BJ Birtwell of Electrify Expo

Summary
We sit down with BJ Birtwell, the CEO and Founder of Electrify Expo. North America's largest touring EV festival that showcases all things electric: cars, bikes, scooters, skateboards, watercraft, and more. The festival aims to provide real-world experiences with electric products to help people determine if going electric is right for them. The festival stands out from traditional auto shows by creating a festival environment with music, food, and a wide range of activities. The festival attracts a diverse range of consumers, including EV enthusiasts, skeptics, and mainstream consumers. The conversation covers various topics related to electric vehicles (EVs) and the electrification of different modes of transportation. The guests discuss the advantages of electric boats, including reduced pollution and noise. They also touch on the benefits of e-bikes, such as quick torque and increased safety in urban settings. The conversation concludes with a discussion on the need for improved EV charging infrastructure and the importance of EV education for consumers.

Takeaways

1. Electrify Expo offers a pressure-free, festival environment with music, food, and a wide range of activities for attendees with electric products to help people determine if going electric is right for them. 
2. Electrify Expo is not just about electric cars, it has a variety of electric options, including cars, bikes, scooters, skateboards, and watercraft, to cater to different interests for the whole family.
3. The festival attracts a diverse range of consumers, including EV enthusiasts, skeptics, and mainstream consumers.
4. EV infrastructure is a challenge that needs to be addressed to drive broader EV adoption.
5. The messaging around EVs should focus on the benefits and features of electric vehicles, rather than solely on environmental factors, to appeal to a wider audience. Electric boats offer advantages such as reduced pollution, noise, and environmental impact.
6. Electric motorcycles provide a smooth ride, instant acceleration, and a more immersive experience for riders.
7. E-bikes offer quick torque and increased safety in urban settings.
8. There is a need for improved EV charging infrastructure and better communication with consumers about charging options.

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Keywords
Electrify Expo, EV festival, electric vehicles, real-world experiences, festival environment, EV adoption, dealership experience, e-bikes, EV infrastructure, mainstream consumers, electric vehicles, EVs, electric boats, electric surf boats, wake surfing, electric motorcycles, e-bikes, EV charging infrastructure, EV education

Creators & Guests

Host

Chase Drum

Host of Grid Connections and Founder of Bespoke EVs

Guest

BJ Birtwell

Founder and CEO of Electrify Expo

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Good morning Grid Connections listeners.

Today we're speaking with BJ Birtwill, the
founder and CEO of Electrify Expo.

Join us as BJ shares his story behind the
creation of Electrify Expo and we'll

discuss how this event has become a
fantastic opportunity for those curious

about all types of electric
transportation.

Electrify Expo offers a hands -on
experience with a wide range of electric

vehicles.

Whether you're considering making the
switch to an EV or just want to explore

the latest in electric mobility like e
-bikes and more

This episode is packed with valuable
information.

To find the expo closer to you and
purchase tickets, go to electrifyexpo

.com.

The next expo is in San Francisco on
August 24th and 25th, followed by Seattle

September 14th and 15th, then New York,
October 12th through the 13th.

And finally, Austin, Texas will wrap up
2024 on November 9th and

Also, don't forget to share this episode
with at least one friend or family member

who would enjoy learning about today's
content as well.

And if you enjoyed this episode, please
leave us a positive review on our podcast

page.

Your support helps us continue bringing
you great content every week.

With that, enjoy.

Yeah, thanks, Chase, for having me.

It's been quite a journey here at
Electrify Expo.

We're still a young company, just three
and a half years old, but such amazing

growth over these past three and a half
years from being a little event in a grass

field in Orange County to now occupying
over a million square feet in every

festival that we go to around the country.

We actually have eight markets in 2024
that we're going to.

Quite the journey, but Electrify Expo is,
we bill it as North America's largest EV

festival, but it's basically all things
electric.

So it's not just electric cars and trucks,
but it's bikes and scooters and

skateboards and watercraft, all about EV
charging, even solar and other elements

are a part of our festival.

And really all we're here to do is give
people experiences in these products so

that they can make a determination of
whether or not going electric is right for

Yeah, I think that's such a great thing to
see and it's kind of funny before we start

recording your time about the challenges
now become finding venues that are large

enough, which sounds like a great problem
to have.

But for those who might be curious what

And I mean, I'm fortunate I still haven't
had the chance to attend, but I want to

have talked to really talks about kind of
just the diversity and just the different

technologies.

And usually a large part will be outside.

Some will be inside.

Can you just kind of maybe share of what
you guys maybe do or look for specifically

to really make the Electrify Expo
experience kind of stand out and just be

really engaging for it sounds like really
it doesn't matter if you're complete.

Newbie to electric vehicles or a pro.

It seems like there's something for
everyone

No, there really is.

And that's really what Electrify Expo is
here for.

It's really to provide that first time
experience in an EV to be something that

is, that they can have their light bulb
moment.

Cause you know, I don't come from an EV
advocate background.

So, you know, my background is more from
the EV skeptic side.

and part of that is just because I was a
car guy.

And so I, I grew up kind of tweaking and
tuning on cars and making them go faster

and look cooler.

And

I felt like, if I couldn't hear it, if I
couldn't smell it, it probably lacked a

soul.

And I had my mind made up about EVs before
I even drove one.

And then I finally drove one in 2016.

I found myself in a Tesla Model S and I
hit the accelerator.

And for me as a car guy, was like, boom,
light bulb moment.

I had no idea.

And I was like, man, I had this whole
thing wrong.

And I knew that there were other people
like me who were, who could.

gained that type of, interest in electric
vehicles for different reasons outside of

say, maybe more of like an environmental,
environmentally responsive, responsible

messaging or sustainability messaging.

because that really wasn't translating
with me.

Like that's not why I got into EVs.

I mean, that's a great byproduct of it
now.

And I love that.

I'm like totally a fan of that now, but
then I just, I didn't really, I wasn't

really concerned about it so much.

Right.

And so what we've seen over the past few
years is

In 2021 and 2022, a lot of the consumers
that were coming to Electrify Expo, they

could talk shop around me.

They were EV advocates, EV enthusiasts.

They know how to talk kilowatts and ampage
and all of these details around the

market.

And then in 2024, things changed.

it's actually 2023 and 2024, we started to
see more of like this mainstream general

American consumer.

who was coming into Electrify Expo to kind
of check this whole electric thing out.

And that's when Electrify Expo really just
took off because our event was so

different than everything else that was
out there.

It was really providing real world
experiences in these products that was

translating that into a light bulb moment
for people who could see themselves going

electric.

And we can go into more of that, but it's
really the antithesis of an auto show.

in many ways, because we're a festival
environment.

So everything's outdoors, open air.

We have music blasting through the
festival, like great food.

Like you can feel the festival vibe in our
festival.

And then when you look out on the
footprint, it's just activity everywhere

because everybody's trying out something
new for the first time.

It's either a bike or a scooter or a
skateboard or some crazy electric

contraption that I don't even have a
definition for, or it's an electric car or

electric truck or an electric motorcycle.

And you see all this activity happening.

it's pretty bananas to watch.

And then you see all these light bulb
moments happening with people and getting

really energized by what they're
experiencing.

So it's kind of been the, I don't know,
the roller coaster ride that we've been

on.

Actually, it hasn't been a roller coaster
ride.

It's just been one crazy trajectory of
just growth.

And so, you know, we're wrapping our arms
around this thing and really growing the

brand and the company and getting to new
markets.

I mean, we'll have 20, over 20 different
automakers participate with us this year.

That's certainly more than most of the
major auto shows.

And then we have hundreds of, know, bike,
scoot, skate, charger, solar, you know,

other companies in the industry that are
participating.

anyways, the whole point of it is that
it's just a really great experience for

people to kind of come in and check out
this whole electric thing.

And I think one thing that's really
resonating with people right now, and we

can get into this if you want, is like,
we're not telling people to go electric at

our

Like we don't come in here and we don't,
don't see messaging from us saying, Hey,

you got to go electric.

all we want to do is provide the
experiences.

We feel like the experiences will help
people find out on their own that they

want to go electric and whether it's,
know, plugin or whether it's fully

electric, like all these experiences are
there.

And I think, you know, there's no sales
pressure environment at our festival.

People are just kind of having fun and
checking it all out.

And I think that's a really great, way to
experience these new products is, is

without that pressure.

And without that kind of, I don't know,
that messaging that's been out there for

the past few years around, know, consumers
really being told that they need to go

Yeah, that's great to hear.

I definitely want to hear more about what
you're talking about.

I think what's really interesting is the
way you've approached in your experiences

in some ways kind of similar to my
background

There's obviously environmental benefits.

There's a lot of those, but those are
almost more secondary.

And it's kind of like approaching it from
more like a engineering or even science

based approach first.

And so it's funny you say kind of the
background is combustion vehicles because

sure, my daily now is an electric vehicle
and it has been for a while.

But our weekend is actually a 1987 Land
Rover Defender 90, which obviously in the

scale of things is pretty different as far
as the environmental impact.

But even then we put

way more miles than we road trip actually
with the EV.

So I am curious, are you driving an EV
daily right now or do you still have a

combustion kind of weakened vehicle still?

no, I drive a fully electric vehicle.

I bought, have an all electric Porsche.

I bought it two and a half years ago.

And you know, it was the first all
electric vehicle I had.

And I definitely had concerns because I
hadn't really, I didn't really know how it

was going to work for me.

But I tell people like I've owned that car
for two and a half years.

I've charged in the wild once.

So adapting this whole new way to fill

has been something that's been easy and
not as uncomfortable as I thought it would

be.

Been very, very easy.

But you know, I am able to charge at home
and I think for people that aren't able to

charge at home, EV infrastructure is a
real issue.

And the automakers have done a great job.

Like the automakers have just crushed
bringing out new models over the past

couple years across every segment, it
seems like, you know what I mean?

If you want to get into a three row SUV,
are vehicles for you.

If you want to get into a pickup truck,
there are electric pickup trucks for you.

If you want to get into a compact electric
vehicle, it's like that whole gamut has

now covered because before it was like a
one horse race for a long time.

So the automakers have really done a great
job of bringing out new models, but this

rollout of EV infrastructure is taking
longer than

we want, what the industry wants.

So the automakers have done a good job of
rolling out new products.

The rollout of EV infrastructure, not so
great.

And so now what we're seeing is that these
people that need to charge on the road

don't have a high comfort level for where
all of these charging stations are, if

they're actually operable.

And until we fix that, we have a major
problem in driving broader EV adoption.

It's one of the reasons.

Yeah, EV infrastructure, good or bad, is a
very common topic on this podcast,

unfortunately.

But I think what's really interesting
about the Electrify Expo that there's two

parts to it.

One, you talk about, obviously, your
experience buying your car, but the

dealership experience for so many people
is not ideal.

And I think what's really cool about
Electrify Expo is you just have so many

different car brands there and you can
kind of go in and have a much greater

variety to see what is out there without

having to go from dealership to
dealership, seeing the different cars,

seeing how they kind of worked.

And then just a more as you're saying,
festival environment.

But I think what's also really cool is the
fact that it's just not cars, have e

-bikes and all these other things that
become really good ways for people to

understand kind of the perks of
electrification or kind of put their foot

in at first, especially if they do live in
a apartment or somewhere where charging

isn't as easy for a car.

especially in kind of urban areas, when
you start with a bike and then go to an e

-bike, it really does increase the amount
of trips you can just do on that first.

And then as you become kind of more
confident with it and either charging

opportunities open up or you move
somewhere else, then it really allows you

to kind of have that mindset to go to the
next step and get an EV.

And I think that's what's really cool
about this that you just would never see

at a dealership.

There's not going to be EVs and then also
e -bikes.

But you've got pretty much the full
spectrum of everything to see how and like

you said, it's more about kind of people
who are curious and how to figure out how

this kind of works into their existing
life instead of being pushed upon them.

And I think the biggest thing has always
been even I've seen pretty much the full

gamut of people either on the left or on
the right who are against EVs for whether

it's they think it's being shoved down
their throat or they don't think it's as

environmental of an option.

But then they find a solution in a place
like this that works for them and they

understand that there's more to it.

that they just hadn't seen until they get
to experience it hands -on.

So I think that's really a great thing
that your team is doing.

I'm curious to see what now like moving
forward, like we were talking about some

of the things that you're most excited
about at the Electrify Expo that has one,

guess maybe surprised you and areas that
you're really, your team's focusing on

maybe increasing moving

Yeah, I think it's the new audience, this
new wave of consumer who's coming to check

out this whole electric thing, because
it's, it's, feel it's felt like a radical

shift for me because, you know, I have
hundreds, maybe even thousands of

conversations with consumers every year
who are in like this mid purchase funnel

of, of checking this whole electric thing
out.

and like I said, like before it was
different types of questions.

was much more, industry insider knowledge.

and

EV advocates and sustainability minded
consumers had already made up their mind

to go electric.

So they were there really just to hardcore
shop and figure out what they wanted.

They went electric without even
necessarily understanding.

Well, they may have understood some of the
challenges, but the challenges weren't as

concerning for them because they were so
passionate about doing the right thing for

the environment.

So and then to watch this new wave of
consumer come

who is either an EV skeptic or like you
said, they're EV curious or they're just

in the car shopping funnel and they see
what's happening with the transition of

the auto industry and they know that going
electric is inevitable.

So they come to our show to check this
whole thing out.

think that's been one of the most exciting
things.

mean, yes, we have all new experiences and
we pump them into the show.

We have thrill zones that we're doing, you
know,

Ford is whipping people around a racetrack
environment and showing them the

capabilities of the Ford Mach -E.

Hyundai is doing a thrill zone where
they're drifting around in their IONIQ, I

think it's their IONIQ 5, and more IONIQ
6.

I mean, these are awesome experiences.

The high -speed bikes and even the kids
zones are all fun.

Like all these experiences are great.

But I think the most exciting thing is
just watching

consumers are flooding into our festival
and it's knocking the media narrative on

its head because we don't see this
negative media narrative at our show.

We see a lot of hungry consumers who are
trying to understand how they can go

electric and what it means.

And they're flooding, they're buying
tickets to come drive all this stuff.

it's definitely not like when you make a
comparison to like having everything all

in one place instead of hopping from
dealership to dealership.

I feel like, yeah, that's a small part of
our festival, but like, this is a full on

family environment where, know, mom and
dad are bringing out their kids and the

kids are in the kid zone or hopping on an
e -bike.

And dad might be looking at the electric
motorcycles and mom might be looking at,

you know, the, Kia EV9 and everybody's got
something to do.

And then you got music and you got food.

It's, it's, it's absolutely the antithesis
of what I think people are used to seeing,

which is going inside this like boxy
stuffed wall convention center.

The whole mood is sucked out of the
building.

You have cars behind velvet ropes.

Like some people have said, there's that,
there's that.

So it is super exciting to see how we
might be filling a void or this vacuum in

the marketplace for how people really want
to shop.

And what you said was about the dealership
sales environment is true.

to a degree with some auto manufacturers
specifically as people don't really enjoy

that dealership showroom shopping
experience.

And what we're gonna see over the next
couple of years is that whole experience

is gonna change too.

You've probably been reading the news
about what Amazon is up to and as they

roll out automotive retail environments on
their platform, that's gonna change

things.

people are gonna be able to, Amazon is a
sponsor and an exhibitor at Electrify

Expo.

And so people are literally going to be
able to drive something at Electrify Expo,

figure out that's what they want to buy
and transact right there in the moment.

you know, the whole shopping experience is
going to change too over the next couple

of years, which is pretty exciting.

Yeah, and I think I probably wasn't giving
it the full credit deserved, but you're

totally right.

It's not even that it's comparative to
like the existing dealership experience of

like just multiple options.

It really is having all these different
things for everyone at one place.

I'm kind of curious as you're talking
about these new people who are kind of

coming or whether they be skeptics or
they're like, this could be a thing and

want to learn

Have you noticed any like trends with some
of the certain cities you go to versus

others or has it kind of been a universal
interest in those kind of coming to the

Electrify Expo?

I get this question a lot.

And I wish I could tell you that, yeah,
you know, when we go to, you know, Texas

or Florida versus Seattle or San Francisco
or LA, like these consumers are so

radically different.

I got to tell you, it's not like, it's not
like fashion or technology.

feel like it, it feels different.

I think that maybe it's just because of
the wave of consumer that we're in, but

it's pretty much the same questions that
we get from stop to stop.

How fast is it charged?

How far does it go?

Where's my nearest charger?

How much does it cost?

Like these are very basic questions that
somebody is gonna have when they're

shopping for a vehicle.

And I know we're kind of focused on the
vehicles right now instead of the two

wheel stuff, but you know, that's what we
see the most.

In terms of like industry knowledge, I
think California is further along and

understanding how to go electric.

And that's obvious with the amount of EV
registrations that are in that state.

So, you know, they are early adopters to
this tech and that can be seen and felt.

But outside of that, no, I think it's
pretty much the same questions we get

everywhere we go, coast to coast.

Yeah, I mean, that does make sense.

I guess maybe to phrase a different way,
especially right now, a presidential

election cycle, everything's kind of
looked through a different lens.

I guess I'm kind of curious, would you say
I think there's a lot of narratives that

say good, EVs are good, EVs are bad, yada
yada yada.

But would you say the majority of the
people that are coming are really just

more the typical middle of the road kind
of American that really, I think, makes up

the majority of people, even though the
narrative would say otherwise.

Majority of people, yes.

think we still have people on the extremes
on both sides.

Yeah, and it's actually, it's good to have
them there.

I love seeing the person who's very anti
-EV step into the driver's seat of a Tesla

model plaid and goes 0 to 60 in 1 .9
seconds.

Cause I'll tell you that dude or that gal
does not feel the same about EVs after

they've had that experience.

There is a respect level.

Even if you don't go electric, there's a
respect level to that performance that

they didn't have before.

So now they aren't such, you know,
clowning or getting on social media so

much about going electric.

So I love seeing that.

But no, I would say the gist of people are
just kind of in the middle.

unfortunately, though, you know, the
industry hasn't fully adopted the right

type of messaging.

I think that the auto industry is doing a
better job.

In fact, Lexus has a great tagline, as
electric as you want to be.

And I feel like that's the right message.

But when we go into like more of the
public or the media narrative, or even the

current administration's messaging around
EVs and the environmental messaging about

it, I think the more we make EVs about
climate change, the more we're going to

slow EV adoption.

We have to move away from that messaging
because

The people who are now buying EVs are not
buying EVs necessarily or solely or

because of the environmental benefits.

They're buying it just like a normal
everyday car and they're looking at basic

features and benefits and costs.

we need to change that messaging in order
to really drive broader EV adoption, which

we all want to generate more EV sales for
sure.

And the way that we're going to do that is
actually by moving away from that

environmental messaging at this point.

I think that is true.

think a really great point because that I
think was a big part of the reason of

Tesla's early success is, as you can even
mention in that example, focusing on

performance and the experience and the
fact that it has environmental benefits is

great, but it's more of a secondary thing.

And especially as we kind of get to the
more mainstream consumer, that's more much

more budget conscious.

I still am surprised we don't see more.

And maybe it's because there's the
dealership element sometimes in these

sales experiences, but more of a focus on
just the maintenance and reliability.

of EVs, not having the oil changes, not
having to go to the gas station, a lot of

these other kind of secondary issues that
has kind of struggled around that

messaging that goes exactly to what you're
talking about of like actually living with

one and choosing it for the advantages of
it.

It just you pretty much get in and works.

You don't have all the other stuff.

And even then, like even if you go with a
more, let's say entry model electric car,

you're usually getting way more
performance in a much sportier driving

thing than you would for a comparably

priced or even more expensive combustion
vehicles.

So I think we're definitely in agreement
there.

And I'm kind of curious, you mentioned it
a little bit earlier about some of the two

-wheeled and other kinds of modes of
transportation that you have at Electrify

Expo.

So I'm just kind of curious to hear more
about that and any things that maybe have

stood out to you about those exhibitors
and what you've learned with having them

at the Expo.

Well, the e -bike industry, the two wheel
industry has just been growing

significantly year over year.

We had an exhibitor at our Long Beach
show, which is just a month or two ago.

I mean, just one exhibitor sold $200 ,000
worth of bikes at one show.

mean, there's a craving and a desire,
especially after an experience in an e

-bike.

I have an e -bike.

The jokes from my friends about buying an
e -bike was I didn't want to exercise.

Um, but that's just not true.

Um, you just go farther.

Um, so if you're on a regular bike, um,
you know, you might do a five mile ride or

whatever, and on an e -bike, you might do
a 20 mile ride.

Um, and so you just go further and that's
more fun for me.

Uh, but you, know, you, you gotta really
get on one and have that experience in

order to get it.

So I think, um, the e -bike industry is
definitely going through a consolidation

right now.

Um, it's a little, it is volatile,
volatile industry right now.

I think that the people who started
businesses, you know, back in kind of that

COVID area where everybody was looking to
get outdoors and get active are really,

you know, fine tuning their business
models to make sure that they can weather

like real true competition because, you
know, the interest is there, but there's

so much more competition too.

And the competition is coming from all
over the world and coming into the U .S.

So it's not just the staple e -bike brands
that we're dealing with now, like the

Pedagos

and the Rad powers and the Aventons, it's
these Chinese manufacturers that you never

heard of who are coming in with a bargain
bike that is actually pretty decent.

it's a lot of different options out there,
but electric motorcycles are really coming

online right now.

You've probably seen from the big
motorcycle manufacturers whose names that

we

are launching their electric versions.

So we're starting to see those pop up at
Electrify Expo.

And I think next year is kind of the
breakout year for the electric motorcycle

industry from the big legacy brands.

We've had the early stage manufacturers
there.

And then obviously, know, Harley's spinoff
with Livewire.

But I think that that market's going to
become a lot more competitive in 2025.

And then the other thing that I'm really
excited about too is the power support

space, like just side by sides.

electric watercraft, like all of that's
coming online right now too.

So I live out in the Austin, Texas area.

So we live around like this, this chain of
lakes.

and so, you know, wake surfing is really
popular out here where I am.

so you're, you're starting to see these
electric wakes or boats pop up.

They're pricey.

but, but the technology is there and I
feel like over the next couple of years,

like that's going to get pretty popular.

So yeah, mean, you would never think
you're just gonna pop an electric

something into the water and spin around
on it, but it's happening.

So it's been really great to see that too.

That's mean, that's a really good you
brought up a lot of really interesting

things there.

mean, one, especially with electric
watercraft, I know we're not trying to

focus on sometimes always environmental
impacts, but that I think has actually

been an area that is.

definitely much needed.

You just look at how much pollution can
kind of come from your traditional like

gas powered boat.

And it I think the great part of going
with electric boat is just the fact you

kind of get the advantages of a sailboat
where it's way quieter.

And you can kind of actually talk to
someone next to you and have the engine

roar and then obviously the environmental
impacts of it too.

it's they're just so much fun to drive.

And then that's also

about the electric surf boats too is that
they're so much heavier.

So, you know, in a, in a, well, in a
regular surf boat, you have to ballast the

boat, with not only extra water, but some
people put extra weight in there.

Well, you know, batteries, they weigh a
considerable amount.

So where you place those batteries in
these electric surf boats can help

generate a better looking wave for,
electric wake surfing.

So, and I'm specifically talking about
wake surfing, but you know, you're seeing

these electric boats all over the board
from deck boats

You know, they are ocean boats.

So it's been really kind of fun to watch
that whole industry.

We have a few of these that come to our
shows and you can try them out.

We have a couple of locations at Electrify
Expo where we're on the water.

And so we'll dock these electric surf
boats or I'm sorry, these electric boats

right on the water and people will be able
to demo them.

In fact, the last couple of years we've
had electric personal watercraft.

The best way to say this would be like,
for your audience would be like, Kawasaki

has a jet ski, Yamaha has the wave runner.

You guys are probably familiar with that
terminology.

It's personal watercraft, but we've had
electric personal watercraft come out and

you're hopping on these electric, gosh,
I'm gonna get killed for saying this, but

these electric jet skis, it's not a
Kawasaki product, but electric jet skis

for the sake of explanation.

And like you said, all you hear is the
splashing of the water, but the instant

acceleration like you have in a car is
still there.

So it's

It's just crazy to hop on these amazing
electric personal watercraft and

experience them.

So much fun.

Yeah, and it's I mean, you cover quite a
few different things there, too, because

like with electric motorcycles back in
college, foolishly, I used to have a Honda

CBR 900 RR, which somehow I didn't die on
that thing, but it was so much fun.

And then it's been over a decade now.

I actually there was a electric motorcycle
company in southern Oregon called Brammo,

which I don't know if anyone listening or
BJ, if you're familiar with them.

But they essentially made the range, I
think, was 150 miles, but it's essentially

electric Ducati.

I mean,

It was so wild to get on one those for the
first time because you just you have

Not only do you have the electric torque
and instant speed that everyone thinks

about an electric vehicle, but when you go
into a turn and you just ride it, there's

none of the vibrations or other things you
get with like a traditional combustion

engine.

So you your ride is just so much smoother.

And when you're kind of going on these
twisty turns like these turns, it's just

such a wild experience that how you can
kind of just stick it and also just pivot

around it.

I think was always the future of the
challenge of just been trying to get the

batteries and the energy density down and
then they end up getting bought by Polaris

and It didn't seem like forever.

They did anything with the technology So
it's really great to see these others

coming back into the space and actually
making electric motorcycles because

there's still so much potential there and
The price is still a little on the

spending side, but finally coming down
with those as well, too

Yeah, it is.

We've had a company called Rivid, R -Y -V
-I -D, at our events multiple times.

They have really awesome styling, and it's
an electric motorcycle that is awesome for

the street.

And you have all these different versions
of bikes that are coming out, and I'm

gonna butcher the categories of these, but
you have cruiser bikes, and then you might

have more long -haul bikes or motorcycles,
and then you might have more sport, like

you had more of a sport version.

I mean, back in the day, we used to call
them croft rockets, I'm sure.

I mean, you and you have.

Yeah, you have those.

You have those coming online now, too.

So and if you're if you love riding, I get
like as a car guy, I get the love of the

sound and of that rumble that you have.

But when you turn that off and you can
just feel the road, it is a it is a really

amazing experience.

And you do become more one with that bike.

So you've got to try it in order to
appreciate it.

So I really recommend people to go out and
try one, whether it's at their local

showroom or at our festival, it's worth

I think for more, I think even with
motorcycles, the experience of going

electric is even more, much more extreme
actually than going in a car.

Obviously you get like the acceleration
and depending if you kind of know what you

actually do on track, there's definitely
kind of better ways you can tune into the

vehicle.

But with a motorcycle, it's such

physical experience you have with it.

it's just so the contact you have with the
road and kind of being able to hear so

many more things when you're going down
the road.

My only issue with electric motorcycles
and obviously this is kind of sold by a

horn, but there are so many times I just
be in my CBR and good or bad.

mean, you have to drive much more
offensively so people can't always see or

hear you.

And at least with the Honda, you could rev
it a little bit just to make sure people

are aware you're there.

So I think having a good horn on some of
these and that was the big takeaway I had

when I wrote this Brammo was it was so
much fun and just so fast, but you could

easily be going, especially in an urban
setting, going down some blocks and no one

would even know you're there and they
would just pull out before they're they

kind of their eyes are opened.

And so.

I think that's all great to hear and such
an underrated thing for a lot of

motorcycle riders if anyone listening is a
motorcycle rider.

The other thing that I think you brought
up and this is going to go to the point I

made earlier is about e -bikes and I agree
with you sometimes a lot.

mean I have some I have a pair as well.

My wife and I have both have a super 73s
and they are just so much fun and what's

really I think.

doesn't get enough credit.

I sometimes, yeah, I lived in Portland for
a decade.

So I used to have a road bike and even at
first I would kind of give e -bike people

some guff for like, that's not real.

That's just a way to not work out like you
were saying, but it totally still is a

work.

I think the bigger thing that is really
underrated going from the safety

standpoint in urban settings, again, is
just having that.

It depends on the e -bike, but having that
kind of quick torque that you can pull

into play into to really get across a busy
intersection and some of these other

things that actually make bike running, I
think, more approachable for a lot more

people and just feel safer too, because
you're able to get across busy

intersections or other things.

Or if you find yourself in a bad
situation, you have that ability to kind

of get out of that much faster.

You can, you can.

And we have, you know, these different
experiences at electrify where you can try

out these different styles of bikes.

So, you know, if you want to hop into more
of a high speed version of a bike, not,

not quite an electric motorcycle, but more
of a, I think it's more of a class three

bike.

We have a full separate demo course for
those bikes versus, you know, maybe more

of like a traditional, a traditional bike.

And the, there's so many different types
of bikes.

There's pedal assist bikes.

There's no throttle at all.

Right.

So

it as you pedal.

that's yeah.

was, I was drawing a blank on the, you
were right.

Pedal assist.

That's

Yeah, pedal assist.

So, and then there's other bikes where you
actually do have a twist throttle or a

thumb throttle.

So, you know, there's, there's many
different versions out there and I'm

seeing these bikes pop up in more places.

So I'm seeing e -bikes pop up in power
sports showrooms.

So the same places where you might buy a
side by side or a boat.

I'm, seeing bikes even at like automotive
showrooms now.

So yeah, they're, definitely popping up
all over the place.

I realize that we've kind of covered all
sorts of different areas.

Are there any areas that you want to see
like more exhibitors if there's anyone

listening in a certain space come to
Electrify Expo or anything you're hearing

from people attending?

Like, God, I wish there were more XYZ here
at this event.

Well, I mean, think that the educational
element of going electric is super

important.

So I would love to see the EV charging
category continue to grow.

You know, it's typically been more of a
B2B environment with those EV charger

brands.

you know, no one's, well, I can't say
anybody's taken a true leadership position

in really catering and developing a brand
with the consumer.

There's EV charging hardware and then
there's EV charging networks.

So the charging networks would be akin to
a Shell gas station or an Exxon gas

station, a place to charge up, right?

So I think that there's a big opportunity
for an electric charging network to come

in and really use our Electrify Expo
platform to develop some serious brand

equity in the space.

that is an area where there is a lot

concern about operability because EV
owners are showing up at these charging

networks and they're getting to chargers
that are not operable in many cases and at

many times.

And it's really hurting the brands that
are out there right now from developing

something, relationship of trust with the
consumer.

So I'm interested to see what happens with
Iona.

Have you been following Iona at

I have been, think there's a lot of, this
is just me personally, I think there's a

lot of interesting things being said, but
so far they've been said.

There's one or two sites that might be
going live soon, that's great.

I think personally just kind of looking
from the outside in.

My only concern is it's very clear in this
space, money doesn't solve problems.

because there's been a lot of money thrown
around and it still moves at a pretty

glacial space.

So having seven different very large OEMs
work together to come together on one way

to move forward and throwing money at the
problem, I'm still cautiously optimistic.

I'll leave it at that.

But I think you're totally right.

I'm with you and I understand the concern.

I think money solves problems if the money
lands into the hands of the right people.

And I don't think the money has been
landing into the hands of the right people

in the private sector.

So that's got to be flushed out.

That is a big problem that needs to be
addressed.

I think one of the big issues too, even
for the existing charge point providers

out there is just the fact that money
doesn't speed up permitting or utilities

or anything like that.

There's been multiple stories of people
I've talked to that it's like, I'll pay

you now.

I'll do double whatever it just takes to
get this thing in the ground.

They're like, nah, you're in the queue
like everyone else.

Whether it's a charging thing that this
utility is working on or some large other

expansion project.

It's kind of viewed as all this

same thing.

And I think that that is just inherently
one of the large hurdles that this

industry is facing.

And I'm not I think it can be improved.

I don't know if it can necessarily be
fixed.

But once again, that's just one issue.

And you're totally right that there's
other things that can be solved as well as

kind of bringing the right groups together
to understand what some of these

challenges are that are unique to charging
infrastructure and charging location.

but also we had a guest on previously who
actually had made his career as a lawyer

for telecoms and essentially writing the
regulations and legislation or not

legislation, but contracts for cell
telecom providers to get cell tower

leases.

And he's now taking a really big step into
the EV space because it's a very similar

challenge where you have to deal with
negotiated lease rates and contracts and

who has

Who can work on it when who has the right
access to this land and all these kind of

what seem like What should be figured out
and straightforward things that are

clearly still a little bit of the Wild
West So it's just I don't know if that

could easily be its own podcast with those
challenges right

But I'm curious if there's any groups that
you've looked at or not even as a

electrify expo, but you yourself as an EV
driver that you've found to be pretty

reliable or ones you go for over others
potentially.

No, not really.

I've had the same problems that I think
every other EV owner has had.

But fortunately, I don't have to charge in
the wild too much.

I think that the manufacturers embracing
the North American charging standard,

which is basically the Tesla plug, is a
good thing to improve this idea of

reliability and operability because the
supercharger network has a better

operability.

quotient than say the other charging
networks that are out there.

So I think that's great.

And I am positive about what I own is
doing.

I think you're right.

It's still a work in progress.

And I don't think that they start rolling
out their network until late 2025.

And we might not even see the first
stations until 2026.

So that speaks to this, I don't know if I
can call it a supply chain issue of

this these elements in this road to
building out this network taking too long,

which is a problem,

is, but I'm not sure that that's
completely still on the manufacturer side.

I know a lot of it's been kind of utility
sides, like transformers and the other

kind of support infrastructure to get to
these sites.

Yeah.

Yeah, but then you have these same cities
or states talking a really big game about,

you know, their mandates for 2030 and yet
they're slowing EV adoption because of red

tape or bureaucracy or layers within their
inflated, you know, staffing resources

that takes too long to get stuff done,
right?

Let's just call it as it is.

We all see it.

So how that changes, it's great that
people like your past guest are working on

that because it's definitely needed.

For sure.

That and that's really interesting here
around the EV education component and also

having a larger presence from EV charging
or at least the charge point operators.

When you talk about EV education, are you
talking more about just like even slow

basic seminars, I guess, for those people
who are just thinking about an EV like

what does level two charging in someone's
home look like or what they have to do

once they bought EV?

Is that kind of what you're talking about
or is it?

Yeah.

No, we speak a foreign language in this
industry that nobody understands.

Nobody gets it.

It's ridiculous, right?

I mean, at some point, at one point we
were talking amp -ampage and kilowatts,

and now we have these levels.

And I think Chargeway has done a good job
of simplifying it as best as you can.

But look, most people are to picking 87,
89, or 91.

know, regular

you know, premium and supreme or whatever
it is.

And it's very easy to understand what I'm
choosing.

It's not that way with charging.

so, you know, developing that language, I
think is going to be key.

I Charger has probably got the lead on
that.

And they might tweak and make things even
more simple as time goes around.

no, that education is important.

And that's a whole reason why Amazon came
to Electrify Expo is because they really

wanted to

broader EV adoption through education.

So at Electrify Expo, we have this full
area that's called the Amazon recharge

zone.

And we put experts in front of basically a
podcast desk and we have panels that

educate people about what the levels mean,
how fast to charge, try to debunk these

myths and information that is only two or
three years old, but is now totally

irrelevant.

So it's really important.

This education element is really
important.

I

That happens at Electrify Expo and that's
an important part of what we're doing.

But automakers and everybody within the
supply chain need to adopt this more

layman's way of communicating with the
consumer.

Otherwise, we're just talking alphabet
soup.

I mean, I can agree with you more.

mean, we have Matt Teske on this program
probably quarterly just for the exact

reason and You mentioned the North
American charging standard I think a lot

of kind of the EV nerds kind of push back
as to whether that being the How big of an

impact it'll have but I I still think that
from a the standpoint of people who are

new to EVs the fact that is Even though
it's not that wild but having a different

charger from home charging to DC fast
charging

It's just another level of explanation you
have to do.

And if you can really have it so that port
is the same, whether it's at home or on

the road, and then all you say is your
home chargers overnight and the ones on

the road are like 20 to 30 minutes, that
makes it pretty quickly for people to make

that understanding much more similar to
like you were telling about 89, 91.

Most people probably go and tell you what
those actually that rating means, but they

at least know when they go to fill up
their car, what, which one they need to

put in it.

Um, and so just trying to,

simplify and make it as approachable for
everyone is kind of the biggest thing that

this industry needs right now.

And I think that's one of the big reasons
I wanted to have yawn because I think

Electrify Expo is doing that so well in
person and bring a lot of these different

topics together.

So it's really great to

kind of hear about what's really taken off
in areas where hopefully anyone listening

will kind of step up and also be a part at
all these different locations.

So I realize we're kind of coming up on
the time we have today, but BJ, for anyone

who's interested in either becoming a
sponsor or learning more about Electrify

Expo and any of the upcoming locations,
what are the best ways to learn more and

then engage with your team?

Yeah, come check us out at electrifyexpo
.com.

See what we're all about.

There's information there not only to
attend the festivals, but if you want to

get involved and participate, there's ways
to learn about that.

And then if you live in any of these
markets that we go to or close to it, I

invite you out to experience it.

It's really a rewarding experience to
watch.

I think a lot of your audiences have
already adopted EVs, but just to watch

this new wave of consumer come in and

how many people are interested in going
electric is really exciting to see.

So 2025 looks amazing.

We'll be going into some new markets, but
I think what's most interesting is all the

new products that are coming from the
automakers, from the motorcycle

manufacturers, from the power sports
industry, really gonna be a great time to

go electric next year.

So looking forward to maybe doing this
again in 2025 and telling you about all

the new things that have come into the
festival.

For sure, we're really looking forward to
it.

Thanks again, BJ.

With that, I'll let you get going and have
a great day.

Thank you, Chase.

Thank you for tuning into this episode of
the Great Connections podcast featuring BJ

Birtwell, the founder and CEO of Electrify
Expo.

We hope you enjoyed hearing BJ's
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how Electrify Expo is making electric
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