In reply to this Facebook comment under the 300 Follows image:
R.K: #RideBackwards is crushing it. Thanks for finally making the comeback
Me: THANK YOU. Thinking out loud here, so anyone who's on a coffee break or stuck inside at home due to the lingering polar vortex can read on... Your words mean a lot, and it's comments like yours every now and again that keeps me at it. It is so much harder in 2019 than when we started. Prices have really skyrocketed, from shipping to packaging and the cost of quality apparel, (not promo grade give-away items). It is hard. And the whole social media thing has really transformed from this fun community of genuine interaction to a bot crawling, data mining monster. I actually look at who is following RB on Instagram and block the obvious bots, I mean, come on, who has zero posts, and 1,000 followers?? That is just dumb... Some days I feel like I work for Facebook, as they make me pay for any post I want to be shown to more than 50 people. That's great if you're Patagonia, but RB is not Patagonia. I hate advertising, but I love sharing my art. I love making something and seeing if others dig it, but that's where it ends. I don't want 1000 bot followers. Someone told me you can actually buy followers. INSANE. I'll take the 300 ALL DAY. Small and mighty. Quality • Service • Pride, that's the tagline we started with and will finish with. We have to adapt and change to stay alive, we all do, but I will never compromise my standards. I know who my people are, and that is awesome. They are great people. They are loyal, and they stick. That is cool because in today's world we can just click, swipe, and scroll away with ease. But the RB CREW stays. I am grateful for that, and it inspires me. THANK YOU, Randy. Thanks, RB Crew.