Celebrating their 10th Birthday this summer, KRUSH started with a dream, a van, and some labour pains. For Matt and Emma D’Arcy, what began as a pipe dream has grown into one of Australia’s most recognisable premium mountain bike care brands, KRUSH.
Published December 2025 words Mandy Lamont photos supplied
A car guy and self-confessed perfectionist, Matt is meticulous about keeping his machines spotless. When he discovered mountain biking that obsession for detail transferred to his bikes. After coming across bike specific cleaning product Muc-Off and seeing what it did for his bikes, he noticed a gap in the market for an Aussie made brand.
“It literally started the day Mia was born,” laughs Matt. The concept had been brewing for a while, then it literally just hit me. “I woke up at 4am with this idea, and that night Mia arrived.”
In 2016 Matt and Emma launched KRUSH at Crankworx, New Zealand, with two products. A bottle of premium wash and an after-wash spray. “We didn’t even have a full range back then,” Matt says. “No degreaser, no chain lube” Just two bottles and a dream.
From there, Matt loaded up a beaten-up ’98 Transporter van and hit the road hard, going to as many mountain bike events as possible. Thredbo, Mont 24, Cairns World Cup, showing up with a 3×3 tent beside industry giants like Fox and SRAM. “We were always well received. People were always interested in what we were doing, and it just grew from there.”
From Mixing Tracks to Mixing Formulas
Before mountain bikes took over their world, Matt and Emma were deeply entrenched in the Melbourne music scene. They ran a recording studio for 14 years, produced bands, managed artists, and even ran their own record label.
“The music industry is all about brand and identity,” Matt says. “That background really helped when it came to creating Krush.”
“In creating a brand, we wanted something you’d be proud to wear on your chest,” Emma tells me. “We wanted it to be more than just cleaning products, but a lifestyle. And I think we nailed it. We Krushed it.”
Like life on the road with the band, going from mountain biking event to event was second nature for Matt.
Family and a Factory Full of Dreams
By 2017, the couple had packed up city life and moved to Mansfield. It wasn’t just a business move, it was a lifestyle choice. “I’d always wanted to live up here”, Matt tells me at KRUSH headquarters in Mansfield.
Daughters, Scarlett and Mia, are now growing up surrounded by dirt trails and jump lines. “Scarlett’s doing her year eight project next year, and she’s going to find a mentor and build a trail in our backyard,” Matt says proudly. “We’ve already got a little loop that Brad Segda, one of the trail builders from World Trail, cut in when we first moved here. It’s a bit overgrown now, but she’s keen to revive it and I’m keen to see what she can create.”
From Crankworx to Eurobike and Beyond
Fast-forward a decade, and Krush has gone global. The brand exhibiting at major European events, including Eurobike in Germany, where the response has been great. “We’ve got a German distributor now who’s helping us grow into England, France and Germany.
“The beauty of what we do is we don’t actually employ anyone,” Matt says. “We’ve got a great partnership with our distributor Bike Corp, which gives us sales reps and warehouse space without needing to manage staff. It’s a small team, but it works.”
The brand continues to evolve and are releasing new products tyre sealant and tubeless valves, this summer as well as working on a bunch of new products for the future. “I feel like we’re just getting started, there’s so much more.” Matt says. “Europe is a big goal. It’s a matter of time before we get more growth in Europe and we can start manufacturing there.” The goal is to travel between here and Europe doing a few World Cups, then come home and do the key Aussie events. Just travel, ride, and live the life. We don’t want much,” he says laughing.
Grit, Growth, and the Good Kind of Risk
“The last four years have been extremely tough for the industry and I just feel thankful that we’re still here to be honest.” It hasn’t all been smooth riding. The Covid boom was both a blessing and a challenge. “Covid was amazing for sales, but when things grow that fast, the fall can be pretty hard,” Emma admits. “A few new brands came in trying to replicate what we do and capitalise on a booming industry, but they didn’t have the sustainability to survive. We just kept pushing and reinventing, we took a real positive out of it.”
And that, it seems, is the secret to Krush’s success, a mix of hustle, heart, and homegrown authenticity. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to create your own opportunities,” Matt says. “You want to feel like you’ve had experiences and you took some risks. You’ve just got to be willing to take that risk and be comfortable with feeling uncomfortable, because that’s where the magic happens.”
