Mike Marconi - Champions Honda Kawasaki

[Mike]

Champions Honda/Kawasaki - Cocoa FL


Ironically A Host Of "Champions" Greet You When You Walk In The Door

From L-To-R: Nicky Hayden, Flyin Fred Merkle & Ricky Carmichael

First and foremost, to avoid a little confusion there are two people in this interview. Mike Patrick from SpaceCoastRiders.com, and Mike Marconi from Champions Honda/Kawasaki. Both named Mike, you the reader could get a little confused so I want to clarify that I (Mike Patrick) am the good looking one... of course we're on the internet, so you're just going to have to take my word for that! To make things even worse, everyone calls me "Mikeee P".

SCR - Mike, do you think they can tell we're old friends? Just the start of my interview is goofing around already! How have you been man?


Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - It's all good Mikeee P! To further distinguish the "two Mikes" scenario we could say that you are the good looking one and I am the faster one. ;-) I think the last time we raced together I edged you out for 23rd place just after your Grandma came by us both on the last lap. No really, I am in a kind of a phase change in my life. Currently I am a post divorce single father of a 6 year old girl and 8 year old boy. Although my enthusiasm for the motorcycle industry will never die, I have actually been finding a lot of fulfillment and enjoyment just participating in a wide variety of activities with my kids. I kind of gives me a whole new lease on life to see everything through their "fresh eyes".

SCR - You're not a rookie at this. Way back in the 1990's you were helping run one of the Cycle Riders of Orlando shops weren't you?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - Nice work! The Buffaloe boys over at BSY let me get a foot in their door way back in '89. I was a wide-eyed college student with a passion for motorcycles and those guys not only put me to work but also really gave me a lot of support at the MX races on the weekends. A few years later I moved to Orlando and went to work for Mitch Marqui at Cycle Riders Suzuki of Orlando. Mitch had a big name in the sportbike business (he is a former pro road racer) and was looking to improve his off-road image. We did some really cool open houses with the factory Suzuki MX team and had a lot of fun at that little dealership.

SCR - What did you do after Cycle Riders of Orlando, did you get right back into the industry? When did you start running Champions Honda/Kawasaki?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - I left Cycle Riders in '97 for a life on the road as an independent sales rep. I was visiting motorcycle dealers from Atlanta, GA down to Tampa, Fl. I had some pretty cool lines for that time period. AXO was kind of at the end of their big market share but had Damon Bradshaw making a big comeback on the Manchester Honda Team that year. I was also involved with the initial launch of One Industries graphics. At the time, Ludo Boinnard, who was the US importer for Braking, saw the marketability of custom graphic kits for the MX bikes and he brought Danny Dobey over from JT Racing to head up the project. I was their first outside sales rep. I'll share an ironic story with you real quick. In February of '98, I was at the big Motorcycle Industry Trade show in Cincinnati, OH with Ludo and Danny and we decided late on Saturday afternoon that we going to hi-tail it over to Indianapolis for the Supercross that night. We got in the rental car with Ludo driving and it was E-TICKET all the way to Indy. I am pretty sure I held my breath the whole way. I know I got arm-pump from holding the door handle so tight. He was flat-footed for an hour and a half straight, IN & OUT OF TRAFFIC. The pinnacle was driving the wrong way down 1-way streets in downtown Indianapolis in Ludo's haste to get to the RCA dome. It was by far the worst display of driving I had every witnessed. And here is where the irony sets in: Ludo is now a professional rally race driver!!!

SCR - What's the best part of working at Champions?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - I think the coolest part of heading up the team here at Champions Honda Kawasaki is the very ideals that this dealership was originated from. Most people are aware that the dealership is owned by the Don Mealey family. Yes, the same one that had the ads in the '80s with the jingle that stayed in your head forever. Robert Mealey entered the motorcycle business out of his love for motorcycles. After a short stint as publisher of American Road Racing magazine, Robert began looking for an opportunity to purchase a motorcycle dealership. In 2001, when the purchase details were sorted out with Dell Miller, Champions Honda was born with a passion for the sport and a genuine interest in raising the level of professionalism and customer service that Brevard County motorcyclists had to succumb to for years.



SCR - Although you guys are very professional at Champions, you seem to have a lot of fun - is that part of your style to make coming to work more enjoyable or ?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - It just goes to show you that happy employees make happy customers. We do have a lot of fun, and I think that it is contagious. When I interview employees, I look for motorcycle enthusiasts with people skills first and foremost. That is innate and can not be taught. The rest of the daily grind can be taught to just about anyone with the willingness to learn.

SCR - This is a question that could be taken many ways - what is Champion's Honda/Kawasaki's biggest positive, or asset to the community and/or it's customers?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - I believe there are two separate answers here. Our biggest asset to the community as a whole is, most likely, our participation in charitable events or structured children's activities. We feel it is very important to give back to the people who have supported us so well over the past 9 years. We pride ourselves in partnering with various non-profit charities such as the March of Dimes and more recently the ANR Foundation. We also really enjoy getting involved with the local little league teams and high school sports associations. I am a very strong proponent of organized activities within the community for kids of all ages. Of course, I try and steer the kids towards motorcycles or ATVs first, but I think their lives will be enriched no matter what sport they participate in. As for the second part of the question, our biggest asset to our customers is having the strength of the Mealey Family Corporation behind our dealership. I can't tell you how many times over my 20 years in this industry I have seen people buy shops with stars in their eyes thinking they were on their way right to the Forbes 400 list. Although 2005 and 2006 were pretty profitable for most dealers, the current economic climate leaves most businesses strapped and undercapitalized. I think our customers greatly benefit from the strong financial portfolio of our parent company, because they allow us to maintain our inventories in a time when all our competitors are downsizing.

SCR - This is a little more about you than Champions, but what is it that you like/love about motorcycling?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - There is nothing better than riding over to Hooters on Friday night, pulling up next to Mikeee P at a stop sign, and busting knuckles (sorta like a "high five). No really, what initially appealed to me as a 7 year old adrenaline junky, was the thrill that motorcycles offer up. Then, when I graduated from my GT80 to a YZ80, it was the spirit of competition that I was able to embrace on a MX track. In my late teens it was the camaraderie with my motorcycle buddies that gave me confidence in the real world. Later is was all the travel opportunities that the motorcycle lifestyle offered that allured me. Currently, it is experiencing everything for the first time all over again through the eyes of my kids that has me really stoked on bikes.

SCR - If there were one thing you could change in the sport or culture of motorcycling what would it be?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - I guess it may be the common misconception that most all motorcyclists are loaners / renegades / outlaws. Our community is abound with humanitarians and philanthropists whom are very active in the community. We really are, in the immortal words of the Great and Powerful Oz, a bunch of "GOOD DEED DOERS". I really can't think of a weekend that goes by that a bunch of motorcyclists aren't getting together for a ride / bike wash / poker run in order to raise money for someone "in need."

SCR - If there were one thing you could promote about this sport or culture what would it be?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - I feel like one thing that goes large unnoticed or unpublicized is the level of dedication that aspiring young athletes in our sport of motocross and their families subscribe themselves to. It would be very interesting to compare and contrast, say, Ricky Carmichael's adolescence to that of your average American teenager. I think that most people would be absolutely flabbergasted at what Ricky, Jeannie, and Big Rick were willing to endure in order to achieve the successes he had as a motorcycle racer.



SCR - What is the biggest adversary to the motorcycling life style? Do you think it's uninformed law makers, politics or?

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - Unfortunately 1 bad apple spoils the whole bunch. By that, I mean that generally we are our own biggest adversary. It only takes 1 drunken ATV rider to have a fatal crash or 1 sportbike stunter to lose control and run into a minivan full of kids to send out an incredibly negative vibe to thousands of people who would not otherwise know the difference about the motorcycle community. This is especially true when you consider the fact that the mainstream media absolutely loves to portray motorcyclists into the same stereotype we have been trying to shed since the 60's.

SCR - Last question sort of - this is called "FREE STYLE" and it's a place where you can talk about anything you'd like. Just so you don't cop out though, it has to be more than a couple sentences.

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - First I would like to thank you for the opportunity to do this interview. I appreciate the props, bro. Second, I really want to personally thank each and everyone of our great customers here at Champions Honda/Kawasaki. I am abundantly aware that times have never been tougher for most of us financially, and I think that it is pretty cool that most of the people that we have sold to in the past couple years are still making it a priority to get out there on their machines with their buddies / families and forget about the stress of the work week. For a big number of owners, motorcycling is all about the freedom our sport offers and the ability they have to escape whatever is burdening them as soon as they throw a leg over a bike. After all, we can be whoever we want when we put on a helmet, right? Lastly, I would like to tip my hat to the core motorcycle guys in Brevard county who have pretty much dedicated their lives to promoting the sport that we all know and love. Mikeee P you are certainly in that group. Also guys like the Buffaloe brothers, and Scott Taylor have had great impact on our sport. On the north end of the county Conrad Eigenmann has been a staple in the motorcycle community since the 70's. Of course you can't really mention Brevard County motorcyclists without talking about some of our legendary characters like John Page or J.R. Miller, right? I think that we have an awesome group of folks in Brevard county enjoying motorcycles and I hope it continues to grow for years to come.

SCR - Johnny Page & J.R. Miller... are you sure you meant to say "legendary characters" you might have meant to say "infamous" sort of like Jesse James, Billy The Kid or John Dilinger! (Just kidding, these two guys mentioned are two of my oldest friends, and I speak to them regularly).

SCR - Mike, thanks for your time. We know you're busy, but without people like you being involved in the sport in this area - things wouldn't be as good as they are. We appreciate your comments, your input and the fact that I'm the better looking of the two Mikes... no not Tyson!

Mike Marconi / Champions Honda/Kawasaki - Mikeee, I think you look more like Michael Myers from the movie "Halloween" than Mike Tyson.................


For more info on the guys at Champions, and the Champions brand family you can check out their web site(s) at www.ChampionsPowersports.com

[Mike]

If you happened to check this interview out - it will be updated again with even more photos - so be sure to check back!

Mike