Picking up where I left off from Part 1... over the course of that few months in 2022, I got quite a few reality checks. This in turn, and over time, affected my motivation in certain respects (certainly not the fundamental desire to join a race team though!).
I mentioned in the previous blog that I'd started a YouTube channel. But more on that later, if you'll allow me to digress...
The motivating factor for me creating 'The Fast Turks' brand with accompanying social media platforms was very simple, and in keeping with my modus operandi from the very beginning: to demonstrate I had the passion, dedication and knowledge of the sport that I loved, in lieu of any actual experience in the industry.
I was told by a not inconsequential previous work colleague at Motorcycle Racer magazine, who is now a very high-ranking figure at a not inconsequential Japanese manufacturer competing at the very highest levels, and I quote what he wrote me verbatim:
"The problem is Cem that your racing experience was nearly 20 years ago when social media wasn't a thing. Social media is king for most teams now, rightly or wrongly, so that's the experience they look for first and your CV doesn't mention any.
"It's harsh, but it's also the reality. Teams are looking for either young kids with social media skills or comms managers with a lot of experience. Also, they don't think 'this guy is committed enough to do it for free initially...' they think 'Another fan who wants a job'.
Like I said, it's harsh, but it's the reality."
Believe me, those words stung. A lot. And not because they were factually incorrect, because they weren't. As the old adage goes: the truth hurts.
No, the real sting came from the insinuation that due to my age I was essentially ready to be put out to (workplace) pasture. The insinuation that I was somehow incapable of learning new skills on the job (we're talking social media here, not quantum physics), as if now with my prime years behind me that my brain was no longer capable of taking in new information. The insinuation that I was like every other 'fan' looking for a freebie, when the person who made these comments is more than aware of what I'm capable of and knows how much the sport means to me.
To this day, those words burn a little hole of resentment in my figurative back pocket and serve to motivate me to succeed!
Anyway, back to YouTube.
I thought it would be a good way of putting myself 'out there', so to speak, to prove I had some gumption and skills. I didn't feel confident enough to host a podcast as a single 'talking head', no way. But in my cousin Kağan (Autos As Art), I had a foil with whom I could have some back and forth with, and given we're good mates and he lives and breathes motorsport like I do, the conversation would be flowing and natural.
And to be fair, we recorded a handful of episodes which I'm really proud of! Sure, we didn't have Hollywood levels of production value and neither of us are the most natural of presenters or huge personalities; it's really fucking daunting recording something when you don't have any formal media training, and the whole world is able to watch it and pass judgement!
But over time the quality of the podcasts did improve - I even managed to get ex-BSB/WorldSBK/MotoGP rider James Haydon on for an interview! - and I have no doubt it would have continued to do so had we stuck with it.
I have to be honest though - it felt like the effort-to-reward ratio was extremely lop-sided in favour of the former.
Bear in mind, I was sacrificing time and money to not only set up and record (sometimes 60-minute+ episodes) but also spending hours editing the footage in post-production software. So even though I was using a paid platform to host and capture the podcast (using good mics too), on occasion the audio and video would be out of synch, so then I had to spend an inordinate amount of time correcting that, and when you're a newbie that can be a laborious and hapless task.
What you've also got to appreciate here, and forgive me if I come across a little melodramatic, is I still work a full-time job to put food on the table. Nothing that I did, or indeed do, with regards 'The Fast Turks', is earning me any revenue whatsoever - it's a labour of love, and a means to an end.
And when you then factor in poor subscriber and viewer numbers, and the fact that Kağan was doing this as a means of helping me out (and as such I was bound in a sense to his schedule which was just another hurdle to overcome), it just felt like I was flogging a dead horse.
So you see the conundrum - in order to gain experience and obtain new skills to switch careers, you need to set aside time. But when you have a family to support (and interact with!) and need to work the day job, there are simply never enough hours in the day.
So I took the decision to knock the podcast on the head, bringing my short YouTube career to an indefinite end.
Part 3 incoming...
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