“Shut Up Legs” never stops talking. Jens Voigt’s merchandising motto

//“Shut Up Legs” never stops talking. Jens Voigt’s merchandising motto

“Shut Up Legs” never stops talking. Jens Voigt’s merchandising motto

 

Voigt in the hoodie

Jens Voigt retired four years ago and the pro cycling world lost a fearless, attacking rider with the signature motto “Shut Up Legs.”

Voigt moved on to a cushy day-job as a brand ambassador for Trek Bicycles and built a side business merchandizing his never-say-die, get-in-that-breakaway attitude.

These days, it takes very little to become a celebrity. In pop music, you only seem to need one decent song to become a star and Voigt has Shut Up Legs as his big, international hit.

Teed up

There’s a dedicated Shut Up Legs website that sells a wide range of goods: ten different t-shirts, three hoodies, three cycling jerseys, one bib short and a pair of gloves. His high-end Bontrager Shut Up Legs cycling shoes go for $499 — Shut Up Credit Card!!!! Slip into the full-kit and then buy his Shut Up Legs book. (We’re disappointed there isn’t an audiobook version because who doesn’t want to hear Voigt’s comedic German accent?)

All this merchandise is listed as Official Shut Up Legs Apparel. Is there unofficial SUL merch floating around the internet? There’s also theĀ Jensie grand fondo in Marin County, California in late September. (I’ve been riding those same exact roads for 25 years — which means I have Shut Up Legs right in my own backyard.)

Shut Up feet

We’re wondering if Voigt might be missing a few marketing opportunities to expand his product line. Why limit yourself to just legs? Why not Shut Up Calves apparel? What about a line of apparel for ultra endurance riders — a Shut Up Full Body Cramp line?

Isn’t Voigt missing the mental side of suffering on the bike? Where is the Shut Up Brain t-shirt and hoodie? As any top marketing expert would tell Voigt, you have to expand the concept, scale it up, keep new products in the pipeline.

Legs on hands

Shouldn’t Voigt be thinking about triathletes? They bike, they run, they swim — that’s three times the sales potential. We’re seeing a Shut Up Arms swim t-shirt, a Shut Up Feet running sock and Shut Up Sciatic Nerve compression wear.

The sky is the limit when you own a signature line like Shut Up Legs. Advice to Jens Voigt: buddy, ramp up Shut Up. This is a ride you want to take all the way to the bank vault. What was once an athlete’s defiant battlecry is now just another clever marketing slogan.

Final thought: What? No Shut Up Legs coffee cup? Serious oversight.

 

 

 

By |2019-02-03T15:44:04-08:00April 26th, 2018|Uncategorized|0 Comments

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