Launch of the new podcast series “Nos Etudiants ont du Talent”. Each episode will feature an INSEEC student with a professional project in parallel with their studies. For this first episode of the new series, Théo Bonnet-Ligeon and Nathan Muscio have the honour of inviting Mathis Perrin. Mathis is a first-year Master’s student in Outdoor Sport at INSEEC Chambéry and is doing a work-study in communications at the school. He talks to us about his career path and his various professional projects!
Théo Bonnet-Ligeon (TBL): Thank you Mathis for accepting our invitation! We’re delighted to be doing this first episode with you. First of all, can you introduce yourself?
Mathis Perrin (MP): Thank you for thinking of me for this first episode! Let me introduce myself: my name is Mathis Perrin, I’m 22 and I live in Chambéry. I launched my outdoor sports brand SPOTT 2 years ago. I’m passionate about all outdoor sports in general, and I also do some… so it seemed natural to get involved in this field. On top of that, I’m also doing a work-study course at INSEEC Chambéry as a communications officer.
A passion for entrepreneurship
TBL: So Mathis is a student-entrepreneur! Where does this passion come from?
MP: I’ve been a real outdoor sports enthusiast since I was 14. Then, at some point, I started to find out about equipment in this field… That’s when I said to myself: “Why not launch my own brand in this field”.
Nathan Muscio (NM): Do you also do outdoor sports?
MP: Yes, I do quite a lot. I do freeride skiing, downhill mountain biking, surfing and also a bit of trail riding.
TBL: You’ve hit the Grand Slam, that’s something to applaud (Laughs). Student, sportsman, entrepreneur. How do you get into entrepreneurship, especially when you’ve got so many labels and are so young?
MP: In 2014, I launched an account where I shared photos and videos I was making in Outdoor Sport. That account was called SPOTT. Little by little I built up a certain community… And then I said to myself, now why not launch my own clothing brand. I learnt a lot on my own, I did some research, I did some training on entrepreneurship and I launched my project!
TBL: What fascinates you about entrepreneurship?
MP: What made me want to get involved was this: When I walk down the street or play sport, I see people wearing sports equipment. And I thought, I’d like to see these people, who don’t know me, with my brand of clothes, without knowing that it’s actually my brand. And that’s what motivates me.
NM: It’s true that the day you have a customer who wears your brand and you meet them without knowing them, that’s class…
MP: It’s happened 1 or 2 times, and I can tell you it’s really good (Laughs).
Family and friends: important support
NM: We can imagine that it’s not easy, especially at your age because you’re quite young. Do you have any support, friends who help buy your products, or even family who can help you with the administrative side of things?
MP: Of course! In my family, my mum is an entrepreneur. That already gives me a lot of support…
NM: It’s in the genes (Laughs).
MP: Yes, and of course all my friends were the first to order my clothes… That’s a huge support. The school also gives me a lot of help with this project and with entrepreneurial projects in general.
SPOTT
TBL: Mathis, tell us a bit more about your brand and your products…
MP: SPOTT specialises in skiing, mountain biking and trail running. That said, I’m trying to develop new ranges for wakeboarding and paragliding. The ultimate aim is to be present in all outdoor sports.
His latest product
TBL: You’ve brought us a little novelty, a little exclusion…
MP: Yes, I’ve brought you my latest product, which came out last week. It’s the Freeride 1.0 goggle, the first goggle that fits both ski helmets and mountain bike helmets. The goggle comes with 3 visors. There are 2 ski visors, for good weather and bad weather… And there’s a transparent mountain bike visor, which is also supplied for mountain bikes.
NM: How do you change the visor?
MP: These are magnetic visors. They’re reinforced and weigh 60g. I’ve also fitted 8 magnets, so as not to lose the visor in a fall. Putting it on and taking it off isn’t very complicated. All you have to do is put it on the mask so that the visor can be magnetised and to remove it you have to twist it slightly so that it can be removed.
NM: So Mathis barely twisted the visor, which came off very easily!
MP: Actually, the material of the mask has been worked on quite a lot so that you can twist the mask without it breaking, of course! On top of that, it keeps its original shape.
TBL: The design is magnificent, I think the helmet is perfect with the ski outfit (Laughs).
Preparing a product takes time…
TBL: How long did you work on your product?
MP: I worked on it for about 2 years. I launched a few prototypes and here we have the final version!
NM: Yes, it’s not a ready-made mask, bought somewhere and then sold on…
MP: Exactly, I’ve been in the outdoor sports business for a few years now, so I know what customers expect. That’s been a great strength in creating this product!
Working with sportspeople
NM: With your SPOTT brand, do you already work with sportsmen and women or is this more or less your goal?
MP: It’s obviously my aim to work with sportsmen and women in this field. At the moment, I’ve managed to work with two influencers in the mountain bike world: MisterFreeride and Pierre Soriot. After that, of course, the aim is to sponsor athletes who are well known in their field!
3 words to define SPOTT
NM: Mathis, to finish this first episode, if you had to give us 3 words that best represent your brand…
MP: In 3 words, SPOTT would be Outdoor Sport, Innovation and Community.
TBL: Mathis, thank you so much for spending so much time with us!
NM: Thank you very much, Mathis, for sharing your experience, and good luck for the future!
MP: Thank you both, it was a real pleasure to work with you on this first episode.
NM: You can watch the first episode with Mathis Perrin at the following links:
- YouTube: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls9fKuogxrA&t=185s
- Spotify: https: //open.spotify.com/episode/4rP0AX6dkADTa5EyAsPHYU