Distributor in the spotlight – meet Tobias Maher

Continuing our ‘Distributor in the Spotlight’ series, where we get up close and personal with members of the MERIDA family, our second stop is in Nottingham at MERIDA UK. So far, we have met boot, spreadsheet and car enthusiast Chris Carter, the Managing Director (story here) and Dave Hawkes, Service and Warranty manager (story here) and founder of the ‘Dirty Burger Friday’ movement. This is our third and final instalment from MERIDA UK, and it is with Tobias Maher, the Marketing Manager, who loves football, film scores and gets excited about XL test bikes coming back to the office.

Who are you, what is your job title, and what is your typical working day like?
I am Tobias Maher, and I work as MERIDA UK marketing manager here at the office in Nottingham. A typical day for me is all about communication, primarily with our dealers but also with end consumers. Consumer-facing communication is through social media channels, advertising and the MERIDA UK website. I also liaise with our UK ambassadors.

You are one of the more recent (if you can call 4 ½ years 'recent') additions to the team. How did you get into the cycling industry and your current position at MERIDA UK?
I moved to Nottingham in January 2020 for a job, but this wasn’t great timing as I was made redundant due to the Covid pandemic! I came to MERIDA UK after seeing the marketing role advertised. I was interested in bikes as I am what would be described as a casual rider compared to some of the team here. In fact, I think they were keen to have someone in the team who wasn’t a ‘die-hard’ biker as it means I can perhaps have a different perspective on the market. When I started here in November 2020, I wasn’t married, now I am married with 3 very young children, so although I have not been here that long, life has changed dramatically for me while I have been with MERIDA UK!

As this is your first role in the cycling industry, what did you do before, and how does it compare?  
I had a rather varied career before coming into the bike industry; I studied music technology and production at university, I love music and I am a piano player. I spent my summers in the USA doing soccer coaching, and then after university, I had the chance to become a full-time coach and lived in the US for five years. I felt the team’s promotional activities could be improved, so I started doing it myself, which got me interested in the field of marketing. When I returned to the UK, I worked for a football company that managed football venues. Initially, I did their marketing and then their brand management. I was responsible for their logo design, branding, brand guidelines as well as scaling it across new venues. We started with 20 locations and progressed up to 50. I had progressed as far as I could in that field, so I moved into the hospitality industry, but still doing marketing and brand management. I did this for 2 years before I moved to Nottingham, I moved here for love as I was following my wife’s (then girlfriend’s) career.

As you haven’t ‘grown up’ in the cycling industry, like many of your colleagues, have the experiences you gained in your previous roles given you a fresh and perhaps unique perspective for your role at MERIDA UK?
Well, this is the first time I have been marketing an actual physical product rather than a service: launching them, delivering and aftermarket work. I enjoy this aspect of it. The cycle industry has great potential for new customers and my previous experience has taught me how to direct our marketing activities towards these new growth areas. We are already doing a great job communicating with existing customers and enthusiasts, but there is still a way to go when it comes to communicating with the ‘not-yet-cyclists’ market.

Of the three industries you have worked in which is your favourite?
Cycling is my favourite as I love the fact that we sell such a high-quality product, and it is exciting to use our marketing to reach into new growth areas. I have realised that the cycle industry is a small village, and everybody knows each other, which in some sense is good, but it also carries a risk of slowing down new approaches. We are lucky that we have a healthy mix of bike enthusiasts and hobby riders in our team, which makes for interesting meetings.

How do you think the UK cycling market (leisure and sport) differs from other European and global markets?
For us, e-bikes are incredibly popular for off-road/sport use. Less so for other markets such as urban commuting/leisure, but they have great growth potential, which is super exciting. Road and mountain biking are still king here, and I think the MERIDA brand is far more affordable in this sector than some of our competitors. So, our sales are far more focused on sport than the leisure/commuting market, which I imagine is very different from many European countries. Where the two areas overlap, is the SILEX. For some, it is their dedicated gravel and bikepacking companion; for others, it is their super versatile commuter and training bike.

What other key bikes are there that are significant for the UK market?
The SILEX is our most viewed bike on our social channels and our website, closely followed by our road bike range. Our road bikes are aspirational as they are ridden on the Pro Tour but also attainable as they are excellent value compared to other brands. In mountain biking (human-powered and e), our whole lineup is reviewed well, and mountain biking is a very popular sport in the UK. And, of course, we have our ‘homegrown’ BIG.TRAIL trail hardtail, that started off as a UK-specific project but has become a success wherever it is sold.

What kind of riding do you do?
My best day on a bike would be a whole day at a bike park with my mates, but with three young children, as you can imagine, this doesn’t happen very often nowadays! My favourite kind of trail is packed with technical singletrack. The nearest I get to this currently is a family day out to Sherwood Pines trail centre. I am aiming to take my son in the shotgun seat with the twins in the trailer behind me; that is why I am riding an eONE-SIXTY at the moment!

What is your favourite bike in MERIDA’s range (past or present)? It could be your personal bike or simply a bike from our range.
I love the most recent ONE-SIXTY because it is a super capable bike on the rough stuff and still pedals really well on flatter trails and climbs. That makes it very usable on a day-to-day basis. I am a rather tall lad at 6ft 5”, so when a ONE-SIXTY 10K in XLong came back into the office from a very positive Pinkbike test, I jumped at the chance to make it my own for the year.

What other interests and hobbies do you have off the bike?
As I mentioned earlier, I studied music, and my instrument was the piano; I loved jazz piano growing up. I purloined a piano from the village hall, and that planted the seed. My favourite music to play or listen to now is film scores. To be honest though, my main hobby outside of work is currently feeding small children and putting them to bed! Before the children, I loved playing football and going to the gym, but I had an Achilles tendon injury which slowed me down, so now I just manage a bit of weekly 5 aside to keep my hand in. 

What do you like most about working for MUK and the MERIDA brand?
Everyone here is lovely; unlike other places I have worked, people here don’t have their own agenda, which is really refreshing. There is a real team approach, and we all share work when necessary, as we are a small team. Being a small team can also have its advantages as I have the freedom to try new things. As the product is constantly changing and improving, it means the team are keen to move forward with it, so things don’t remain static or become staid.

Given the chance for a little cycle adventure of your choosing (money no object), where would you go, and who would you like to take along for the ride?
That is easy, it would be the whole family in a big camper van and tour round Scotland. I have never been, but I would love to ride there. I think we often don’t appreciate what is on our doorstep. Of course I would book some sunshine in advance, but being outdoors with good food, great coffee and my family – who could ask for more?!

Tobias can see the world of cycling from a slightly different angle due to his previous experience in other sporting worlds. This is clearly a winner and adds another angle to MERIDA UK’s marketing approach. He genuinely believes in what he is marketing, and despite a busy home life, he has managed to ride some of the top-notch MERIDA bikes when the chance has arisen. Let’s hope as the kiddies grow up that he gets the chance to be out on his bike, hitting the singletrack a bit more in the future!

So, this is our final instalment from MERIDA UK here in Nottingham, but fear not, the mobile MERIDA office will be hitting the road again soon to pop in for a cuppa and a chat with another branch of the MERIDA family. Watch this space!!!