"We're an Unparalleled Access V.I.P. Program for Motocross Fans of Varying Levels" | Dave Drakes on The Collective Experience

The Collective Experience's Dave Drakes tells us the origins of V.I.P. program for motocross/supercross, some participant stories, and more.

Odds are, most of you reading this would love the opportunity to be involved with a professional Supercross/motocross riders’ program. The chance to be in the pits under the tent helping and maybe even at the gate right before it drops sounds like a dream come true. Sometimes dreams do come true. Dave Drakes, owner of The Collective Experience, may have just what you’re looking for. Dave is one of the most passionate guys about the sport you’ll ever meet. He wants you to fulfill those dreams and give back to the Privateers at the same time. 

 


VitalMX: Dave, tell us what is the collective experience?

Dave Drakes: Basically, we're an unparalleled access VIP program for motocross fans of varying levels. What we do is try to take your traditional meet and greet and we just jack it up times ten, put it on steroids, and get people behind the velvet rope for a day that they've never imagined possible. We've got a fan experience side that really caters to the fans. You make them feel like they are just made out of gold the whole day. They're helping out the crew. They're watching video with their riders. They're learning the ins and outs of the sport. They're touching the bike. They're really part of the team. And we also have an internship program that allows people to really get their hands dirty and learn hands on from people in the industry. From mechanics or team managers or content creators, so that they can start their own career in the sport. But, you know, it's tough to get started in this industry, especially to get to the top level. So, what we do is we pretty much help you cut the line. We get you in front of people you need to be in front of. We help you make those connections that lead directly into a job. A big part of the program is that we help support privateers and satellite teams. The funds that we raise, they get funneled to the riders, to these teams to kind of help them keep going each week. And it's been a phenomenal ride so far.

VitalMX: Where did this idea come from?

Dave: I grew up in the sport just like most people in the industry. I grew up racing, doing the whole travel deal. And I grew up in New England racing with AJ Catanzaro and Jimmy D. Guys like that. You become friends over the years. I think we were at MetLife Supercross and I was hanging out with AJ in the pits. I was talking to him, and like most fans, I didn't realize how much the privateer struggle. I'm thinking every rider is making millions of dollars, right? AJ said, “honestly, I don't know how I'm going to eat tonight just to get to the next race”. That's crazy. As talented as all these guys are. And he's not the only one. There are thousands of privateers out there that are in the same boat. I thought, I'm having such a good time just hanging out in the pit with you guys every race and just being a fan. I’d pay you guys every week to do something like this. And that kind of sparked an idea. It would be super cool to be able to help AJ out, help out all the privateers and be able to give something back to the sport. Because at the end of the day, I'm just a super fan of sport. I want to see it grow. I want to tell the world about how awesome motocross is. I told AJ we could probably put together packages where fans can come behind the scenes, but like do it the right way. Do it so that they feel like they are the centerfold of the day, help you out financially, but also give you a platform to showcase yourself through social and get these guys content and help them out throughout the day. And it just kind of snowballed from one thing to another. I talked to Feld about it and we made some refinements, and we were able to roll it out a couple of years ago. And it's just it's been great. It's kind of transformed. I can only imagine where it's going to go from here. 

VitalMX: What was the early reception from the riders and from the first few participants? Was it instantly a success?

Dave: At first, I think people weren't really sure if it was a scam or not. I had a lot of people that said, “Wait, I can do what?”.  “Yeah, you come behind the scenes, you help the riders out”. They thought there was a catch.  The first riders I worked with were AJ Catanzaro and Adam Enticknap. If you know, Adam he was all in. He said, “Let’s do it. I'm down for the fans. That would be sick”. He loved it. The riders loved it. I told them, “You guys just be yourself, have fun, make the fans feel like you normally make them feel”. They love fans. They don't really get the interaction that I think they deserve. They were grateful for the monetary support that we were able to provide them. They liked how easy it was for them once they understood the ins and outs of the program. I had so many people say, “I will never forget this day. Me and my kid were just behind the scenes, behind the line, just talking to Chad Reed or I met Steve Matthes”. They were just so stoked. That's the cool part is hearing that you made memories.

VitalMX: Who are some of the riders that are involved with the program currently? And what's next for the for the collective experience?

Dave: For outdoors, we like to keep it a little bit more concentrated. We've got Henry Miller, Kevin Moranz, Jordan Jarvis, and Tyler Stepek once he gets his footing underneath him for outdoors. He's been having a killer season. We can always do one offs also. I have people that ask about ARay even though he’s not on the roster. They ask, “is he going to be at a race? Can I hang out with him?”. We can make stuff like that happen also. I love the outdoor because we can hone in on why the sport is so great. And it just brings back all those super cool memories of going to the races when I was younger and the true grit of the sport. It's phenomenal, man.

VitalMX: Do you have any really good participant stories? Anything that stands out from fans that have come out, got involved and had some really cool experiences?

Dave: Too many. I think the first year we came out with the internship program was awesome because a lot of people were able to get hired into the sport and we really kick started some careers. We had one fan that was helping AJ and he had his bike down at staging. Ken Roczen rolled up and all the riders talk to each other down there. AJ said something to him, he was talking to AJ and then the intern mechanic got in the conversation and then they wrapped it up, walked away and literally the intern, his eyes were so wide and he's like hyperventilating. He's like, “Oh, my God, that was Roczen. Oh, my God. Hold on. I have to sit down for a second”. He was so blown away that he was on the gate with all the guys that he saw on TV. And that same thing happened to about five others that year. Yeah, it was absolutely insane. He was so grateful at the end of the day. I'm very lucky and very thankful that all of our interns are absolute rock stars and they really go the extra mile. We had another one in Minneapolis, a female racer who wanted to try it out. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do in the sport. She whipped us into shape, this little 19 year old chick. She said, “Dave, you're doing this, AJ, you're doing this. I need you over here at this time to do this. Don't forget to do this. I need four tires for him for this”. She organized us so well. We had 2 hours to spare, which never happens when we're getting ready and packing it up. 

VitalMX: Anything new, anything big for 2023?

Dave: We're definitely looking to expand. We're going to be going big into the arenacross side. We had a light launch last arenacross season and it went very well. We're going to be back for supercross, too. We're going to have a few more riders than we normally do. We've got a really cool partnership with the Moto Academy and AJ Cat. Within the app we've got a masterclass on how to present your best self in the industry and how to get your career kickstarted the right way. I'm also offering mentorship help and resume building on a one-on-one basis. We're also going to be doing some cool stuff with World Supercross. You can find all the information at TheCollectiveXP.com and follow us on Instagram at @thecollectiveex.

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