lystn

Normally the theme of this podcast is the entrepreneurial journeys of people in the cycling industry who have had their ups and downs and have come out the other side. 

When pro cyclist Mitch Docker announced his retirement I was in the middle of producing Christian Meier’s story, much of the background I got from Mitch’s podcast, Life in the Peloton. So it got me thinking about Life in the Peloton. Is it a business for Mitch? How did he start this? What makes him tick? Where might it go? Mitch is clearly a smart, talented and hard working guy, so why not document his story now at this point of his journey rather than 10 years from now? 

Maybe I’m shoe horning this into a theme where it doesn’t belong, but here’s my justification: Mitch Docker’s Life in the Peloton is arguably the best and most prolific cycling podcast out there of its kind. He’s flipped the traditional model of journalism on its head and he’s created something truly unique. Not only that – he’s stuck with it for 6 years now with consistency and he keeps making better. 

For those not familiar, Life in the peloton is Mitch’s way of telling the world quite simply, what the life of a professional cyclist is like, and translates it everyone can understand. It’s not Mitch’s monologue and self-indulgent hour on-air. Quite the opposite. In this day and age of social media, quick likes and shares that serves as a self promotional tool, Mitch has opted to tell other people’s stories in long-form audio, that also reflects elements of his life. He has unique place in the sport to be able to do this, but also skillset as an interviewer, conversationalist, mastery of the podcast medium, and relatable nature that documents the sport like we haven’t experienced before.