Interview with Trav4Oilers

[TheGoalNet]

In His Own Words: Trav4Oilers 

Travis Ridgen is one of the most popular goalies in the world today. He currently has more followers on Instagram than your typical NHL starting goalie! Never heard of him? That’s probably because you know him by his digital alias, Trav4Oilers.

Love him or hate him, Tav4Oilers’s video clips have better attendance than your typical NHL regular reason game. His grass roots background and unique MO transformed a 15 yr old kid from Winnipeg into one of the most watched people in goaltending by 20. When Trav4Oiler was started, there may not have been a long term vision and it started off innocently enough with YouTube product reviews. His social media presence has grown into being one of the few people outside of the NHL given free gear for his marketing value. He has nearly 15,000 followers on Instagram and over 20,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel. Every post Trav makes is analyzed and reviewed by the biggest OEMs in hockey and tenders all over the planet. . .and he’s yet to attend marketing 101.

In a similar fashion to Howard Stern in the 90s, you cannot say Trav4Oilers without saying controversy of one sort or another.  I personally hope and believe that’s something that will simmer down long term. He is still settling into status within the goaltending community and adult career ambitions. It is also why we are writing this 3 part summer series.

Above it all, Trav is captivating and people value his opinions. Let’s understand everything from his vantage point. . .

What do you do see as the future of the Trav4 social media accounts?

So are far as the future goes I’d like to think that I have lots of options. In regards to the channel, things have never been better. Its slower the last few weeks because I haven’t uploaded a lot recently but per video, statistically the channel has never been doing better. I’m personally beyond excited for the start of this coming season because the junior hockey vlogs seem to take off whenever I post them. Short term though Andrew (my camera guy who is always working hard behind the scenes) and I got lots of reviews, and other features planned for the short term.

 

Will you have opportunities to play hockey past this season?

 

Personally believe it or not the junior hockey vlogs have gained the attention of countless locals and also scouts from multiple D3 colleges. I love the offers from a few D3 schools but realistically I don’t have money or the flexibility to dish out 40,000 USD a year plus for school just to play hockey. I’m hoping something will work itself out but with this being my final year of junior I guess we will find out.

 

What are you planning to do post hockey?

 

As far as what the future holds for the creator of TRAV4? Well I just got accepted into college a few weeks ago and I’ll be going into business administration that specializes in sports marketing. Realistically I’d like to get a job with one of the bigger companies in a few years but we will see what the market looks like in a few years. What do I do for a living? Well I do YouTube, rep for multiple companies and work a full time job here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.”

 

 

 

[bunnyman666]

I've never watched a Trav4Oilers video, I admit; however- I have heard and read about some of the vitriol associated with the videos. 

As I will say time and time again, whether we talk about this guy or Kane VanGate (or a few like them in other industries), most of the hate is from people who did not think of it first, most likely. If you can finagle swag from doing videos, good onya! There were times I wished that some of the free publicity stunts I had tried via social media (and in the real world) worked that well when I was trying to be a popular musician ten years back. My goal was to actually sell or license my music (which I did sell one song for permanent licensing). Youtube was fledgling, and myspace was the social media platform of the day. It did not work out for me (though I paid off the cost of production with sales of my music plus a few bucks), but am glad for ANYONE who can get the desired result.  I also had an independent bicycle part testing blog oh so many years back which had a few readers. I got a few free and reduced items out of that. It never caught fire the way I had hoped, though it was pre-youtube. Trav probably had the combination of right place at right time PLUS a bit of talent.

Good onya, Trav! I may have to check out one of your videos some time.

[SaveByRichter35]

Never heard of him.

[Hills]

4 hours ago, bunnyman666 said:

I've never watched a Trav4Oilers video, I admit; however- I have heard and read about some of the vitriol associated with the videos. 

As I will say time and time again, whether we talk about this guy or Kane VanGate (or a few like them in other industries), most of the hate is from people who did not think of it first, most likely. If you can finagle swag from doing videos, good onya! There were times I wished that some of the free publicity stunts I had tried via social media (and in the real world) worked that well when I was trying to be a popular musician ten years back. My goal was to actually sell or license my music (which I did sell one song for permanent licensing). Youtube was fledgling, and myspace was the social media platform of the day. It did not work out for me (though I paid off the cost of production with sales of my music plus a few bucks), but am glad for ANYONE who can get the desired result.  I also had an independent bicycle part testing blog oh so many years back which had a few readers. I got a few free and reduced items out of that. It never caught fire the way I had hoped, though it was pre-youtube. Trav probably had the combination of right place at right time PLUS a bit of talent.

Good onya, Trav! I may have to check out one of your videos some time.

There is a difference between people like Kane and the person in this post. One person demanded hush money to not talk negatively about a review and then a year later bashed the product with a title on his video for product that wasn't ever used.

[bunnyman666]

3 hours ago, Hills said:

There is a difference between people like Kane and the person in this post. One person demanded hush money to not talk negatively about a review and then a year later bashed the product with a title on his video for product that wasn't ever used.

I never quite knew about that stuff; again- I tend to not pay a whole lot of attention to these types of things, myself. I never got details; I had either heard positive or negative reaction to his name. 

[mik]

I know his NHL goalies video clips and realy like it. But to be honest, never think about who is the author, if he is goalie or not.. maybe because I´m not the facebook/youtube person -  I like the video clips, but social media dimension does not interest me very much ;)  . 

[TheGoalNet]

6 hours ago, mik said:

I know his NHL goalies video clips and realy like it. But to be honest, never think about who is the author, if he is goalie or not.. maybe because I´m not the facebook/youtube person -  I like the video clips, but social media dimension does not interest me very much ;)  . 

It's pretty crazy. There's a few accounts on various forms of social media dedicated to goalies that have well over 20,000 followers. They are now used by big OEMs to leak or promote products 

[jayluv54]

Thats the new digital marketing... by giving away a few products, the OEM's can utilize other social media accounts to reach a broader customer base.  It's cheaper and more efficient than traditional marketing.  We can thank the Kardashians for this.

[TheGoalNet]

1 hour ago, jayluv54 said:

Thats the new digital marketing... by giving away a few products, the OEM's can utilize other social media accounts to reach a broader customer base.  It's cheaper and more efficient than traditional marketing.  We can thank the Kardashians for this.

Yup, it's the new thing. It's so crazy when we realize this was not an option 10 years ago. In full transparency, I have received free toe ties, some gear to demo, and a jersey. 

This is why I think Trav is so interesting. He has ridden this wave so perfectly timing wise. He's made a few mistakes and he is learning and figuring out how to utilize his recognition. 

[jayluv54]

I would be doing it too and honestly I've thought about just doing a few simple gear reviews for stuff I have that I don't see on youtube, but I simply can't find the time.  So I give a lot of credit to people who can make those high quality videos and edit them and all that.  I've watched them all: Tomy, Trav, Kane, etc... it's entertaining and informative to me and good for them if they can profit off it because I'm sure its a lot of work.  But I know enough to understand that once they reach a certain level, its simply sponsorship/endorsement, and I'll make up my own mind about their motives.

Its no different than a NASCAR driver wearing Oakley's and drinking a Coke on TV because that's who pays for his tires and fuel.        

[TheGoalNet]

1 hour ago, jayluv54 said:

I would be doing it too and honestly I've thought about just doing a few simple gear reviews for stuff I have that I don't see on youtube, but I simply can't find the time.  So I give a lot of credit to people who can make those high quality videos and edit them and all that.  I've watched them all: Tomy, Trav, Kane, etc... it's entertaining and informative to me and good for them if they can profit off it because I'm sure its a lot of work.  But I know enough to understand that once they reach a certain level, its simply sponsorship/endorsement, and I'll make up my own mind about their motives.

Its no different than a NASCAR driver wearing Oakley's and drinking a Coke on TV because that's who pays for his tires and fuel.        

I am not  actively after free gear to keep, but if someone sends something useful like Toe Ties, I will give them a try. My goal is use to social media to drive the next generation of people to this site. I am hoping that actual user feedback on our site grows. It keeps the "endorsement" away from the reviews and keeps them honest. 

One thing I have gathered is that it's a lot of work for what amounts to be a small "salary". Think about the amount of effort all their stuff takes compared to the cost of a set of gear. 

[Ghostender]

11 hours ago, jayluv54 said:

...Its no different than a NASCAR driver wearing Oakley's and drinking a Coke on TV because that's who pays for his tires and fuel....

Exactly - and at that point I have to wonder how objective the reviewer/assessor is. As I age, for so many things, I hear the same Latin phrase:

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

 

 

[bunnyman666]

5 hours ago, Ghostender said:

 

 

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?”

 

 

 

Does that phrase have anything to do with "cofefe"?

[jayluv54]

1 hour ago, bunnyman666 said:

Does that phrase have anything to do with "cofefe"?

maybe...

[bunnyman666]

18 hours ago, TheGoalNet said:

I am not  actively after free gear to keep, but if someone sends something useful like Toe Ties, I will give them a try. My goal is use to social media to drive the next generation of people to this site. I am hoping that actual user feedback on our site grows. It keeps the "endorsement" away from the reviews and keeps them honest. 

One thing I have gathered is that it's a lot of work for what amounts to be a small "salary". Think about the amount of effort all their stuff takes compared to the cost of a set of gear. 

When I did reviews, there was considerable work. Since bike geeks (esp. roadies and tri geeks) wanted weights on the most accurate scale, I did that. I almost had a testing rig to test to destruction. And I would use an item for a minimum of 1,000 miles to create full impressions. Sometimes, if a company were generous, a few people would get items. Many times, I paid my own way.

It really is not nearly as easy as it sounds to review equipment. And I have had a few C&D letters come my way when I exposed a "carbon" part as being dyed fibreglass. I did have a lawyer (also a cyclist) who helped me craft a "tell the truth and I will retract my statement" letter, in which we came to an agreement (no money changed hands, FYI). I was able to stand by my assertion, and they were able to clean up their act. It can be a litigious road reviewing products, some times.

[coopaloop1234]

Currently subscribed to Trav4Oilers. His old NHL goalie montages were great and his JHVlog thing is the only reason I watch at the moment.

His gear reviews, random clips and "interviews" are all really lacking and aren't worth the time watching.

He'd definitely doing well for himself, but man, is his own self promotion on all of his platforms exhausting.

Plus dude, get some braces.

[Gasman]

Never heard of him but will definitely see what all the fuss is about. 

[SaveByRichter35]

On 6/2/2017 at 9:43 AM, coopaloop1234 said:

Currently subscribed to Trav4Oilers. His old NHL goalie montages were great and his JHVlog thing is the only reason I watch at the moment.

His gear reviews, random clips and "interviews" are all really lacking and aren't worth the time watching.

He'd definitely doing well for himself, but man, is his own self promotion on all of his platforms exhausting.

Plus dude, get some braces.

Haahahaha

[TheGoalNet]

Trav's latest video is pretty interesting - 

 

[Hills]

I am going to highlight some excellent comments.

 

[coopaloop1234]

Well isn't that just some tasty internet drama for ya.

[TheGoalNet]

5 hours ago, coopaloop1234 said:

Well isn't that just some tasty internet drama for ya.

Haha

[MadsM]

He acts like a real man child. 

[bunnyman666]

Yeah- I just won't get myself sucked in. I kinda see what you were saying @Hills.  

[Nova]

I knew nothing of this individual previously. Drove through Lundar a few weeks ago, I'm shocked they even have a Junior B team there, lol.

I briefly liked where he was going with the idea, because I find marketing to be a bit annoying these days with people basically acting as shills. Though I see it to be more of a small market/startup company thing more than the big names.

And then he goes off the rails throwing out baseless accusations and the comments after the fact really didn't help. The whole thing had a "people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones" kind of feel to it.