elliot brown weekend

The “Be Excellent” Reminder Device.

by 33

It’s more than just a watch.

I recently visited Elliot Brown watches down in my old stomping ground of Purbeck, Dorset. They had organised an adventure weekend for their ambassadors, and it all sounded like jolly good times were had by all, in what is very much “Famous Five” country.

Gem from EB noticed I didn’t wear a watch so lent me a secret prototype that we can’t talk about yet. It felt very odd to be wearing a watch again after leaving my last watch in the glove box of an old VW camper some 25 years ago. It felt large, and weighty… certainly heavier than no watch. But it did feel and look good to have something so mechanically delightful on my arm.

elliot brown weekend
Just like scouting, but with beer.

The Elliot Brown ambassadors were a genuinely remarkable bunch. Off the scale turbo over achievers. Several had rowed across the Atlantic. A young woman raced cars. Exceptional rock climbers. Others had run mega ultra-events. Two guys who really stood out had flown themselves into Haiti and set about saving countless lives after an earthquake. They told me they were unsure what they were looking at on the ground as they came into land. Are those fallen down houses… “oh **** those are bodies, lots and lots of bodies”. And then there was me, the mouthy hippy, who sells stuff, and messes around on a bike. Well, at least I demonstrated there is a broad spectrum to athleticism.

We drank gin, brainstormed heavy stuff, created fire, butchered a deer, sat round the fire, jumped off cliffs into the sea, had a sing-a-long, and played Zorb British Bulldog. Top tip: before declaring “yeah, this will be fun” and getting into your zorb, take a moment and consider if your opponents are ex-Marines, pro rugby players, or tireless ultra-runners. I retired early, very early.

elliot brown weekend
Pick your battles wisely.

So, why am I telling you all this?

Well, you know what, having that EB watch on my wrist, whilst being surrounded by such remarkable people, encourages me to up my game. The ambassadors certainly knew how to have fun, I have never laughed so much, but boy do they know how to get serious shit done. The fond memories, great experience, the new friends, but also that Elliot Brown timepiece… it is pretty much impossible to not be inspired to do more and be excellent. That analogue piece of engineering on my wrist, it tells the time, but also tells me to not be a dick, avoid bogus, and to be excellent.

I have put my money down, and eagerly await my Singletrack Elliot Brown watch. If you want one, make a move, quickly. The order book closes on Friday 8th October.

Update.

Right now we are just under the minimum order quantity, literally only a few watches out. So, if you did put your name down, it would be great if you could also put your money down. Some of the proceeds are going to charity, and some help Singletrack to keep pumping out the great content and good vibes. Sincerely… thank you.

elliot brown singletrack watch
Elliot Brown Singletrack Anniversary Watch

You have until midday on the 8th October 2021 to order one of these very special watches.

Author Profile Picture
Charlie Hobbs

Merch & Marketing Manager at Singletrack

Grumpy, happy, hairy, overweight and awesome. I started riding offroad in 1978, and never stopped. I was once Charlie The Bikemonger, I invented orienBEERing, the Clunker Classic, and the Dorset Gravel Dash. I own the Bum Butter brand and I'm a co-owner of Dirt Dash Events. I also work at Singletrack, I have the self-appointed job title of "Overlord of the leftovers" and look after the merch shop, and marketing. Other interests include skateboards, surfboards, motorbikes, and cooking (I invented the Beefer Reefer).

More posts from Charlie

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)
  • The “Be Excellent” Reminder Device.
  • franksinatra
    Full Member

    I’m a little disappointed as I thought the watch was definitely going ahead, I didn’t realise the minimum order quantity still hasn’t been met.

    Fingers crossed that it happens

    charliedontsurf
    Full Member

    @frantsinatra … its so very close. We had almost 200 Singletrackers put their name down, and need to hit a minimum order quantity of 50 watches. One way or another we will get this over the line, even if Chipps has to wear watches from his wrist to his armpit 😉

    Maybe we should start the trend of “ankle watches”… like a super classy ASBO tag. “what time is it?”… time to get back home before your curfew kicks in.

    faustus
    Full Member

    Must be something up with my watch, as all it does is remind me i’m irrevocably average, and just a few boring Teams calls away from full ‘grey man’ status. #lifegoals

    grum
    Free Member

    ….and be male

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    This thread/item is basicaly thrudark isn’t it.

    https://thrudark.com/people/

    I’m sorry, but it’s got to be said…

    grum
    Free Member

    Similar levels of cringe, yup!

    jivehoneyjive
    Free Member

    We drank gin, brainstormed heavy stuff, created fire, butchered a deer, sat round the fire, jumped off cliffs into the sea, had a sing-a-long, and played Zorb British Bulldog.

    How many of these perks are included with the purchase of every watch?

    (or will every watch sold help finance more such motivational activities for a̶m̶b̶a̶s̶s̶a̶d̶o̶r̶s̶ the sales team?)

    grum
    Free Member

    We drank gin, brainstormed heavy stuff, created fire, butchered a deer, sat round the fire, jumped off cliffs into the sea, had a sing-a-long, and played Zorb British Bulldog.

    desperatebicycle
    Full Member

    Glad it’s not just me

    grum
    Free Member

    For some reason I keep coming back to this and it just gets worse and worse. I especially like the use of an anecdote about seeing loads of dead bodies in Haiti in a PR puff piece trying to sell watches. Tasteful.

    IHN
    Full Member

    “Sales team go on weekend junket”. Great story.

    crossed
    Full Member

    “Be Excellent” Reminder Device???

    It’s a ****ing watch.
    The article, if you can call it that, reads like some kind of awful parody. Just without the humour.

    joeydeacon
    Free Member

    I get that you guys need to shift these watches to help raise some cash for STW (hence the multiple deadlines, this is your last chance, I really mean it this time) but maybe just be honest about why you’re doing it, sell some lower priced merch, have a gofundme etc? People would be more inclined to chip in?

    This watch article come across as a bit desperate, tasteless and damages your brand IMO.

    csb
    Full Member

    Do you have to be remarkable to wear one of these of just aspiring to be remarkable by association? I suspect some of your potential buyers are now thinking the concept has turned a bit naff.

    desperatebicycle
    Full Member

    Well, you have to be pretty remarkable to think a useless piece of expensive jewelry makes you excellent or special in some way.

    Mark
    Full Member

    Well there is the fact that if we get this watch made we’ll be handing over £2.5k to St. Gemma’s Hospice. Plus some more fundraising stuff for them and Macmillan Cancer research after that.

    charliedontsurf
    Full Member

    @thegeneralist it’s nothing to do with Thrudark.

    charliedontsurf
    Full Member

    @Double 0 Shreddin’
    I don’t know how much EB reinvest into their ambassador activities… it’s not my business.

    But it really is very very normal to invest in your business’s community. You know when you see a pro cyclist on a brand XXX bike, they probably didn’t pay for the bike, but having XXX pro on your bike is good for business. The EB ambassadors are a remarkable gang of people, doing incredible things to raise money for charities, and also serious humanitarian projects. EB share their projects, giving them a little publicity, which helps their charity projects.

    I know EB pulled in favours from friends in their business community for this weekend. This was not a megabuck event, jetting folk in, 5 star hotels etc… none of that. We butchered our own evening meal.

    This trip down south… I travelled in my own time, in my own vehicle, slept in my vehicle on the super long drive home, paid for my own fuel… 14 hours of driving, you know I was north of Oxford before I got over 40mph.

    charliedontsurf
    Full Member

    @joeydeacon
    There has only been the two deadlines, one to register interests, and one to put your order in. We are reminding Singletrackers because we don’t want anyone to miss out. It is also my job to present to you the merch we have available. It all helps keep Singletrack pump out the online content and print mag, and also in this case raises money for charity.
    We have lower price merch… lots of it… in the merch store. Take a look, we have beer, coffee, coffee makes, shirts, hat, books, art, belts… and stickers.

    charliedontsurf
    Full Member

    @desperatebicycle


    @crossed

    yeah, pretty odd isn’t it. It is just a watch… but my experience, it acts as a reminder to myself.

    I am not saying only excellent people wear these watches, and I am not saying wear one and you will become excellent. What I am saying is, for me, I found it worked as reminder to myself to aim higher and achieve more.

    I could tie a bit of bailing twin around my wrist as a reminder. Learning from, talking to, and working with a genuinely remarkable bunch of individuals has inspired me… and its an EB watch that reminds me of this.

    charliedontsurf
    Full Member

    @grum

    Sorry you found that tasteless.

    From my point of view I found the chaps from DarkSwan, who flew into Haiti inspiring. Millions of people see humanitarian disasters on the news everyday. many do nothing about it. Actually personally taking the problem on by going to a disaster zone, with the skills, and equipment, and saving lives… well, that is a very very impressive thing.

    I was looking at this unassuming guy, and he illustrated his “penny dropped… this **** just got real” moment with that quote about the bodies. Man, this guy is super powerful. Flying into somewhere where 200,000 had died. I think he said an 8 second earthquake released more kinetic power in one go, than all the bombs of world war 2 combined (something like that). No electricity, no fresh water, no health care, the entire island was set back to zero. And there he is heading into it. That I find inspiring. To write about that weekend and not mention these guys would not be right.

    I had a weekend outside “which was nice”. It really was. It didn’t cost ST a penny, it was all on my own time and money/fuel/vehicle/coffee. And it is my job to remind you that we sell merch and the watch sales book closes really soon. We have had online ads, social media posts, a podcast with Ian Elliot, email newsletters, and Fresh Goods. Hey, if you order a watch that is great, if you don’t… it is also cool. That weekend was inspiring, a little turning point in my life, so I wrote about it. If I keep on writing about what I get up to, you may well see how this links into a 2023 project where I find myself in Africa for a month.

    thols2
    Full Member

    Needs more colour.

    charliedontsurf
    Full Member

    @thols2 … when you put it like that… ha haaa… you know seeing these super fit people reduced to zorb’y weebles, devoid of grace or style…. I like that.

    weebles

    Rubber_Buccaneer
    Full Member

    I imagine this article has secured a few hundred watch orders and the Gofar directors are cracking open the bubbly as I type 🍾 🥂

    joeydeacon
    Free Member

    charliedontsurf:

    It’s more than just a watch..

    Also charliedontsurf:

    It is just a watch..

    I guess my main issue with the piece is that if you received this product to review with that article as the marketing spiel, you’d rip it to shreds (and then review the product fairly). We expect this from the manufacturers, not you. Your magazine/business though, so what do I know.

    Either way, hope you reach your target and everyone gets their watch.

    duncancallum
    Full Member

    It’s a nice watch

    Theres a sizable donation to a charity

    Helps fund here

    Has charlie over done the rhetoric that’s up to you…

    Dont like it dont buy it.

    Love the thought that @mark and @chipps have this northern white and chrome silicone valley style mansion on some north facing windswept cliff in Caldervale sat there watching the numbers rolling in on leather recliners drinking dom perginon

    thegeneralist
    Free Member

    I think your reply is admirable charliedontsurf.

    Nicely put.

    prettygreenparrot
    Full Member

    200+ expressions of interest and <50 orders 😟

    Hope it gets over the line by lunchtime

    Tim
    Free Member

    .

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Any update? Is it going ahead. Kind of curious given that EB have my money….

    Mark
    Full Member

    It’s going ahead 🙂

    franksinatra
    Full Member

    Good stuff, thanks Mark

    andylc
    Free Member

    That ‘what the time is’ reminder device might be a better title for the thread.

    I have to say I expected to see some sort of device with Bill and Ted on it.

    Either way I’m oot.

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

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