Meet Christopher Beckwith | Formula One enthusiast and Marketing Expert

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

Hi Christopher, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I wanted to create something in a field I enjoyed. It was important to me that I had a passion for what I do. It’s not everyday we get that opportunity. It often doesn’t appear, it’s seldom offered to us, so we have to go out and get it, make it on our own. At the same time, I needed to find my place in that market, not just what I love, but what might be something that the broader market could relate to. In developing the brand, it takes a lot of networking, emails, calls, it’s work! All while juggling a full time job to pay the bills until the project took off. Another consideration, it had to be scalable. It had to be something that could grow. We couldn’t start out with nothing and it has to be all in mega corporation to be successful. We had to be able to build from a small group, and develop into a larger national brand. In that regard, branding for the bigger picture comes in while marketing to a smaller audience. As we turned up the marketing efforts, we’ve seen tremendous traction in the last 4 months, going from 500 followers to 4500. The audience has been more receptive to the concept and idea than we ever imagined, and we are gearing up for a big relaunch, taking us to our end goal in a very short time. The best part about it, it’s been fun along the way, and I’ve learned a ton from the brands I’ve worked with, and the people I’ve encountered.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’ve always had a spot in my heart for motorsports, but for most of my life really focused on yacht racing. When covid hit and life shifted gears, I got into sim racing. This is so much more than a video game! It’s as close as you can get without getting in a car and driving it 200mph around a track. Having a successful marketing career background, I began looking at ways to combine my passion with my new hobby. I guess my professional career has benefitted from exposure to many industries, and demographics. I’ve been in so many different industries around the world, and learned from so many talented people, I’ve had the pleasure of working with, the cards aligned and afforded me this opportunity to create a business around something I love! Sure it has had it’s ups and downs, and the lows were low. But if you think about what success really is, and keep things in perspective, you can turn your situation around through persistence and hard work. I’m most proud of how quickly this concept was embraced. A big lesson I learned was to be willing to step back, pause, regroup. lost battles are not lost wars. Keep at it, try a different angle, or just take a breath, and you’ll get through the challenges. take time to celebrate the rewards, but not too much time, keep the train rolling down the track. The brand we are building certainly isn’t about me, it’s about the bigger community. It’s not my dream, It’s something the Formula One community wanted, and we got there.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’d definitely have too hang out in Coconut Grove! grabbing dinner at Bar Taco, and drifting out back after, for some cornhole, drinks and good music! Can never go wrong with Tacos! Iconic Miami Beach is on the list for sure. It’s got amazing art deco styling and a vibe that can’t be beat. Happy Wine in the Grove is another favorite for the really gritty wine cellar feel. Amazing, and I mean amazing service coupled with outstanding food. I’ve never been treated so good. There’s so much to see in the area though, from beaches to boats, Checking out the Everglades and of course the Concours Club from some adrenaline pumping driving action on the track! Miami has a little bit of everything, and almost feels like another country at times, familiar yet exotic.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A real inspiration has to come from the larger Formula One community. So many influencers, and media personalities that have paved the way with content to create and are incredibly easy to work with. They’ve tried and tested so many ideas, no one has to start from scratch! Formula one teams as well, are easily approachable and offer guidance on what matters and what to capture and focus on. I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to identify and make the connections that have been willing to share their success stories with me, I’m happy to share mine here. About a dozen or so people have contributed actively or passively to helping me craft the overall concept of what I wanted to do in my mind.

Website: https://usf1league.com

Instagram: @beckwithf1

Image Credits
all photos: Christopher Beckwith