RoadRUNNER Magazine's Florian N. shares the story of the magazine as well as some tales from growing up in a moto loving family. Plus, he has a special offer exclusively for our Twisted Road community.

First, tell me a little bit more about yourself and your riding history. Who taught you how to ride when you were young?

We moved to North Carolina when I was 12. In Austria we just didn’t have the space and opportunity to start riding at a young age. (Of course, I wish I could have started riding dirt bikes at a young age, because learning how to ride off-road later in life is a tough task). After my parents started RoadRUNNER Motorcycle Touring & Travel magazine, it was only a matter of time before my brother and I would start riding; I started when I was 15. Our first lessons were in Austria with professional instructors. Back in the States, we’d go on short rides to master the motorcycle basics. It was natural. Then came the memorable family outings exploring all of the fun backroads around North Carolina and Virginia. I remember my dad mostly fixated on his mirrors to keep a watchful eye on us, while he also held up fingers letting us know which gear we should be in when the road got tight.

Does your mom also ride? Or was she a passenger?

Of course she rides! She’s the boss! My dad started riding later in life. He started when he was 30. It only took my mom a year of being a passenger before she decided she needed to be in control. Learning to ride a motorcycle in the Alps and Dolomites is an experience in itself. My parents may have gotten a late start, but they made up for it quickly! I mainly ride with my mom now. She’s fast, smooth, rides predictably, and is fun to travel with. 

I read that you and your brother moved here from Austria when you were still in school. Tell me about that transition for you and your family.

I was 12 and my brother was 14. Those are tough ages for a trans-Atlantic move. Jumping right into high school was a fun and memorable experience though. It’s always what you make of it. Professionally, my parents had planned to go back to their roots and lead a quiet life. They opened up a photo studio. I suppose it was too quiet, because it didn’t take long for them to come up with the idea to publish a motorcycle travel magazine. And not only did they have the idea, but they pulled it off, too.

Your parents started RoadRUNNER magazine almost 20 years ago. How did it feel to be part of an entrepreneurial family? Was everyone involved in the family business?

It’s fun. Each day brings about new challenges. This is true still today. Even when we still lived in Austria, my brother and I were always part of the hustle, like when my parents ran a photo studio. In the winter they took photos of guests in ski school. They’d be on the slopes all day shooting. Then my dad would drive an hour to have the film developed, come back, and we’d be up late sorting the photos and putting them into passepartouts (frame mats). The next day they’d sell them to the avid skiers in training. In the summer it was the same, but for weddings. The really exciting and interesting part was watching them do tabletop photography for advertising agencies. 

RoadRUNNER started in the basement. It was the ultimate start-up before that word even became fashionable. Everybody had to work. Trade shows and events were the fun and easy part. After school I mainly handled customer service and subscription fulfillment, while my brother always handled our technology (websites, custom-built software, keeping up with the times, etc.). 

Do you have any memorable stories about the early years of creating European Creative Communications and RoadRUNNER? Young family businesses often experience financial strain - did you see this as a kid? And if so, how?

Lots and lots. The cool people we have met along the way have made the most impact, as have all of the cool places we’ve gotten to experience. Motorcycles are the best mode of transportation—and they’re an instant conversation starter. Solo riders truly are never alone. For many years we didn’t know if RoadRUNNER would make it. The first few years were challenging. We didn’t know if we’d have enough money to print the next issue, but then an advertiser paid, and we’d continue. Over the years our loyal readership got us through the toughest stretches including the Great Recession. Now we’re the #1 motorcycle magazine based on B&N rankings, and one of the only print moto magazines left.

I know that your mom took over the business in 2005. Can you tell me more about that transition? 

My dad passed away in a sidecar accident in July 2005. The fun and games were over for a long time. We all just buried our heads and worked through it. None more than my mom of course; she’s the main reason RoadRUNNER is so successful.

How did you and your brother get involved with the company? When did you start to work full time? Did you have other jobs before RoadRUNNER?

We have been involved since day one. There was a lot of grunt work—but hey, at the end of the day we got to ride motorcycles. It didn’t matter that we worked for room and board, had to clean all the filthy motorcycles that journalists returned (never, ever clean), and hand stuffed thousands of subscription renewal letters each month. I started working for RoadRUNNER full-time after high school. Manuel continues to be our 40-hour-per-week volunteer. We can’t afford him. He's a next level software engineer. He’s also a big reason why RoadRUNNER is so successful. Technology! He built our subscription fulfillment software, and—based on routine reviews every two years—it’s still the best out there. No third-party subscription fulfillment company can do what we do. 

A lot has changed in 20 years - how have you seen RoadRUNNER change since your parents started the magazine?

Look around. How many print motorcycle magazines do you see? We’re doing something right!

I love reading the old issues, especially my dad’s stories. English wasn’t his strongest skill, so I can hear his voice when reading them, plus I understand all of the loosely translated German-to-English parts that he fought our copy editor to keep in. Pure family gold. 

Over the years we’ve had some logo changes and design updates. At the time they were always spot-on, but just like with anything, looking back isn’t fair. I really like our current logo, cover treatment, and inside design.  

Your magazine is all about traveling on motorcycles, and I assume you have a very focused and loyal customer base. Can you tell me more about the community you've built?

That’s the best part. We have the best readers. Since we do all of our customer service in-house, we get to talk with them on the phone. A simple address change request can turn into a 20-minute conversation about some travel adventure or the latest motorcycles. 

After my dad passed away, we started hosting a small event in his memory, and somehow it grew to a crowd of over 300. For 15 years we got to hang out and ride with 300+ of our closest friends. I miss seeing everybody at the Touring Weekend. 

You now have a new app, RoadRUNNER Rides. Tell me more about it. How long did it take to create it? Were there any challenges in getting an app built and launched?

RoadRUNNER Rides is our navigation app. It features turn-by-turn directions and voice guidance for our 600+ tours we’ve featured in the magazine. We’ve always had the tankbag maps and GPX files, but times change. In addition to these tools, we’ve partnered with a developer for an easy solution to follow our professionally-laid-out routes. All of the tours are already on the app, and users just have to hit “start.” 

We’ve always planned for a navigation app. Development costs are very high, so we had to partner up.  

During the building and testing stage, I spent an entire winter checking every single via point of every route making sure one isn’t on the wrong side of the road or in a field. We strive for perfection, so it wasn’t difficult to find the motivation. The app works beautifully, and every month I see an increase in usage. It’s very promising.

What does the app do? How is it better than other motorcycle apps?

Users can filter our tours by type. Shamrock Tours are four loops out of a base location. We also have round-trips, road connectors, City Escapes, Classic Roads, and then we feature tourism areas’ highlighted motorcycle routes like Ohio’s Windy 9 out of Athens, Discover Siskiyou in northern California, PA Route 6, Ohio’s Triple Nickel around Zanesville, and more.

It’s easy to find a tour. All the user has to do is make sure the state map(s) for a given tour is downloaded to his or her phone, and then hit “go.” Data and signal are only necessary for these initial downloads. For on-the-road navigation the app uses the phone’s GPS chip and it does not affect data rates!

What are your plans for the future of RoadRUNNER?

As a true multi-media brand, I’d love to invest even more into video and eventually have our own show. Check out our travel playlist on Youtube. We’ve done several great shorts already. With streaming services making it even easier to distribute content, we’re not far off making it happen.

The ultimate goal is to get more people riding, of course. Traveling around the world, or even sticking to the US, is the best way to open the mind and meet new people. 

Take a look on our site. If you could ride any motorcycle on Twisted Road, what would it be and why?

It would definitely have to be something exotic and most likely Italian. Possibly an Aprilia Tuono. Then again why not try out a Husqvarna Svartpilen 401 or 701? That’s the beauty of Twisted Road, isn’t it? You can get your mittens on just about any bike anywhere.

A look back at the past 15 years at RoadRUNNER Magazine (starts on page 20)

Check out the current issue out now.

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