The Walkinshaw Andretti United co-owner offered the frank assessment of what he terms “antiseptic” athletes during his recent appearance on the KTM Summer Grill.
According to Walkinshaw, his team has a strict policy on allowing drivers and other visible staff members be themselves in the public spotlight.
He reckons Chaz Mostert is the perfect example of a driver being given the freedom to be himself, something he says is critical to the future of the series as the manufacturer rivalry simmers down and drivers need to become the stars.
“It’s critical,” he said. “The last thing you want to be in life is boring, and I don’t think that’s just in sport, it’s in life generally. There’s nothing more disappointing than spending your life doing nothing and being a bit of a [non-player character].
“You want to let your character shine through and have confidence and be able to engage and be your true self.
“One of the reasons that Chaz loves being at WAU, as opposed to some of the other teams that do try and steer people’s character down a certain corporate angle – and there’s nothing wrong with doing that, if it works for them and it makes sense and it’s what their partners want – but it’s just not what we want to be.
“We want to be authentic and real. We think that the fans prefer that. We think it’s an age when fans and partners are more and more thirsty for true, authentic interactions and engagement with athletes.
“And you see that through reality TV series like Drive to Survive. People want to see behind the scenes. They want to see the real people they are supporting.
“They don’t just want to have a facade that is driven by corporate dialogue and narrative. When they win they want to see them [being] authentic and real and showing their full emotions. And when they lose they want to see the same thing when they’re feeling down, pissed off an angry.
“We really nurture that at WAU. Chaz is the perfect character for that kind of environment. And Chaz loves being himself. He’s not a very happy person when you’re telling him to be someone that he’s not.
“The days of trying to create antiseptic athletes, for the risk they’re going to say or do something which is going to upset someone, are becoming lesser and lesser. As consumers drive people like athletes and sporting teams to get more genuine content out of them, it’s going to be hard to hide behind a facade and not show your true colours, so you may as well embrace it.”
Walkinshaw added that rookie signing Ryan Wood, known for his cheeky demeanour, will be another example of WAU letting personality shine through.
“He’s got a really, really good attitude. He’s a great character, he fits in with our team really well,” he said.
“We don’t want to be antiseptic, and Woody definitely isn’t antiseptic. He’s very much got a similar sort of character and cheekiness to his attitude that Chaz has got.
“Him and Chaz together will be a really exiting combination both on and off the track.”
For more from Ryan Walkinshaw watch the full episode of the KTM Summer Grill.
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