Ryan Upchurch Fidelity Interview

So Ryan Upchurch has already made quite the name for himself worldwide, with his riding that is. But now he is trying something new, an Online Video Magazine. This is something that is pretty untouched in our sport. A lot of people have their doubts about it, but I am anxious to see how it plays out for Ryan. I sat down and asked Ryan a few questions that I know some other people were wondering as well. So let's see what he had to say about Fidelity.

 





All right Ryan, break down your reasons for wanting to do this sort of project?

Well basically, I wanted to do something different than anything currently available. If you look to skateboarding, they had 411. I basically want to do something of that nature with scootering. I want to provide a professional quality video magazine that kids want to watch. So with that being said, I want to put it out there that I am open to all ideas that are thrown my way. So if you have anything you’d like to see, send it my way at info@fidelitymagazine.com . I have been thinking about starting my own business of some sort recently, and this was what I came up with. The second it was brought up, I knew I had to do it!

 It sounds cool, but it's also really new, and a bit different. Are you at all worried that people just aren't going to get into it?

Of course I am man, it may or may not catch on, but you take that same risk with any project or business. There’s always a chance of failure, but if you don’t take that chance you’ll never know which it was. In addition, I believe that if you do something you’re passionate about for the right reasons, you’re not going to fail. I want to leave the ideas for content up to the public, that way they get to see exactly what they want. The most important thing to me though is that I’m making an attempt to do what I love to do in a way that can help people, so even in the case of failure I have already succeeded.

 I hear you bro. So who are some of the people helping you out with this project so far?

So far, I’ve been doing as much as I can but I’ve had more and more of my friends and fellow riders hitting me up to help out with it, which I’m stoked on! All of the funding has come out of my pocket so far, so there are no people backing me in that sense. I have produced all of the web graphics, design, and content up to this point. Although, I would also like to thank everyone who has given me feedback on the things I have released so far, as it is a huge help to me to know what I can improve on. I would also like to recognize my good friend and professional announcer Jake Hershey for doing a bit of narrating and transitions for this first issue! 

 Nice, Jake's definitely the man. Do you see it growing a lot in the future, or are you going to keep it a relatively small group of riders working on this?

Honestly, I am planning on keeping the number of contributors relatively close to the same number. The amount of content needed in each issue isn’t going to increase, so the staff filming and editing isn’t either. My plan is to thrive on quality rather than quantity, and taking care of those few that do work alongside me. I plan on adding someone to help me on the business side of things if things do continue to grow, but that’s a long way off in my mind. So for now I’m just going to wait and see where this whole thing takes me.

 Can we expect shirts and other apparel for Fidelity?

Yes, yes, and yes! I am looking at getting some shirts done up right now! I am starting off with a batch of white shirts with black logos. The initial run of shirts will be our basic logo, but if things take off I’ll definitely be doing some different things down the line. About the same time the shirts will be available, there will also be stickers in both black and white. Beanies are in the question too if we get a good response from the first run of apparel, but only time will tell! 

 Beanies. Do it, now. I thought you worked with Scoot Mag as well, how do they feel about you now taking on this project?

Yeah, I did, and still do work with Scoot-Mag! I was a bit worried when I came up with the idea whether it’d be a conflict of interests between the two companies, but they have been understanding and even supportive! I believe that since we’re both working towards the same goal with positive intentions, that everyone wins when someone else steps in. Assuming by the talks I’ve had with the fellas over at Scoot-Mag, we’re all on the same page!

 Can you give us a little hint of what we can expect in the first issue of Fidelity?

The first issue is going to be pretty stacked to be honest… having a few of the segments that I will have repeatedly in issues to come. I have developed an interview section with riders that are working their way up through the ranks entitled ‘On The Rise’. The debut issue will be on ECX team rider Tommy Christiana! I recently attended the Barking Spyder Endless Summer competition this past weekend, so there will be some footage from there. I am also currently working on an interview with Dan Barrett, which is the first of many pro riders to be featured in a segment called ‘In-Depth’. Last but not least, there will be exclusive up-close footage with some of the industry’s top riders out at the ISA International championships in the UK! So needless to say, there will be quite in our debut issue!

 All right this is it, make your pitch to the riders and tell them why they should support Fidelity, and if you have any last words, thanks, or shout outs, let em go now bro!

Hey everyone, I’m not going to preach about how good Fidelity is because I want it to speak for itself. All I ask is that when the debut issue drops, you check it out and make your own judgment. It is going to by the riders, and for the riders. You let us know what you want to see and we will make it happen! I already have content being lined up for the December issue, and things are definitely looking like they’re going to be picking up as time goes on. The first issue drops on November 1^st , so make sure you mark that down on the calendar! In the meantime, we will be giving updates and other related content through our site, Facebook, and YouTube if you want to keep up on what’s going on day to day. Special thanks to each and every one of you out there reading this right now, because it wouldn’t be possible without you!