About 25 years ago I decided that I did not want to be a walking advertisement for any company, so I tossed all clothes that were branded by any business. Coke, Nike, etc etc. I have not worn anything branded again. If you want ME to be a walking advertisement I thought, then pay me.

Riding gear. Some of it is SO branded that its stupid. Sorry, I will not buy gear that turns me into a walking advertisement, But it is also impossible to avoid. Some companies are better than others, some lines of gear is better than others, and some I plan to simply blacken, to make it less obvious. I even plan to blacken my motorcycle.

Its not that I hate business. Nor do I have a problem supporting products and companies that produce support worthy goods or services. I just refuse to offer free advertising.

Is this silly? Ridiculous? In this hyper-advertised world, why should I offer my body as a billboard for you?

How do you feel about this?

One of the reasons I paid out for a made to order BKS leather jacket was to be able to choose what branding went onto it which was none at all, a small label will not stop me buying an item of clothing but a large one will.

I agree.

And what about all this Youtubers that use their channel for advertisment.
To earn money
And pretend that they create videos because the like to share.

If a logo on your RIDING gear turns you into a WALKING advertisement, does this mean you must be a Harley rider?
Asking for a friend.

As an aside, 95% of all Harleys ever manufactured are still on the road.

The other 5% actually made it home.

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Hear the challenge, learn the lesson, pay the cost.

I saw a guy once riding a harley, with harley boots, pants, jacket, bennie, hat, underwear (yes he showed us the top of the strap), socks, gloves.....and proud as can be.

Whatever makes ya happy!

Well, Horizons Unlimited sells T-shirts. Would you feel the same way about someone wearing a HU jacket?

Do you have any T-shirts with band logos? That's the same sort of corporate branding - "buy our CDs" instead of "buy our gear".

There is low- or no-branding gear, and I've definitely invested in it. I have a Dainese Razon and RevIt jeans, and I have a Modeka textile suit with minimal branding.

That said, if an otherwise excellent piece of gear is discounted by the value of the advertising on it, I am willing to accept that. E.g. all over Europe you will see bikes parked under rain covers with giant Louis.de logos - because those covers are good enough, and sell for nothing. That's... fine.

What about all these travel writers that go on ARR to sell their books to earn money? And pretend they write because they like to travel.

That is to say: creating videos is work, and creating YouTube videos consistently and well enough for your audience to be worth anything for an advertiser, is HARD work. If they didn't like making videos and sharing, they would have gone into investment banking!

Ha, Y'all beat me to it with the comments about Harleys. So I'd guess there's no Screamin' Eagles tattooed on your chest (or even a 69 Bonnie on your back). Kind of hard to avoid some form of product placement though. How far do you go with this - chisel the badges off your bike, bleach all your T shirts white, only buy tinned food without labels?

A lot of people use this stuff not so much as free advertising for the businesses concerned but rather as statements of their values. So Liverpool FC football shirts while on holiday in Spain, Rossi branded leathers with 46 all over them on their sports bikes (a few years ago now those ones) or even 'Jesus loves you' on the T shirts of people knocking on my door to tell me 'the good news'.

Having said that I'm currently sitting here wearing an AMG Mercedes T shirt. Are those my values? Should I change my name to Max Power? No, sadly not. I don't own a Mercedes and I'm unlikely ever to do so. I just found it clean in the cupboard this morning; I think it's something my son bought. He drives a Ford Fiesta. Or at least I think it's a Fiesta. The badge on the back is missing.

I think it is a bit silly, then again not.

You can be a fan of a brand, much like you can be a fan of a band - and both can be a part of your identity. They differ from let's say political parties, movements, NGOs.

When I see people wearing simple t-shirts with luxury brands printed all over it - maybe because it was the 8nky item in the collection they could afford, and maybe because it was the one item in the collection that screamed "this is my identity" the loudest - I oftentimes think it is a bit pathetic and sad. There are morei important things to convey than my number one concern is being a Gucci person.

Now, if I bought an item purely for it's functional attributes, going to the lengths of blacking it out - could be similarily pretentious. It is legitimate to make a statement, it is ok to be mindful of astethics (sometimes logos add to it, sometimes it takes something away - purely personal).

Now, caring a lot about these matters in one way or the other, so much that it preoccupies your time, mind and wallet? There ought to be other things of greater value to care about, like not giving a shit right now but the beautiful sunset, the wind on your face, or your pillion resting their head on your shoulders.

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Blog: www.bamakobyvespa.no
My Youtube Channel

Writers sell their own work. They are not payed by someone else.

Youtubers that show their new fantastic riding gear, do it becouse they get sponsored by the company that produces the gear.
"have you seen my new fantastic Rev'it/Klim jacket ?? "

But it works. All lot of people are impacted of Youtube influencers.
But form me, that is just another advertisment.

Leaving aside the fact that writers get paid by publishers who then sell their work, and that successful travel writers will often get freebies from the places they visit and write about...


OK, what if that youtuber has a Patreon, and does not do any sponsored content, only makes money by selling their work directly to their viewers? And actually buys the gear they review?

What about an intermediate situation, like RyanF9, where they don't get money or free bikes or gear from the manufacturer, but make money from YouTube advertising/subscription fees?

What about MotoGeo, who get free loaner bikes and gear, but the popularity of their videos is down to the production values of the mini-movies, not their opinions on whether you should buy the bike?

Where is the moral line between an acceptable way to make a living from producing content, and a shameful one?

Some of it is just fashion, others like to be seen in big-name brands, like some people who buy top of the range "adventure" bikes that don't go further than the local café. It doesn't bother me, each to his own, and while I won't plaster my bike with stickers for the sake of it (as you say, if someone wants me to advertise they can give me something for it) I wouldn't avoid branded gear for the sake of it either.

There are a lot of YTrs who buy the actual popular gears by themselves without getting any sponsoring. Maybe they hope to get a sponsoring by this. Maybe they use it as sign of competence. Maybe they need it to show that they belong to the in-crowd. Maybe they use it to build up their channel and to create income. Everybody today in social media is dreaming of 5 min of fame.

Think about Itchey Boots, how she explosively entered the YT motorbike travel scene, how she selfdeveloped and what she is doing now. A clever young women who recognized a gap for a business and builded up a video channel which let her earn more than enough money to travel like she wants and she shows. She has my fulliest respect for this accomplishment.

Yes, there are riders who got annoyed by big brandings on the jackets, trowsers, gloves, helmets and panniers.
But when it gets to the point to put stickers of a country, a region, a famous travellers and of motor parts manufacturers often these people forget their antipathy about being an advertising pillar. Because this develops a unique feature of a special character, a special human being with reputation.

I am still getting a big grin every time at german biker meeting places in the summer weekends when I see the crowds of shiny polished GS whose look like a mobile touratech catalog. Be sure they show a sticker parade on panniers which got never used in travels. All this provoked by the motorcycle industry and their hype to sell adventure to Mr. & Mrs. Smith when they ride out at the weekend.

Trendy is the last stage before tacky...

But thats how we are. People loves their vanity and they perform it very individually. Some do it offensive and some deny it generally which is nothing else than a special kind of showing individual vanity.
Why not? We are individuals and we want to show our character, values and personality to others. We want to stick out of the crowd and in the same time we want to show that we belong to a special group, gang or culture. Social socities define and devide themselves by conspicuous consumption. Controversial but reality. We simply want to get noticed as an individual. That´s nothing bad in my view and thats - and lets be honest - what we first recognize when we travel somewhere, when we look at the people there. We estimate first through our eyes and later by ears in a communication we judge.

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I have a slightly different perspective on this - I don't subscribe to the wearing of brand names emblazoned across the item as for me it doesn't really add much to a product except to say "probably best to avoid this person" which saves me time.

However, I do not mind wearing items that carry a logo reasonably discretely. As regards t-shirts with bands / events / organisations on then that also saves me time as it gives me an insight into someone's life. For instance I would probably talk to someone wearing an HU t-shirt as it is likely that we have some common ground.

On a wider note there is something to be said for accepting branding of items - that is business continuity - we want our favourite items to be available next year for us to buy so if the branding allows the business to sell sufficient to still to bother to produce an item as they are making a profit on it then that is good for me. This is in much the same way that I accept that if I drive too hard a bargain with a supplier then I may not be able to go back to that supplier again as they will have either withdrawn from the market or gone belly up.

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You will have to do without pocket handkerchiefs, and a great many other things, before we reach our journey's end, Bilbo Baggins. You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire, but home is now behind you. The world is ahead.

I love and adore those people, and every moto traveller should. They are the blessings of the Gods upon us, and the source of effectively brand-new bikes at 2/3rds the price.

Lots of interesting views on this. I am in the middle of buying everything for an RTW right now. Literally from naked to ready to go. So this branding thing is in my purview right now.

I have NO issue with YT's selling products, or being sponsored, or writers selling their works, or more discreet branding, or folk who support their favorite team or band or forum. I am specifically talking about over the top branding where the logo or brand name is grossly displayed. I only mention this company in one reference and it is not a comment on quality or anything else - just this one product - Alpinestar sells a jacket where the logo is the entire front of the jacket. NO! Not for me. I will not wear it. Even if it was the BEST gear on the planet and it was free.

I will be doing the YT thing and am considering my approach right now. And branding is part of it. It has been extremely helpful in my selection of gear, to watch 100's of hours of videos with folk out there doing it, to get my purchases right. And I will ONLY offer this feedback if asked in most cases. My goal is not to be the same....not a gear reviewer....but if there is something that is outstanding - then I'll talk about it - and that's not advertising - supporting good products from good companies only makes sense.

So maybe the answer here is balance, respect, intelligence, thoughtfulness, flexibility, and a willingness to re-evaluate and change.....imagine a world where we apply this approach to everything.