Montreal's Most FAMOUS F1 Store | FanAmp Insider

Introduction [0:00]

Max: One car would go by and you would feel like... [make a car noise gesturing to chills running up his arm]. It was just like a deep connection with motorsports. I love this thing, I need to do something with it.

Greg: What was it like, a three-time World Champion, at the time, coming into here?

Max: I choked. I couldn't talk. You come here and you buy a t-shirt? No, you come here and you buy an experience.

Greg: June marks the start of summer in North America, but in Montreal, June means something way more important than warm weather: Formula 1.

The whole city transforms into an F1 fan's playground, and while there are pop-ups and parties galore, the one must-do thing recommended to me year after year was actually to visit a local store called FANABOX. Family owned and in business for over 30 years, FANABOX has created a destination for Formula 1 fans from around the world. And during race week, they shift into high gear, with famous F1 drivers and personalities like Lewis Hamilton, Zak Brown and Bernie Ecclestone all being known to have made appearances.

This year, fans filled the street to get autographs from Nicole Havrda, the Canadian F1 Academy driver. So what is it about this family run staple that makes it a must-visit for any of you who are heading to the Canadian Grand Prix? I sat down with Max, the owner, to see what all the fuss was about.

Why F1 led Max and his family to start FANABOX [1:21]

Max: This jacket sold for $50,000 when it was signed, but this is like a chunk of Senna's life. But I want you to feel the vibe. See, this is what we do at FANABOX. We're not here just to sell you a t-shirt. It's really about the experience. You can feel the rush. Like I saw the goosebumps he got there [motions to Greg's arm] because I'm a fan too.

Greg: Well let's start with it, let's jump right into it. So you started all of this in a kiosk, or a box, in Jean-Drapeau station. Take us back to it. What did it start as? Why did you do it?

Max: What you're wearing right now says why I started it. In the early '90s, my dad had a couple of little convenient stores and kiosks in this amusement park called La Ronde and the racetrack was there. I said to my dad, "Okay, I know there's this La Ronde amusement park thing, but I want to go see the race." And he's like, "Ah, race, whatever." You know, when you're not a fan it doesn't really connect with you. You just see it as like NASCAR, going around and around, but I really wanted to go. I ended up doing well in school so my dad got me tickets.

I remember it was raining and I saw this white and orange car. One car would go by and you would feel like... [make a car noise gesturing to chills running up his arm]. That essence, it was just like a deep connection with motorsports and I said to my dad, "I love this thing. I gotta do something with it." Initially I started go karting, I was really crap. And I'm like, how do I get close to this thing? I went to the race again and I saw just the energy behind the kiosks and how people were so proud about the passion.

Guys would show me like their tattoos and when they wear the merchandise they embody what Ferrari was and for me, it was just a natural reflex to connect with the fans that way because I knew that selling merchandise was selling something that was special.

And the smiles. I love the smiles. The little guy, the big guy, and the granddaddy. You know, you give pleasure. I felt like a doctor, you know, they would wait like all year for the pilgrimage of Formula 1 and I'd be like, "Welcome to Canada, sir. Enjoy this." You know, so it's just that energy that I wanted to share my passion.

Fan: Excuse me, where did you get the jacket from? I want it!

Max: You know what that is, right? You see, this is by the way, this is perfect scenario, okay? This is the magic. A fan will jump over the hurdle to make sure she gets a Senna jacket. That's what you want.

Greg: You can buy it when I'm done!

Fan: I want it. It looks so good!

Max: Give me a couple of minutes and we'll talk about it. But you see the passion? It's like it's inside. Like, I want it!

Upgrading to a physical store [3:57]

Greg: Well, I want ask you, so you've obviously been doing it for 30 years. You started with the subway kiosk. You're now in a physical location. This has been open since 2011?

Max: Yup.

Greg: What did it feel like when you opened a brick and mortar versus being in the Jean-Drapeau station every year?

Max: For about seven to eight years, we were on the pier. It was in a container, like a ship container, and there were retail spaces on a promenade. So there was a bunch of containers lined up, and they asked us, 'What would you do here?' And I said we're going to open a little Formula 1 store. But that's when we started developing our clientele. So instead of going somewhere else, it was a natural extension of that store. From the container, we're still in the Port Harbor area, and now people will be like, "Where's that container?" Now it's a store.

FANABOX is an F1 hotspot: What was it like meeting Lewis Hamilton? [4:36]

‍Greg: You've had very famous names come through the store over the years. You've had Lewis Hamilton, you've had Bernie Ecclestone. What was it like, a three-time World Champion at the time, coming into here?

Max: I'm gonna show you something really cool, okay? So this is a picture of my sister, Lewis, me. And I choked. I actually lost my voice. Just the emotion, the build-up of being a fan for like almost three decades, it just came out and I was like, boom, I couldn't talk. So whenever a driver comes here, of course I gotta talk. But meeting Lewis for me was the epitome of the success of what we tried to build. We're saying, you know what? Now we have authority, now we have recognition. And I think with that, I just built self-confidence. If I can go into something which is going to be special for me on Thursday, that's why we invited Nicole Havrda.

F1 Academy driver Nicole Havrda representing Canada on track [5:26]

Greg: So I want to ask about that, This is, I mean, obviously this is a massive milestone. And I think there's a different milestone with Nicole coming. So not only is she Canadian, not only is she blazing her own trail for women in motorsport, but you also have five daughters.

What does that represent to you? How do you feel about having this woman who is in that role model position setting an example?

Max: Well look, initially I wanted to get somebody really known or a celebrity to, you know, to host her and interview her. And I had a lot of thoughts about it, and it just hit me and I was like, "You know what, Max? With a lot of humbleness, I think you should do it. You should do it because you are Canadian. You should do it because you're a father." I wanted her to understand that we embrace her as a country and that she's our little flag on that racetrack. You see a lot of German flags, a lot of British flags. I want one day, you know, that flag for the Formula 1 Academy, I want to see full of flags for Nicole.

Just her energy on the phone. She's fun, she's outgoing and you can see on the phone that her parents are in the background. So I connected a lot with the parents. I was like, wow. [Her parents said,] "You know how many sacrifices we did for our child to race?" And I was like, "You know how many sacrifices we did as a family to bring racing merchandise?" And right away it was just a natural, beautiful, flowing conversation. And I said, "You know what? Let's do this."

We've done it with Jacques Villeneuve. We've always supported Canada. Jacques Villeneuve, you know, was a champion. We were there, we were the first distributor in Canada of Jacques Villeneuve merchandise. So for me, it was very dear that we got to give her her space, especially when she's coming back home.

Greg: And as a father, a girl dad, what does that mean to you? Having her here?

Max: I have a soft spot for girls because I have five girls, but I also want them to understand that it's not about empowerment. I think it's about understanding your self-confidence. You know, yes, there is a big difference between, you know, racing for men and women, but I think once you have the confidence, you can succeed in anything, not necessarily racing. I think I've been given that blessing to be in a platform where I can promote, you know, that empowerment. But I want my girls to understand that it's not about being powerful. It has to be something which is self-esteem, confidence, you can do what you want. If you can dream it, you can do it.

Greg: Love it!

The most treasured piece at FANABOX [7:49]

Greg: This store is not just about merchandise. I think some of it is memorabilia that you're not selling, that you're keeping. What would be like the one most treasured piece in this store for you?

Max: It would be the signed driver card of Ayrton Senna and also the Senna helmet that I have of the 1970s. I don't know what it's worth and I don't want to know what it's worth, but I have a special helmet from his go-kart years. And that for me, again, going back to the initial conversation- Senna for me was not just a racer, he was a human with a heart. I watched his movies. I remember when he was racing in Monaco and I watched those races with my daughters and I'm like, "You know what it takes?" Downshifting, upshifting, the rain, your head outside getting the wind and coming out with the win. You know, you can't pass in Monaco. And he was always so consistent. And I love the fact that he loved God. And that also for me was a very deep spiritual connection because you know what? You can do what you want, if you pray.

How to spot FAKE merchandise! [8:45]

Greg: So you're an official merchandiser. That comes with a level of responsibility. The product that you're selling is of a certain quality. How do you spot fake things that come in or, you know, like that malicious product that gets into the market? And how do you help educate other fans to avoid it?

Max: Most of the fake merchandise or counterfeit merchandise will always be in terms of quality. For example, there's lot of vintage racing jackets that are made in the Philippines. You can see right away that the Cavallino Shield, which is the horse, prancing horse- believe it or not, there's specific points on the horse that Ferrari give us, that we know if it's genuine or not. If you count all those points, you'll know right away.

If you look for the security tag, you look at the embroidery, and super important, the fit. A lot of these things that are made in these random countries, it'll say large, you try it on, and it's small. Puma, Adidas, all these big companies- it's a large, it's a large. You have to buy a double XL in a Ferrari fake jacket and it fits like barely a medium, that's a red flag.

What's next for the FANABOX family? [9:42]

Greg: You've been in business for 30 years. Between various different places you've continued to level that up. You've now opened up a second store in a different part of town. If you were to summarize that journey in one word, what is it to you?

Max: Passion, pure passion. If you have passion, you can do it.

Greg: Thinking about your daughters, thinking about your mom and your family, and thinking about all the people that are coming in the store today for the rest of the weekend and for the years to come. What do you want this place to be 15 years from now to everyone?

Max: So the first thing is I'm introducing my girls to Formula 1. So I think that I would like to hand over this legacy, but I'd like to go to the digital spectrum. I want this store to go global. I mean, I was always brick and mortar, very old school. We opened a table, we threw t-shirts, very like, you know, Mediterranean style. Like, how are you? Handshake. Thank you.

You know, I would really love if my kids could take that legacy and bring it to the digital world. It's very difficult because Formula 1 has a lot of digital space and we've got to squeeze ourselves and wiggle in that whole space. So I think one of these conversations are important because when you see FANABOX now, that's the dream, is understanding who's behind the name, who's behind the Formula 1 website that we built of merchandise, who's behind the store?

When you come here you buy a t-shirt, no. You come here you buy an experience.

Closing remarks [11:08]

Greg: If you're ever in Montreal, this is the only place to be.‍

Max: Thank you so much, Greg. I want to wish all the fans, and hopefully the new fans, to just come and say hi to the family. That's what we want to do, and welcome back to Montreal. Merci beaucoup.

Greg: Buy this jacket!

Max: No, it's his!

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