Patrick Mell Interview Part 1 From The Liquid Speed Show

Flyin Brian Smith hosted another great LiQuID SPEED Show last night on LiQuID SPEED Radio with a great interview with Patrick Mell the Chairman of APBA.The LiQuID SPEED Show is a weekly internet radio show hosted by Brian Smith, the race promoter for Region 5. The interview lasted over 2 hours and Brian was very respectful but no pertinent subject was considered taboo. Brian opened the 20 question interview discussing Patrick’s background and how he began his association with the APBA as well as his most memorable experiences of the last few years. Mr. Patrick then explained his background as a race promoter and why he began promoting the then new sport of jet ski racing. Mr. Mell then went on to say that his biggest PWC accomplishment was to remain on the APBA board for 20 years and promoting as many as ten events a year. Brian then followed up by asking why there is no full time marketing manager to grow ridership. Patrick said that with the budget he is working with, it would require additional sponsorship due to the high cost of retaining such a professional and could not be done without a manufacturer sponsor. The topic of a written water safety program to be included in the promoters program was then addressed. Patrick said that Dave “Looter” Hardenburger and himself were actively working on the program. They then discussed what he thought the state of the PWC racing scene is as a whole. Patrick said that fuel costs as well as the state of the economy would have the biggest impact on making racing more affordable. Patrick then addressed how he felt he could bring additional exposure by using regional reps to build an “army” to support the sport and and that the APBA were also working creating a YouTube channel. He then brought up the idea of creating a mentor program for new racers to make it easier on their first race day. They then discussed what was need to get a large sponsor. Patrick felt that the number of riders was not as important as the amount of media exposure that a sponsor would get and that the only media capable of that was television. Brian then discussed how junior riders are the future of our sport and was there anyway possible for juniors to get free entry fees at the Nationals. Mr Mel said that they were working on providing extra support for the juniors but he was unable to make that commitment at this point but was able to consider it and he thanked Hot Products for their continuing support for the junior racers.

Check back for the second half of the interview to be posted tomorrow!

The LiQuID SPEED Show can be heard live on Tuesday nights at 7pm central on LiQuID SPEED Radio

Tags: APBA, Liquid Speed Show, Patrick Mell