My name is Shane Jenkins, I’m a BMX racer and I buy local.

There I said it, and yes I am proud of myself for saying so, very proud. I’m even prouder to know that I’m not alone. If I was there would be even less local bike shops I could access on any given day or even any race day.

A couple of events this week started to get me thinking why am I so passionate about buying local. I don’t give buying overseas a single thought, personally I would chase all over Australia looking for what I’m after, the chase is half the fun. And if I can’t find what I want I’m happy to wait, the world won’t stop spinning if I don’t get my hands on the latest aerodynamic carbon fiber bar ends that are especially developed with an airfoil to keep me in the air longer than Bruce Morris. All jokes aside I’ve realised what it is that keeps me going back, but first my history with the bicycle industry.

When I was a high school student, studying year 12, I was given the opportunity to work in a bike shop during my holidays. I had already been racing for about 7 years, my father was an automotive mechanic, so over time I had learned how to repair and maintain my bike. It was enough to get my foot in the door where I worked in all aspects of the store doing repairs, building bikes, sales, etc, it’s hardly a glamorous job and definitely not well paid. Although, it did help me get through my tertiary years. Sure I still needed assistance from my parents and I worked up a large student debt. It was great though to be able to work along side like minded people and the discounts were handy for this passionate BMXer.

By the time I had finished my studies I had worked at stores in Essendon, Tullamarine, Glenroy, Brighton and Bentleigh. I saw regulars showing up at each of these stores, sure they were spending lots of money, and regularly, but they were also being well looked after. Now make no mistake there was a traditional exchange of money for goods and/or services but the thing that stuck with me was the interaction, it was far more than the forced interaction you would get at the supermarket or the cheap hair dressers. It was always like two old friends catching up. It’s always stuck with me.

With my studies done and I was now in the IT industry I would visit the local bike shop regularly to have my bike maintained, upgraded, whatever it needed. The visits, which should have been as quick as dropping off and picking up my bike, would blow out into long conversations about everything BMX, old and new and often take hours. The people I was dealing with were my friends. I had become a regular, at the time it was Glenroy Cycles, I rarely ventured to another store because I knew I was always going to be looked after. As time went on I ventured down there less and less because time didn’t allow as my life got busier.

Over the past few years it seems the only stores I have frequented are BMXMAD and Trail & Track and it’s more their trackside Pro Shops than the actual stores. Rocket and Karen at BMXMAD have been there for me when I have needed them to buy parts and make quick repairs, as has John at Trail & Track, all depending on what I needed at the time and who was least busy so I could get some quick work done to my bike between motos. There’s something about being able to let someone else do the work while you focus on your racing, and the banter that usually goes on is just a bonus.

These guys and gal go so much further than that though, they have race teams, so they are supporting riders, they also support local events, heck BMXMAD were a fairly major sponsor of the Australian Nationals series, which people quickly forget.

Thinking back on all of these experiences, on the local bike shops that put money in my pocket and helped me pay for my own education, it looked after me right through my racing years with great people selling awesome products and spinning a good yarn. It’s funny you know, I’ve heard people say yeah but the prices are too high to buy local, I’ve done the math a few times just to prove people wrong and generally speaking the prices are often comparable and most of the time cheaper locally especially when you get mates rates. I’ve heard the rubbish about how stores rip off their customers, but I see very few bike shop owners getting around in new cars unless they subsidise their income with help from their partner.

I shop local first because I want to know that I’ve helped other students pay their way through schooling, I want to see my friends succeed, and I want to have a bike shop, or pro shop, that I can drop into from time to time to ask for a hand or just discuss some new products. I don’t want to see the local bike shops go the way of the dinosaur, or the automotive industry or even the highly outsourced IT industry for that matter.