What product or services do you mainly produce/provide?

Our main quad oriented product and what we are known for is our Flexx Handlebar System. You can find the Flexx Handlebar System on 13 of the top 20 GNCC pro class. For quads we also make a rear brake clevis which helps with pedal modulation. Across all of our product lines pretty much once you run our stuff you won’t run anything else. We really focus on providing our customers products that ad value to their racing program. 

How long have you been involved in the ATV racing community?

We’ve put a huge amount of effort into ATV racing since 2004. We first got hooked up with Dana Creech and Nic Granlund and it kind of grew from there. Johnny Gallagher has been very instrumental in getting us with a lot of the top guys. I had to work really hard to get Johnny on the bars, but once he tried them he became our biggest asset. It is really difficult being based in Southern California with the majority of the large quad races being held back east.

Do you also sponsor riders in other venues other than ATVs?

Fasst Company has a strong history in being involved with the best motocross racers and teams in the world with our Spoke Torque Wrench, Rim Lock Spacers, Brake Clevis and Anti-Vibe Inserts. With the Flexx System on the bike side we have Josh Demuth in the SX series and Shane Watts in the GNCC series. Primarily right now we put most of our effort into quad racers for the Flexx Handlebar side of our business.

So what is it like knowing you have some of the best racers in the world running your product or using your services?

It is a great feeling when you get a magazine or a race report and your guy is on the cover or wins. It takes a lot of work to get an athlete to try out of the ordinary stuff. We are pretty used to it as everything we do has been way outside the box, but it’s a lot of work.   It is pretty easy to lose perspective when we are sitting in the office here just grinding away. Fortunately my partner and I are blessed with great wives that point out all we accomplish!  By working with the best and being associated with them it really legitimatizes your products.

In the past few years there have been a ton of innovations in the ATV industry. How much time is actually spent in research and development these days (if applicable)?

We continually spend a large amount of time on R&Ding current products as well as working on new ideas. It’s tough, there are a lot of guys making good products and it is not our business MO to knock other peoples stuff off. We have really strict criteria that products have to meet for us to put our effort behind them to get the product to market. We are fortunate to have an awesome R&D facility as well as access to incredibly smart people with a lot of experience in several forms of racing.   

The dirt bike world is competing at a much more publicized level. Do you see ATV racing getting to that point? And does it deserve that kind of limelight considering the length of time it’s been around compared to dirt bikes?

I’ve seen a tremendous growth in publicity as well as quality of the publicity in the last few years.  Most all the magazines are right up there graphically and context wise with the bike mags now. I think the WPSA tour is going to bring a lot of exposure to the sport and its athletes if it picks up where it left off for 07. People can really relate to the majority of quad racers. Quad racers seem to have a more every day guy kind of way about them which makes them very valuable to sponsors, especially outside the industry. I think they are very marketable because you, I, average Joe can really relate to them.  I think there is a huge opportunity to grow the media coverage and income into the sport with the right marketing plan behind the series and athletes.

So that amateur riders understand the commitment it takes to sponsor a champion and also to understand why sponsorship can be and should be taken serious please explain from your viewpoint how much time, money and effort is put into selecting and following through an actual sponsorship program.

We are fortunate in the fact that athletes, especially our championship winning athlete’s choose our products based on performance not just money. It’s a lot of stress being involved with an elite athlete’s program, especially a proven one. You never want to have a failure or be the weak link in the program. Successful racers are successful because they have a plan and work that plan, preparing and testing. It takes a lot of testing and cooperation to eventually sign an athlete with a proven program especially if they already have a good relationship with a competing company.  

For a lot of amateurs and media the industry twists are always an exciting part of the time between seasons. The 2007 season is a great example with changes to the Suzuki lineup, Honda backing off and Kawasaki tossing their ride into the mix. How frustrating of a time is that for your company?  Or are most deals reached before the current season is actually over?

It’s very frustrating, especially when you lose someone who has been an asset to your race program, but that’s the nature of silly season. We try to plan on long term relationships with our athlete’s which helps bring the stress level down some, but silly season is always stressful. It’s interesting as a fan of the sport to see what happens, and it is really exciting when the opportunity is created to work with a top racer. We lost Jason Luburgh to Factory Kawasaki as well as Justin Williamson to Factory KTM this year. I would have loved to keep those guys on our bars but I’m also stoked to have worked with them and helped them accomplish their goals. They know what we offer performance wise and I’m sure we will work together again in the future.

Do you sponsor many amateur racers?

We offer an elite support program directly through our company as well as through SponsorHouse. This is the first year we actually had a rider rep to handle our amateur program and he has done a great job for us as well as our support riders. We offer three different support levels and have strict criteria for offering any level of support to athletes. We only offer 190 sponsorships total for all three support levels. We would love to help everyone out but being how small we are we just can’t. We look for racers that are well rounded on and off the track and taking care of business in school.

With that said, what really catches your eye in the amateur ranks? What does it take for a rider to get your attention – in addition to winning?

Obliviously a rider who gets a lot press is a priority. Riders that have good results and are the go to guys at the local level really help. We try to work a lot of our support programs in affiliation with racers who work at dealerships. Racers that are well rounded and doing well in school also get a better look.

What do you typically expect from your sponsored riders?

We expect our sponsored riders to be good representatives of our products and company on and off the track. Listing us as a sponsor and running stickers at all events and mentioning our products and company during media relations.  Keeping us posted on their results and working with our SponsorHouse site is also appreciated. The racers who keep in contact with us and send customers to us become the most valuable to our support program. As a result, typically these riders are enjoyable to work with. We value our products and most importantly desire for our support riders to feel they can perform better on the track by using the product.

How many actually follow through? Honestly.

We are pretty strict with our support program and following up with our riders. Our rider rep Chris Avery does a great job and has been on both sides of the support program, first as one of our support riders and now on the administrative side. If racers are not following through on there agreed support deal they typically do not have a ride the following year. With the popularity of SponsorHouse, this has become easier to monitor. With riders posting pictures and updates monthly, we can keep track of the riders actually using the product.

What would you like to get from sponsored amateurs that you currently do not see much of?

We would like to know who they are and provide direct support to the riders. We feel that we have a superior product that would add value to their racing program. From a business standpoint we would like them to believe in our product and encourage other racers and friends to test the product.