Chamois Butt’r announced it is growing its Kansas City office with Aaron Apel, who joins its operations team reporting directly to company COO Curt Shelman.
Shelman said, “Aaron will focus on the implementation of organizational and strategic initiatives that will include product development, consumer and retailer relations, event support, and helping manage North American and International distribution for the brand entering its twenty-ninth year in business.”
Apel experience includes race promoter, professional trail builder, USA Cycling race mechanic, state and national lobbyist on behalf of cycling infrastructure, independent bike shop owner, and, most recently, operations manager for Gravel City Adventure & Supply Co.
“I have known Aaron for 7-or-8 years, and he seems to have a great relationship with every cyclist and industry person that he interacts with,” said Shelman. “Aaron, with his experience as an IBD owner, brings insight that we have not had in our organization—the lens of a small retailer into the industry and how our product interacts or is perceived by retailers and their customers. Spending the last three years working in Emporia, he’s also been at the epicenter of the gravel expansion in cycling, so he has gained great insights into the industry’s growth as gravel riding matured. We are excited to add Aaron and his wife Melanie to the Chamois Butt’r family and the Kansas City community.”
“While nothing can replace living and working in the gravel riding capital of the world and the day-to-day energy that face-to-face interactions provided at the IBD level by serving riders, I am excited to join the passionate, entrepreneurial-minded team at Chamois Butt’r,” said Apel. “From the moment Curt and Steve described where Chamois Butt’r has come from and where they want to go, I saw a company that cares for their customer—a team that is interested in real solutions and innovation in an ever more complex cycling market. From distribution relationships to the end-user experience, Chamois Butt’r cares, and that is a company foundation that I can emphatically champion.”
