Does Keanu Reeves Actually Own Arch Motorcycles?
The role of celebrity endorsers can often become confusing. Some celebrities are just cashing a check to promote a product, but others have a genuine stake in the promotion. Actress Suzanne Somers, for example, has always been the sole proprietor of the Thighmaster exercise device brand with which she became inextricably linked. On the surface, though, it's difficult to tell which is which. After all, the Thighmaster, to continue using that example, came in an era when other celebrities, like Dionne Warwick and Cher, were widely catcalled for hosting infomercials for products that were not their own.
This brings us to a modern example: veteran film actor Keanu Reeves, known to have an expensive motorcycle collection, has also been the face of the boutique bike brand Arch Motorcycle for about a decade. However, his role isn't always immediately clear. So what, exactly, is the truth of this matter? Has the "Bill and Ted" star been selling his endorsement to an outside-the-box company? Actually, he helped start the company.
Keanu Reeves is no celebrity endorser
Keanu Reeves is genuinely one of the co-founders of Arch Motorcycle along with Gard Hollinger of L.A. County Choprods. According to a press release issued by Arch in October 2012, what started as Reeves going to Hollinger as a customer turned into a years-long philosophical dialogue about motorcycles that led to them deciding to partner up and launch their own boutique brand.
"We have a common vision," Hollinger is quoted as saying of Reeves in the press release. "We started with the idea of a performance-based modern machine. Once the bike was complete, it looked like a production motorcycle but unlike anything we had ever seen. It's unique and we can't wait to introduce it to the world."
"I'm a guy that loves everything about motorcycles — the sounds, the style and the aesthetic combined with the function, but most of all the riding experience," Reeves added. "I've enjoyed motorcycles for as long as I can remember and I'm ready to share my passion with the world."
Reeves has been central to Arch's marketing, with one unique promotion coming in late 2015. In that year's Neiman Marcus Christmas Book, customers learned that $150,000 could get you a two-day motorcycle ride along the Pacific Coast with the star of "Point Break" and "Speed," and the buyer would leave with Arch's $85,000 KRGT-1 motorcycle.