I'm good at looking for the proverbial weakest link in things.

Am: I can fit a swear word in ANY sentence. And I will find things considered lost forever.

Mastermind specialist subject (non bike)?

Dwid: I'm university educated in Maths and Physics, and bilingual (Polish and English).

Am: Film photography and classic, old cameras.

The future according to The Bikes College...

Are you looking forward to the next 12 months?

Dwid: The world is in a strange place now and it remains important for all of us to stay positive and focus on things we can change and/or influence. Thus I am looking forward to doing more. I want to convince more brands to give me more chances to do more things for more people.

Am: More opportunities with all the extra things we do. To see how far we can push the sport with all the bits we do.

What would you change about mountain biking?

Dwid: Make it a better place for everyone. I have no idea how to make it happen though. I want all people of any background to ride bikes together. I really don't think that race, sex, background, origin, financial status, cost of your bike or even the car you or your parent or partner drives should matter in life; let alone in cycling. I want more places to ride everywhere and more people to ride. And free caramel digestives for everyone. That would be ace.

Am: Get more ladies riding. Get more places to ride. Get more people in general to ride bikes.

What would you change about the bike industry?

Dwid: Mindsets.

Am: For it to be less profit driven.

What gives you the most hope?

Dwid: Kids. These guys have everything we always dreamt of (technology, access, inclusivity) while having nothing of what we take for granted (social life, true friends, offline time) so they need to know what keeps us ticking. The kids are the future and if we let their phones tell them what's right or wrong we will only reap the carnage when we're older and they're looking after us.

Am: The youngsters. They are the ones that will carry us when we are older. They will walk the way we taught them. They have to be able to navigate the future and it is up to us to teach them how to do so.