We have a problem in off-road. Well over a million UTVs have been sold in the United States since 2011 alone thus creating an influx of new off-road enthusiasts. Admittedly, many of today’s UTV enthusiasts have come into the sport with great knowledge of off-road, but there is a large segment of UTV enthusiasts that are entirely new to the off-road culture and that's a problem for those of us concerned with our sports culture and heritage. Having said that, this is a very positive problem for those of us involved in the industry and business of off-road.
Now, don’t get me wrong we love growth and welcome all into our sport but the problem with “newbies” in any sport or culture is how they affect the existing user base and how they themselves are perceived by the hardcore or veteran members of the sport. Often, the “newbie” doesn’t know where to ride, how to behave, who are our sports heroes are, what to eat, or what to wear. They are essentially like off-road newborns and unfortunately many are like orphans with no one to teach them the ways of our culture.
When the UTV was introduced and began to gain in popularity in the mid 2000’s, I like many others involved in off-road likened them to the rollerbladers of the action sports culture. I know it sounds harsh, but it's not so much about them dorking up the sport as it is about them coming into our culture and causing a boom and crash affect, just like the rollerblading industry did. The solution? It’s clear, we must embrace them and we must indoctrinate them into our ways and teach them the tenements of off-road culture. The UTV boom has already begun, it started many years ago. Either we choose to embrace it and use it to grow our culture or we make the same mistake we made in action sports and treat them like rollerblader outcasts, causing ill will and tension all around. This will only result in a boom and a crash, something ours or any other sport should never want. If we choose to spend our energy embracing and guiding them, rather than outcasting and insulting them, we will all be much better off.
I have already seen this narrative rear its’ ugly head with off-road veterans calling UTVs “Golf Carts” drawing a figurative line in the sand. How stupid are we to do this? Polaris, Can-Am, Arctic Cat, Kawasaki, Yamaha and others are pouring millions of dollars into off-road and off-road racing. Why would we not want that? I will take responsibility and admit that I too was guilty of this idea that because I had driven and raced all sorts of different high powered off-road vehicles I wasn’t going to go “rollerblading” in a UTV. That is until I drove an Arctic Cat Wildcat at Barstow main in 2012. I couldn’t believe how fun and capable the vehicles were! What’s funny is that many of the veterans in our sport who have adopted UTVs as their favorite form of recreation all share the same sort of story. We all doubted them until we drove one, immediately we got it and like any good drug wanted more of it! But driving that UTV also gave me a light bulb moment, when I realized most of the world could now afford to have a capable off-road machine for a couple hundred bucks a month. This is a game changer I said to myself. Never before has our culture had a line of vehicles that come off-road ready and are sold from dealerships worldwide.
Now, don’t get me wrong we love growth and welcome all into our sport but the problem with “newbies” in any sport or culture is how they affect the existing user base and how they themselves are perceived by the hardcore or veteran members of the sport. Often, the “newbie” doesn’t know where to ride, how to behave, who are our sports heroes are, what to eat, or what to wear. They are essentially like off-road newborns and unfortunately many are like orphans with no one to teach them the ways of our culture.
When the UTV was introduced and began to gain in popularity in the mid 2000’s, I like many others involved in off-road likened them to the rollerbladers of the action sports culture. I know it sounds harsh, but it's not so much about them dorking up the sport as it is about them coming into our culture and causing a boom and crash affect, just like the rollerblading industry did. The solution? It’s clear, we must embrace them and we must indoctrinate them into our ways and teach them the tenements of off-road culture. The UTV boom has already begun, it started many years ago. Either we choose to embrace it and use it to grow our culture or we make the same mistake we made in action sports and treat them like rollerblader outcasts, causing ill will and tension all around. This will only result in a boom and a crash, something ours or any other sport should never want. If we choose to spend our energy embracing and guiding them, rather than outcasting and insulting them, we will all be much better off.
I have already seen this narrative rear its’ ugly head with off-road veterans calling UTVs “Golf Carts” drawing a figurative line in the sand. How stupid are we to do this? Polaris, Can-Am, Arctic Cat, Kawasaki, Yamaha and others are pouring millions of dollars into off-road and off-road racing. Why would we not want that? I will take responsibility and admit that I too was guilty of this idea that because I had driven and raced all sorts of different high powered off-road vehicles I wasn’t going to go “rollerblading” in a UTV. That is until I drove an Arctic Cat Wildcat at Barstow main in 2012. I couldn’t believe how fun and capable the vehicles were! What’s funny is that many of the veterans in our sport who have adopted UTVs as their favorite form of recreation all share the same sort of story. We all doubted them until we drove one, immediately we got it and like any good drug wanted more of it! But driving that UTV also gave me a light bulb moment, when I realized most of the world could now afford to have a capable off-road machine for a couple hundred bucks a month. This is a game changer I said to myself. Never before has our culture had a line of vehicles that come off-road ready and are sold from dealerships worldwide.
