The motocross industry has a long list of high quality companies, that are a major part of the MXGP championships and the sport. From Alpinestars, KTM, Leatt, Answer, FOX, Polisport, Husqvarna and FMF, all leaders in their field and all-important partners in the FIM World Motocross Championship.

A relatively new company to arrive on the MXGP scene is the graphic company SCRUBdesignz. Owned by Australian Mark Roberts, SCRUB are not holding back in their drive to join those previously mentioned companies at the very top of the industry heavy list.

Already working with the Red Bull KTM Factory team, the ROCKSTAR Energy Husqvarna Factory team, both in MXGP and MX2, plus the new Jacky Martens JM JUMBO Honda team, the sky is the limit for this rather new motocross family member.

Having worked with SCRUB now for a few weeks, what is easily noticed is their ambition and professional approach to their products. We caught up with their CEO Mark Roberts and asked him about the company and their goals for 2020 and the future.

MXLarge: Firstly, I know you are an Australian, but where in Australia are you from?

Roberts: I am from Warragul in Victoria. Most of my youth I was based there. We had a big farm and our father bought my brothers and I motocross bikes, and my brothers also rode and raced.

MXlarge: Sounds similar to my childhood, riding every day with your brothers. What a great way to grow up.

Roberts: Yes, fantastic. Unfortunately, my father passed when I was 15, three years after I started. He was into Speedway, and our family history is all about playing with engines and that type of thing.

MXLarge: Did you race long?

Roberts: I had an accident in 1987 and it put me out of motocross for 13 years before I could get the courage to get back on a bike. I raced again, and actually won my first race back. Holeshot and blew them away, I was happy with that. I raced for maybe two years, 1999 and 2000. I have raced here in Europe a few times over recent years too!

MXLarge: So how did you progress from Australia to Europe?

Roberts: I left Australia in 2001. I went backpacking, touring the World, as Aussies often do. In 2005, I moved back to Australia and got back into bikes again, buying and repairing and then started importing graphics from the USA. It was just a random thing I started, and it snowballed. At that time there wasn’t a lot of options for graphics in Australia. I imported One Industries graphics and other leading brands, just to dress our bikes we were dealing in.

MXlarge: And then you decide to move to Europe full time?

Roberts: In 2009, I moved to Europe and then in 2014, I guess, following the frustration in the industry, we started SCRUB. I found the service and quality poor throughout the industry. The range was also generally quite poor too. I knew we could do it better.

MXLarge: And why did you call it SCRUB?

Roberts: Because the term 'SCRUB' is used a lot in the sport, for example, race commentary, like “what a fantastic SCRUB”. That is why we came up with this name.

MXlarge: So, you start SCRUB, how did that develop?

Roberts: At first, we worked with an American company for base materials, a Japanese company for the printing machines and all the inks are made in Germany. These days, we're using alot more European sourced materials.  We do a lot of testing. Our first professional racer/tester was a DAKAR legend Stefan Svitko and he would test for us, and we would receive reports on the data and do what we needed to do to improve. We are always testing our products and that is why we wanted to get into MXGP to further push the envelope.

MXLarge: So, from that to working with both KTM and Husqvarna factory teams, how did that come about?

Roberts: Well, initially, we chased a licensing deal with KTM and Husqvarna. We worked out a deal with both KTM and Husqvarna. So, we can apply the trademark in the products we offer. At that point I also questioned them about taking a race team as part of our promotion. Initially they said no, and to be honest, I don’t ever accept 'no', so we kept trying and eventually we were offered a deal starting to produce graphics for the ICEONE ROCKSTAR Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team. Working with the perfectionist team manager Antti Pyrhönen ensures the standards are high. Then the following year we were also chasing Red Bull KTM and the Jacky Martens team for MX2 Husqvarna. We got the full Red Bull KTM Factory team, MXGP and MX2 in 2019 and also Jacky Martens Husqvarna MX2 team.

MXLarge: I only know you guys a little while and working with you for the MXlarge advertising banners I have noticed you guys are really very critical about yourselves and want everything looking really good. Your banners on the site look great and I can imagine you are very clear in what you want to produce for the factory motocross teams. How as that been working with them?

Roberts: Well, we supply them a product, and we provide them the standard we want to display on their bikes. They are millimeter correct, but we look at things and we see faults and we don’t want to go to the races and see our product looking anything but perfect, and fortunately KTM and Husqvarna have the same attitude towards their branding. I think they appreciate our attention to detail, and they give us the freedom to make sure their products also look great, making tiny adjustments as we see necessary. Working with Dirk Grubel, Joel Smets, Bart Dirkx and the teams, it's a real honor. An inspiration indeed.

MXLarge: How does it work for business working for these factory teams. What is the upside?

Roberts: I mean, one is for testing our product, because nobody is harder than these guys (the riders). Jorge Prado is the hardest guy on a bike, nobody puts as much load on a bike as he does. What he does to a bike isn’t human. He looks super smooth, but he really works his bike to the limit, it's incredible.

MXLarge: How do your products then go with Prado?

Roberts: Our products stand up to the test and you can go and look at the bike after a weekend and our product always look great. I mean we are making a product for them today, they will use it and send photos back on how it went. Plus, they send us plastics after race events when requested for quality control inspections. The second important point, to be involved with these teams, is to give our customers confidence in our company. Our 'competitors' all say they use the best material in the World, but with absolutely no proof! You really can write what you want... However for us, working with companies like KTM and Husqvarna, is the proof that our product is really up to the test. To have it used by top riders, it shows you put your neck on the chopping block, because these MXGP riders are tough on bikes. Customers can have confidence, no compromise with SCRUB.

MXLarge: So, which is more important for you, the product awareness or the product testing these teams do?

Roberts: Oh, that is a tough one. I would say it is about equal. We want to assure the quality is right on, but of course it is a very competitive market and brand awareness and having a strong brand and all eyes on our company is really important.

MXLarge: Okay but working for a factory motocross team in the toughest motocross series in the World, I can imagine these guys need a product that is good for heat, cold, wear, so many different elements.

Roberts: Too true, if you look at Jeffrey Herlings' bike, we have various graphic materials that he needs on his bike. For Herlings, or Cairoli, they need different materials than a normal hobby rider because of heat in the suspension, or weight reduction, although even our regular material, our customers also get what Herlings is using on his bike. We also do special Light Weight graphics for certain parts of the race teams bikes as we see necessary. All about overall performance.

MXLarge: Who will you deal with in 2020, which teams?

Roberts: We will work again with Red Bull KTM, ICEONE Husqvarna, the new Jacky Martens Honda team, and also the new NESTAAN Husqvarna Factory Racing MX2 team. We also now provide for BULLS Racing Factory Husqvarna with Carl Ostermann for the European Supercross championships.

MXLarge: What other products do you deal with?

Roberts: We have one of the largest ranges of plastics in the World, so we have a lot of products here!

We are continuing to add as fast as we can. Combinations of colours and this warehouse is large and a lot of the less common models, like Gas Gas, Sherco, Beta. We have a huge range of Genuine Husaberg plastics too.

Before the end of 2019, we plan to open our all new website, with over 2 years in development, we believe this will be an absolute revolution in the industry, not only for graphics, but plastics too. We're really excited for this!

Looking to the future, we're passively seeking more top level teams, however at this time not actively chasing.... That said, we do plan to extend our commitment to DAKAR, plus the highest levels of World Enduro.

Always working on new products, techniques, materials. We sure have a lot planned!

To find our more about Scrubdesignz, check out their website here.