Interview with a Moto-Vlogger: Motordadcle

After a summer of watching talented Moto-Vloggers and admiring them for making such great videos on youTube I reached out to a few to put together this series. Some were kind enough to take the time to let me pick their brains and force them to ‘write’ in order to bring to you an inside glimpse of who they are and why they do what they do.  

So without further ado lets get to know the person behind the video camera....   




Rider Name: Motordadcle
Real Name:  Andrew              
Location:     Toronto Ontario, Canada 





TFC: When did you start riding & why?

Andrew: I started riding around 3 and a half years ago. As to why, I think it was a mixture of a few things. I’ve always wanted to ride motorcycles from the first time I was on one. It was a 125cc dirtbike out in the woods. And it was amazing. I was suddenly 36 years old, with two kids, and hadn’t taken the leap. I guess it was partly an old age thing. Partly because I wanted my son and daughter to grow up around motorcycles, to give them that love as well. The other reason was that at my age, the older people in your family start to pass away. I’d experienced the loss of a few family members to old age and cancer and thought “what am I waiting for?” I took a course, got a bike and a license. Done.

TFC: How did you come by your rider name? 

Andrew: I wanted something that had to do with who I was. Not the brand of bike I was on at the time, not something extreme that I’d out-grow. It’s really the word “motorcycle” with “dad” stuck in the middle. Motor-dad-cle. It’s lame. But it stuck.

Graffiti wall mural behind
 the Toronto Chinese
Archway as you enter
Toronto's China Town East

TFC: What do you ride now? 

Andrew: Right now I am riding a 2009 Yamaha FZ6R in Cadmium Yellow. It’s a 600cc bike classified as a Sport-Touring. I’ve recently stripped the fairings off and converted her to a bad-ass streetfighter. I love this bike. It’s fast as heck and comfortable enough for long rides.


TFC: Does your bike have a name?

Andrew: Yep. Her name is Betty after Betty (the blonde) from Archie Comics. I loved reading Archie comics as a kid.

Outside of Fort York, Toronto

TFC: What made you decide to start Moto-Vlogging?

Andrew: I had started watching a motovlogger named Accidental Broadcast. He’s out in Hawaii and the views and insight into his culture and daily life were really inspiring. Toronto is no Hawaii, but I thought maybe someone out there would find it interesting. 

Full fairing Betty at
Underpass Park, Toronto

TFC: What type of equipment do you use to produce your videos? 

Andrew: I use a helmet mounted GoPro Hero 3+ Silver with a lav mic wired into my helmet. I also have a second camera that I can mount on the bars to give the perspective of myself while riding, that camera is a Sony AS15. I edit on a super old MacBook – the all white, fat one. It’s got enough RAM to run Adobe Premiere Pro, which is my edit software of choice.



TFC: What is the most challenging part of putting together your videos?

Andrew: Time. Subscribers need to realize - and a lot do - that this is a hobby for 99% of moto vloggers. I have a full-time job, a family to support, kids to manage, etc. Typically editing one 5-minute video takes me about 4 hours of work. That is hard to find every week. BUT, the reward of getting comments from people who value the effort and enjoy the content makes it all worthwhile.

Andrew excited about the first ride of 2016

TFC: Any advice for someone wanting to get into Moto-Vlogging?

Andrew: I would say, do your own thing. I see a lot of motovloggers start out and they are basically doing what the big motovloggers are doing. Not copying but mimicking. Find something that excites YOU or something interesting about where YOU live or something that makes YOU unique. That will get you more comments than anything else. Also, don’t care about subscriber numbers. Don’t get me wrong, I love all my subs and value every single one, but I’m not doing this to get to 100K. I’m doing this in the hopes that some people out there get some enjoyment out of my work. If I made you smile, my jobs done.

The arches in front of Hart House,
University of Toronto

TFC: I have a moto-bucket list of places I would love to ride my bike someday. If you could ride your bike anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Andrew: I’d love to ride in Hawaii with Accidental Broadcast - such a beautiful place to just roam around on a dirt bike. The other place I’d love to go ride is Eastern Canada’s Cabot Trail – again, the scenic nature and winding roads are amazing.





TFC: Any last words or advice for motorcyclists?

Andrew: If you’re just getting your license, take a motorcycle safety course. It’s so good. After that practice a lot. Maybe take an advanced riding course too. The more prepared you are the longer you’ll be alive and able to ride. 

Whatever you want to do in life – go and do it, right now. You have one life, and it’s yours to create and shape. So make it fun. Motorcycling is a community and a lifestyle, it’s the best feeling to be able to ride up to another biker anywhere and just start talking. It’s like you’re bonded just because you’re both on two wheels.

Check Motordadcle out for yourself! Subscribe, Like him, Leave him a comment!
Motordadcle YouTube channel
Motordadcle Swag 




Places to connect with you:
Twitter @motordadcle 
Facebook
Instagram 


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YOU THERE...


If you are a Moto-Vlogger and are interested in getting featured on my new series you can find me on Twitter and send a DM to @theFrozenCanuck or you can email TheFrozenCanuck.ca@gmail.com with your youTube channel. I will review your channel and as long as you meet my discriminating values I will contact you. I have to set some standards :)


Until next time.... 





Cruising through Life & Enjoying the Ride...