It’s no secret that alternative brand Marvin has recently scored Sébastien Loeb as its brand ambassador as outlined in numerous articles and postings on our website and Facebook page, to name a few. Even the local press was intrigued enough by this new partnership to send a crew of journalists to HQ here in Vaumarcus in person to “touch and feel” this new alliance at work. What they discovered was a take-charge guy adamantly hands-on about creating his own Marvin line of sport watches from scratch. I guess you could call Sébastien (Seb to his friends) a “working ambassador” for Marvin. And in his case, “working” is the key word.

Now, using sports and Hollywood celebrities as brand ambassadors is nothing new for watch companies. Think George Clooney, Tiger Woods (ouch), Nicole Kidman or Leonardo Dicaprio, to name a few. The practice has been in use for decades. But typically, companies will whip out the celebrity for photo ops and advertising blitzes on an as-needed basis. It’s fairly rare when the “trophy” has either the time or inclination to really get down and dirty with the horology. Seb, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with such an arrangement. His initial deal was simple: either you let me design and build this watch from scratch, or you can find someone else. And it’s not like he didn’t have several major other offers on the table either. Instead, he picked Marvin. And as agreed, we gave him carte blanche on the Loeb line from day one.

So who is this man and where does his horology passion stem from? In Europe, and specifically in France, where he was born, Seb is nothing short of a national hero. Simply put, he’s a world champion rally racer. He is sponsored by Citroen and BF Goodrich at the moment. The synergy with Marvin is perfect, as the brand has a long history of association with auto racing legends. If you really want to know and understand the man, check out his website. As for his track record, take a peek here and here. And if you need any proof of his popularity, mosey on down to his official fan club or his Facebook page and hang out with over 60,000 of his fans. Enough said. I don’t want to imply he’s the equivalent of a Dale Earnhardt because both racing formats are clearly different, but in terms of fame, success and sheer fan power, close enough.

Now what few people know is that early on in his life, Seb was immersed in motorcycle engines and even trained as an electrician before starting his racing career. Additionally, he was also a professional gymnast for a while. His father was a PE instructor, and his mom a Math teacher. So the man has a talent for things mechanical, abstraction, and precision crafting. And for a racing pilot in his category, life is all about attention to details. This serves to explain his natural affinity and skill for horology with its delicately balanced precision engineering requirements. What it doesn’t necessarily explain is Seb’s personality. That’s the icing on the cake. Because he’s a genuinely “nice guy”. Fame hasn’t gone to his head. He’s approachable, unassuming and “the real deal”.  Much like the Sports line of Marvin watches he’s developing from scratch.