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Great read.
like Hvaughn said, not sure how i feel having read both sides but i do think the DC/Sanner piece came across a lot more like a civil explanation of the lack of money but the over-abundance of TRY.
Matthes' original story Eleven-10ths was excellent, but it didn't have Chad's voice, and he deserved a chance to explain what he went through, just like the riders ad mechanics. He still has a deep passion for motocross, he just doesn't have the money to run a team at the level he tried to.
DC
To compete against the factories on the level Chad has done is nearly impossible. He did it and better than any other aftermarket company and for that I give him big respect. As for the day to day drama they all endured all I can say is they got it done, most of the time. Great story!
It's kinda nice to see one of his direct competitors show such huge respect.
Nice, indeed.
Agreed. Don would know better than anyone. Thanks for chipping in and see you Saturday at the Big A.
DC
"We had to hurry up and get back to Pennsylvania from that race, but the box van blew up because going to the races the mechanics never checked the oil or whatever, and that just added a pile of stress for us going to St. Louis. Stuff just started coming unwound already"
I contacted Chad to be in the story (to be fair he wasn't going to be featured in it as much as the four guys but I needed some words from him) and he never got back to me. Told DC he thought I didn't like him...which I'm not sure where that came from.
It was a good move by Chad to not get back to me as DC gave him a two-part interview which was great for him. Phil's pissed because he lied about Phil's sponsor but that's between them.
The story came about because Alex, Phil, Billy and Nate had things happen to them at 11-10 that has never happened to any other team in the sport and they all never quit. I can't think of a team that just didn't show up at two to three races, blew up the number of bikes they did and lived on this tightrope.
They worked hard despite numerous obstacles, low pay, no pay in some cases and they're all at the factory level in this sport. Good for them for sticking it out. I've been there a bit with sleeping on an office building floor on an air mattress, living out of a box van, etc, etc and I wanted to capture what these guys had to do. I'm impressed with all of them...many other people would have quit.
I fact checked all the stories with all four guys, they never wavered, they never made anything up and as a matter of fact, I left out some things that were a bit gnarly because I didn't want the story to go there
I think the world of you DC. As a person & businessman. So I have no business critiquing you in any way. I have a lot of respect for you. I simply dont agree with your assertion that Matthes' article was "excellent" journalism.
1. Any time a journalist has a agenda, he's no longer a journalist. Had anyone else been assigned to do the original Eleven10 Mods story (a great story that fans surely wanted to know) it wouldve came across completely different. That speaks volumes. If Sanner & Matthes have issues, Steve shouldve been the LAST person to write that story.
That doesnt mean the interviewee's couldnt have been as candid about their thoughts as they were, but Sanner needed the chance to bring context and the interviewee's deserved a chance to reflect on what they didnt know about what he was going thru WITH them.
I dont blame the riders in the interview that didnt understand what was going on. And Sanner even gave them the benefit of the doubt on this in his interview with you which was mature on his part. Just as Peelout says, the first interview came across as "disgruntled employees" bitter they were only given a place to sleep on someone's floor and "just a slice of pizza a day to eat". These employees had no idea what Sanner was experiencing and trying to protect them from and that was exploited in the first article on this matter. A actual journalist doesnt just exploit this without getting all sides of the story first.
2. The only thing unusual about the Eleven10 saga is the fact that this little team somehow was battling and taking it to the big boys. But the drama of budget issues, trouble making it to the races, and unfulfilled promises is NOTHING new in this industry for even well funded teams. In fact, you and I both know that there have been much worse stories of poorly run teams.
There have been a lot of shitty team owners and/or team managers to come and go in this sport. Sanner isnt one of them. Not even close. That guy poured his heart into a racing project and it went belly up - again, not a new story to tell. Sanner was guilty of trying to put on a smiling face to his team/riders in the midst of unbearable stress. And the fact that he never tried to let on about what he was dealing with behind the scenes is something I applaud him for. He comes across as a genuine dude who cared a lot about his riders and tried (and failed) to insulate them from the stress he was under. Some teams dont even try, Ive seen well funded team owners or managers actually create the unnecessary drama and sabotage their own program.
The Eleven10 Mods story isnt some cautionary tale. It's a very cool story. The reasons it's unique are positive ones, and the reasons it went sour arent unique. Had anyone else done the original interview the story still couldve been told, and at the same time fences couldve been mended. I for one wouldve loved to hear Phil & Alex's responses to the context your interview with Sanner brought.
Chad Sanner is one of the good guys this sport has seen. Thanks for making that interview with him happen. And please dont take my commentary the wrong way. It's probably not even necessary on my part considering if you didnt feel somewhat the same way, you wouldnt have stepped in to "clean up the mess".
On a more positive note: Im still waiting for you to do your "tell all" behind the scenes story of FREZNO SMOOTH. And if you could somehow dig up a original directors cut of that film we'd all be better off for it. But I demand that you do the story yourself. Youre as good a story teller as there is and the Frezno Smooth story deserves only the best writing it.
I don't think the Sanner interview brought any new context which wasn't already assumed, at least not to me. Don't get me wrong, it was a good read and nice to see he had to opportunity to have his voice included within the greater narrative, but there wasn't anything that made me say "Wow, I had no clue that was going on!" It was obvious that the team worked on no budget, that he cared greatly about the guys on his team, and that he put everything he had into it. After reading the original story and knowing the minimal amount about Eleven10, those things and the other similar comments from Chad were already part of the equation.
You are obviously entitled to your opinion and perspective, and seemingly have an inside connection to the story that - by definition - I can't identify with. That being said, while there are certainly great things that have happened to the riders/mechanics involved with Eleven10 which are directly attributable to the efforts of Chad Sanner, that doesn't remove the possibility of him being at fault for at least some of the odd things that took place over those years.
As you said to DC, don't take my comments the wrong way. I am not trying to start a hissy fight, just want to present a different perspective that the one you hold.
Thanks for chiming in Steve, was hoping you would address that claim and give a little more insight.
JBlain619: Nate Alexander did not get a factory team only because of ELEVEN-10. Nate would be in a factory rig with or without ELEVEN-10. Sure the team may (or may not) have helped him get to the next level. But to say they are only there because of ELEVEN-10 is stupid. He was just picked up off the streets by Sanner and taught how to turn a wrench. He had been working on other teams (mainly arenacross) long before he ended up on ELEVEN-10.
Pit Row
It's those four guys telling a sometimes unbelievable story of their time at 11-10. All backed up by the other three. Chad had a chance to respond and be in the story and he chose not to for whatever reason.
It's great that Chad had a heart and wanted to help these kids out. But once you say you're going to do something you have to do it. No one in business should be working during the week so they could barely go racing on the weekend. No one should drive across country and be promised a hotel room only to sleep in the foyer of the hotel. No rider should ever show up to the races to find out the bike didn't make it. Again.
If Phil's sponsor really didn't come through, then he should have parked Phil and not skimped on Alex. It would have been a breach of contract (if what he says is true and assuming he had a contract). But in the same way, he didn't come through for his team because he didn't provide the promised resources. Period.
It's nice that he has a heart but that's no way to run a business and it sounds like customers got burned for all this too. I feel for him but the original story stands and it doesn't matter if the riders and mechanics didn't know about his struggles. The riders were training and the mechanics were wrenching: only one party didn't live up to their end of the deal.
No doubt the dude could build some wicked 250s when they were spinning, though.
I realize Phil contests that his sponsor balked, but if we're accepting such excuses for business deals then maybe they had some hardships too that Sanner should accept as legitimate.
NOTE: Bit of tongue in cheek in the last bit.
Post a reply to: Chad Sanner's side of the story