ROTWILD Insights: Ole Wittrock

How did you come to ROTWILD?

In mid-1989 I sat for the first time on an MTB and was immediately hooked, in the early 2000s I enthusiastically rode some MTB marathon races. ROTWILD was of course already a household name to me as a sporty MTB brand. At that time, I was doing PR and marketing in academia and was also in charge of the editorial department for a university magazine.

And then you felt like making a change?

Right, when I read the job posting, I became curious. I was always open to new things and the topic of bicycles fascinated me for years. At ROTWILD, there was still a very small team working at the time, which was reorganizing and looking for reinforcement in the area of communication. For me as a biker, the job sounded extremely exciting. A small company with such a technology-driven philosophy, I just had to apply. The creativity, perseverance and ambition of the then small team as well as the perspective of the brand fascinated me immediately. And still do.

Which colleagues do you work particularly closely with?

Our marketing department works with all in-house departments, and the intensity varies depending on the project and task. In a small company, you are inevitably very close to all developments. In preparation for a new model year, that means the product managers and engineering. During the season, the event teams are formed from various departments, and they are often joined by our event professionals Danny Herz and Stephan Koch. In our day-to-day office work, we coordinate closely with Sales, and when it comes to shipping test bikes, nothing works without Service and Logistics - things often have to move very quickly. With Maud von Hoff, Jonathan Zimmermann, Amira Ihrig and myself, our marketing department is very compact, and cooperation with everyone else is essential.

Communication via social media channels such as Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn is a component in the marketing activities surrounding the ROTWILD brand.

Which tasks belong to the areas of marketing and communication at ROTWILD and how do you divide up the work areas in the team?

We are always adapting the tasks in marketing, which is a constant process. A common thread runs through all of this, namely making the brand tangible and intensifying the relationship with the customer. This applies both to the end consumer and to our specialist retail partners. Each of the four of us has strengths in different areas. My main tasks include, for example, product photography and looking after the social media channels. We would like to develop these further and thus make ROTWILD even more visible in the digital world.

What are the special challenges in your job?

The biggest challenge is certainly to implement all the projects and the many new ideas and to keep to the set schedules. Unlike in the past, there is no off-season in the bike industry anymore, instead our industry is enormously innovative. Time is often tight, but when it works out in the end, we are all the more pleased.

How do you then manage to react quickly in marketing?

It sounds a bit trite because you hear it so often everywhere: but we really do have a very flat hierarchy in the company. This means that the vast majority of things can be resolved very quickly. Because everyone is highly motivated, enjoys their job and, above all, provides support outside their own desks, we always find a solution in this togetherness.

What is your vision for ROTWILD as a brand in the next five years?

Offering our customers real added value with innovative products. We want to remain the benchmark for this. The clear goal is: Anyone interested in a sporty e-bike or EMTB should have our products in mind.

As soon as the Corona situation allows it again, the factory tours will also start again. Here, customers can immerse themselves in the ROTWILD world and learn many details about the company and the products - at first hand from marketing man Ole Wittrock.

What should I bring with me if I would also like to work in marketing at a bike company?

An understanding of the brand and the product are, of course, a basic prerequisite. This includes the desire to dedicate oneself to many tasks - even in parallel. Special knowledge, be it in dealing with digital tools, fun with texts, creativity, all that helps enormously, of course.

What does a "normal" working day look like for you?

I don't have a prototype workday. There are some routines that tie me to the computer for a lot of time, but almost every day is different.

Every day is different? That sounds like a dream job. The Corona crisis must have had an impact on your day-to-day work. To what extent did you have to change your processes?

After almost all events were cancelled in 2020, we changed our planning in the spring. Since then, some of our employees have been in their home offices for the most part. As a result, communication among us has changed somewhat, and some schedules still need to be designed more openly - but it has only had a limited impact on our activities.

What were the biggest challenges for ROTWILD after the first Corona lockdown took effect?

Timelines are always the biggest challenge. This applies to series production just as much as it does to us in marketing - we also sometimes have to wait longer for new bikes in order to be able to realize photo productions or distribute test bikes to the press. But here too: despite all the obstacles, it worked very well this year. During the season, we as exhibitors are at events a lot and have close contact with our customers there. This personal meeting with the people for whom we build the bikes, that is very much missing.

In addition to your desk job as marketing manager, you also do a lot of photo jobs for your communications. How did you get into photography?

At the end of my school days, I was already creating my first pictures and texts for the local editorial department of a national daily newspaper: after school or on weekends, I went to company anniversaries, events and regional events to take pictures. In the evenings, I made the prints in my own darkroom, wrote short texts about them and brought them to the editorial office in the morning. After school, I was lucky enough to start working for a Munich press photo agency. On their behalf, I photographed the political changes in Prague for a few days in the fall of 1989. That was extremely exciting and after that job I was aware of the importance that pictures can have.

"A photo reduces fast action to a single moment, freezes it, so to speak," says Ole Wittrock. Capturing the fascination of MTB sports in the process is the goal of the shots.

What equipment did you start with?

I made my first attempts with a simple SLR camera, but then quickly bought used, more professional equipment. I still have a part of it.

And what cameras are you using today?

When we started taking our own product pictures in our own small studio over 10 years ago, it was clear that it was going to come down to digital photography. Since then, many pictures have been taken with a Nikon D800. I have several lenses in use: very universal is the Nikon 24-70 mm 2.8 lens. But I also like to use fixed focal lengths. The fast Nikon 50 lens is my personal favorite, a real always-on lens. Because a lot has evolved not only in terms of bikes, but also in terms of cameras, we've kept upgrading here as well. The Nikon D6 is the latest acquisition, with which I will work a lot in the future.

You shoot stills of your products as well as action, like the pictures of the new Aggressive Series. How does your camera setup differ?

Apart from the exposure parameters, there is nothing significantly different about the camera. I shoot almost exclusively in manual mode and can thus directly influence the photo. The camera is nothing more than a tool, and the better you master it, the easier it is to achieve good results. Taking photos out on the trail means reducing the amount of equipment as much as possible compared to studio photography. Nevertheless, I still have a lot in my backpack: two camera bodies, lenses, spare batteries, memory cards. Plus drinks, a small snack and the usual things for biking. Especially if you are on the road all day at a photo shoot, that's quite a lot.

For over 12 years, product shots have been taken in the company's own photo studio. This allows us to meet the often tight deadlines for catalog or website completion.

Do you enjoy shooting stills or action shooting more?

Photographing a brand-new bike that is completely assembled in the studio for the first time, right down to the details, is always exciting. Some things I see live for the first time. The work of our engineering department is also in the details, and we want to make them visible with good pictures. But it's also very satisfying to go out and look for new spots with your colleagues and come back at the end of the day with a series of successful shots. In such moments, we experience our own passion for mountain biking and can convey that in the pictures.

"There is a lot of detailed work in our bikes, innovative solutions that did not exist before. Of course, we also want to convey this in the pictures," says Ole Wittrock.

What makes a good action picture for you?

I do not have a general rule. A photo reduces fast action to a single moment, freezes it, so to speak. The dynamics of the rider play a role, but more so the composition of the action, which in the end is the message of the photo. The integration into the landscape, the trail, the mood on the picture, if all this fits together, then it is a good action picture. An insane number of photos are now post-processed in post-production. Many motifs are then more a composing than a real photo. I like spectacular shots from the situation simply better.

"This photo was taken in Switzerland, with my colleagues Jonathan Zimmermann and Stephan Koch in the picture. In addition to the extraordinary landscape, what's special about this picture for me is that we use our own employees as drivers," says Wittrock, describing the background to the motif. For the 'Big Mountain' theme, the team was on the road for three days in the Swiss mountains to capture what can be experienced with EMTBs in high alpine terrain.

How much time is involved in a product shoot - from preparation to the final edited image? And what are the individual steps?

It usually takes a few days from shooting to the finished picture. Ideally, there is a finished bike in the studio with the final paint job and standard equipment. Then I need one to two hours for the positioning, the optimal lighting and the shots. The import of the data, the selection of the images and the first processing of the raw files takes another 30 minutes per bike. Then we send the files for cropping and clean up the photos digitally afterwards. Depending on what is planned with the images, they then go to the lithography: there the colors are corrected exactly, print data is prepared or individual components - if, for example, an add-on part has not come in time - are processed. That is then including the. This takes another two to three days, including the correction loops.

Until a bike is "in the box", some time passes. Until everything fits, it is often necessary to readjust - as here with the photo-ready adjustment of the saddle angle.

Analog photography is currently experiencing a revival. Are you tempted to pick up an old camera again?

I still have analog cameras myself, classic SLRs, but also medium format. In fact, I use them only very rarely, but then I have great fun with them. I still have the utensils for film development and an imagesetter at home. But for convenience, I prefer to send the material to a special lab and have the negatives digitized there right away. This is all possible, but it involves much more effort, costs and, above all, waiting time. Analog photography is not suitable for me in my daily work.

Analog photography or digital? For Ole Wittrock, the question is easy to answer in his daily work: digital produces results faster and is more convenient. However, photography with film still has a special appeal for the long-time employee.

What camera setup would you recommend to someone who wants to take good bike pictures of their friends on the road and doesn't just want to shoot with their phone?

Many things are possible with current camera models, regardless of format and manufacturer. In any case, all parameters should be manually adjustable on the camera. In addition, I would pay attention to the possibility of setting fast shutter speeds (min. 1/2000 second) on the camera and a good speed (min. f/2.8) on the lens. I myself like to look through a decent viewfinder, that's important to me. Mirrorless cameras are very compact, can do a lot and fit easily into a backpack. If you want to get even more involved, you should choose a model that allows interchangeable lenses. And then it's just a matter of getting out and shooting! In the end, a good photo is not decided by the technology.

Two camera bodies, two zoom lenses 24-70 mm and 70-200 mm, two fixed focal lengths 50 mm and 105 mm, spare batteries and memory cards. Add to that equipment and spare parts, and a photo backpack quickly becomes heavier than 12 kg. However, we rarely go on tour packed like this.

Do you have any tips for someone who would also like to work in the bike industry?

As in any other industry, you should consider in advance what your focus is and what qualifications you have. Am I interested in technical developments, am I interested in sales, or am I more interested in organization? After all, these areas vary considerably. If you are clear about this, you can certainly find a place in the bicycle industry.

About your personal bike preferences: Downhill or Uphill?

Quite clearly, downhill. Preferably on a great trail, preferably flowing, varied and in great scenery.

Fully or Hardtail?

Also here clearly: full-suspension.

E-Bike or conventional?

Increasingly more e-bike. For me personally, there are no longer any reasons against it.

Your favorite bike from the ROTWILD collection?

That is again very difficult to answer. In the current collection, I oscillate between the R.E375, because it brings EMTB and classic mountain bike very close, and the R.E750, which allows carefree, large enduro tours with its large battery.
Over the many years I have seen of course also other real favorites, which one counts in the meantime in the classic league, but which were groundbreaking for me. Among them, for example, my first own ROTWILD bike RCC.06 Hardtail from 2003.

How many kilometers do you sit in the saddle per year?

I don't count trail lengths, so I really don't know. Last summer I tried to be as 1-2 times a week with the bike on trails. During the week with colleagues after work as well as privately on the weekend. The best thing about it: it has also worked, a sensational bike season in the home territory. I would like to do the same again this year!

Do you have a favorite area for biking?

Think global, ride local: Around the Rhine-Main area are three low mountain regions that offer an incredible amount. Personally, I like to ride in the northern Odenwald, but the flow trail excursions in Bad Orb and Stromberg are always really fun. Here everyone feels comfortable and that makes such a day then absolutely complete. Finally, there's the all-time classic: the Hacklberg Trail in Saalbach-Hinterglemm.

Anything else you want to get off your chest?

Mountain biking connects, regardless of the riding level. For me, still one of the best sports - to combine private passion with professional commitment, what could be better?

After almost 20 years in the bike industry, Ole Wittrock is still enthusiastic: "I've found my job for me, met great people, deal with great products, like the scene, our customers - and the fun we have doing it. Is this a dream job? I think so."