Thok e-bikes, the Italian e-mtb brand, has hired Stefano Melis as the company’s new area manager, dedicated to the UK and Swiss markets.
The 40-year-old arrives from Gocycle where he was a sales manager for Italy, the Benelux region and Scandinavia.
Melis will be responsible for growing the brand’s retailer network in the UK, where Thok has already been active for the past two and a half years with its products available in a dozen stores.
Following his appointment, Melis said: “Cycling is my biggest passion. I come from a generation that used to be on the bike everyday, all day long till my mum’s signal from the balcony meant that dinner was ready.
“After a pause, in 2005 I decided to buy my first MTB and in no time it was love again. Working in the cycling industry had to be my life and here I am. I have lived in the UK for the past four years working for Gocycle.
“With Thok, my passion evolved into something even deeper. I’ve joined them in 2023 looking after the UK and Swiss market. On our Thok e-bikes you can see, feel and breathe the Italianness and I am really proud to have the opportunity to bring these emotions to other people.”
Thok had previously been distributed on these shores by Windwave until earlier this year, but is now handling its own distribution in-house.
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Earlier this year the brand launched the Gram, its first full carbon model, joining the MIG series for the all-mountain, the TK01 for the enduro and the HT model for the mixed trail and urban use.
With one eye already on the future, Thok has become the first bike manufacturer to create a full suspension prototype using a metal 3D printer, or selective laser melting (SLM),
The prototype was shown to select journalists at the brand’s Thok Tribe event which took place at Castiglione Della Pescaia, Italy, and then displayed at Eurobike in Frankfurt.