In a series of interviews featuring our partners, Kimpex introduces you today to Zoe Verbauwhede, Brand Manager for Leatt in Canada.

Zoe has been in the motorcycle industry for about 20 years. From the moment she found out about Leatt products and the history behind the brand, she was smitten. As a rider herself, she tends to test the gear quite a bit. The science behind the safety of the brand blew her away.

She started at Leatt Corp in 2019.

She agreed to answer our questions with great enthusiasm.

1- How did Leatt come to exist?

Dr. Chris Leatt is a doctor and an avid rider. One day, he took his young son to watch a race at a local track. At one point during the race, he was called over by a paramedic to help a rider Chris knew, Alan Selby.

Alan had experienced a bad crash having gone over the handlebars with a suspected neck injury. Sadly, Chris’s attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful; he then had to assist in bringing the body back and informing Alan’s family, including his young children of his passing. 

This played on Chris’s mind, especially as his own son had just begun riding a dirt bike. His initial thoughts were to go and buy a product to help prevent this kind of injury. After lots of searching, he discovered that no such product was available on the market!

This was the beginning of Chris’s mission to develop a product that would reduce the risk of serious neck injuries. He began to develop the product whilst still working. He then quit his medical career and launched himself into his research full time.  In 2004, he brought the first neck brace to market. Today, Dr Chris Leatt is continuously working to improve rider safety in extreme sports, covering both dirt bikers and mountain bikers, from head to toe.