Our story

 

The OFR story starts with a passion for motorcycling and the Isle of Man. I started visiting the island in the early 90’s and I remember having my mind blown by the amount of bikes that would park on the prom in the evenings and then disappear to watch the racing during the day, seeing this huge biking community gather every year was amazing. When I moved to the island in 2000 I had the opportunity to witness this gathering from the perspective of a resident, it’s great to see the island come alive and invite people from all corners of the World to share in our love of the TT although it was always a bit sad to see everyone leave but this gave me the opportunity to really discover the hidden corners and back roads of this beautiful island all year around.

Fast forward to the summer of 2019 I had the idea to create an authentic Manx motorcycling clothing brand that didn’t just focus on the world famous TT Races but was influenced by a rich motorcycling history and the fantastic island I call home.

I took inspiration from the amazing Manx scenery when choosing the colours for the clothing, the muted blue and green of our sky and seas, the grey, burgundy and black from the hillsides and a rich racing red and yellow from the Manx Flag.

One of my original thoughts was to create a tee that felt like your old favourite go to tee but box fresh, the feel of the tee and look of the designs were very important to me so after many samples I chose a mid-weight soft feel tee and the designs have a slightly worn look to them and combined with the inks we use and the hand drawn screen printing process we hopefully have created a tee that looks and feels great.

The company name was important to me and had to sum up what the brand is all about so hopefully Open Face Racer does that, whether you are riding a true 1950’s or 60’s classic or a brand new modern classic nothing beats hacking around a twisty B road wearing an open face helmet, shades on with wind in your face and the sun on your back, it’s the OFR way.

Part of OFR’s mission is to use as many Manx companies and suppliers as possible, based on the island I feel it’s important that OFR supports other local businesses where possible plus I like to work with people that I can go and have a chat with and discuss ideas and develop products that I know you will love and enjoy.

The last 2 years have been a roller coaster of emotions from the highs of developing the OFR brand to the lows of two cancelled TT’s, nervous anticipation when launching the website and feeling proud but incredibly humbled receiving great customer responses when they receive their orders.

This is just the start of the OFR story I really hope you enjoy our products and decide to come along for the ride.

Always remember to ride more.

Cheers

Howard

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