Scottish MTB brand Endura employs honey badgers to answer riders' out of office emails in a bizarre new campaign

The Endura FEAR.LESS honey badgers
(Image credit: Endura)

We recently paid a visit to the Endura HQ in Livingston, just outside Edinburgh where we found out about the Endura plans to launch their brand new and best MTB helmets into the US market. The renowned Scottish also makes some of the best mountain bike clothing and protective gear and we found out all about some of the 2023 range.

We also got to meet their new friends Horace and Hilda, two honey badgers who Endura has enlisted as part of their FEAR.LESS camapign, to provide bold out of office email suggestions for employees. This new service is designed to help Brits who spend too much of their free time thinking about work instead of being out on the trails enjoying riding the best trail bikes. The aim is to help employees avoid constant interruptions from bosses, colleagues, and clients.

An announcement has been made in response to a study conducted by the good people of Endura, that found that over two-thirds of office workers in the UK check their work emails outside of their working hours. Additionally, more than half of the workers surveyed wish they could be more courageous when it comes to ignoring work emails during their free time. The study also revealed that a whopping sixty-three percent feel the 'always on' work culture is damaging to their mental health.

Female mountain bikers enjoying the trails

Female mountain bikers enjoying the trails FEAR.LESS (Image credit: Endura/Limitlass)

Endura recognises that the last thing out-of-office workers want to receive during their time off is the dreaded ‘after-work drinks’ invite or the lunchtime ‘pret-a-chit-chat’ email, unnecessarily putting work firmly back to the forefront of their thoughts. The service aims to stand up to the increasingly widespread expectation for employees to work around the clock. 

Having held the title of the world’s most fearless animal for over two decades, with a history of attacking lions and crocodiles, the honey badger’s courageousness in managing your out-of-office will eradicate cringeworthy inbox threats of this nature, supporting workaholic Brits to focus all their energy on the best of the UK’s mountain trails and terrain.

On the announcement, Noah Bernard, Brand Director, Endura, said “At Endura, we want to ensure customers’ minds are as clear as fresh mountain water in springtime when experiencing the great outdoors. When we discovered the extent to which work plays on people’s minds during free time, we asked ourselves, what kind of character can we seek help from to fearlessly take on such an issue? There was only one answer; honey badgers!” 

The MT500 and SingleTrack full face helmets side by side

The Fear.Less concept was launched to celebrate Endura helmets launching in the US (Image credit: Paul Brett)

The FEAR.LESS honey badger concept was launched to celebrate the launch of a new range of Endura helmets in the US, with a hilarious ad that features a woodland confrontation between the creature and a rider. The rider eventually comes out on top, gaining a new sense of confidence from the quality of his Endura helmet, and taming the honey badger in the process.

Now, Endura has obtained the help of its new-found friends to help its riders tackle their most common fears and hopefully spend more time enjoying the best riding experiences that the UK has to offer. 

On offering his help to Endura, Horace the honey badger said: “As a honey badger, the two things that define me are giving zero f**ks and loving the great outdoors. Now I get to merge the two, by playing my part in allowing the brilliant Endura customers to enjoy the UK’s wonderful outdoor environment, all while standing up to irritating bosses and clients by telling them to do one!” 

Honey badgers Horace and Hilda are available to support Brits with their out of office email responses now, with all cyclists in need of help asked to email: dontbadgerme@wcommunications.co.uk to receive their out-of-office message from an experts in fearlessness. 

Customers that contact Endura’s honey badger email support service will also receive an entry link to a prize draw, where one of ten £100 vouchers is available to spend on Endura cycling gear. Entries are open until 11:59PM on Friday 12th May. To check out the entire Endura range visit endurasports.com.

Paul Brett
Staff writer

Paul Brett joined BikePerfect as a staff writer in 2022. He has been an avid cyclist for as long as he can remember, initially catching the mountain biking bug in the 1990s, and he raced mountain bikes for over a decade before injury cut short a glittering career. An award-winning photographer, when not riding a bike, he can be found at the side of a cyclocross track or a downhill mountain bike world championship shooting the action. Paul was the founder, editor and writer of Proper Cycling magazine, and he's traveled the world interviewing some of the biggest names in mountain biking and writing about some of the biggest cycling brands.

Current rides: Canyon Inflite, Specialized Diverge, Marin Alpine Trail 2