ZULU: Pedals Straps, a Maker Space, and Fighting an Invasion

This is an interview with Taras Rusnak, founder of ZULU. Taras and his company are based in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. ZULU’s pedal straps are well known globally, and they have expanded their product range to include other accessories, such as bags. It was a bit hard for Taras to find the privacy for a conversation, but finally, we managed to have a longer phone conversation.

Hi Taras, thank you for finding the time to speak to me. Before we speak about your company, can you describe where you are and how your situation is at the moment?

Hi Florian, great to be on the call with you. I am based in Chernivtsi, a city in southwest Ukraine. It is calm so far. On February 24, I joined a volunteer military unit; this is my full-time occupation now.

Can you tell us a bit about your background, and how or why you founded ZULU?

Sure! In 2012, I was hanging out with some friends at a metal workshop, building motorcycles (until a few years ago, I was racing motocross and enduro quite competitively). I always wanted to do my own things and create stuff. Metal, however, is very expensive in Ukraine. It is much more costly in Ukraine than, say, in Germany. That, and the heavy machinery needed to process it, made it unfeasible for me to work with. Textile manufacturing is much more accessible in comparison.

Then, in 2013, there were the Maidan protests. It was a tumultuous time, and I ended up visiting my girlfriend in Latvia. That’s where I met the guys from Tru Fix Kru, a group of people riding fixed, who have since developed into a brand and opened a shop in Riga. I noticed that the pedal straps they were using were quite expensive but did not seem too complicated to make, so I decided that could be something I could make and sell.

Have you ever worked with textile before, or do you have a design background?

No, not at all. My background is in engineering. But I was always a tinkerer, always liked to make stuff. When I made the pedal straps, it was pure luck that the design I came up with was great, and so was the material; it was the right mix of soft and rigid parts.

I was always a tinkerer, always liked to make stuff

The first shop I talked to wanted to buy them. It was not a pleasant experience in the end, but they taught me a lot: that I need to have a brand, website, and packaging. Nothing I had thought of until then; I thought I could just make straps and sell them. My first batch of straps was 1000 pieces.

I have never used pedal straps; tell me a bit about what makes ZULU straps unique!

ZULU straps are always open and, when compressed, spring back into an open position. That is great for beginners and people who race fixed bikes. Since I was a beginner myself, I had to make sure that they were easy to use. The material we choose is very durable as well.

All our products are made in-house. That includes even the leather patch, which we cut and emboss ourselves. We even made the metal mold for embossing ourselves. The only part we don’t make are the aluminum rings; those were originally machined in Latvia and now are made in Odesa.

Our team consists of 5 people, and we primarily work from home. Initially, we paid very well, up to three times the typical local hourly wages, but in the last three years, wages have risen quite a bit in Ukraine, so now it’s more of an average salary. Our team is still the same we started with.

In addition to ZULU, I also founded a maker space here in Chernivtsi. With funding from ZULU and a lot of elbow grease, we set it up with machines needed for everything from wood and metalworking to 3D printing and sewing. The heat-molded seams of the ZULU Explorer bag are made there with a machine we created in-house.

How did you grow your business, did you make use of social media?

The early days of Instagram certainly helped, but it’s the old-fashioned way of doing business with brock and mortar stores that works for us. In the early days, I became a sales rep (laughs). I spend exactly 10 USD once for a Facebook ad; that’s it.

I spend exactly 10 USD once for a Facebook ad; that’s it.

I had luck: The guys from Fix My Life in New York City came across my straps, liked them a lot, and started promoting them. Since they made nice sweaters, we traded their sweaters for my straps! An early customer and still one of my biggest is a distributor in Australia, who knew the Fix My Life crew and instantly order 200 straps.

Through which channels do you sell now?

Our sales are through shops or distributors, and there is our online shop, Zulufixed.com. I do sell a bit on Amazon, but since their cut is very high, it’s not really worth it, and I don’t like the company anyway.

Our customers are primarily international; the market in Ukraine is not big, so local sales make are only a tiny part of our business. Markets always change, at first our biggest market was the US, now it’s Europe. Other Brands also asked us to make straps for them, but we only sell our straps as ZULU straps.

We offer free worldwide shipping if you buy from our website. We ship with Ukraine Post, which still works!

Did you ever attend a trade show?

I went to the Fahrradschau in Berlin once, just to meet and greet, without having a booth there. A few years ago, it was not easy for Ukrainians to travel to Europe; it was a lengthy and complicated process to get a visa. That changed three years ago, and we can now travel visa-free to Europe.

Tell us a bit more about the other products you make!

Besides the straps, we also make bags and protective frame tubes. We found that it’s the most important to get the size right for our bags, and our Explorer bag sells very well. The protective frame tubes are based on an idea by the Fix My Life guys. As a principle, we don’t copy other brands but spend a lot of thought and energy developing the right product ourselves.  With every new batch, we improve our quality and make refinements. It’s never just “as good as the old one.” It’s better!

Currently, you are enlisted in the army. What do you see in the future for yourself, your company, and the country?

I joined the army on February 24. My unit is not engaged in combat yet, but we are still busy supporting the defenses. I can’t talk about any details, naturally. That said, just a couple of days ago, I modified some army pants and also fixed the sewing machine we have here. We have a little maker space here in our unit.

I expected Russia to start this war; it did not come as a surprise to me. We will defeat them, I am certain, even if it may last two years!

I expected Russia to start this war; it did not come as a surprise to me. We will defeat them, I am certain, even if it may last two years!

As for ZULU, just before the war started, we worked on the Explorer bag version 2, and the development was almost finished. It’s on hold now. So is the production of all our goods, but we still have stock that we sell, and while delivery takes a bit longer now, it still works.

You can find ZULU via their website zulufixed.com, or on Instagram (@zulu_fixed).

Got any feedback or questions? Please comment in the section below!