What is Cole talking about

Indian_Dunes_4ever wrote:

Classless move IMO. Never burn bridges.

MelonFan123 wrote:

This has been an interesting thread for me to read. Lots of wrong info and assumptions though. I work in the area thats being discussed day...

This has been an interesting thread for me to read. Lots of wrong info and assumptions though. I work in the area thats being discussed day in and day out, so let me share some opinions...

- For those banging the entitlement drum - I'm looking at you 8TenSolutions - you're way off. His pitch to Honda was not "Hey guys, I raced for you for X years, so can I get a bike and support?" No, he went to them with a proposal as a media entity, a way to promote the brand in a new way outside of race results. His 450L video was a great example.

- I'm sure Cole THOUGHT his past racing relationship would make the "sell" to him as an influencer to Honda easier. Thats not entitlement, that happens everyday in business. Clearly he was wrong though lol

- The current economic climate probably doesn't help his cause either.

- One could make the argument that Cole got hurt a lot and didn't live up to the hype when he won a SX main early on in his 450 career. Did decision makers at Honda still have a bad taste about paying millions to Cole over the years? Thats very possible.

- I would be BEYOND shocked if Hanny gets paid. I'm almost positive his deal is through Jonnum Media, which is the agency hired as Honda's PR firm. Not Honda direct. I'm sure he gets bikes, that's it.

- It still blows my mind that these OEM's don't see the value in this. They bend over backwards to the magazines and websites in HOPES that they get positive reviews and coverage. Here, you have a positive partnership for the same cost of a free bike(s).

- Keep in mind Cole has mentioned "bike builds". It's possible his pitch included the Honda line of bikes for content. 450, 110, 450L, maybe even their new Goldwing...

- Others have mentioned about Japanese companies, I agree there is a cultural mindset there that can be very hard to penetrate. Honda has racing heritage, period. Did you know that every Monday at the Torrance headquarters if a Honda rider won a race that weekend it is announced on a banner at the front of the building, for all employees to see? There are no metrics in influencer marketing that dictate winners. There won't be a banner reading "Honda Rider Cole Seeley Had 100k Vlog Views This Weekend"

- Like I said in a previous post, If I was working with Cole, I would have told him to buy the Honda and build the relationship with the bigger picture in mind.

MelonFan123 wrote:

This has been an interesting thread for me to read. Lots of wrong info and assumptions though. I work in the area thats being discussed day...

This has been an interesting thread for me to read. Lots of wrong info and assumptions though. I work in the area thats being discussed day in and day out, so let me share some opinions...

- For those banging the entitlement drum - I'm looking at you 8TenSolutions - you're way off. His pitch to Honda was not "Hey guys, I raced for you for X years, so can I get a bike and support?" No, he went to them with a proposal as a media entity, a way to promote the brand in a new way outside of race results. His 450L video was a great example.

- I'm sure Cole THOUGHT his past racing relationship would make the "sell" to him as an influencer to Honda easier. Thats not entitlement, that happens everyday in business. Clearly he was wrong though lol

- The current economic climate probably doesn't help his cause either.

- One could make the argument that Cole got hurt a lot and didn't live up to the hype when he won a SX main early on in his 450 career. Did decision makers at Honda still have a bad taste about paying millions to Cole over the years? Thats very possible.

- I would be BEYOND shocked if Hanny gets paid. I'm almost positive his deal is through Jonnum Media, which is the agency hired as Honda's PR firm. Not Honda direct. I'm sure he gets bikes, that's it.

- It still blows my mind that these OEM's don't see the value in this. They bend over backwards to the magazines and websites in HOPES that they get positive reviews and coverage. Here, you have a positive partnership for the same cost of a free bike(s).

- Keep in mind Cole has mentioned "bike builds". It's possible his pitch included the Honda line of bikes for content. 450, 110, 450L, maybe even their new Goldwing...

- Others have mentioned about Japanese companies, I agree there is a cultural mindset there that can be very hard to penetrate. Honda has racing heritage, period. Did you know that every Monday at the Torrance headquarters if a Honda rider won a race that weekend it is announced on a banner at the front of the building, for all employees to see? There are no metrics in influencer marketing that dictate winners. There won't be a banner reading "Honda Rider Cole Seeley Had 100k Vlog Views This Weekend"

- Like I said in a previous post, If I was working with Cole, I would have told him to buy the Honda and build the relationship with the bigger picture in mind.

jorgechavez wrote:

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

jorgechavez wrote:

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

jorgechavez wrote:

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

jorgechavez wrote:

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

8tensolutions wrote:

The CEO is still producing results and making the tough decisions along with leading the entire company., not filming project bikes and riding in the hills...

The CEO is still producing results and making the tough decisions along with leading the entire company., not filming project bikes and riding in the hills. You people that think executives are do-nothing idiots are very mistaken.

profeshenal125 wrote:

The CEO in America has no clue what is going on with the company. Claiming record profits 1 quarter then bankrupt. Buddy system from rich family’s...

The CEO in America has no clue what is going on with the company. Claiming record profits 1 quarter then bankrupt. Buddy system from rich family’s and college, only way they could ever get a job. Never worked for anything in there Life. I will stand up for any rider over a ceo scum

8tensolutions wrote:

You are clearly high. Without CEO's, there would be no riders because there would be no American Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Feld, Monster Energy, Red Bull etc.....no...

You are clearly high. Without CEO's, there would be no riders because there would be no American Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Feld, Monster Energy, Red Bull etc.....no iPhones, no cars, no airlines.....you get the point. I am not saying they are all great as that would be dumb as hell, but the guys and gals at the top are taking all the risk and responsible for most everyone on this forum having the job they have. Simple as that bro, but just like the president, those at the top cannot do anything right where in most cases thats exactly what they are doing or trying like hell to do.

On the other hand, if you want handouts, have massive entitlement, offer no value, and/or have no work ethic, then I am sure all CEO's would be "scum" in your mind.

profeshenal125 wrote:

The CEO in America has no clue what is going on with the company. Claiming record profits 1 quarter then bankrupt. Buddy system from rich family’s...

The CEO in America has no clue what is going on with the company. Claiming record profits 1 quarter then bankrupt. Buddy system from rich family’s and college, only way they could ever get a job. Never worked for anything in there Life. I will stand up for any rider over a ceo scum

8tensolutions wrote:

You are clearly high. Without CEO's, there would be no riders because there would be no American Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Feld, Monster Energy, Red Bull etc.....no...

You are clearly high. Without CEO's, there would be no riders because there would be no American Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Feld, Monster Energy, Red Bull etc.....no iPhones, no cars, no airlines.....you get the point. I am not saying they are all great as that would be dumb as hell, but the guys and gals at the top are taking all the risk and responsible for most everyone on this forum having the job they have. Simple as that bro, but just like the president, those at the top cannot do anything right where in most cases thats exactly what they are doing or trying like hell to do.

On the other hand, if you want handouts, have massive entitlement, offer no value, and/or have no work ethic, then I am sure all CEO's would be "scum" in your mind.

profeshenal125 wrote:

I worked at Michels Corp 89-98 biggest pipeline co in the USA. Dale made his son Pat ceo. Pat is passed out in a helicopter bidding...

I worked at Michels Corp 89-98 biggest pipeline co in the USA. Dale made his son Pat ceo. Pat is passed out in a helicopter bidding on jobs. His 2 nd in command is scared of the mob out east. That we pay 150k a week, they own the street, we need 3 blocks, parking lots, 20 acre dump site. strongest horizontal rig in the world. I say 15k in my account and I,ll take care of all meetings. 2 largest trucking co.s John Bryant hunt married Sam Walton -of Walmart,s daughter, J.B. is giving millions to start up. Ralf Sneinder gave His son Don , Schneider National. I had many positions at Michels, plow gas lines 7 ft deep with a train. Blue prints 4in thick 4 ft wide to locate utilities, 60 mi a day on stone balis on my feet. All 10 toe nails broke off, still work 7 days a week. I designed a hyd hose maker, a few other things. Then trained to maintain and operate 28 cylinder locomotive. I was requested to be a part of horizontal drilling crew, they had every drilling record in the world. broke my hand 4 times, foot 3 times, smash 1 in of a finger off, never missed a day of work. Blown acL, broken back in hospital 2 days. Had feeling in my legs back, went back to work. Shoulder operation. CEO doesn’t know a 1/4 of what is going on. Since we designed and built everything. I set the rate at 200k per mile on East moves, rig up included. The workers made the co., just Like every co. Modern ceo is about creating a bogus culture, that everyone knows is not realistic, fake and weird.
I still put a rider who risk injury, over a ceo or upper management kook.

8tensolutions wrote:

You are clearly high. Without CEO's, there would be no riders because there would be no American Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Feld, Monster Energy, Red Bull etc.....no...

You are clearly high. Without CEO's, there would be no riders because there would be no American Honda, Kawasaki, KTM, Feld, Monster Energy, Red Bull etc.....no iPhones, no cars, no airlines.....you get the point. I am not saying they are all great as that would be dumb as hell, but the guys and gals at the top are taking all the risk and responsible for most everyone on this forum having the job they have. Simple as that bro, but just like the president, those at the top cannot do anything right where in most cases thats exactly what they are doing or trying like hell to do.

On the other hand, if you want handouts, have massive entitlement, offer no value, and/or have no work ethic, then I am sure all CEO's would be "scum" in your mind.

profeshenal125 wrote:

I worked at Michels Corp 89-98 biggest pipeline co in the USA. Dale made his son Pat ceo. Pat is passed out in a helicopter bidding...

I worked at Michels Corp 89-98 biggest pipeline co in the USA. Dale made his son Pat ceo. Pat is passed out in a helicopter bidding on jobs. His 2 nd in command is scared of the mob out east. That we pay 150k a week, they own the street, we need 3 blocks, parking lots, 20 acre dump site. strongest horizontal rig in the world. I say 15k in my account and I,ll take care of all meetings. 2 largest trucking co.s John Bryant hunt married Sam Walton -of Walmart,s daughter, J.B. is giving millions to start up. Ralf Sneinder gave His son Don , Schneider National. I had many positions at Michels, plow gas lines 7 ft deep with a train. Blue prints 4in thick 4 ft wide to locate utilities, 60 mi a day on stone balis on my feet. All 10 toe nails broke off, still work 7 days a week. I designed a hyd hose maker, a few other things. Then trained to maintain and operate 28 cylinder locomotive. I was requested to be a part of horizontal drilling crew, they had every drilling record in the world. broke my hand 4 times, foot 3 times, smash 1 in of a finger off, never missed a day of work. Blown acL, broken back in hospital 2 days. Had feeling in my legs back, went back to work. Shoulder operation. CEO doesn’t know a 1/4 of what is going on. Since we designed and built everything. I set the rate at 200k per mile on East moves, rig up included. The workers made the co., just Like every co. Modern ceo is about creating a bogus culture, that everyone knows is not realistic, fake and weird.
I still put a rider who risk injury, over a ceo or upper management kook.

Chance1216 wrote:

[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2020/04/17/420978/s1200_1C438E4D_7716_43D5_BFCE_71A048DC7508.jpg[/img]

Johnny Ringo wrote:

I’m the first to say cole shouldn’t be burning his bridge with Honda. But the attacks on his exes and personal life are just straight up...

I’m the first to say cole shouldn’t be burning his bridge with Honda. But the attacks on his exes and personal life are just straight up mean spirited

Johnny Ringo wrote:

I’m the first to say cole shouldn’t be burning his bridge with Honda. But the attacks on his exes and personal life are just straight up...

I’m the first to say cole shouldn’t be burning his bridge with Honda. But the attacks on his exes and personal life are just straight up mean spirited

dimesandrhymes wrote:

yeah i cant believe how irrelevant 3/4 of the responses are here

coleseely wrote:

Okay guys, I tried to read all the whining about me "whining" haha but its a little too much to respond to a 14 page thread...

Okay guys, I tried to read all the whining about me "whining" haha but its a little too much to respond to a 14 page thread about a decision I made that brought up my personal life and mental health at some points...? It's interesting how some peoples speculation/assumptions can quickly turn into their whole hearted truths they're willing to defend when they really have no evidence but hey, thats the internet. I, like most racers current and former, try not to get wrapped up in this type of thing but I'm retired and my life is "going downhill" so what else do I have to do, right?

With that said lets try to clear some things up..

To be clear I DON'T THINK ANYONE OWES ME ANYTHING. Not Honda, Not KTM... NO ONE. Hence why I said "I'm not a racer anymore, they don't see the value in what I'm doing after racing and that's totally fine. I don't know if there is any value or how to put a number on that." Did you even watch the video? or just listen to what you wanted to hear.

The reason I made the video in the first place was to share my point of view with everyone because if I just randomly get a different brand people will want answers anyways so why not get in front of it? (BTW I don't think that its buzz-worthy at all that I switch brands but do you think it wouldn't of come up or been hated on without an explanation?) I've been curious to ride something else recently and with no ties to any manufacturer and after being a little too creative so-to-speak (apparently wheeling a bike on the dirt.. just fine. Wheeling a bike on the street.. "lawyers worst nightmare.") in some peoples eyes I figured now is the perfect timing. Some people might not understand the connection with social channels and how they drive sales but some argue that it's more valuable than traditional marketing campaigns.. and to those people, I agree to disagree.. and I promise not to unfollow you and comment about my actions doing so haha that sh!t cracks me up!

But again I cant say the value of that so for now I'm just trying to prove it.. not as a source of income but just because just like you I enjoy working on bikes as well as riding them and custom parts. And if you don't like my bikes, videos, instagram posts or anything in between you don't have to follow along or subscribe. We can still spin laps together.. after all we still have the same love for being on two wheels and hanging out at the track. But if you have showed me HATE like this on a forum and talked sh!t.. please do the same to me at the track. Consistency is key..

After I realized I wouldn't be getting a bike of my own after retirement (again.. totally understandable) I came up with a way to still do builds and not dip into my savings too much or pull money from my investments. With such a short career in moto I know its smart to be good with your cash.. especially after stepping away from racing. So I figured I could invest a little in designs and printing merch to sell and fund builds to provide entertainment. Out of the 3 bikes I had my eyes on the KTM was the only one that helped me stay within budget after my first drop. Granted I was fortunate enough to get a deal, it was the cheapest. And the 19 I was trying to buy is about to be even older when the new chassis of the 2021 drops. I hope that puts things in perspective.

To everyone thats showed me love and stayed nice.. THANK YOU. I hope everyone is staying safe in these weird times and I hope to spin laps with all of you once the tracks open up again. No hate, no hard feelings, I still love all moto-heads.

jorgechavez wrote:

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

Honest question, how many people here actually watch his videos? Personally I don’t think I’ve seen any but I may be in the minority.

coleseely wrote:

Okay guys, I tried to read all the whining about me "whining" haha but its a little too much to respond to a 14 page thread...

Okay guys, I tried to read all the whining about me "whining" haha but its a little too much to respond to a 14 page thread about a decision I made that brought up my personal life and mental health at some points...? It's interesting how some peoples speculation/assumptions can quickly turn into their whole hearted truths they're willing to defend when they really have no evidence but hey, thats the internet. I, like most racers current and former, try not to get wrapped up in this type of thing but I'm retired and my life is "going downhill" so what else do I have to do, right?

With that said lets try to clear some things up..

To be clear I DON'T THINK ANYONE OWES ME ANYTHING. Not Honda, Not KTM... NO ONE. Hence why I said "I'm not a racer anymore, they don't see the value in what I'm doing after racing and that's totally fine. I don't know if there is any value or how to put a number on that." Did you even watch the video? or just listen to what you wanted to hear.

The reason I made the video in the first place was to share my point of view with everyone because if I just randomly get a different brand people will want answers anyways so why not get in front of it? (BTW I don't think that its buzz-worthy at all that I switch brands but do you think it wouldn't of come up or been hated on without an explanation?) I've been curious to ride something else recently and with no ties to any manufacturer and after being a little too creative so-to-speak (apparently wheeling a bike on the dirt.. just fine. Wheeling a bike on the street.. "lawyers worst nightmare.") in some peoples eyes I figured now is the perfect timing. Some people might not understand the connection with social channels and how they drive sales but some argue that it's more valuable than traditional marketing campaigns.. and to those people, I agree to disagree.. and I promise not to unfollow you and comment about my actions doing so haha that sh!t cracks me up!

But again I cant say the value of that so for now I'm just trying to prove it.. not as a source of income but just because just like you I enjoy working on bikes as well as riding them and custom parts. And if you don't like my bikes, videos, instagram posts or anything in between you don't have to follow along or subscribe. We can still spin laps together.. after all we still have the same love for being on two wheels and hanging out at the track. But if you have showed me HATE like this on a forum and talked sh!t.. please do the same to me at the track. Consistency is key..

After I realized I wouldn't be getting a bike of my own after retirement (again.. totally understandable) I came up with a way to still do builds and not dip into my savings too much or pull money from my investments. With such a short career in moto I know its smart to be good with your cash.. especially after stepping away from racing. So I figured I could invest a little in designs and printing merch to sell and fund builds to provide entertainment. Out of the 3 bikes I had my eyes on the KTM was the only one that helped me stay within budget after my first drop. Granted I was fortunate enough to get a deal, it was the cheapest. And the 19 I was trying to buy is about to be even older when the new chassis of the 2021 drops. I hope that puts things in perspective.

To everyone thats showed me love and stayed nice.. THANK YOU. I hope everyone is staying safe in these weird times and I hope to spin laps with all of you once the tracks open up again. No hate, no hard feelings, I still love all moto-heads.

Xeno wrote:

"Consistency is key.." LOL