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Wheels of Steel
How Superbike rider, Brayden Elliott uses music to keep motivated and stay on-track.
The life of a superbike rider is anything but quiet – and we’re not just talking about the sound of the bikes (although they are loud, very loud!)
Three-day race weekends, overseas testing, and twice daily workouts are just a few items amongst a packed-out schedule.
It’s no wonder then that like many athletes, superbike riders need motivation and resilience to tackle their everyday challenges and stay ahead – something that rising star, Brayden Elliott, believes is made much easier with the help of music.
To mark Never Give Up Day earlier this month, his sponsors, TheMusicLicence caught up with Brayden, to discover more about his resilience and how he uses music as a tool to stay motivated both on and off the racetrack.
Staying on-track
Q: This is your first season as a British Superbike rider after being promoted from the British Superstock 1000cc Championship. How’s it been so far?
A: “Overall season has been good, I have been hitting the team’s targets and expectations, which is the main thing, but I always want more for myself. My big target that I am trying to hit now is to finish inside the points, which is top 15 so I’m desperately chasing that and if I can do that before the year’s out, I’ll be extremely happy.”
Q: What challenges have you faced and how have you overcome them?
A: “This season, the biggest challenge has been feeling like I am starting all over again, I got so used to being a front runner in the Superstock, to now be battling for top twenties has been a big mental adjustment for me. Outside of that, just re-learning a new bike. Superbike is the pinnacle of sport and that’s where everyone wants to be, but as great as it looks on TV, they are so unbelievably hard to ride, I didn’t anticipate that.”
Q: Progressing in your career has taken time and perseverance, how do you stay motived and resilient to reach your goals?
A: “I think a big thing for me is probably goal setting, I think that helps me a lot and setting realistic goals. When I first moved over to England from Australia, if I was just to purely look at wanting to get on a Superbike, I would have done a year and thought that was never going to happen, so I think along that journey, keeping small goals, that you actually can tick off along the way.”
Q:Moving to the UK from Australia must have been a challenge in itself. What’s it like being so far from home?
A: “As soon as the season starts, and we start testing and going to the race track, I don’t really think about anything else but that, so I would say 90% of the year, I don’t get homesick at all, and I think that’s because I’m so focused on what I’m here to do. Moving here has never been about because we wanted to live here or have a fun holiday, there’s always been such a purpose behind it.”
I think a big thing for me is probably goal setting, I think that helps me a lot and setting realistic goals.”
Brayden Elliott
Q: Going back to the early days, you started racing at a young age, what made you want to become a professional rider?
A: “I guess that’s the way my path was leading as far as my upbringing in Australia, it was just for fun, so we rode bikes, and Dad had a bike and he got me into it at such a young age, then it was just what you knew. That’s just where I put all my focus and energy, motorbike riding is something I enjoyed and something I put all my energy into.”
Q: Does that enjoyment of what you do make you more motivated and driven to succeed?
A: “Definitely, even now it’s something I try and remind myself of because at the track things are really serious, you can soon find yourself in this dream job but not enjoying it, so I try and remind myself to be thankful for this opportunity because when you enjoy it, everything seems to come easy.”
Tuning in
Q: One of your sponsors is TheMusicLicence, how important is music to you and your career as a professional rider and the emotions that go with that?
A: “I think it helps me to manage my emotions, music helps me to focus when I need to focus, it helps me destress when I need to destress. Today for example, I had to do a long run this morning as part of my training, and a song came on and I instantly felt in a good mood, so, I saved it to my playlist. For race weekends too, when I might be a bit overwhelmed, or feeling a bit stressed it should give me the same reaction, just a bit of an upbeat tune.”
Q: Music can be important in everyday life too. How do you use music in your time away from training and racing?
A: “Music can be a mood booster, just for like general positivity. Subconsciously it has a way of putting positivity in, I don’t know how it works in your mind like that, but I definitely notice the benefits of it.”
Hitting the right note
Q: As an athlete, your training and schedules are not only physically demanding but can be mentally challenging too. How do you stay determined to improve and succeed?
A: “I think I’m a fairly determined person naturally, when I set my mind to something, I really go 100% into it. It doesn’t matter if it’s bikes or anything really, when I say I’m going to do something and I’m fixated on it, I go all out. But I think a lot of it does touch base on the whole goal setting thing, when I break that down into actual small targets and little wins, it feels like it can be achievable, I find the motivation comes pretty easy because it feels like a reality.”
Music can be a mood booster… I don’t know how it works in your mind like that, but I definitely notice the benefits of it.”
Brayden Elliott
Q: You recently achieved your personal best track time and are going from strength to strength in your career, how does it feel to achieve your goals and experience your hard work become worthwhile?
A: “It almost doesn’t feel real to a certain point, the weird thing is when I look back on some of the really tough moments and some of the things we did to get here, I now look back and think I don’t know how we did it. Starting out, I had to run my own team, build my own bike and do all those things was very unheard of. Throughout that process, there was definitely, plenty of times when I thought this is never going to happen but I definitely feel as though now, I’m at the next step really but I’m not looking at it as though everything’s amazing, I’m a Superbike rider and on this great bike and everything like that, there is that part of it that’s fantastic, but you’re always on to the next thing.”
To find out more about Brayden Elliot, and his partnership with TheMusicLicence, visit https://pplprs.co.uk/brayden-elliott/
References
Author
Rhiannon Jepson
Rhiannon Jepson is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Public Relations and has worked in communication roles for around 7 years. She joined PPL PRS in November 2017, shortly after studying for a degree in English Literature, where she developed her love of writing and creativity. Since then, she has completed the CIPR Foundation course and enjoys bringing together her love of communications and music through her role as Senior PR & Communications Executive.
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