GamJams.net: Where Mid-Atlantic bike racers roll: Local Racer Takes Racing Business to International Level

by Gus Grissom, Combat Correspondent

“If I could make a livin’ outta lovin’ you, I’d be a millionaire in a week or two. I’d be doing what I love and lovin’ what I do, if I could make a livin’ out of loving you...” Sure, it’s a cheap shot from a country song, but it also captures the feeling so many of us have had when we spend warm days out on long rides dreaming about ways to make just enough money from any sort of cycling gig so we can give up our day jobs and “live the dream.” What amateur, faux-pro Masters racer hasn’t dreamed that dream? The reality, however, is that so few of us do anything about it. We get off our bikes, put away our dreams and put back on our mid-level corporate armor, sadder but none the wiser...

Not so with Rich “Money ‘N Stuff” Hohenbrink, developer of the latest way to spend more time with the sport we all love: First To The Line, a card game based on the exciting rhythms of the ProTour peloton in full pursuit of road race glory. Yes, Hohenbrink is one of those rare individuals who has not only a great idea but also the guts to put his money behind his idea and pursue a career centered on his passion for cycling. Hohenbrink, himself a racer for NCVC (Cat 4 Road / Cat 3 Cyclocross) says that the idea came to him while on vacation with some friends in the Dominican Republic.

“We were all sitting around enjoying the card game version of Monopoly,” he says, “and I thought, ‘this would be really cool if it had a bike race in it somehow.” Inspired by that thought, Hohenbrink launched himself into an exhaustive research and development process. “I spent from about ten minutes on the internet, which was really expensive down there, and found out that there was no cycling card game out on the market.” So he decided to to remedy that deficiency and “spent from about 1:00 to 4:00 that night scribbling out notes on resort napkins about how a cycling card game might work.” Yes, he says, “beer might have been involved.” But out of this perspiration came inspiration and Hohenbrink says that by the time his vacation ended, the basic ideas for the card game had coalesced in his mind.

“When I got back to D.C., I was able to get some blank business cards from the office supply store and put together a sample deck.” The game, which had no name at this point, was lacking something and Hohenbrink says that “the blank cards needed a logo to make them look more official, so I went with the working title of ‘Bike S**t.’” It’s a term to which everyone’s wife, girlfriend, and roommates can relate, but which is less marketable than the eventual title “First To The Line.” Hohenbrink moved quickly into beta-testing. “Well, I don’t know if it’s really called ‘beta testing’ or not,” he says. “I just took it to work and got a few non-cyclist friends who are card-game geeks (playing games like Magic and Pokemon) to try it out. When I saw that they liked it, I was sure bike geeks would enjoy it as well." It turns out that Hohenbrink was right and he was able to convince his teammates to play it during a training camp after a long ride. “When I saw the tired, hungry, and more-than-slightly irritated faces on my teammates change into the faces of engaged game players even after that day’s long ride, I knew I had something good on my hands.”

Hohenbrink moved forward with the project and found the right artwork and artists and custom card production company. He is very proud to report that his game is 99% “Made in the USA.” The 1%, according to Hohenbrink, is the fact that “the idea came to me while I was in the Dominican Republic. So it’s sort of an off-shore operation from that perspective.” Still, sales of the game have been strong with the Christmas season being exceptionally notable for a first-time entry into the market. Though Hohenbrink says he his company has not yet made a profit, it is “very, very close and will soon be profitable.” He has already sold the game in 25 states, plus D.C., and 8 countries, a feat of which he is rightfully proud, yet humbled.

But Hohenbrink, and his corporation “Money ‘N Stuff,” is not resting on these laurels. When asked if this was part of a larger career goal, the 26-year old full-time Capitol Tour Guide ("I wear a red jacket and point out statues of George Washington forty hours a week.") will immediately respond, “this is only part of what is going to be my career.” He is already working on developing the card game into an IPhone / Android App which will allow players to play solo or head-to-head across mobile devices and accrue points for a worldwide ranking system that will be much like a “virtual UCI leaderboard.” Hohenbrink points out that he anticipates the release of this game in 2012. Following that, and already in design, is a cyclocross game for XBox and Playstation type platforms. “Right now,” he says, “we’re calling it 'Tim Johnson's Cyclocross 2015.' But by 2015 it might be ‘someone else’s’ Cyclocross 2015. So we’re flexible if anyone has any ideas.” Hohenbrink adds that he is actively recruiting game developers to keep the project moving forward under his direction. Farther down range, Hohenbrink looks the DC cycling landscape and asks “why no velodrome? Why can’t I build one of those one day?”

So, to all of you out there who look at the world as it is and ask “why,” there is a Rich “Money ‘N Stuff” Hohenbrink who is asking “why not?” What is more, he’s doing something about it and turning his passion for high speeds and daring maneuvers into what is sure to become a profitable series of ventures for his company. MABRA should consider itself lucky to witness the birth of what is becoming an internationally recognized company based around our hobby. It is going to be exciting to watch it all unfold around us under the direction of this visionary entrepreneur. Good luck, Mr. Hohenbrink and allez, allez allez!

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Gus Grissom races for Team GamJams Racing, teaches Greek and Latin at DeMatha Catholic High School, and writes a dissertation in his spare time. He writes this column strictly for fortune and glory.