I have been spending a lot of time recently with SA’s BMX crew. Filming the Halloween Jam and Ultimate X has made this possible. One of the things I have instantly realized is that BMX in this country is strong, good and popular. One of the guys who are leading the charge, is Greg Illingworth. I watched him cane the competition at the Halloween Jam in 2010 and am told this is a pretty regular occurrence in SA BMX. With this in mind, I thought it would be a good idea to catch up with the man and find out more about BMX, wiping out with a metal bike frame wrapped around yourself and what we can expect next from the King of BMX.
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| Fear is not in BMX vocab! (Photo: Moolman) |
Kai - How did you get into BMX?
Greg - When I was a kid I used to ride bikes with my brother and the other kids that lived in our area pretty much everyday. It wasn’t like we were purposefully getting into BMX. We just had bikes and loved riding them so we never stopped. There was an open park opposite the house I grew up in so we built jumps there all the time. It was just a bunch of kids having fun on bikes. As I got a little older some of the other kids lost interest but Brad and I never did. I met a guy called Peter who lived kind of close and was the first person I had met that lived in the area that was also really into BMX. He introduced me to street riding. We rode almost every day together. It was awesome. I loved the freedom of just cruising around the streets on my bike and using whatever the environment had to offer to try tricks or jump gaps. Then after meeting some older riders from all over Joburg and going on one or two trips it was game over for me. I knew that this is what I wanted to do and these were the people I wanted to be around. The people in BMX in general are friendly, open minded, supportive, and fun.
Kai - I have always looked at BMX as the fastest way of losing skin and blood. How difficult is it and how much do you damage yourself?
Greg - It’s definitely not a walk in the park. I never feel like it’s hard work or anything because I always enjoy riding my bike but the injuries suck… that’s the bottom line. I’m sitting here right now with a bruised coccyx from landing with a rail between my legs more than a week ago… it hurts every time I make sudden movements or cough or sneeze, or even when I just sit for too long. I came to terms with the injury factor a long time ago, so now I just sit back and wait until I feel good again. It’s frustrating when I can’t ride but sometimes I feel like a break is good and lets me catch up on business stuff I have to take care of. It’s important for me to have other things like business etc. going on in my life otherwise I get caught up in the “pro life” and all I do is ride and party…
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| Greg finds playgrounds everywhere! |
Kai - According to me our BMX in SA is bloody brilliant. How do we match up to the rest of the world?
Greg - Our BMX in SA is awesome because we have a tight scene. The events are really fun and relaxed. The level of riding on the other hand is far from where it is in Europe and America. There are very few SA riders that can truly compete on an international level. On that note I can honestly say that it doesn’t make the slightest difference. The riders here have just as much fun riding as anyone in the world and that’s what really matters. With the boom of exposure BMX is getting through online videos, and the fact that down in SA we can now be current with what’s going on around the world, I do feel the level of riding will creep up to an international standard.
Kai - Who have been the major influences through the years, local and international?
Greg - Locally my biggest influences have been my brother, Peter van der Riet, Jimmy Reynolds, Tyrone Bradley, Francois April, and Nigel Morta. Internationally it’s been Mike Aitken, Ruben Alcantara, Sergio Layos, Chase De Hart, Miles Rogoish, Garrett Reynolds, Rob Wise, Chase Hawk, and Gary Young.
Kai - One of the things I noticed, again, at Ultimate X, is that the level of BMX is way above the Mountain Bike when it comes to jumps, in South Africa. But, when we watch international video, the level is pretty equal, with the mountain bike crews maybe even going bigger sometimes. Why is this?
Greg - I can only guess as to why this is and my guess is that it’s such a young sport. BMX has been around way longer than dirt jumping on mountain bikes. The BMX scene in South Africa has been around since the eighties, giving it a chance to mature into a real industry with sponsored riders etc. In Europe and the states on the other hand, mountain bike dirt jumping grew rapidly due to the mountain bike industry in general being so massive. They could pump huge money into it, which made it pretty serious in a short time. This also meant many BMX dirt jumpers crossed over to mountain bikes to cash in on that money that was up for grabs… they already knew all the tricks. Darren Barrecloth is a perfect example of this.
Kai - We chatted about the Dirtpipe event in Australia online the other day. You mentioned you really want to make it next time, so what are your plans for the next year?
Greg - Well I got too many plans to go through, ha ha. I’ve been really fortunate to have some really good sponsors this year, which are helping out a lot. They are making sure I’m riding all around the world instead of just South Africa. The biggest change for me was getting put onto the Mongoose international team and going on to Monster Europe. This means they need me riding in Europe, UK, and the states. I’ll be over in America in May for a Mongoose road trip, and then off to Europe for a few contests, then back to Europe for some more contests and possible road trips. I have a very busy year ahead. I’m also working on the 10th RIOT JAM, which will be from the 7th-10th July at the Mr Price Pro surf contest in Ballito. That’s a big project I’m working on and will be the best BMX contest SA has ever seen.
Kai - Where can the kids go to get into BMX?
Greg - Well first they would need a bike and for this they contact me on greg@theriot.co.za. Like I said earlier in the interview I also have a business and it’s a BMX shop based in Joburg but we mail order to anywhere in Southern Africa. They can also contact me to find out where their closest park is to ride etc. A huge part of my motivation to stay in South Africa and not go ride full time overseas is to build BMX in this country. We have huge potential here and I think with the right people behind the industry South Africa will become a breeding ground for a massive BMX scene.
Kai - Why BMX?
Greg - Like I said earlier it was never really a conscious decision. I just had a bike like most kids growing up. Only difference is when I tried to jump homemade ramps it worked… Ha ha. I believe everyone that gets to ride a bicycle will enjoy it to some extent. I just enjoy it more than most so I never stopped.
Kai - Will we see an SA BMX rider at XGames?
Greg - Well I rode Asian X Games if that counts… XGames is far from what the general public out there thinks. There are way better BMX contests and festivals happening. Like Simpel Sessions or FISE. I hope to see more South Africans at events like this. I don’t really care for XGames. They invite 10 riders to compete with 2 replacements in case of injury. 99.9% of the riders that get invited are from America.
Kai - Last word...
Greg - Sure… I’d like to give a huge thanks to all my sponsors! They have made it possible for me to live my dream, they have also stuck with me for a long time and always made things better whenever they can. So thank you to Mr Price, Mongoose, Monster Energy, SNAFU, Osiris, and Skullcandy. It’s a pleasure working with these people and I consider all my team managers friends. To the kids out there wanting to make BMX their living… IT IS POSSIBLE, I AM PROOF. Being a professional BMX rider comes down to this… Ride your bike as much as possible and love riding it. When and if you get sponsored, stick with your sponsors. Communicate regularly with them and give them reason to sponsor you. Lastly do not be scared to promote yourself, but don’t be arrogant. Thanks for the interview Kai. Ridaz!
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