From being told, “girls don’t ride bikes” to watching her father ride her Ducati, Priyanka Kochhar has seen it all. Brut sat down with the content creator to understand how her love affair with bikes began. Smart moves with smartwater India. #SmartMoves #Smartwater
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00:00When I wanted to buy my first bike, my dad was like,
00:03naag katayegi humara.
00:04You want to do something like, go and do a good job.
00:06Achchi ghar ki ladki ho, achcha karo.
00:09I was literally one of the four people that were taken
00:11from India to Italy for the World Ducati Week.
00:15Everybody kept coming up to me and just being like,
00:17wow, you're an Indian girl?
00:19India allows you to do this?
00:22And I'm just like, wow, people are really delusional.
00:24Like they have no clue what our country is about.
00:31So how did your fascination for motorcycling begin?
00:34I never really wanted to ride motorcycles,
00:37but I come from a family where we had a car garage
00:40when we were growing up.
00:41So my every day was about going to school
00:43and going to the garage and seeing my dad work under cars.
00:47My fascination for automobiles was always there.
00:49It was a bad breakup that caused this.
00:52Let's talk about your first biking experience.
00:54So initially it might have been a little tough for you.
00:56Was it an Enfield?
00:57I asked a friend of mine who rode a Bullet
01:00if I could try riding his bike.
01:02And he said, girls don't ride bikes.
01:03What nonsense?
01:04And you can't ride this, it's huge.
01:05So then I showed him massive interest
01:08by looking up a lot of YouTube videos and stuff.
01:11And he realized that I'm actually really interested.
01:14And he said, okay, I'm going away on a shoot schedule.
01:17And he went away and he said,
01:18I'm giving you the bike for six months.
01:20Whatever damages, you're taking care of.
01:23So I fell off the bike.
01:26I burnt this foot a million times
01:28because I was not into motorcycling gear.
01:30I used to be one of those people who used to like
01:32hair flying, no helmet.
01:36How did you manage to convince your parents or your peers
01:38when you decided to take this unconventional decision in life?
01:41My parents were not okay with this.
01:43When I wanted to buy my first bike,
01:45my dad is like,
01:46we'll cut your nose.
01:48You want to do something like, go and do a good job.
01:50You're from a good family, do good.
01:52They didn't see the light for a while.
01:54And then they started to understand.
01:55Then I'm riding to Pune on a Ducati.
01:58And they're like, what is this?
01:59Why would you ride?
02:01But then my father's like,
02:02I'm asleep and he's sneaking the bike out
02:04to take it for a little ride.
02:06And then everyone's like,
02:07wow, Mr. Kochar, that's amazing.
02:10My daughter bought this car.
02:11These are little, little things where you understand
02:13that there is a little pride.
02:15They never say it to your face like,
02:16son, I'm proud of you.
02:17Because that's just how Indian parents are.
02:21They can't say it.
02:23But in these little, little things you realize.
02:25I read that you're India's first
02:26female motorcycling walker.
02:28What did you want to do with your content journey?
02:31What was your aim back when you started?
02:33I literally started posting on Instagram as,
02:36I took my R15 to Mahabaleshwar today.
02:39What a lovely ride it was.
02:40But people started following my journey.
02:43And then manufacturers jumped on board.
02:45Like what?
02:46There's a girl that can ride big bikes.
02:48Let's cash in on this.
02:50Let's call her to launches.
02:51In 2016, when I started Bike With Girl,
02:53I was literally one of the four people
02:55that were taken from India to Italy
02:58for the World Ducati Week.
03:00So there was the Asia contingent.
03:02And I was the only woman there.
03:04Everybody kept coming up to me and just being like,
03:06wow, you're an Indian girl?
03:08India allows you to do this?
03:11And I'm just like, wow, people are really delusional.
03:13Like they have no clue what our country is about.
03:16What are some of the USPs that you've cracked
03:18back in the day to like reach where you are today?
03:20Because I was a model prior to this.
03:22I used that as, oh, hot bike, let's do some hot pictures.
03:27But then I realized I was getting bored of that.
03:30I need to push the envelope,
03:32which is why I started really learning about bikes,
03:35learning how they work, learning the functions,
03:38the features.
03:39And now I'm totally geeking out.
03:42Like every time there's a bike,
03:44I'm reading the spec sheet like,
03:45wait, we can do something on this.
03:47Now everybody else has come to the same launch,
03:50but they haven't picked up on that.
03:53So what's next on your journey?
03:54Which next terrain are you like trying to crack?
03:57I have been trying to crack the off-road space
04:00for years now.
04:01But every time I take my bike out,
04:03there's a fear in me.
04:04But also I want to go abroad
04:06and find people who are creating mad machines
04:09out there as well.
04:10I want to bring the world closer and say,
04:11I want to see every motorcycle
04:13and ride every motorcycle that I can.