Volcon CEO Andy Leisner grew up in La Cañada Flintridge, just north of L.A. On his sixth birthday, his dad bought him a minibike.
"I was absolutely terrified of it, at first," he said. "It was loud and noisy, smoke bellowed out of it. It got hot, and it had a clutch and a gearbox, and it was terrifying. It was a terrifying experience riding that."
But over time, he warmed up to it. By age 8, he started to feel at home ripping around on dirt bikes with his dad at Indian Dunes in Valencia, Calif., among other places. The passion grew. He began racing motocross competitively by age 10, and started road racing motorcycles at age 16, including participation in a world championship race.
"It taught me a lot of about responsibility and learning to take care of my own equipment and I got to participate right alongside my father," he said.
In March 1990, Leisner's racing career ended when he fell on the exit of a chicane at Daytona International Speedway and slid into a sidewall feet first, essentially pushing his femur through his pelvis. He went hours without painkillers awaiting surgery.
"It was the most painful thing I've ever experienced in my life," he said.
While it may have been his last motorcycle race, he fully recovered and is an avid motorcycle rider -- both on and off road.
"I haven't let a little metal in my hip slow me down," he said.
Flash forward a few decades, and Leisner is sharing the tradition with his daughters as they ride trails north of Austin.
Leisner's entire life seems to be on top of or next to a motorcycle. After graduating from UCLA, Leisner built a career in powersports media, including his most recent role running the powersports media group at Bonnier Corporation, which includes Cycle World, one of the industry's most popular magazines.
His latest endeavor is anything but a ride in the sidecar. Leisner earlier this year was tapped to be CEO of Volcon, a recently launched electric powersports startup that specializes in two- and four-wheeled off-road vehicles.
The new e-dirt bikes and UTVs, which have side-by-side seating, are significantly different than the one Leisner was terrified of as a 6-year-old. They make almost no sound, no smoke and are significantly easier for novices to ride than traditional gas-powered dirt bikes.
Investors see potential in the electric powersports market, and the company's co-founders have developed a track record for success with electric vehicles. Co-founder Christian Okonsky is also founder of electric vehicle manufacturer Ayro, which earlier this year went public through a reverse merger with New York-based DropCar Inc. Meanwhile, co-founder Adrian James founded Sprout Equity Ventures.
Volcon, which emerged publicly in October when it announced Austin as its headquarters, has raised $4.5 million. That came through a combination of accredited investors earlier this fall, as well as non-accredited investors who bought small stakes through a WeFunder campaign that raised $2.5 million from more than 1,000 investors.
The startup sees more potential in the market now than ever.
"When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the rate of sales in new units in off-road powersports just accelerated exponentially," he said. "Right now, the industry is 48% up year-over-year. There's just a lot more families looking to recreate in a different way and get outdoors and escape the realities of the pandemic and escape the cities and get outside and explore."
After connecting with co-founders Okonsky and James, Leisner flew to Austin and rode the first prototype of the Grunt. He immediately saw potential.
"The products that we're developing here at Volcon are targeted mored to a non-powersports enthusiast than to a powersports enthusiast, and that's going to enable us to bring a very large number of new participants into powersports that may have never considered it in the past," he said.
Austin's an ideal place for an EV company because of its large engineering talent pool, he said.
"Austin is really becoming the EV capital of the United States, if not the world," he said, noting Tesla's decision to build its GigaTexas factory near Austin and several EV companies. "It's amazing the pool of EV engineers already here in town."
Volcon decided to first offer the two-wheeled Grunt because it has less competition in the market than larger four-wheel UTVs. The nearly $6,000 bike, which will be delivered to pre-sale customers next spring, doesn't look like a normal motorcycle. Leisner said that helps the company differentiate. The UTVs, meanwhile, are more similar to their gas-powered counterparts — as well as more expensive.
Volcon is setting up a temporary production facility in Round Rock, and it expects to begin producing the Grunts in March. Leisner said the company is also planning to announce a new two-wheel vehicle early next year. The UTVs will be produced at the forthcoming Liberty Hill factory, starting around the end of next year.
The factory will be able to make as many as 9,000 vehicles per year, he said.
"It doesn't sound like a lot of powersport vehicles, but that's an awful lot of powersport vehicles," he said. "We're not going to be doing that immediately."
The new factory, which will feature riding trails, an RV park and customer experience center, will be about a mile west of downtown Liberty Hill on Highway 29, although the company has declined to give an exact address. The company also plans to offer factory tours there.
Leisner said the company plans to open the new facility late next year.
Dirt bikes have long had a reputation of being loud, and many bikes, especially older ones, tend to produce a lot of exhaust. That means enthusiasts typically need plenty of private land in a somewhat remote area -- or to haul their machines to a dedicated riding area.
Leisner said electric off-road vehicles have a big advantage, even over on-road electric cars and motorcycles. Consumers are often concerned about range with on-road vehicles, especially on long trips at high speeds.
"An off-road vehicles is rarely going more than 35 MPH, and it's mostly going between 15 and 35 MPH," he said. "Battery capacity and range are just not the factor that they are in on-road uses."
Leisner also noted that the dirt bikes can serve as a nice transport to see nature because its fat tires let it go almost anywhere and its stealthy sound doesn't scare away animals as easily as other machines.
"Every time we go out to our piece of property in Liberty Hill, we come across wild turkey and deer and feral hogs — I've never really seen as much wildlife riding a gas vehicle," he said.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story listed Volcon co-founder Adrian James' title incorrectly. He is founder of Sprout Equity Ventures.
