Building Gravel Burn

Building Gravel Burn

From Overnight Success by Escape Collective

November 30, 2025 · 1h 10m · Season 2 · Episode 17

About this episode

The episode features a conversation with Kevin Vermaak about the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn cycling event and its business model.

Last month, I traveled to the Great Karoo in South Africa for the inaugural Nedbank Gravel Burn. It is the latest brainchild of Kevin Vermaak, the man who built the legendary Cape Epic. I cannot overstate how spectacular the experience was for me. While the riding was incredibly challenging, the event's culture was the true standout. It was a rare leveling of the playing field: World Tour pros like Tom Pidcock. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, and Alison Jackson, Ivan Glasenberg’s cohort of Glencore billionaires, all telling the same war stories from the road around the campfire and and dinner tables as us weekend warriors. Pretentiousness was left at the gate. For a week in the Great Karoo, we shared the same tents, the same food, and the same challenges. Typically, on this show, I wait for a business to mature for at least ten years before we profile it, afterall, an overnight success takes about a decade to buid. but given Kevin’s track record and the instant impact of this event, I’m breaking my own rule. I have no doubt Gravel Burn will quickly become a fixture on every cyclist’s bucket list. In this episode, we aren’t just talking about the ride; we’re dissecting the business model…

People in this episode

Guest: Kevin Vermaak

Topics covered

  • cycling events
  • business model
  • entrepreneurship
  • community
  • sports culture

Keywords

  • Gravel Burn
  • cycling
  • Kevin Vermaak
  • business model
  • Great Karoo
  • community
  • sports

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Glencore

Places: Great Karoo

More episodes of Overnight Success

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Overnight Success podcast page.