When Krisz was 7 years old because of his parent’s enthusiasm he started to race BMX in Hungary and the rest of Europe. In 1994 his father was looking for more challenges and based on his bicycling experience opened a bicycle shop, which became one of the leading shops in the region. In 1997 he joined his father’s team as a mechanic and after three years of hard work he was the manager of the shop. Krisz has 14 years of experience in bicycle retail during which he spent three years at CycleSurgery, one of the biggest cycle retailers in the UK, as Head Mechanic and a year England’s leading road and triathlon retailer Sigma Sport as a Pro Mechanic.
-Tell us more about your Cyclelab. Why you combine cycles and juice bar in your shop?
The plan was to combine a bike shop and a cafe, but my landlord did not want to agreee (there was a cafe next door in that time). Juice bar came as a second thought, and i`m kinda glad that we didn`t get the green light regardind a cafe. Helalthy diet, nutrition and cycling go hand in hand, so i thought it would be a great addittion for a bikeshop.
– Do you have any Famous people buying your bikes or visiting your shop?
Yes, quite a few. Loads of them live in Shoreditch or around Hoxton square. Wouldn`t want to say names, i think they like the idea that they get treated as anyone else in the shop.
– What would you say has been your most memorable moment since launching ?
A few memorable moments. Fitting the shop out was a great laugh, good experience and i enjoyed it a lot. Getting very nice feedback from our customer and the “bike trade” people always made me feel happy and still does. Securing the premises next door for our expansion was a great achievement, and made me realise that everything is possible if you really go for it. But the one what i`m really looking forward to at the moment is launching the new bigger, prettier and better shop…
– Why did you choose Shoreditch in launching your shop?
One of the busiest (if not the busiest) cycle lane runs right in front of the shop, and i thougt that was a good enough reason. Always wanted to position it in or close to the city, and lately the shoreditch/hoxton area became very busy “bikewise”.
I don`t go out that much any more. Super long days at the shop, plus i try to keep the missus happy too. Haven`t had much time to wonder around in shoreditch since i`ve the shop… Do like having a sit down and a quite, peaceful break in that small park in Hoxton Square.
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