Revel Bikes has been a partner to LoveYourBrain since 2019. To date, our partnership has raised over $98,000 to support the TBI community!
We sat down with Chris Reichel, Director of Stoke at Revel Bikes, to learn more about how this partnership impacts the mountain bike community.
Chris, why did you and Adam Miller, owner of Revel Bikes, decide to partner with LoveYourBrain?
The 2019 LoveYourBrain Revel Rail, in action on the trails!
When Adam and I were searching for a charity to support, we knew we wanted to do something to bring awareness to traumatic brain injury (TBI).
We started the research process and were quickly overwhelmed. We make bikes and are fairly ignorant when it comes to charities. We were having this conversation out loud and our friend Zephyr suggested LoveYourBrain.
One look at the web site and the folks involved and we knew this was the right fit. By the time we all finished our first meeting, there wasn’t a doubt in our minds that we wanted to support LoveYourBrain any way we could.
How has tbi affected you?
TBI has affected both Adam and I directly in a few ways. Personally, I have spent most of my life in action sports, either skateboarding or bike riding of all kinds and I have witnessed numerous injuries and the aftermath. I have lived through my partner getting injured and not knowing how to deal with the long term effects of TBI.
How has this partnership inspired hope throughout the mountain biking community?
Hope is such a diverse feeling. I hope that our efforts with this fundraiser make more people ask “What does TBI stand for?” I hope that from us talking about this in the cycling community that more people realize that these invisible injuries are OK to have. I hope that those people feel a little less alone in their struggle for a better lifestyle post injury.
I hope that we can keep having these conversations until they are normalized and a whole bunch of other mountain bikers join in and take the lead in their communities. I think those are all attainable goals and I’m already seeing change.
The 2020 LoveYourBrain Revel Rascal! Available to WIN between now and November 6th!
What's one fun thing about you that people would be surprised to learn?
Until about 5 years ago I was actually a chemist working in the semiconductor industry. And even though I have spent most of my life traveling for skateboarding and mountain biking. My favorite thing to do is go fly fishing while listening to audio books.
Be sure to check out LoveYourBrain and Revel’s 2020 Fundraiser, and enter for a chance to win a one-of-a-kind full-suspension mountain bike! Our campaign ends November 6th at 11:30pm EST!