Today’s guest is Barry Gough, Founder and CEO of Memento Exclusives, a unique sports merchandising business.
Motorsport
Barry got his start as a mechanic in motorsport, working in Mexico as an F3 mechanic after getting the role by mentioning his love of building BMX’s in his bedroom. Being just 17 and going to Mexico didn’t make his Mum particularly happy, but it soon paid off as he moved into GP2 and then into F1 by the time he was 21. He spent a year with Simtek as an engineer before moving to Jordan.
While in F1, he saw an opportunity to get into merchandising. TV rights were the sport’s main income at the time, so merchandising wasn’t a massive priority for teams or the sport. However, there was clearly a market for such items. Now, his business employs over 110 staff and has licensing deals with Formula One teams, Anthony Joshua, MotoGP, and the UFC.
Memento Exclusives
Memento specialises in unique items, such as pieces of bodywork from F1 cars and signed UFC championship belts. They also create items from used sports equipment, such as a clock re-engineered from a gear ratio from an F1 car.
Their business saw a boom during the pandemic, with people finding themselves with more disposable income. This also allowed them to expand their e-commerce operations. While F1 had shut down for a period, the business would match up their campaigns with the classic races being shown on TV in lieu of the regular season, further growing the business.
While the business was built on their F1 licenses, their recent partnership with UFC has given them massive room for growth in the US and worldwide. Warehouse in space in Las Vegas is likely to be coming soon, with more opportunities for collaboration on the horizon.
Barry shares some amazing anecdotes from his F1 career, including football games in Montreal and his unexpected dislike of Monaco. Stunningly, he doesn’t own any merchandise himself, showing an admirable split between his work and home life.
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