“We’ve got Lions!” Dan Craven’s Namibian handmade bicycle brand, ONGUZA, announces a collaboration with photographer Ben Ingham. ONGUZA was founded in 2020 by two-time Namibian Olympic Road Cyclist and professional rider Dan Craven, and is part owned by the company’s Namibian master framebuilders Sakaria Nkolo and Petrus Mufenge.

While the cycling industry is facing some monumental challenges at the moment, ONGUZA has been growing, mainly selling bikes in the USA. Despite this success, the brand is facing its own obstacles. “People often don’t know anything about Namibia: If people think of Namibia they’re thinking of landscapes and animals, but we are not famous for our craftsmanship. If you’re an Italian framebuilder, you benefit from what it means to be from Italy. But being from Namibia we have to be so good the ride speaks for itself.” says Craven.

As Craven says “our Goliath is not in the cycling industry, it’s how the world views African craftsmanship. Name a single, globally recognized luxury brand from Africa? It’s hard to do! But the quality is there.”
Creative Director, Collyn Ahart says, of the campaign process,

ONGUZA in our 2023 MADE Bike Show Coverage

“What’s the real benefit of riding a Namibian-made bicycle? Namibia might not have a grand tour, but if you want a bike that’s made by people who know what a bike really needs to do… Namibia knows tough. Namibia knows what happens if your bikes breaks in the middle of nowhere. We’ve got lions!”

The campaign with Ingham takes a deep look at the dynamism of Namibian culture and how it influences the ONGUZA brand, including motorsport, horse riding, dance, spirituality, and living in a powerful landscape.
ONGUZA collaborating with Ben Ingham makes a bold statement about where the brand is heading.

Ingham has a vast portfolio of work for luxury brands including Rapha, Dunhill and Stella McCartney. As Ahart says “The best brands make you feel something. We need people to see and feel what it means to be made out here, both in the sense of being made as a person on a bike and being made in the toughest place on earth.”

Made Out Here signs off the brand’s new work as a line. “I’ve always believed we have to lean into what makes us different rather than play by the rules of our category. Cycling can be painfully self-referential, but we are unique, we just need to capture it. I don’t know many photographers who can capture that kind of truth in a place the way Ben can.” Both Ahart and Craven worked with Ingham while he was working for Rapha. “Ben is an outsider to Namibia, but sometimes you need an outsider to help reveal your inner strength.”

ONGUZA is releasing updates to its gravel model, The Goat, and road plus, The Holy Fire, and introducing a hardtail MTB design, The Rooster, each with four different color options and upgrades including ENVE, ZIPP and South Industries builds. Made-to-measure framesets start at $4100 USD, with free worldwide shipping.

Watch the premier of Made Out Here, more photography and new bikes all on www.onguza.com…