The third incarnation started off in a tiny little place, like the size of probably the
average bathroom, and then moved somewhere about a double that space, and now we're
in here and we've got tons of space.
Mark Keever, owner and manager of Monster Bike, been going now for two years and one month.
I've been biking since I was four, no but I've been racing, been biking more seriously,
bike, I guess since I was in primary school, primary six, I remember I'd swim this one,
like get a cool bike thing started, and then I started racing in 16, which was quite late
by today's standards, but there wasn't juvenile categories around the back then, youth I think
14 was the youngest you could start, so over here in 16 I started racing, and then this
was my 14th, it's like the new season of racing, and I've been working in other shops since
I left school pretty much, a few other jobs along the way, and then it's what I was doing
in left school, having a bike shop wasn't realistic then, but then as you get older a bit more
experience, just stop, just do it, just give it a shot, start small, you don't go much
to lose if it does go wrong, and see how it goes, and it's so far, it's gone alright.
You do loads of brands, loads of stuff, accessories from most folk, there's a few missing still
bit we're working on that, bike brands, four mainly, Wappier, Merida, sort of core mountain
bike stuff, although Corotech and Diamondback are pretty awesome bikes this year as well,
so I see Diamondback safe stuff as well. We've always done BMX, it's not such a big
scene, aiming at a niche market, and there's a lot of competition from online, so the younger
guys are more penny conscious and tend to shop about a lot more and get deals online
that sometimes we can't compete with, I think the guys that have got bikes from us realised
that what they maybe pay extra for the bike, they get back five times over with service
after care. We're always trying to support young up and coming riders, like we've sponsored
a few, kind of a few, a couple of local BMXers who are quite sort of, you know, quite known
on the local scene I guess, and likewise with the mountain biking downhill especially,
Ronan Taylor, I'm coming downhill star of the future I think. Myself, I'm always riding
racing, and also I'm riding these days, a few other guys at race as well, and a teacher
of some tops, so fly the flag a wee bit. It'll evolve, the shop will evolve with time, if
you go in by the last two and go back, it'll change and it'll get more comfortable. It'll
kind of hit the ground running and just get open. You can't afford to be shot really,
running at the time, so it'll change, I'd like to make it more of a, obviously all of
our successories and brands will grow, but make it more of a kind of, like, a real hub
of bikers, not just mountain bikers, but, you know, it's just a shop. Thanks to you,
Rob, Mum, lots of other guys, Daniel, Marky, everyone was kind of pitched in, now and then
with getting the original shop up and running, and then the second one. Carl Keaton helped
me out a lot with sponsorship, back in my World Cup days. Big help, hoping to have been
able to do it without him, or be able to do what I, what a little like, did really. And
Dave, Bothy, another big help, Martin, now works at Square Wheels, good mechanic, he
has assured me the ropes, not to cap corners and that sort of thing. Yeah, everyone, everyone
had known, you know, previous bike shops really well, it would have been slightly more of a
big help, but, you know, it's just, it's just, it's just, it's just, it's just, it's just
