We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Fossati. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

Hi John, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Our story is pretty different from the typical Entrepreneur just starting a business, in the fact that we simply aren’t interested in “going on “lavish vacations” or “Flying Private”. In other words, the financial aspect of the Brand isn’t what drives us. We’re focused on solving the Ergonomic issues that make long-term comfort difficult for today’s Harley-Davidson®️ enthusiasts. As a retired Motocross Racer myself, I have some orthopedic issues like the 9 compression fractures in my spine and that was the original purpose behind the development of our most popular product which would be our Touring Seats. Once we were able to solve that problem for myself, it gave us a baseline formula that can be manipulated based on the Anatomic Specificity of each Client. This was really the driving force, because before we came along Harley-Davidson®️ enthusiasts had to make a compromise between Comfort and Style. We eliminate that compromise. And we take an immense amount of pride in the Quality and Fitment of our product.

John, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Our story starts really early, I grew up in this industry with my father who has always been a Harley-Davidson®️ enthusiast/builder. At the age of 3, my father gave me my first Motorcycle and by the age of 8 I was racing Off-Road Motorcycles at a Local, State, and National level. Motocross is the most physically demanding Sport on the planet, so discipline and accountability are a pretty big deal, because when something goes wrong 100′ in the air at 60mph, the consequences could very possibly be fatal. So it was only natural that I would fall in love with Motorcycles, as my family lineage has always been Motorcycle Enthusiasts as far back as my Great Grandfather who immigrated to the United States from Italy as a young child and by the age of 17 he was riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles in a Reconnaissance unit with the United States Army in WWII (An Enlisted Man who felt that he owed a great debt of gratitude to this Great Nation who had allowed him to come to “The Land of Opportunity” and escape poverty stricken Italy which was under Socialist/Communist control at the time). So we take an immense amount of pride in not only the Manufacturing Processes, but also the Fit/Finish of our product. Our products are Designed and Manufactured 100% in The U.S.A. with 100% American-Made Materials. And that alone shows potential clients that “P&L” isn’t really on our radar, we know in our hearts that “If you build it, They will come” and we’ve spent the entirety of our time in this business creating cutting-edge Tech and Manufacturing Processes. So one look at any of our products will quickly show the difference between the Boutique Custom One-off Products that we create are head and shoulders above any of the Production brands that could consider themselves competition. Social Media has also played a huge role in the growth/development of our Brand. It has allowed us to reach a global audience, and people are smarter than most give them credit for. They know a higher quality product when they see it, and although our products are typically a bit more expensive than the rest, real riders will gladly sacrifice a few extra dollars for guaranteed long-term comfort in a product that our technology allows THEM to design themselves without sacrificing style or design. We’re trying to grow our brand Organically, so give us a follow on Facebook or Instagram @VoodooSaddles

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Sure, there was a time right after Covid started when we had 4 employees plus Myself. And they were all entry level positions where I was personally training each of them the roles they were needed them to fill. Shortly after, the State/Federal governments started paying these guys to sit at home. So 3 of them quit to go sit on the couch, leaving me and one other trainee to run the entire Brand. So we (My wife and I who have equally important tasks to perform) had a decision to make, either try to stick it out with what we had, or immediately downsize our facility, cut any and all expenses that weren’t absolutely necessary to the operation of the business. We chose the latter, moved to a smaller location with much less overhead costs, and remain in business while millions of other Americans lost their small businesses. So here we are in a “kind of” Post-Covid world, and we’re back rolling full steam ahead. We’ve continued to move forward with new Products, leaner manufacturing processes (which leads to shorter lead times, more efficiency, and the same handcrafted Custom Leather goods We’ve always offered.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

This is actually a funny story. We’ve been 100% Self-funded since the inception of our brand. We started this company with about $40 and a borrowed Sewing Machine. This was a result of my childhood best friend (Shoutout to my brother Josh Sneed his IG is @Bikelife_Sneed if you want to give him a follow) whom I’ve always been hyper-competitive with, buying a production seat off the internet, and me being critical of the workmanship. To which he replied “You can’t do any better”. Keep in mind, at this point I had never touched a Sewing machine, but being a hyper-competitive Alpha Male I couldn’t possibly allow him to challenge me 😂. So he bought a Singer Sewing machine from a neighbor, and I proceeded to make 2 seat covers using 9th grade Geometry on a table in his driveway from store-bought marine vinyl. What I wasn’t prepared for, was the amount of our local biker crowd to show up asking me to make seats for them. So we bought a $400 Industrial Sewing machine and other necessary materials, and just kept going one seat at a time. So we’ve built this business 100% Organically with zero outside funding. Although we’ve been approached by numerous large Venture Capital firms seeking equity in exchange for some quick cash. And this is important, because had we taken that money, we most certainly wouldn’t have survived the length of the Covid Pandemic. Our ability to stick and move aka pivot, is why we’re still here today.

Contact Info:

• Website: VoodooSaddles.com
• Instagram: @VoodooSaddles
• Facebook: Voodoo Saddles
• Other: We’re working on the launch of our YouTube channel which will give our clients a much better idea of how we manufacture our products from raw materials. Stay Tuned

Image Credits
Paul Walsh @Pw_Knives John Fossati Kaitlyn Fossati Chad Hampton Brenda Poland