Ten years ago YT’s CEO Markus Flossman asked some kids at his local dirt jump spot why they were riding rubbish bikes. The rest is history.

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The kids he questioned gave the (rather obvious) answer that they couldn’t afford ‘normal’ dirt jump bikes. Regardless, a lightbulb went off over Herr Flossman’s head and he decided to “create a mountain bike company with affordable bikes for everybody”.

The kids were aged around 15 years old. Markus Flossman was 32 years old. Within a year the first YT dirt jump bike was made and, through a canny bit of foot-in-the-door work with a German bike mag, the bike got a good review. Within ten days of the mag appearing on the shelves Markus had sold all 150 bikes.

Whether you’re a fan of direct-sales bike brands or not this documentary is a genuinely fascinating and informative tale about how the new dawn of bike retailing was born back in the noughties.

Video description

YT Industries: “This is the story of YT, a mountainbike manufacturer from Forchheim, Germany. Ten years ago founder and CEO Markus Flossmann decided to ignore the pressure to be ordinary and followed his passion. Since then YT has risen from a first run of 150 steel dirt jump frames to dominating the Downhill World Cup. YT isn’t about superstars and winning races, any more than it is about ‘second being the first loser.’ But it’s about riding. It’s about refusing to be caged. It’s about finding your passion. YT – Live Uncaged!”