Motorcycle brand Harley-Davidson and its business model are under “attack” from within, social media influencer Robby Starbuck suggested in a new post on X.
He quoted the words of the company's own chief executive, Jochen Zeitz, who has been accused of taking a lackadaisical attitude in overseeing the iconic brand. Zeitz, who was born in Germany, took over as CEO in May 2020.
“Imagine standing in front of CEOs of luxury brands who now think you are the ‘sustainability Taliban,’ as someone once called me,” Zeitz said in a speech at the Zermatt Summit in Switzerland in 2020, referencing his time as a board member of Kiering, parent company of Gucci, Puma and Stella McCartney.
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Minutes later in the same speech, Zeitz again referred to the terrorist group, as shown in the video Starbuck shared this week.
“Of course, Harley is all about the sound and smell of Harley-Davidson, right?” Zeitz told attendees at the chic Swiss conference.
A red, white and blue Harley-Davidson motorcycle in Chicago, Illinois. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
“So I became a Taliban again in a sustainable way,” Zeitz said in the video, as he is shown smiling and walking back and forth on stage and referencing Harley-Davidson.
“I decided to share, to create a sustainability committee, which I still chair today.”
Starbuck, along with his social media followers and many veteran Harley-Davidson riders, were shocked by the CEO's simplistic comparison to a terrorist group that has American blood on its hands.
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“I think it's fucking disgusting,” motorcycle media mogul James “Hollywood” Macecari told Fox News Digital upon hearing the comparison.
The Taliban is the globally condemned terrorist group that rules Afghanistan. They provided a base to Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda terrorist network before and after they planned their September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States.
“I became a Taliban again in a sustainable way.”
According to the U.S. State Department, the attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and wounded more than 6,000. Some 2,500 U.S. service members were killed in the attempt to root out the Taliban in the ensuing war.
“As far as I'm concerned, Harley can crash and burn now,” Macecari, founder of Insane Throttle and author of four books, said last week in an interview about Harley-Davidson's “woke” policies under Zeitz.
Former outlaw biker James “Hollywood” Macecari is the author of four books on motorcycle gangs and host of the podcast “Motorcycle Madhouse.” (James “Hollywood” Macecari)
The Biden-Harris administration hastily left Afghanistan in August 2021, leaving billions of dollars worth of U.S. military equipment in the hands of the Taliban.
The administration also abandoned American military personnel.
On August 26, 2021, suicide bombers killed 183 people, including 13 US service members, during the mass evacuation of US military personnel from Kabul airport.
“These are people who have murdered Americans on purpose and with purpose.”
This week, three years after that chaotic withdrawal, the Taliban paraded their U.S. military equipment through the streets of Kabul to celebrate the moment, Fox News Digital reported Wednesday.
“The first thing that comes to mind when I hear 'Taliban' is all the aggressive, horrible things they've done,” said Starbuck, who led a social media campaign to highlight Harley-Davidson's drift toward controversial far-left management practices.
Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz is shown speaking in Berlin, Germany, while he was CEO of Puma AG. (Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He added: “The Taliban raped women. They murdered people mercilessly. These are people who killed Americans on purpose and with a purpose. They fundamentally hate our country. So comparing yourself to them is, on its face, crazy.”
A Harley-Davidson spokesperson responded with a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Mr. Zeitz's statements make clear that he in no way accepts that characterization, as demonstrated by his track record of commitment to people, planet and profit and underscored by his life's work,” the company said.
'It breaks my heart'
Zeitz's leadership, veteran Harley-Davidson riders say, has coincided with a decline in the image of the brand, once synonymous with American muscle, power and the freedom of the open road.
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“They killed Harley. It breaks my heart,” Vinny Terranova, owner of Pappy's Vintage Cycles in Sturgis, South Dakota, told Fox News Digital in a recent interview about the CEO's leadership.
The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally ended two days early for Harley-Davidson, said Terranova, who became a prominent figure in the motorcycle business while running Rocky Mountain Harley-Davidson in Colorado for more than 40 years.
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“They dropped their tents [on] On Saturday there was nothing, nothing,” he said.
“They were empty all week. Nobody showed up.”
The official end of the demonstration was on Monday.
Zeitz, in the same speech shared by Starbuck, cited his leadership of the so-called “B Team,” co-chaired with Richard Branson and other business and global leaders.
The Harley-Davidson logo is seen near the brand's store in Krakow, Poland, January 24, 2024. (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“We're trying to challenge traditional capitalism and redefine it,” Zeitz said.
Some veteran Harley-Davidson riders, who poured their hearts and souls into the brand, believe the redefined Harley has become ruthless.
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“The biggest problem is not just the 'woke' nonsense,” veteran Harley rider Johnny “Horseshoe” Henning told Fox News Digital by phone from Sturgis.
“The biggest problem is that they just lost their human touch. That's the best way to put it.”
Starbuck, for his part, said this is evident in Zeitz's comparison to the Taliban.
Harley-Davidson CEO Jochen Zeitz said, “I became a Taliban,” when discussing his approach to sustainability in a 2020 speech. Some riders now claim the brand has lost its human touch under his leadership. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times; Tim Boyle/Getty Images; Michele Tantussi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“If you dig deeper into the comparison, what it really means is that the Taliban are willing to do anything to achieve their goals,” the influencer said.
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“Absolutely anything.
“The Taliban will do absolutely anything… to achieve their goals,” he stressed.
