We had the good fortune of connecting with Mike West and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mike, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Nic Labella and I have long been off road enthuseiest and have been involved in desert racing for many years. We both were committed to careers in public service and always talked about the days when we would have the oppotunity to open our own shop to sell parts and give back to the off road community. Since retiring from our previouse careers, we expressed our interest in opening a retail store in Lake Havasu City, Airizona to the owners of Fusion OffRoad.com. Mike had already began leading the effort to establish their online eCommerce site “FusionOffroad.com”, so this was a natural expansion of those efforts. The owners have been supportive of this effor and look forward to the success that we believe will happen.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are still in the building process of establishing both a retail business in Lake Havasu City as well as expanding in the ever compettive world of online eCommerce. The goal of the online store is to become the one stop shop for all off road recreation needs. We want to include motorcycles, UTV/ATV’s, Jeeps, overland, off road racing, mountain bikes, & associated apperal and accessories. With outlets in Lake Elsinore, California and the new location in Lake Havasu City, we hope to cover multiple areas that are hotspots for off road vehicle recreation.

The Lake Havasu City retail store is primarily focused on supplying parts and accessories for the UTV market, as well as, completing installs of parts and providing service. Lake Havasu CIty has embraced the UTV community and allow the vehicles on the roads in town. This makes for easy transitions to off road trails. It has become a hotspot for UTV recraction.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would make sure they brought their off-road toys and would include several days of exploring the various trails in the area. I would want to make sure the historic London Bridge was on the list of places to see. Sara Park has lots of trails for mountinan biking and hiking. Oatman is a popular nearby desitination to experinece what a turn of the century mining town was like. On the UTV route, I would include stops at the Bunker Bar and Desert Bar. Both locations are off-road destinations and provide food and drink as well as live music on the weekends. There are amazing brewerys in town; Hanger 24 Brewery, College Street Brewhouse & Pub, Mudshark’s Brewery, and Rickety Cricket’s Brewery are some of my favorites. I would make sure to get them out to a nice dinner at Cha-Bones.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The credit for this opportunity rests with Jerry Herling & Jim McBroom. They saw the potential and new opportunites that could come from expanding Fusion Off Road. They teamed up with Brian Shaleen, the founder of Fusion Off Road and formed a partnership to expand the footprint in the off road industry.

Website: fusionoffroad.com

Instagram: @fusionoffroad

Facebook: Fusionoffroad

Youtube: herlingracing

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