For 10 years you’ve seen his face on Indian Bike posters and in commercials. However Alec Ferguson is extra than simply the beautiful face you see on practically each poster in an Indian dealership; he’s a racer and rider like us who simply occurs to be dwelling a biker’s dream getting paid to journey.
Since 2013 you’ve seen Ferguson’s face normally obscured by a helmet on Indian bike ads. Generally he’s on a Scout or a Challenger, typically he’s at a café with associates, or typically he’s taking a break close to a scenic overlook. However in each case, he’s sporting an Indian jacket, and an Indian bike is shut by.
However Ferguson is greater than only a fairly face.
“I needed to be a highway racer, to do Daytona,” Ferguson stated. “I labored for a Honda dealership, and my supervisor raced regionally, and he gave me a shot. That’s the place I met this man named Ben Spies (an AMA Superbike Champion). I had a pit move. We have been comparable in age and he’s like, ‘I acquired to go do a observe sesh and preserve speaking to you.’”
Although the 2 didn’t join on the monitor, they did later within the night at a sushi restaurant the place they talked racing. Spies helped Ferguson connect with different racers and groups. These preliminary conversations led to Ferguson transferring to Houston, and later Austin, Texas, the place he acquired his shot, however not as a racer. “I used to be a mechanic on AMA and they’d let me journey and I’d get monitor days. I slept in additional backs of vehicles dwelling the racer’s dream.”
Finally, he was in a position to begin racing: “I used to be a whole unbiased, racing for Roadracer Provide on a Ninja 636.”
However, like many racing careers, Ferguson couldn’t preserve the sponsorship cash coming in and the grueling week-in-week-out schedule took a toll on him. “We ran out of sources,” he stated .Indian Bikes couldn’t instantly touch upon Ferguson’s function, however the firm instructed BikEXIF his driving capability is likely one of the many causes he will get requires shoots. For instance, Ferguson stated he rides at 70 miles per hour behind picture vehicles and has to pilot unfamiliar $30,000 huge bikes like a new Challnenger safely round unfamiliar roads.
However Freguson by no means thought he’s a mannequin. A stint within the U.S. Air Pressure introduced him to Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the USA. When he acquired out of the army, he began doing what he knew: bike restore.
Then, in the future, the store acquired a casting name electronic mail that an organization was searching for fashions who additionally journey. “I believed, what on the earth is that this?” Ferguson stated. “I present up, and there’s lovely individuals in all places, and I’m nonetheless sporting a Dickies shirt lined in oil.”
Because the casting name progressed, that they had him strive on jackets, pose, and earlier than he may say Yoshimura, he was solid. “That is now my 10th 12 months. That’s the way it began,” he stated. His first shoot was on a then brand-new Chief close to a rural airport.
He stated the enormity of the job didn’t set in till he was in an airport and noticed himself driving an Indian on the quilt of “Fashionable Mechanics” journal. “That’s when all the things modified,” he stated. Since then, he’s labored on campaigns for Crimson Wing Sneakers and even Coors Gentle.
Nevertheless, he can’t resist going into an Indian dealership to see a poster together with his face on it. Generally sellers will acknowledge him, typically not.
“I get individuals on a regular basis, ‘Is that this you?’ and it’s a billboard in Korea or Mexico,” he stated.
Ferguson, whose household is from Jamaica, is likely one of the few African Individuals within the trade.
“I need to applaud Indian. I don’t need to communicate for Indian, however they need to present the perfect. Indian has completed an incredible job of diversification,” Ferguson stated. “One time I used to be in a dealership, and a man got here as much as me and stated, ‘You’ve been my wallpaper for the final six years (on my pc). After I noticed you, I noticed myself.’ That was wonderful.”
“I by no means thought after I was a child I’d be inspiring individuals. I’m a highway racer, a dust biker, and I by no means thought I may affect that many individuals,” Ferguson stated. “After I was a child, Eddie Lawson was my hero. Now, individuals can have a look at me and say, ‘I can try this.’”
Indian | Alec Ferguson Instagram
