Each month, Grow will feature an individual in our community, showcasing their career path and digging a little deeper into their goals and aspirations for the future.
To kick things off, we're keeping it local with our Founder and Chairman, Eliot Jackson.
- Athlete Santa Cruz, Rapha, Maxxis, Shimano
- Ambassador Thule, Fattire
- Presenter Red Bull
- Founder Grow Cycling Foundation
Eliot interviewing Blake Hansen, Bas Van Steenbergen and Jess Hana at Aspire, Crankworx Whistler 2024. Photo: Grow Cycling Foundation
What key experiences and influences shaped your path to where you are today?
Two big lessons come to mind.
First, meet people and be curious because you never know where it may lead.
Brian Grazer wrote a book called A Curious Mind, where he details how he had the conversations with people that led to to places beyond his wildest dreams. That idea really resonates with me. I may seem very extroverted but in reality I am an introvert and was extremely shy when I first started racing. Remember I introduced myself to the Parkin brothers because my favorite MTB movie of all time is 3Focus. A movie they made. I just wanted to tell them what a big impact it made on me and that I was a fan. Who could have known that a decade later, they would recommend me to Red Bull for a job presenting a YouTube series which led to the relationship and the job I have there today.
Second, have conversations with people of wisdom.
I never had any formal education or training, but I have had these incredible mentors over the years in sport, business, and tech. Just being vulnerable enough to say "I would really like to try X, what do I need to do to get there?" or "I am trying to get better at [racing, strategy, programming, commentating] and you are one of the best people I have ever seen, could I send you something to get feedback on?" When I was pursuing music, I sent a message to one of the top 5 mixing engineers in the world on a message board and they agreed to have a conversation. I learned more in that hour than I would have watching 1000 hours of YouTube tutorials. I am always surprised at where a thoughtful cold message can get you.
What would you say is the key to succeeding in what you do?
I would say the key is just always trying to learn, being deliberate about only doing what I truly love and trying to connect things that don’t seem like they have much in common at first glance. It’s where I am best and what I feel I am best at.
What piece of advice would you give to yourself ten years ago?
I would say to try to have a “shorter memory.” Meaning sometimes there is a lot to learn from situations or failures or successes and sometime there’s not. Sometimes things just work out or they don’t and you shouldn’t try to update your process because of them. Put another way, ups and downs will happen and that’s O.K.
The other thing I would say is that it’s ok to love thinking so much, even if you’re not in environments where you feel like you can use those thoughts or that they are valued, it will all turn out great :)
What's next for Eliot Jackson?
I feel like I am truly living my best life. I want to continue to get better at my broadcast and interview work, keep riding and working on Grow, and just enjoy this moment in time where everything seems to be in perfect alignment.
Photo: Adrian Marcoux