Based in beautiful Bend, Oregon, Mighty Mo are a newly launched clothing brand with a sense of fun and humour. As a new advertiser in Sideburn magazine we wanted to find out more about them with a quick Q&A.
Who is Mighty Mo? Figuratively, MIghtyMo is anyone who’s got the throttle-twisting gene in their DNA. From first-timers who’ve just discovered the thrill of riding, to grizzled old vets who still get themselves out for a proper thrashing - pain, weather, and sticky carb-slides be damned. Literally, MightyMo is me, Aaron (raced ‘cross as a kid, ex-pro Alpine ski/Bicycle racer) and Lina (clothing designer/creative whirlwind/moto-junkie) making fun things we love for fun people.
Where did the name come from? Just us kicking around names one day, when we were dreaming of having a Moto-related company. We were talking about the feeling of being on a bike - the thrill of the mind/body/throttle connection. MightyMo is sort of short for the feeling that Moto-Movement gives us. Where are you based? We spilt our time between Cortina, Italy, and Bend, Oregon. We have a ski/snowboard coaching/guiding business there in Italy’s Sud Tyrol, with Moto tours - exploring the insane mountain passes in our area on SuperMotos, and lots of fantastic food and “insider tourism" - in the works. In Bend, we ride a couple of hours every day in the unbelievable high desert and woodsy single-track paradise that exists right outside our back door.
What is the ideal bike for you and where you live? I’m a dirt guy, born and bred. Here in Bend, I’m usually on an ’18 Yamaha WR450F that’s had way too much money thrown at it. Quick and light enough to throw around, and get thrown around, on the single track, with enough power to get into and out of trouble. Lina’s main ride is a new and much modded T-Dub 200 [Yamaha TW200], and Poppy has a massaged Kawi 140 with a Rekluse clutch. Like I said, we have over 200 miles of stuff to ride out the back door here, all high desert-y stuff to get lost in, so these are our daily rides. We have other bikes in various states of disrepair we’re working on, but those keep us happy and sane in the meantime.
What's the hopes for the company in the short and long term? We just want to make things that allow us - all of us - to wear our passion, literally. We’re starting with clothing and soft goods that feel good, look great, and make people smile and be happy. Lina is also launching a Skincare line under the MightyMo umbrella, because we think Moto People need skin-love too. We’d like to branch out into other things down the road, maybe some snow-sports stuff…just staying true to the MightyMo philosophy of supporting the pursuit of having fun. We’re not looking to be the next Deus, but we dig the philosophy that we can make things that make us happy. We love the feeling of being involved in something bigger, a community of like-minded people - who live and love moto-culture. The old advertising line Honda used in the sixties, “you meet the nicest people on a Honda” really is a universal tenet when we’re talking Moto.
What products are you making? We’ve got shirts, cool and functional bags, stickers, and a women’s and moto-lifestyle specific skincare line dropping in November. We’re just now thinking about outerwear, so stay tuned.
Who are the artists you use for the designs and graphics or do you do them yourselves? Lina is the driving force behind all our designs. She designs, illustrates, and produces all of it. Over the years, she has started and grown some pretty substantial women’s fashion brands, a couple of which she still oversees today. We brainstorm on the designs, and she makes them happen. She’s a badass. She’s the Mighty in MightyMo.
Do you have stockists or is it all online? So far, we’re in Moto Candy, Switzerland, one our all-time fave shops - they are truly wonderful people and brilliant brand advocates. We’re not pushy about people carrying our stuff - sent some samples to a select few people/shops we really like and respect, and hoping for some of them to pick us up at some point. That said, our online sales are keeping use busy, so it’s all good! Can you sum up Mighty Mo in one line? MightyMo was born with the sole purpose of making things that make us, and you, happy, and to connect all of us in the pursuit of having fun.
