Descending a mountain he’d just climbed in Argentina, Steve Smith emerged from the wilderness in time to see three bikes winding past on the mountain road. In a moment of revelation he decided that riding bikes in amazing places around the world was what he wanted to do. AdventureMoto and RideADV came into being as part of that dream.
AdvR: It’s hard not to be envious of a bloke who seems to be at just about every major ride and somehow still has time to run several successful businesses and occasionally kick off a new one. How did it all get started?
SS: I started working life as a builder…a chippy.
I bombed out of school in Year 10, did a trade, went back to college and Uni later on and got a building diploma. I’ve done some management courses and stuff like that.I’m one of those ‘new-age’ guys that’s had lots of jobs doing lots of different things. I’ve been a partner in an advertising company, I’ve owned a motel and restaurants, I’ve been a developer…I’ve had quite a diverse background, but I’ve always been an adventurer.