For this month’s Industry Profile, we head west to beautiful British Columbia and the man who’s been at the forefront of the Troy Lee Designs brand in Canada for years, Cody Swansborough. Growing up in North Vancouver, Cody was an avid baseball player and lover of anything with two wheels. With his proximity to the mountain bike-rich area of North Vancouver, Cody spent a lot of time riding trails and spending time with a few of the innovators of the sport, and it didn’t take long before he was competing himself. With the Troy Lee Designs brand being such of a big part of mountain biking in those early days, Cody’s first introduction to TLD was wearing the gear himself. Cody hasn’t stopped being involved with TLD; these days, he’s the individual behind this iconic brand in Canada. We caught up with Cody to talk about his journey through the industry and his deep connection to the TLD brand.
MXP: Hey Cody! We know you’re busy, so thank you for taking the time to speak to us and allowing our readers to get to know you.
CS: No problem Chris! We all have busy lives, so I appreciate you reaching out to me.
Being a Troy Lee Designs guy, how exciting is it to have a rider like Justin Barcia as the centre piece of the TLD/ GASGAS Team in the USA?
Justin is great, and every weekend, whether on television or live, I love watching him and seeing what he’s going to do next. Regardless of how he finishes, he always makes it into the headlines. He’s calmed down a little over the years as now he’s a dad and appears to be enjoying what he’s doing. I think Justin is in a good place, and he represents the TLD brand well.
Yes, he sure does. Where do you and your family call home right now Cody?
We live in Squamish, BC, which is the centre of mountain biking and off-road riding in Western Canada. There are many trails and just so much great riding around this area for everything two-wheels. We’re close to Whistler, and the Pemberton track is pretty close. We love it here, and whether it’s winter or summer, there are a lot of cool things to do.
How did you end up in the Squamish area?
Well, I come from a background in mountain bike racing, so I’ve been directly and indirectly involved with the TLD brand since 1997. I grew up in North Vancouver and graduated in 1999, which around that time was the hay day of North shore mountain biking and freeriding in this area. From there, I just made my way north to Squamish once we had a family, and I’ve been here ever since.
So you’ve always been both a BC kid and a lover of two-wheels?
When I was a kid, I played baseball at a pretty high level, which took up most of my time. But I came to a crossroads towards the end of high school when I had to choose whether to continue with baseball or look to something else. At the time, I was being scouted by the LA Dodgers, and many of my teammates were considering a professional future in baseball. So the opportunity was there to go to college in the USA and go down that road. However, the call to get further involved in mountain biking was stronger, and with living in North Van near the top of Fromme Mountain, I decided to go down this road.
Living in that mountain bike rich area, you must have had some strong influences there?
For sure, Wade Simmons and many other legends and now hall of famers lived near where I grew up. Back then, a lot of DH racers were starting to take to freeriding, which today really drives the sport outside of racing. It was a very exciting time. My neighbour owned a bicycle shop I worked at when I was 14, and then I went on to work at On Top Bike Shop for many years, where I met a lot of the industry and am still friends with the original owners to this day. I was just surrounded by mountain biking, so it ended up being what I wanted to do. I ended up racing World Cups and all the big Canadian and North American DH events for a few years and then transitioned into the working world. Another cool thing was that when I was in high school, we had a mountain bike club and even did some races, which was the first time this program was being offered.
That sounds like a great childhood, and it must have been so cool being a part of the mountain scene at that time and in that area. Was it hard to move on from baseball?
Yes and no! It was hard because I had played it for so long, and as I said, there were some opportunities to take it to the next level. I did end up having a shoulder injury, and as a pitcher in baseball, an injury like that is challenging. But one of the reasons I was a good pitcher was because I was mountain biking a lot. When you’re pitching, all the velocity comes from your legs, and at the time, I had really strong legs from biking. So with the shoulder injury and just being around bicycles so much, moving on from baseball wasn’t difficult at the time.
It must have been cool to watch mountain biking go from a niche-type sport into what it is today. Like, a lot of it started right in your backyard!
For sure, it just exploded and took off. In fact, many of the riders from my area went on to have solid careers in mountain bike racing or freeriding, so to watch it and be a part of it was very cool.
So you moved on from baseball in your late teens and submerged yourself in the mountain bike world. Even in those early days, TLD was involved in the bicycle world. Was that how you got involved with the company?
Yes, in those days, TLD was involved in mountain biking and then had athletes like Shaun Palmer, Randy Lawrence, and Steve Pete wearing TLD-painted helmets and gear. TLD was crafting a look for those guys, and everyone wanted to be a part of it. That is how I met Mike Redding from TLD, who ran the athlete support and got directly involved with them. Even when I was racing, I was getting a free set of gloves and jerseys here and there, and also, at the bike shop where I was working, we were importing TLD gear. There wasn’t even a distribution network set up in Canada yet. We were buying it directly and selling it at our shop because it was in high demand. Honestly, my relationship with TLD has just grown so much over the years that today Troy [Lee] is really like an extension of my family.
That is a very cool story, Cody, and from the outside looking in, it seems like TLD has been that tight-knit family-type company over the years. Did it surprise you back in those days how quickly mountain biking and motocross became intertwined?
Not at all! So many individuals were doing both, and as I said, companies like TLD were making gear for both. Also, that was the age of VHS videos like Crusty Demons of Dirt and Terrafirma, so extreme sports were just taking off, and MTB borrowed a lot of their style from the moto riders. I was lucky enough to be a part of some of those early MTB videos, and soon after it became cool just to go somewhere and film hitting jumps. Looking back now, it all happened so fast, but it’s been good to see that a lot of the guys that were around back then doing the extreme stuff are still involved in the moto and mountain biking industry today.
So, how long have you been officially with TLD on the retail and distribution side of things?
It’s been 15 years since I was first working as a rep for the Canadian distributor of TLD at the time. Those were definitely some exciting years, and I learned a lot. I had a 4-year employment with Red Bull in marketing and still maintained my rep duties at TLD alongside that role. Throughout that period I was also running a sales and marketing agency repping other brands with my wife. About six years ago, we integrated to a direct model with our USA head office and a Canadian Warehouse, which has been amazing.
It’s been a long road for you, and honestly, I can’t believe how fast 15 years have passed. So was it TLD USA that approached you about starting up TLD Canada, or was it the other way around?
I think it was more just me staying persistent about TLD Canada’s need to form and do the business that way. It definitely made a lot of sense, and then in 2018, it all became a reality.
Since 2018, the brand has grown even more in Canada?
It really has, and we’re working hard to keep building the brand. We have a warehouse here now, and manage six Sales Agencies throughout Canada, so everything has been going really well. Our dealer network is also strong, and it’s getting stronger each year.
We know you deal a lot with the moto side of things now, but do you still have a big soft spot for the mountain bike industry?
Most certainly, that got me into the industry, and honestly, I wouldn’t even be working for TLD if it wasn’t for mountain biking. That said, I am spending more time on my Moto when I get the time to ride!
Obviously, it’s incredibly difficult to forecast what might happen in the next few years, but where do you see the TLD brand headed?
We’ve had really explosive growth in the last three years, and we’ve expanded our distribution through key retail partners, so I see the TLD brand just getting bigger and bigger in Canada. I love and believe in the brand so much, and I want to keep building it. A few years ago, we had to rebuild our network within the key Moto retailers, but we are very happy with where we are today and have many more exciting things planned for the years to come.
The 2Ride Group purchased TLD last March. How has that transition been?
It’s been great, and with the 2Ride Group having the Shark and Nolan Helmet brands, I’m sure you’ll see more vertical integration between the brand portfolio in the months to come. We currently serve the US domestic market with the Shark and Nolan helmet brands. Whether it’s a Shark helmet with TLD graphics or a TLD helmet with Shark graphics, there will most certainly be some sort of collaboration in the street bike helmet market alongside their in-line products. This is very exciting because, as you know, Troy has been very passionate about all forms of motorsports racing, including MotoGP. I don’t know the exact number, but almost 80% of all motorcycle helmet sales in Canada are street bike helmets so this will no doubt broaden our consumer base moving forward.
That sounds very exciting for sure. Let’s talk about your involvement as the title sponsor of the TLD/GASGAS/SSR Team for a moment. You’re obviously a big part of Steve Simms’ team. What does being part of this team and the Triple Crown Series mean to you?
Steve has been a great partner of ours, and he really does go above and beyond for the brand. We’re happy to be one of title sponsors of his team, and we cannot wait to go racing in the Triple Crown Series this year. This week we announced that Tyler Gibbs and Daniel Elmore would be the two riders on the team, which is very exciting. I’m excited, and I know Steve is excited to get things going. It feels like it’s been a long off-season up here.
It has, and with spring just around the corner, racing will be starting soon. I think it’s great what you’re doing with the TLD brand in Canada, as just hearing the name TLD brings me back to my youth. Growing up, every moto kid wanted a Troy Lee Designs painted helmet like Jeremy McGrath. Overall, it’s just such an iconic brand in motocross and, as you said earlier, in mountain biking as well.
Yes, TLD has been such an iconic brand for so long, and I’m extremely proud to be not only part of it but also be close friends with Troy Lee and all the staff as well. Troy’s vision and passion for racing run deep, and it’s been fun to be there and experience the ride thus far. We have a great leadership team under Jason Steris, our CEO, and it’s been a successful campaign so far, and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for myself and the TLD brand.
Cody, it’s been great chatting with you, and I wish you nothing but success in 2023 and beyond. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us, and we look forward to seeing you at the races this summer.
Thank you, Palms for reaching out. We’re looking forward to this year, and I hope 2023 is a successful one for both of us.