In 2008, at age 20, I needed money to finance my hobby: motorcycle racing. I always wanted to create a streetwear brand, inspired by the style of skateboarding. But because there was no such thing in Europe as a “graphic kit” manufacturer, I saw a better business opportunity there and started to learn Adobe Illustrator, even before I started studying design. A website was built, learning by doing on the go.
The right materials were sourced and with my saved money I bought printing equipment that was installed in my parents’ basement. As I did not want to abandon the dream of a streetwear collection, I simultaneously designed, printed and marketed the garments myself.
Seeing that there was a demand for Motocross Jerseys and Racing BIBs, I sourced a manufacturer in the Czech Republic and started bringing in more orders, sending the production-ready files to them and the finished product would landat the doorstep of the customer.
The German market was conquered quickly and there was no race weekend podium without an Independent Racing graphic kit or jersey. For several years I would even make the “Team Germany, Austria & Switzerland” graphics, stickers and everything else needed for a proper presentation. Until 2011 it would be just me doing everything with some help of my father, since I still had to finish my studies.
While I was still studying for my bachelor’s degree, I focused heavily on developing Independent Racing as a brand, with the large American players in the industry as role models in mind. The core logo remained the same, while the design/font for the name evolved over a decade, adapting to my personal development of style. It was not the plan to produce heavily personalized graphic kits in the beginning, but a comprehensive “motorcycle styling” company that sells pre-designed products that customers just buy as they are.
The demand for personalized items was a lot higher so I went with the flow, creating several different versions of the website until in 2011 finally a proper webshop with an easy customer order process was created, where products were still personalized but now the e-mail/phone correspondence was minimized.
As I wanted to pursue my goal of building a brand, I created Racing Leather suits, Motocross Gear, Streetwear collections & several more accessories revolving around motorcycle racing.
Social media was not as big in 2012; we, between 5-7 people at the time, used all the marketing options available. Running ads in the biggest Motocross Magazine in Europe (online & print), taking part in the largest German & Swiss events, sponsoring top riders/teams with gear & stickers, up to the point of having a team in the International German Supercross Champions.
Each year a dedicated catalogue with several product shoots and extensive Photoshop work was created and then distributed to all the retailers, now across Europe. A full length product video for the 2015 collection was planned, but due to unforseen weather conditions, it could not be realized. As we already had everything in motion, we tried to make the best of it.
The Graphic Kits were still going well without any further marketing moves, as the brand was successfully established and every sold decal with our logo was viral marketing on its own.
Through the visibility of our graphic kits, motocross jerseys and leather suits in several German Motor-TV series, a new customer segment appeard: street-legal KTM & Husqvarna motorcycle owners. We were a certified KTM & Husqvarna license partner and with that (at that time) only one of six graphic kit manufacturer in Europe who were allowed to print these logos onto a variety of products. As we were literally one of the first manufacturers to notice this trend, we grew fast and had to adapt to the new customer who demanded a seamless online shopping experience.
From 2015 to 2024 this was the core business; I neglected the racing business on purpose as the scalability in the street-legal sector was a lot higher. Our top seller, the KTM 690 SMC R, sold more often in Germany than all off-road bikes of all brands combined.We built an advanced WooCommerce shop with a configurator built in to let thecustomer configure their graphics directly, and on the backend guaranteeing us ahassle-free order process with only minimal communication involved.
In 2025 we revived the brand with a large shop and product update, implementing fully customizable racing leather suits. See the actual website here – www.independent-racing.com
As I decided to focus on freelancing, I stepped back from active management in March 2026, and the business is now set to be sold at the beginning of 2027.