How does a regular guy from a small town in Sweden that nobody has ever heard of get invited by BMW to celebrate their 100th anniversary in Berlin?
Flight and hotel paid for.
Said and done, I packed my camera gear and jumped on a plane to Berlin. Ate a big bowl of goulash soup at the airport before getting shuttled to the BMW Group Plant.
BMW Plant Tour
The Assembly Line Now
The Assembly Line Then
100 years ago (69 years before I was born) BMW released their first motorcycle. The R32, with the iconic boxer engine and the cardan shaft that has paved the path for future models.
The 100 years Old R32 Next To A New R18
We toured the plant where around 2000 employees produce up to 800 bikes a day. That's pretty impressive considering a motorcycle consists of around 2000 parts and every tightening torque gets documented.
After being assembled and thoroughly tested the bikes get shipped out through this gate. If you own a BMW it probably passed through here.
After a full factory tour we got shuttled to the next location.
Pure & Crafted Festival
Where we met Dr. Markus Schramm, CEO of BMW Motorrad (who I later shared a burger with).
Messe Berlin
Day 2. After a good nights sleep at 25hours Hotel Bikini Berlin and a breakfast with a view the buss was waiting for us outside the hotel, ready to transport us to the next location.
A day filled with press events, stunt shows, custom motorcycles, a few burritos and much more.
Two lessons from this trip:
1. Whatever your passion is, stick to it. Create and share content online. With time, cool things will happen.
2. At an event filled with journalists and content creators, It's your story and you perspectives that sets you apart from everyone else. At a product launch and in an event area like this everyone's content will look pretty much the same.
Everyone can compete on taking photos, no one can compete with you.
Do what you love. Share your passion. Tell your story.
Kind regards
Johan
Photos: BMW Motorrad
