The COO of Ross Republic, Jussi Hyttinen, is not only known for a bias towards action and lean execution in business. He is also an off-road motorcycle fanatic who strives to conquer new terrain, which requires keeping his enduro expeditions ultralight. His mentality is shared with Adventure Spec, one of the largest adventure motorcycle gear retailers and producers, in UK and Europe. They are proponents of the “Light Is Right” mindset, and interviewed Jussi for their online ezine, Tracks.
Upon hearing the expeditions and travel stories of Ross Republic’s COO Jussi, I sometimes wonder about the triviality of contemporary urban life. While I’m concerned about finding a DriveNow nearby or deciding on my next Deliveroo order, he’s pushing his bike at full throttle through breathtaking mountain chains that haven’t seen a living being for decades. But read for yourself.
As an ex-R&D engineer and creative, Jussi has a passion for making engineering and complex matters approachable. That’s why he leads Ross Republic’s creative and communication team with the mission to transform B2B businesses into customer-centric entities. Additionaly, in his role as the COO, Jussi is going beyond polished PowerPoints and roadmaps. He’s a doer who enjoys the grind and makes sure our internal ways of working and delivery methods are as lean and efficient as possible.
“I suppose the chaos of the expeditions, the uncertainty of the future and the lonely remoteness of the wilderness are just a welcome contrast to the daily grind at work.”
While I know the lean mentality only from a business context, it’s apparently a big thing in enduro riding as well. So it’s not surprising that Jussi is undertaking ambitious off-road motorcycle expeditions. Under his alter-ego, The Rolling Hobo, he is known best for ultralight expeditions in hard conditions. Countries he travelled through are for example Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia and Turkey. As if that’s not impressive enough, he’s also the first Westerner to ride the Russian Zimnik 110 in Siberia.
Such expeditions are neither for average riders nor bikes. That’s why he understands and custom-builds his bikes and equipment for each specific condition. Part of this process is the testing and developing of gear together with OEM’s, which led him to have his own signature products.
Jussi’s latest expedition was Prometheus 19, a seven week expedition ranging from the Arctic to Armenia and back. During the ride, he tested one of Adventure Spec’s new products. Thus, Adventure Spec interviewed the man behind the funny name.
About the author
PARTNER, DIGITAL BANKING
Adrian Klee
Adrian is an expert in building digital business in the financial services sector. He has a background in Fintech and Consulting, and specialises in market research, digital service development and lean venture building.
