Wolf Tooth x Otso x MKØ x Small Monsters : Ben Frederick

Goal: Help Wolf Tooth secure MKØ and Otso as high performance brands that are capable of a brand narrative beyond the ruts and the roads.

How: Help Ben complete his cyclocross career at the World Cup level. Show the training, show the people, show the preparation. Tell Ben’s story, tell the story of the race, tell the story of the place. Breach serious topics with a level of humor and humanity.

  • Why is Sardinia considered a Blue Zone, and what’s the secret to unlocking health and long life?

  • Why is cyclocross so popular in Belgium?

  • What makes Wisconsin’s cheese the world’s best? (Yes, I have a 608 area code)

  • In a wind tunnel, how aero can you get while shouldering the bike and running?

The goal isn’t hardselling a single product; the goal is clearly aligning the brands with good storytelling and good people. It is marketing through association, much like Paul’s Radical Rigs project and Ben’s overall media personality. Product is a side hit to the main line.

Ben’s story:

  • Life-altering TBI and coming back from it to race at the pro level

  • Top 100 in the world pro cyclocross

  • Already supported by reputable brands, Ornot, Smith, Challenge Tires, Hunt Wheels, Ritchey

  • Brain wave of 3 levels of cyclocross series

    • Cutty

    • National Level

    • World Cup Level


Potential exploration:

  • Travel show to Sardinia (Blue Zones)

  • Ex pro bike racer drops into local cyclocross cultures.

    • PNW Cross Crusade

    • New England Classics

    • Mid West

    • Texas cross

    • Single Speed World Cup (Bellingham!?)

  • Gear preparation and creation:

    • frame building, does Otso have a CX bike, or, can we collaborate with a framebuilder to make one? Nothing gets people going quite like a mysterious prototype

      • we think MKØ can be a frame as well as a component

    • machining

    • Ben testing various aero socks in the wind tunnel and which color is the most aero for carrying a muddy bike

    • bike checks

Paul’s ambitions:

  • create imagery and stories that can be used for branding, but not through hard selling of a product, but rather by building brand integrity and trust

    • This is largely inspired by Lachlan Morton’s content that enthralled me when I first stepped into cycling; his content with Rapha and how different it was from the rest of the media landscape instantly gave me an affinity for EF Education First and Rapha. Sometimes I still think I should buy a Cannondale. This content worked magic on me.