RamRods Archery are one of many generous partners who have kindly contributed to the 2024 USA Archery Sweepstakes, which launched last month offering hundreds of prizes valued at more than $100,000 in total.
Each Saturday, starting on January 6 and going through to November 23, the lucky entrant drawn in the sweepstakes will receive one of 48 XP Stabilizer Sets donated by RamRods Archery, a company dedicated to pioneering innovative archery products.
ENTER 2024 USA ARCHERY SWEEPSTAKES
RamRods Archery, was founded by international archers Joe Fanchin and Zach Garrett in 2014. Josh Smith, another archer with international experience, joined in 2016. Smith and Fanchin took over running RamRods Archery in 2018.
The focus from the outset was on creating a stabilizer system that helped an archer compete at their very best in conditions that may not be favorable, whether that means being too windy or battling the rain.
Co-owner Smith explained, “Recurve target archery was our focus in the beginning, and we really wanted to focus on improving vibration reduction and wind efficiency. As we grew and had some compound athletes interested in our products we started creating new products to address their needs as well. Today we are about half recurve and half compound so it's a nice balance.”
Fanchin has an aerospace engineering background. Smith comes from a marketing and business world. The team is completed by Madeleine Braun, who oversees all of their media.
“From the very start we were basically just a group of passionate archers, who loved what we did, loved what we got to do every day,” continued Smith.
“But we also felt some frustrations that some of the equipment that we needed, that we felt should exist for us to compete at our highest potential and ability just didn’t really exist at the time.”
Initially, the idea was not to even build a company. The original plan was to create something for their own use, to improve on equipment they needed, but word soon got out.
Smith added, “After making stuff for ourselves, a couple of friends were wanting to buy some and were willing to pitch in for the cost of materials, which was a lot in the beginning, doing everything one at a time.
“And then, before long, it was people we didn’t know who were wanting to get a set of stabilizers, and then maybe a retailer had seen them and was interested, and so naturally over a period from 2013 to 2015 it became apparent that there was a demand for what we were doing and that maybe we had some good ideas that could translate into an equipment company.”
Their new stabilizer system was showcased on the world stage by Garrett. He was part of the Olympic silver medal winning trio in Rio in 2016, alongside Brady Ellison and Jake Kaminski. (Kaminski and Ellison were teammates of Fanchin’s when the USA won gold at the 2013 World Championships in Turkey).
“Once we decided there was some potential for this to really take off and become a business, and maybe a livelihood for us over the long term, we really set out to be the archery company that we wished existed when we were competing,” Smith went on.
Investing in people and relationships has been a big goal for RamRods Archery, as has the ability to tell the stories of their elite archers.
“Sharing what those athletes really go through is going to help regular people have a better experience in the sport, by understanding what happens at the high level of competition” Smith explained.
“They’re not just seen as these freaks of nature that ‘have it all figured out, and that could never be me’. People can maybe see a little of themselves in those very accomplished athletes to give them some direction and motivation in their own competition.”
The growth of the company was pretty tough and slow, according to Smith, with them based out of the garage of whichever one of them had space. Garrett’s podium finish in Rio, though, helped turn a few heads.
That success, and the success of other athletes using RamRods Archery equipment helped grow this new company’s brand reputation. It was now being viewed as a real product that could be taken seriously at the very top.
“Where we are today, the focus is target archery for recurve and compound athletes that are competing at a national and international level,” Smith added.
“We’ll always be a stabilizer company but as we can make other accessories that make the archer’s life a little bit easier and more enjoyable, we want to increase the product offerings to meet as many needs as we can though we don’t want to get too far outside of our main focus.
“We would always rather do one thing really, really well than a lot of things halfway.”
From operating out of a garage and building equipment for their own needs, RamRods Archery has grown into a well-respected company serving athletes all around the world, and they now have their own space.
“We moved out of our garage and into a warehouse,” Smith said. “This was a little bit scary as it was a big jump, but things have grown dramatically. From 2021 to now the growth has been just about as fast as we can keep up with and this year has definitely been our best.”
You can learn more about RamRods Archery and also view the full list of prizes in the 2024 USA Archery Sweepstakes.
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