Dirt Magazine is one of the most popular and highly regarded mountain biking magazines on the planet. Read by thousands across Europe and America, they bring to life the exciting, adrenaline fuelled world of downhill mountain biking and enduro racing. They feature world champion athletes, stunning photography, inspirational videos and the lastest news and reviews.

But in our increasingly online world, the web is where it’s at, and writer and editor Martina Bogott is the woman in charge of bringing Dirt Magazine Germany to life online. It’s a varied and exciting role.

Can you tell us about your job and what it involves?

I am the Online Editor of the German Dirt Magazine. That means that I am responsible for the content of www.dirtmag.de and also for all related social media stuff.

I write articles about races, bikes, locations, products, videos and so on, plus edit videos and photos, attend trade fairs, events and races. As we are only a small team I get to write for the print magazine too. Oh, and I do get to ride bikes sometimes.

Your job sounds pretty varied! How did you get into it?

By sheer chance. After my studies (film & theater) I began to work for a German bike company. They needed someone doing all the press related things and online stuff. I looked after the website content, wrote press releases and articles for the in-house magazine, booked advertisements and so on. After that job I started my freelance business as online editor. I worked for a big German retailer but actually I got bored with all that stuff so after 4 months I applied for the job as online editor at Dirt and – yeah – I got the job!

It’s pretty much a dream job for a lot of people. How did you find out about it?

I picked up the first issue of Dirt Germany, and spotted that the editorial team were based in Colongne, which is where I live. I wrote and asked the editor in chief if they had any jobs going, but at that time the team was complete. However, 6 months later I got a call that they needed a new online editor, so I applied for the position. The rest is history!

What are the highlights of the job?

What I like most is the combination of passion and profession! You are definitely more enthusiastic about  working“ when you love all the things you do! You meet relaxed people, mostly in nice places, have a chat and a beer, and of course there are a lot of chances to ride your bike. I am quite free to do whatever I think will work best on the website.

It surely can’t be all fun, fun, fun! What are the challenges of the role, or the low points?

Ha ha, well, it’s not always as  relaxed as I might have it seem all the time. We have to hit targets like how many people visit the site, how many pages they look at each time they visit, and so on, so you are always looking for new content. Also, because it’s online, you find yourself working on weekends when other people are relaxing. That’s also an upside though – you can work 24-7 from any where in the world, so long as you have an internet connection. I do find myself sitting in front of the computer eating chocolate far too much!

What advice would you give anyone interested in a similar role to you?

Take part in races, attend trade fairs and events and you will get to know the right people, take a camera and shoot your friends riding bikes, run your own MTB blog and finally the magic door will open! Usually that kind of jobs is not listed on public job websites. Mostly you’ll get something in the biz via connections!

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