Superbike school unsubstantiated rumour - response below

mick_dundee · Post by **mick_dundee** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:08 am

Stereo wrote:FARKIN ELL!!! I just paid for a track day.... they had better not be solvent as well! otherwise I am going to furgin kill'em!

Err don't you mean INsolvent??

Colette · Post by **Colette** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:15 am

Well it looks like Steve Brouggy has joined the forum, so maybe he can fill us in?

SteveBrouggy · Post by **SteveBrouggy** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:16 am

Hi Everyone,

A little birdy (who's initials might be Boris Mihailovic) told me that a discussion had begun on this forum that had come to his attention and that I should probably take a look myself.

Firstly, let me introduce myself. As my nickname suggests, my name is Steve Brouggy. I began the Superbike School in Australia 11 years ago after previously training riders on racetracks for nearly 2 years and running Ride Days for almost as long. The comments on this thread relate directly to me and my organisation, so I thought I'd step in as rumour control and clear the air.

I'll ask you to forgive me for the length of my first post, but there are some very serious accusations here which need to dealt with, so I'll handle them in detail.

As I had already written a quite lengthy response to Boris's email, I thought I'd just post it here to save me typing it all over again...

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Hi Mate,

Well. It seems like there's some stuff going on in peoples minds that isn't necessarily attached to any reality. Of course then some individuals decide to begin a smear campaign against us...how bizzare!

You know the rumours, now let me give you the truth...
Warren Minnette, the General Manager and Chief Riding Coach of the business resigned from his post as General Manager so he could concentrate more fully on what he loved to do...which just happens to be filling the role of Chief Riding Coach! He is not leaving the organistion, but rather shifting sideways into a role the he prefers. This actually fits in perfectly with the direction of the business right now and is a change that although not instigated by myself, is nevertheless one that will enhance the businesses operation.

Leonie Cogley, the person that took most of the bookings for the past two years has decided to take a position within Sensis that she believes offers her better career options. She is 21 years old and came to us as from a training company at age 19. She completed her training with us, filled the post previously mentioned for a further 12 months and decided to move to the other position on offer. These two incidents are not related.

Aside from some other structural changes that have either been instigated by myself or other members of my crew, the above is about the long and the short of it. All our Event Managers (you mention Mr Wilson in Sydney), but there is also Terry Wetton who handles the bikes / tyres / leathers etc in NSW, his equivalent in Vic is Ben Bateman and the Phillip Island Event Manager is Andrew McSwain, all of whom are continuing on. So...as for the "Senior Staff" who have supposedly abandoned the sinking ship, there is only one and he is not actually leaving.

As for us trading insolvent...where the hell do people get this stuff from? Do we have cashflow issues during the winter period in a business that largely depends upon good weather to function? Of course we do...but we have had 12 winters thus far that we have successfully navigated and this one is no different. Every business has difficult periods. However every business doesn't seem to be slandered across the internet every time a staff member leaves or a bill get's paid a week late. I don't owe any staff any money, I don't have any suppliers withholding supply, nor have I not exchanged with any customer and taken their money. Therefore we are not insolvent.

As per your posts...I just wonder where this comes from. The truth is that there are still people who believe they have something to gain from attempting to injure us and they find every covert way they can to do so. With a few carefully placed comments they incite the mob and next thing you know the internet forums are alight with the sort of stuff that seems to have appeared overnight. And whilst the scumbags who start this stuff sit back silently laughing to themselves, I'm left to constantly defend my actions and our organisations performance publicly in the environment created by these covert operators. Eventually the people who start this stuff, and I am under no illusion as to the fact that is most definitely individuals who personally lost out on the contracts with the venues, will realise that we are completely secure in our relationships with the venues. Also, the riders who join the bandwagon (along with the spineless cowards who never disclose their true personality) will come to realise that the situation with both venues we operate from will not change. Meaning, if it is not us running events for them, it will be somebody else. The global environment has now made these sorts of arrangements commonplace and due to the current and future liability and branding issues it is unlikely to change. The old days are exactly that...old.

Through all of this over the last few years I have been open and honest in my communications on every level. I have personally called and email countless people who brought me their concerns. I put myself out on the ether and endured all manner of personal and professional criticism, some of which was totally fair and some of which was way out of bounds. Apart from my responses such as this I have never flamed any other individual or organisation, nor will I ever. Perhaps at some point, somewhere in the distant future, those that seem hell-bent on stirring up this crap will realise this and move onto other aspects of their dull, colourless and boring lives...

Feel free to shout this from the rooftops my friend. My voice is somewhat hoarse from all my previous 'announcements'...

Cheers,
Steve

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In closing, if anyone hears a rumour, or has a legitimate question or concern, my email address is steve@superbikeschool.com.au, or can call me for the cost of a local call (even from a mobile) on 1300 793 423.

Post by **MadKaw** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:30 am

Well there you go.. straight from the horses mouth..

Welcome aboard Steve....

I'll leave the post here so ppl can read your response, but I will change the header...

I don't know the person who posted it or if they have any connections or motives but thanks for clearing this up..

mick_dundee · Post by **mick_dundee** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:31 am

Well I guess that clears up the speculation

SteveBrouggy · Post by **SteveBrouggy** » Wed May 30, 2007 11:36 am

Thankyou for that Dave. You know, I've largely let things fall where they fall with this sort of stuff, but perhaps it's time to pursue them further. If the people who start these rumours had some sort of accountability for what they say, I think it would be a vastly different communication.

I reckon I'm gonna' explore my options and start trying to find out where these reports begin. So, if one of the scumbags in question is following this...stand back...

Glen · Post by **Glen** » Wed May 30, 2007 12:15 pm

Chinese whispers are wonderful things eh.

A couple of more pages and I reckon we probably could've had you pegged as a mass murderer and that the School had gone bust while you were serving your time with a 300lb cell mate called Bubba who we hear "rides" really well:D

Ummm now that you've signed up you realise there's a club sponsor's page where , you know, sponsors offer ummmmm like er discounts and stuff

Well someone had to try.........

Cheers

the kid · Post by **the kid** » Wed May 30, 2007 12:18 pm

MadKaw wrote:
I don't know the person who posted it or if they have any connections or motives but thanks for clearing this up..

I think from previous posts the person who initiated this thread is a fan of SBS .
Rumours about business' suck . I subcontracted to a building company that had rumour flying about them going broke . The company ended up making money from the panic by paying out early anyone who wanted to be , for a 10% discount . When you were talking millions it worked well for the building company .

mfzx6r · Post by **mfzx6r** » Wed May 30, 2007 1:26 pm

Glen wrote:Chinese whispers are wonderful things eh.

A couple of more pages and I reckon we probably could've had you pegged as a mass murderer and that the School had gone bust while you were serving your time with a 300lb cell mate called Bubba who we hear "rides" really well:D

Ummm now that you've signed up you realise there's a club sponsor's page where , you know, sponsors offer ummmmm like er discounts and stuff

Well someone had to try.........

Cheers

What happened to free balloons hats and beer ??

Glen · Post by **Glen** » Wed May 30, 2007 1:29 pm

mfzx6r wrote:
Glen wrote:Chinese whispers are wonderful things eh.

A couple of more pages and I reckon we probably could've had you pegged as a mass murderer and that the School had gone bust while you were serving your time with a 300lb cell mate called Bubba who we hear "rides" really well:D

Ummm now that you've signed up you realise there's a club sponsor's page where , you know, sponsors offer ummmmm like er discounts and stuff

Well someone had to try.........

Cheers
What happened to free balloons hats and beer ??

Mmmmmmmm beer

aardvark · Post by **aardvark** » Wed May 30, 2007 2:46 pm

Thanks for the info Steve. It's hard to stop rumours and as you've just found out, even a slight change in management etc can cause all sorts of rumours to start. I guess in these instances you have two choices:
1) Ignore them and show everyone that they are pure bullshit by continuing to do business: or;
2) Waste all your time and effort in pursuing the cause of the rumour.

More importantly however, is what the hell Boris is doing reading KSRC??

JetPilot · Post by **JetPilot** » Wed May 30, 2007 2:55 pm

EXCELLENT I need track days or I will go crazy.

sneakypete · Post by **sneakypete** » Wed May 30, 2007 3:10 pm

Glen wrote:
Ummm now that you've signed up you realise there's a club sponsor's page where , you know, sponsors offer ummmmm like er discounts and stuff

Well someone had to try.........

Cheers

my thoughts as well...

c'mon Steve... KSRC discounts apply

mike-s · Post by **mike-s** » Wed May 30, 2007 4:10 pm

Glen wrote:Ummm now that you've signed up you realise there's a club sponsor's page where , you know, sponsors offer ummmmm like er discounts and stuff

Subtle Glen, very subtle

aardvark wrote:More importantly however, is what the hell Boris is doing reading KSRC??

Thats what i was wondering about more than the initial rumours.

Oh and welcome aboard Steve, feel free to become a semi regular if you like

javaman · Post by **javaman** » Wed May 30, 2007 4:18 pm

If KSRC got a group discount I take it that something good has come out of this