Michnus and Elsebie Olivier, the founders of All Terrain Gear. They share a passion for worldwide motorcycle travel, amateur photography, beer drinking and making friends. With a combined age of 90 plus they decided that it was time to travel and see the world on the basis that their odyssey is not to set records, nor to pass quickly through to get the passport stamp. But rather to make their travels a way of life with no expiry date.
They travel slowly and continuously because they are curious about the world, have a craving for seeing new and distant places, love to meet new and interesting people and experience the various cultures that challenge their own beliefs and views.
The Odyssey began in December 2010 and ever since, they come home to East London, South Africa from time to time only to save some money and plan the next leg of their travels.
From the experience of living on their motorbikes for months at a time they design, source and manufacture unique gear for their travels. Their friends and family were truly amazed by what they had done, that they started carrying a bit of stock to sell to them. They didn’t complain, they were making travel and beer drinking money. It wasn’t long before they had a name, All Terrain Gear (ATG), and were in the full swing of running a new business.
This was great news for the brand but where did this leave them and their travelling? They could not successfully do both and weighed up the options of a partnership or simply pulling the plug. But ATG had gained so much momentum in the 3 years of operation that they felt that if they could possibly find someone stupid enough to pay money for the business and could convince him that they were good candidates to “consult” and help “ design and product test.” Maybe if they fed this candidate enough beer he would fall for their plan.