Hitcase Ambassador Becky Goebel’s Story, The Badass Biker

August 21, 2019

As a child, who grew up in the Prairies of Canada, whether it was a motorcycle, a car, a truck or even a boat — if it had a motor, Becky Goebel would be somewhere in its midst. 

From the age of 18-years, a somewhat poetic relationship with motorcycles began to grow from this passion. She, unlike a lot of people, had the privilege to experience the world raw and unfiltered from the vantage point of her motorcycle. 

Learning more about Becky’s journey makes for an interesting ride...

Read: Embracing Travel iPhone Photography: Malcolm Mclaws’ Story

Blazing a Trail in the Motorcycle World

Becky joined the Motorcycle World of North America at a time when there weren’t a lot of female riders, so social media, naturally, became an outlet for her to get to know and meet a lot of other female bikers. Through social media, Becky and many other women found their community. 

“I’ve met so many awesome people through the industry, through events and through social media that are all motorcycle-related,” Becky says, before continuing, “My entire life revolves around it now and motorcycles are officially my full-time job so I could not be more stoked on being a part of it.”

And that’s the part that seems to spark curiosity from a lot of people; The fact that Becky is able to travel around the Americas and experience the real world from her bike draws a lot of attention. “How does someone live such a free life, and still manage to sustain themselves?”, they’ll ask.

“I wake up early every day and spend hours on my computer reaching out to brands, organizing my events, editing photos, creating content creation trips etc. Then the rest of the day I am out doing “cool shit” that is brand-based and looking good online which is itself WORK as well.”

What people don’t understand about building an online brand and still doing “cool shit” is that a lot of their favourite influencers are always working.

“I am never NOT working because even if I’m on vacation or on a ride, I am still documenting and showing that I am doing fun stuff, using products that I love and incorporating it all into my life.” 

For Becky, the trade-off is worth the work!

“My life is work but it rules! Everyone has to have a job and I wouldn’t trade mine for anyone else's” 

Read: 10 Great (and Free) iPhone Apps for Marketing Professionals in 2019

Blurring the Line Between Public Persona and Personal Life

When asked about the most difficult thing to learn when it comes to balancing her “influencer life” and her real-life, Becky had this to say:

“There’s no balance - It’s all one.”

Where many influencers usually choose to create a public persona that is separate from their personal life, Becky recognizes the inauthenticity in doing that. 

“The one thing that is weird is personal stuff—I never share anything about my personal relationships (boyfriends, break-ups etc.) or if anything really bad happens in my life. That’s where it all gets kind of complicated and I’ve dealt with it a lot.” 

So how does she choose between curating her feed (and her lifestyle) and keeping it real with her audience?

“It’s a hard balance between being real and over-sharing. Everyone just needs to make their own choices about what they share online and if you follow someone you are a fan of, support them no matter what they decide to share or not share.”

Read: 5 Tips to Upgrade your iPhone Photography for Instagram

Balance is indeed a tricky subject, but one thing that Becky emphasizes is her need to live her life, and not live for content.

“Now that the majority of my life is funded by sponsorship, I always need to keep up on my social media but it isn’t hard because my job is my life and as long as I’m out there having fun, my social media is rocking.” 

It’s all in the details…

“I just make sure I’m always on an adventure, going on rides, and doing what I love and what makes me happy or else it all just looks fake and unnatural.” 

Read: How Do You Hitcase: Glenn King

Biking and Photography

Considering how fast and intense her lifestyle is, you’d think that Becky would be apprehensive about getting a camera out and documenting her journies, but she isn’t.

“I always thought I wanted to do work with GoPro or something like them but carrying around my phone and GoPro and everything that goes along with GoPro then getting that content onto my phone is a lot.”

But we’ve all seen “phone quality” images and they’re nowhere near as good as Becky’s images, so what gives? Is there a secret that Becky knows? How in the world is she able to create such high-quality content, as the speeds that she’s travelling in?

“I need to be able to hammer shit out as it’s happening. I need it all in one and Hitcase is perfect for my crazy lifestyle and my social media work. I use my Crio Case and SuperWide lens the most! Love it. I come from a snowboarding background so I just love the extreme fish-eye view.”

But, as you’re probably thinking, holding a phone in your hand while you're on a motorcycle doesn’t sound extremely safe. And it probably isn’t, so how does Becky manage to get buttery images while keeping other road users in mind?

“I love that first-person view or the view that is relatable to me. I like showing people what I see. I posted a story the other day of my Hitcase on my Chest Mount filming while I was lane-splitting down the highway in Los Angeles and people went CRAZY.” 

Surely there must be some misunderstandings when followers see these extremely “point of view” type of shots on her Instagram feed.

“It’s funny because it’s something people see every day and something I do every day but when you put yourself in that driver's seat, it’s scary as fuck! I like freaking people out.”

Hitcase has quite a cult following, you sort of have to be in the know already, or want to take part in next-level iPhone photography, so it’s interesting to learn how Becky first became acquainted with the brand.

“I had friends from the motorcycle industry who worked for Hitcase designing products so that’s where I first (learned about the brand) saw it.”

It recently came out that motorcycle riding is actually a form of low-impact, resistance exercise, so what would Becky say to ladies who would like to become riders, not just to improve their insulin sensitivity, and promote weight loss, but also for the enjoyment?

“Take a riding course, take your time and learn the right way — riding motorcycles is no joke. 

If you already ride and want to do it as a job, reach out to your contacts, ask for financial help for trips etc., and just document the fun stuff you’re already doing!”

As for anyone who looks up to her as a role model Becky had the following to say — it also applies to anyone who wants to make a name for themselves as an influencer, especially if that person is noticing that as the years have gone by, there’s been a high barrier to entry in the influencer space — you need to be able to take good photographs, if you want to attract followers.

“Get a Hitcase!”

These are simple words, but are pictures taken with an iPhone really that respectable? 

Wouldn’t there be a quality discrepancy between images that Becky takes herself using her iPhone, and pictures that are taken with a DSLR?

“I use my Hitcase for professional content creation, for print in Magazines and for countless social media pages.” 

Is that even feasible?

“I carry my lens around in my pocket and have a Hitcase Case on my phone 24/7 so anytime I see a killer sunset or am on a ride or a surf, I can document and everything looks amazing.”

Having the same type of “carefree” lifestyle as Becky comes with practice, however, it’s something that anyone can do, given the right variables and of-course, discipline.

“You definitely have to be ‘business-y’ but then also have a personality that people can relate to, or think is funny. It’s got to be a good mix! Then you also have to do something people want to watch online. I LOVE business, almost as much as I love motorcycles.” 

In Becky’s case, passion plays a huge part in her work-life balance. Really loving what she does for the majority of the time—but don’t let appearances fool you. Under the hood, there’s a disciplined businesswoman who is as focused on the road ahead as she is on the numbers.

“I went to business school with a focus on marketing for 5 years and rode a motorcycle to class every one of those days. If it’s real, you gotta hustle for them dollars and everything else should just come if you work hard, do what you love and put it all out there in a natural, creative way.”

Summary

Becoming an “influencer” has less to do with what equipment you have and more to do with your willingness to be creative with what you already have, and as someone who is a social media native, you can probably tell when the “content” is just made for the sake of sponsors or advertisers.

Being able to balance the two — creativity and paying bills (responsibility) — is an art form, it seems, but the great thing is that people like Becky Goebel are blazing trails and blowing the lid wide open, giving us a glimpse into what goes on, in the backend.

If there was one sentence that she could use to summarize her journey so far, Becky had the following to say:

“You can’t fake it without people being able to tell so just do what you love.”

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