SOCIAL NETWORK
For London-based Hackney GT, manufacturing in England is part of a wider policy of ethical business that sees profits invested in getting gang kids onto bikes and supporting local cycling. That some of the highest quality technical cycling kit comes out of it is more than coincidence though
“The dream is that this becomes a social enterprise,” explains the man behind the Hackney GT brand, Russ Jones, in an east London café as we discuss the pros and cons of self-funding an ambitious business before our road-free ride through London. “It has to make me a living, but creating jobs for young people, apprenticeships, putting back into cycling via events and supporting cycling projects at home and abroad, that’s the dream of the brand. If you’ve got outside investors then dollar signs are all they see.”
And no one could accuse Jones of chasing the quick buck. Although the roots of the business go back to some one-off jersey designs back in 2011, Hackney GT in its current guise really kicked off in 2016 with a commitment to manufacture in the UK. “It’s a struggle, making in England, particularly financially,” admits Jones, “but it’s not a struggle day-to-day dealing with an English factory. It was something that was in mind from the beginning but it was hard finding the factory in England. Now we’ve got a great one and it’s environmentally sound to manufacture here, because it cuts down our business miles, and the ethics are sound because we know the factory and the workforce.”
Urban Junglists
The original idea behind launching Hackney GT was to take inspiration from the vibrant urban scene on Russ’s doorstep - graffiti, hip-hop – and, as a keen weekend racer, apply it to what he saw as a very conservative cycle clothing industry. “I was right that there was a gap in the market for technical cycle kit that was different, a bit funky and inspired by Hackney,” he says. “I always enjoyed graphic design, and with sublimated print there is no limit to what you can do, it’s a blank canvas and you can put a thousand colours on one top. It’s something we really enjoy: I work with a guy called Swifty as my designer, who worked with me in the music industry [Russ is a
renowned global music DJ and has played at Glastonbury as Hackney Globe Trotter]. I love it when we can do custom kit and give cycling a fresh look.”
If that was the simple original premise of the brand, it soon morphed into something bigger. Taking inspiration from the inner city is one thing, but Russ lives there too and is all too aware of the reality that produces the creativity he sees on the walls and coming out of the speakers of his neighbourhood. Times are hard, and if you’re young, broke and trying to make ends meet in a city as expensive as London, there are avenues outside the law that can seem very attractive.
Helping young cyclists has always been part of the brand’s raison d’etre - “we supply kit at cost to the Lee Valley youth club, we run the Tour of the Cornfields off-road sportive with all profits going to support the youth team of the Eastern cyclo-cross league” – but recently Hackney GT has extended its reach deeper into the city’s estates.
“We’ve supported this guy, Mac Ferrai, based in Tottenham and Hackney who is really good at popping wheelies and started putting YouTube videos up,” explains Russ, “and the kids round here are really into all that. He’s like a guru to them, a mentor, working with all these gang kids on the estates. He organised an event – BikeLife rideout – to the west end, and 2500 kids turned up. He organised another, against police advice, and 4500 kids turned up, so for the next one they gave him a police escort with a helicopter.
“He’s got a display team now of about 10 kids called Bike Stormz. I’m about to sponsor them, making mountain bike tops for them.”
“We sponsor one rider, a wheelie king and YouTube star, who works with gang kids. He got 4500 of them to ride through London with him” Russ Jones
“I’m really happy with where we are, the quality is fantastic, and working with an English factory means I can visit and everyone’s getting paid properly” Russ Jones
Hackney GT has also been working with former GB Academy racer Germain Burton, Russ tells us: “Last year we sponsored him to put together a team for the Red Hook Crit. We raised money with a special edition jersey to send them out to Brooklyn to do the race. Germain left the Olympic Programme and works with the One Life project in south London, helping kids on the estates, and that’s who we made the jersey for.
“I’m also sponsoring another event with a friend who works with gang kids in south London. He’s riding to Africa with some kids from his estate and we’re making their clothing for that trip.”
Keeping Things Ethical
Russ sees the brand’s UK manufacture as an extension of the ethical approach that supporting disadvantaged Londoners suggests.
“In 2014 we started working with a state of the art factory in Blackburn so we could relaunch in 2016 as a ‘Made in England’ product,” says Russ. “I’m really happy with where we are now, the quality is fantastic. Working with an English factory means we can go and visit them tomorrow and everyone’s getting paid properly.
“Who wants to be making clothes in Bangladesh? I wouldn’t want to put my name to that. When you see documentaries of what goes on in those factories, where 1000 people can die in a fire, I couldn’t live with myself if my stuff had been made in that place, I really couldn’t. There’s an element where those people need jobs, but if you’re going to produce in those countries it needs to be in reputable factories with fair working conditions, and we just don’t have the clout to impose that.”
So much has Jones embraced UK manufacture that he has chased down English suppliers for some of the finer details and his non-technical accessories.
“I’ve found the only remaining UK zip manufacturer,” he proudly tells us, “Zipex in Leicester, who supplies the army and the police, so they make a bulletproof zip and I’ve never had one malfunction. It’s a little bit over-engineered if I’m honest, but it was so cool to find them and they can supply me in two days.
“We’ve got our socks made in a sock factory in the heart of Manchester, you wouldn’t believe it, and we’ve found a knitwear factory in Nottingham that makes our merino bobble hats. That’s an old family business, but apparently they are the only knitwear factory left in Nottingham – and again the owner does it as a passion, employing 20 people, keeping an industry alive.”
Russ Jones is a man on a mission, and it’s much bigger than getting rich quick.