I am an old, washed-up dirt jumper, who has had a revival of passion for dirt jumping and mountain biking. I’m just having fun, riding bikes and traveling the world, meeting a bunch of rad dudes who share the same passion! When I’m not riding, I’m working at Air Rec Center Indoor Bike Park, watching and helping others ride.
I’ve adopted a new “no plans” lifestyle, where I don’t actually know where I’ll be in the next six months or so, however, I do know that I’ll be riding bikes and trying to compete in the FMB World Tour. I have a long list of places I want to visit, and I hope to travel there with my bike, and I’m lucky that my girlfriend shares that same ambition as it means I always have someone to travel and ride with.
I used to race motocross back in my early teens, and always took a bike to ride around the tracks in preparation for the race. I started riding BMX with my friends at a local BMX track, mainly just messing around. We started watching BMX videos on VHS, then we got into watching Drop In TV, which opened my eyes to mountain biking as I didn’t realize that you could trick mountain bikes! So I literally swapped my BMX for a mountain bike with a buddy and started riding. From there I met Blake and Ray Samson down at some jumps in 2009, where Ray told me that I should start riding competitions. So I did… the very next month!
I made the move to Canada with my girlfriend Alice, as it’s a place where I’ve always wanted to be, and after going through a rough time in life I felt like I needed to pursue that dream that I always had in the back of my mind. I used to watch a lot of PinkBike edits and that made me want to go ride BC. I had no plan or idea where I was going to work, I just booked the flight and went. I’m currently on a two-year working holiday visa, but I hope to apply for permanent residency as I have found BC to be the best place for riding bikes. But most of our plans right now are a spur of the moment, so anything could change in the near future.
The first thing that surprised me about BC was seeing so many people that have the same passion to ride bikes, as well as being so welcoming and friendly. I am in awe of the BC scenery and vastness of the country; that a 7 hour drive to go ride somewhere feels like nothing because there’s so much to look at, compared to the UK where a 3 hour drive used to feel like 7 because it’s just a very dull motorway with no mountains along it to stare at. It’s been amazing traveling to some iconic riding places that I have seen in edits and always dreamed of riding one day, as well as meeting some of the Canadian riders that have inspired my riding to this very day. Being in Canada has opened up a whole new world of biking that is full of people who just want to ride and see you ride well too, everyone is stoked for each other all the time, it’s the best riding atmosphere. The trail riding here is insane as well, I had never even ridden a rock roll before I came to BC! There also seems to be a bike park or skate park in every town we’ve passed through recently. There’s so much to see and do here, BC is huge and we’ve only covered a tiny bit of it.
Back in the day, Ryan (Ryan Nangle) and I used to make a lot of edits and ride together a lot. I dropped out of the riding scene in 2013 due to injury, and kind of lost the motivation for it. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life. I was always told by family that I had to grow up, work a full-time job, and be more responsible. After years of trying this lifestyle, I realized it wasn’t for me and that riding bikes makes me happy, which is a passion shared by my girlfriend.
I don’t feel like I’m in somewhat of a spotlight, for me, I’m just trying to show my style of riding and have fun with what I do. When I came to Canada I didn’t expect to compete. I found out about the Big White Invitational through a friend, only a couple of weeks before the event. I didn’t think I was going to compete as I didn’t even have a bike built and I had no way of getting there. But after Alice convinced me to go, we went and bought a car, and I finished building my bike within two days of the event. I had only ridden my newly built bike once before the actual event, and to my surprise, I managed to come third in the bronze category, which gave me a qualifying spot for the gold. The bronze course was the biggest Slopestyle course I’d ever ridden by that point, so I was stoked to the podium in that category, let alone get to ride and compete on the gold course which was even bigger! That same summer I was able to ride the legendary Backwoods Jam thanks to Logan Peat, and there I was able to mingle with people who I’ve looked up to in the sport and have been inspired by my whole riding career.
Somehow, that first summer in BC managed to set me up well for the 2019 season, where I had enough points to be invited to Swatch Rocket Air in Switzerland. This was the first time I had ever been invited to a gold event, so I dropped everything to go. And since then I had a new goal to fulfill my dream of being in the FMB World tour and ride in gold events that I had never had the opportunity to ride before. The difference this time is my mindset about riding, as I’m just having fun with it, I’m doing it more for myself than anything else, and the fact that I’ve had more support and encouragement this past year than I’ve ever had before.
Driving hours on end to go ride some places doesn’t really feel like a chore due to the incredible views along the way. This country is a new experience for me so looking up at the mountains every day is amazing. The drive is always worth it too. There are so many different places in BC to ride and we have only touched the surface. We haven’t been disappointed by anything we’ve seen and ridden in BC so far.
BC is the home of mountain biking, so yeah bikes are very accessible here due to the number of bike shops around. Parts wise I feel like it is cheaper, but I don’t earn as much as I would in the UK, and food is much more expensive here too; I guess that’s the price we’re paying to live in such a beautiful place. It seems in Whistler that no matter how much you earn your bike will always come first overpaying for rent or even feeding yourself. Everyone just wants to ride.
I was able to team up with Chromag Bikes, which was a huge honor to become a part of the family, to see and learn where it all began. I was a huge fan of them back in the UK but it was a struggle to find distributors then. They helped me get my bike set up with discounted parts just before the big white invitational in 2018. It was a tight budget after spending out on a car, and just living in Whistler, in general, was expensive enough. Claire Buchar gave me the initial chance to start on a grassroots deal with them and I was so grateful for even being considered.
After a year of riding a few events and progressing more, they put me on the full deal. I have built a great relationship with everyone down at the Chromag HQ. Same with Industry Nine Wheels, Joe gave me the chance I needed after showing him my riding style. Again, I am more than grateful for the support I am given no matter how small it is, I appreciate it. When I was sponsored back in the UK, and this is just my experience, but it was very cut-throat and it didn’t feel like a family. Whereas here it’s not been about being sponsored and getting free stuff, but about building a rapport and a relationship with that company. I have also started representing Ride or Die, which is rider owned, and I’m stoked to be recognized by fellow riders who I have been inspired by and look up to.
My advice is if it’s something you really want to do just go for it. Things will always work out in the end but you’ll never know if you don’t try. Yeah, things can be a struggle sometimes but I like to have a positive mindset about everything. If it doesn’t work out, you can always go back home or try somewhere else if that’s not the place for you, just don’t be afraid to go get it.
For me, I wouldn’t do anything different from the way Alice and I have done it. We rode so much the first summer living in Whistler, but we also struggled through the winter months, where we realized a Whistler winter wasn’t for us. Then comes spring we moved into a van and traveled around BC riding some of the best spots on the planet all summer long, experiencing the true Canadian Countryside. Sometimes you need a different experience to reinforce the fact that you absolutely love your current passion. For example, winter in Whistler meant that we were unable to ride our bikes every day, so we found ourselves driving 2.5 hours south to Air Rec once a week just to ride our bikes. It was clear then that all we wanted to do was be somewhere we could ride all the time because not being able to ride every day was a struggle.
Taking that first step to move, to an entirely different country with no friends or family there to help you out can be pretty scary. A lot of people have said to me that they wish they could do it, BUT… But what?! If you really want to do it, just take the leap and go! You may not like it when you get there, and that’s ok, at least you tried it! But you may fall in love with the new place and a different kind of lifestyle that you never expected to live! I never thought that I would live in a van, but I spent a whole summer living in one and it was the best! This past year has been a spur of the moment, random adventure, and that’s because I never really had a plan, I just went along with it, and it all turned out great.
If I can say one thing, it’s just – always be positive. It’s huge bonus if you can be positive through tough situations, as we all know this can be a challenging sport physically and mentally. Be grateful and modest. Go have fun on your bike and enjoy riding with your buddies no matter where you are in the world. Peace
Thanks for giving me the opportunity for this small article guys.
I just want to thank my girlfriend Alice, Simon Quinn, Family, Friends and my sponsors for the constant support.