Ryan Reynolds shoots obscure British motorcycle company ‘into overdrive’ with Instagram plug—but owner insists the star paid full price and wouldn’t jump the line
Ryan Reynolds, the Hollywood star and businessman, has a knack for spotting a good opportunity. But when he threw his weight behind a motorcycle purchase last year, it was the investment heard round the world.
Taking to his Instagram account with nearly 50 million followers, the Deadpool star sang the praises of British brand Arc, a relatively obscure motorcycle manufacturer from Coventry, England.
Reynolds dubbed Arc's Vector Model as "the coolest bike ever," and that endorsement sent shockwaves through Arc's communication channels, driving the company's CEO, Mark Truman, to declare it had gone "absolutely bonkers," speaking to the BBC.
Arc makes what it claims to be “the world’s most advanced motorcycles,” costing anywhere between £100,000 ($127,000) and £150,000 ($191,000).
A team from the motorcycle company, including Truman, personally delivered the vehicle to Reynolds in November after the actor first took an interest in the brand.
Truman described Reynolds as a “very down-to-earth guy” who was happy to pay full price for the bike because it “blew his mind.”
“He didn’t want to jump the line,” said Truman. “When he was a little kid, he’d imagined what it would be like to be Superman flying just above the ground, and this was the closest he’d ever get.”
Reynolds’s appreciation for the bike on social media led to a 1,200% higher engagement on social media, Arc told PA Media.
To thank the actor, Arc put out its own video hailing Aviation Gin, a brand Ryan Reynolds held a stake in and eventually sold in 2020.
"We could never afford to pay him for celebrity endorsement, he's just a completely authentic customer who purchased a bike," Truman told the BBC.
Reynolds clarified on social media that he didn’t have any stake in the business.
Arc and Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds’s marketing firm, didn’t immediately return Fortune’s request for comment.
Reynolds's history of unglamorous investing
Among Reynolds’s notable investments is Mint Mobile, which he sold to T-Mobile earlier this year for a grand sum of $1.35 billion. With celebrities often investing in beauty brands or going the venture capital route, telecoms seemed like an unusual bet when Reynolds bought it in 2019.
But that’s exactly what the star wanted to achieve. He said in a CNBC interview in March that he and Maximum Effort are always on the lookout for projects that are unconventional.
The Green Lantern star’s foray into sports came with an investment in Wrexham Football Club, a lower-league team that Reynolds bought along with fellow actor Rob McElhenney in 2020.
Since Reynolds bought a stake in the club, its finances have improved and fans have trickled back to watch Wrexham play. A series based on the club’s turnaround called Welcome to Wrexham wound up being a hit, giving the club some additional traction.
While Reynold has claimed that he’s “no wizard” at investing, he certainly knows how to sprinkle his Hollywood stardust on business ventures.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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