Powersports Business Power Hour

Coaching is emerging as a critical driver of growth and retention in motorsports, shifting the focus beyond equipment and competition to rider development, safety, and community. Insights from the USMCA highlight how certified coaching—built on standards, training, and accountability—helps new riders stay engaged, avoid injury, and build long-term confidence in the sport. For dealers, integrating coaching into the sales process isn’t just an added value—it’s a powerful way to strengthen customer relationships, improve retention, and support the future of the industry.

At AIMExpo in January, we stopped by the Denago Powersports booth to take a look at their latest model, which is a feature-packed UTV for the utility segment. We later sat down with GM David Garibyan to talk about their new models and how affordability fits into the mix with powersports dealers. The company now has more than 200 dealers in the U.S, and continues to grow. We talk about the secret sauce that makes the "Denago Difference," as their tagline says.

In this episode of the Power Hour podcast, Powersports Business editor Brendan Baker sits down with Scott Schloegel, senior vice president of government relations for the Motorcycle Industry Council, to unpack the complex policy landscape shaping the powersports industry in 2026. He outlines a wide range of pressing issues—from ongoing tariff uncertainty and rising costs for manufacturers and dealers, to emerging state-level regulations on PFAS “forever chemicals” that could impact vehicle production. He also highlights the importance of public land access and the Recreational Trails Program, emphasizing its direct connection to industry growth and rider participation. And finally, we talk about the importance of participation in the MIC Fly-In in Washington D.C. later this month.

At AIMExpo, we caught up with Northwood University’s Dr. Dave Oventhal, division chair of the Center for Automotive & Mobility Studies (CAMS), to talk about something that could shape the future of the powersports industry: education. From curriculum insights to industry partnerships, this conversation explores how higher education is stepping up to fuel the talent pipeline.

The ink was barely dry on the transaction from Polaris to Carolwood LP when we reached out to Mike Kennedy to join us on the Power Hour to talk about the transition and future of Indian Motorcycle.

Yamaha Motorsports President Mike Martinez, who’s retiring after an amazing career, sat down with us at AIMExpo to talk about his retirement, transition, and plans for more (BDR) adventures.

Mark Sheffield has worn many hats in the industry, but he says he's "semi-retired" now. He still holds many positions, such as co-owner of Woods Country Cycle and NPDA board member. We sat down with him to talk about his latest column for PSB and where he sees the industry headed in 2026.

Brendan sits down with Power Week MC David Gee, along with Boating Industry's Madelyn Hubbard and PSB's Chris Officer, to talk about the Elevate and Accelerate Conferences in Orlando in January.

Phil Waters is the owner of Cleveland Moto, which he has owned for 25 years, and has mostly focused on the scooter market as a Piaggio dealer carrying the Vespa line. However, he has also recently added a new line: Moto Morini. We talk about how it has been working for him as we chat inside his west side dealership.

Jacob Berry, co-founder of Motohunt, host of the Dealership Fixit Podcast, PSB contributor, and an advisor to powersports and motorcycle dealerships across the U.S., sits down with Brendan, hot off the Dealer Connect event in Columbus, to discuss the growth opportunities in pre-owned.

Brendan sat down with Sonic Powersports/Automotive President Jeff Dyke to discuss the amazing sales success the group experienced during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August. Dyke says that they were able to sell more than 1,000 motorcycles during the event, thanks to their preparation and the opportunity to sell in the town of Sturgis at one of its dealerships. He also says there is a significant untapped opportunity in the pre-owned market.

Brendan chats with BRP's President of Powersports, Sandy Scullion, about Club BRP in Boston and the launch of the electric ATV, as well as a newly redesigned Defender. Scullion says they had more than 4,000 dealers join them in Beantown as the brand refocuses on business in the second half.

George and Courtney from Performance Brokerage Services sit down with Brendan to discuss the current state of the M&A market for powersports dealerships. George says that he's never seen so many sellers in his 25 years in the business.

Brendan discusses what powersports dealers can learn from their automotive counterparts. Pied Piper's Fran and Cameron O'Hagan join the podcast to show data that illustrates where powersports dealers need to improve, and many of the areas involve better processes and follow-through.

Ken Engelman, National Account Manager for EPG Brand Acceleration’s motorcycle group (Rider Magazine, American Rider, Powersports Business), sat down with Brendan Baker to talk about his return to the industry, his grassroots “Please Be Kind” campaign, and why volunteerism can be a powerful tool for both community building and growing the powersports market. From BMW Boxer Days in Munich to high school service programs, Engelman’s career seamlessly blends marketing expertise, relationship-building, and an unwavering commitment to giving back.

Brendan sits down with Max and Zach Materne to discuss their former dealership and how Max is now returning to help save it in the Turnaround Project. Max will be putting all of his experience and skills on the line over the next 90 days to help the dealership he used to own. In the process, numerous lessons can be applied by dealers to enhance their own stores.

Brendan visits Brad Tews, owner of East Central Motorsports in Kent, Ohio. The dealership specializes in value brands. We discuss the importance of value brands in the sales chain and why it is important for high-quality entry level products.

Brendan chats with Scott Newby, who is Yamaha's senior communications specialist for the ATV and Side-by-Side group. Brendan has known Scott for many years, going back to his days as a managing editor of another powersports publication. One of his first press rides was with Scott's crew in the Deschutes Forrest of Oregon, riding a Yamaha Raptor 700. Scott also talks about Yamaha's Outdoor Access Initiative and how the company is giving back to communities and clubs to keep things open for all of us in the outdoors, but especially for off-road enthusiasts.

Brendan chats with John Resciniti, owner of the Motorcycle Mall in Bellville, New Jersey and partner in the luxury apartment and retail project REV by Vermella. Courtney Mulligan is the vice president of marketing at Russo Development, which helped spearhead this unique project with powersports roots.

Brendan chats with Susan Medrano, who is the head of Synchrony Outdoors and AJ Meisel, the general manager of Plano Kawasaki/Suzuki/Piaggio, to discuss International Female Ride Day and the broader impact of women in powersports.   LINKS: International Female Ride Day on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/InternationalFemaleRideDay 2025 International Female Ride Day Photo Gallery: https://motoress.com/2025-international-female-ride-day-photo-gallery-and-sweepstakes/  

Brendan chats with MIC's new president, Christy LaCurelle just after she has returned from the Capitol Hill Fly-In, which this year happened to take place April 7-8 as President Trump announced sweeping tariffs. We chat about tariffs, rider programs and other legislative efforts for the industry.

Brendan sits down with longtime powersports industry veteran and rental operator Rob Solem, who is the co-founder of RecSystems. This company uses AI to run your rental operations from marketing to bookings.

Most dealers are familiar with Ryan McFarland's other company, Strider Balance Bikes, but he also heads up another project that is very important to kids learning how to ride bikes in school. All Kids Bike was created to teach kids how to ride a bike as part of a school or church program. We discuss how it all got started.

Brendan talks with Sam Paschel, CEO of Zero Motorcycles, about the company's new strategy to unveil serveral new models under $10k by 2030. Paschel also discusses some dealer incentives and how easy they've made it to do business with Zero.

Nate Stickney acquired his first dealership in 2014 and now owns three locations in Florida. Driven a passion for improvement and growth, Stickney shares the changes he has made to boost the success of his teams and his dealerships.

Brendan sits down with the president of Moto Canada to discuss the impact proposed tarrifs on Canada may have on the powersports industry in both the U.S. and Canada. There is a lot at stake and French wants to make sure everyone is aware of what's involved.

Brendan interviews Chris Yeloushan and Pete Eppele of Rollick to see how their AI initiatives are progressing. They show us some of the nuts and bolts of how the platform can allow dealers to nurture leads through the sales funnel and into the dealership from online to in store.

Brendan interviews Broward Motorsports' Dealer Principal Sam Nehme and Rob Greenwald from Sam's man cave in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sam is this year's recipient of the PSB Leadership Award that will be presented to him at Accelerate. He is also on Greenwald's panel about Generational Transfer and how young leaders can move up the ladder.

Brendan sits down for a conversation with Rob Hefner, senior vice president of powersports at APCO/Rider's Advantage to discuss the year ahead for dealers. This episode is brought to you by Synchrony.

Brendan interviews George Chaconas and Courtney Bernhard from Performance Brokerage Services about the state of the M&A segment in powersports. While the economy has been a challenger for many dealers, there are still deals to be made and George and Courtney share some tips.

Brendan chats with Maggie Stevens of ARS Powersports at the Parts NVP in Milwaukee. Stevens won a Women With Spark award in 2023 and has continued to grow her parts department by staying connected to what is current in the industry and going to events in person.

Brendan talks the future of electric motorcycles with Andy Leisner who has led a couple of startup e-moto companies and has been an industry stalwart for many years.

Brendan and Madelyn speak with Simon Milestone, founder and CEO of Dealer Academy. Milestone breaks down the Dealer Academy website/app and explains how its community and training are designed to benefit dealers.

Brendan talks with Eagle Rider's new CEO, Sebastian Schoepe about the brand and how he went from customer to CEO.

Madelyn Pegg speaks with dealers Mike Venziano and Misty Rohdes, his daughter. The owners discuss topics from F&I to partnerships with OEMs, to saying goodbye to Yamaha snowmobiles to working with family.

Madelyn Pegg chats with Sarah Walker, marketing director of Team Powersports, who shares how she found her dream job and how she makes the dealership memorable through social media.   

Brendan sits down with DX1 Customer Service Manager Anthony Azevedo to discuss the "Submit an Idea" feature request list option on their DMS system and how other features are developed on the platform.

For this episode of Power Hour, Brendan speaks with Luis Rojas, national sales manager of Keeway America. The company recently released some interesting new models, including a small-cc V-twin bike. And we talk about the recent acquisition of a legendary but dormant Italian brand, Morbidelli and how that is going.

Brendan speaks with Colin Godby, the CEO of a new moto start up called Dust Moto. Colin outlines the business plan and why electric has a place in off-road.

Brendan speaks with Pied Piper CEO Fran O'Hagan about the decline in powersports internet lead response times and why it matters to dealers.

We connected with Chris Yeloushan, who is the VP of Dealer Development. Laura Boccardo, director of marketing was also on the call (not in the pod).

Brendan Baker, PSB editor, visited with Denago Powersports in Southern California in early April to check out its new line-up of youth powersports vehicles, which included an electric ATV and several dirtbikes. The company has been on the gas since it launched last year and has big plans for the future. They call it "The Denago Difference." The machines are well built and offer high dealer margins.

In this episode of Power Hour, Brendan and Madelyn speak with Jessica and Gunnar of Brands That Shine and how they have navigated life on the road for three years now. They travel the country in their motorhome visiting with dealers and clients wherever they go. We spoke to them as they wrapped up Bike Week in Daytona, Florida.

In this episode of Power Hour, Madelyn talks to Kade, who is the general manager of Macomb Powersports in Chesterfield, Michigan. This dealership was our Best-in-Class winner for Service Department excellence in 2023.

Brendan Baker talks to Blackman's Cycle in Emmaus, PA, about an interesting idea for selling a very rare motorcycle. Chris Line, marketing director for the dealerships along with his CFO have made a special token called an NFT (non fungible token) to go along with the sale of a rare Aprilia XTrenta 1100 superbike. The bike is #95 of 100 and the token was specially designed to authenticate the sale and ownership of the bike for the new owner.

Editor Brendan Baker interviews Apiar Risk Management's Zach Materne to discuss the world of insurance for powersports dealers in today's risky environment. Zach comes from a powersports background and was a dealer principal before joining Apiar, so he knows the unique struggles dealers face and how he can help get them the right coverage.

Madelyn speaks with John Resciniti III, president of Motorcycle Mall in New Jersey. Resciniti shares how his grandfather started the dealership in 1975, how the dealership has grown since, what changes have been made to provide a career for employees and much more.  

Brendan and Madelyn talk to Broward Motorsports' General Manager Anthony Bruno about their recent grand opening and the culture at the dealership. 

Brendan and Madelyn sit down with the president of BRP's powersports and marine division to discuss the future of the brand and where they see electrification fitting into the company's strong portfolio of products.