I think, like, one of the frustration for me doesn't come from the state of the industry, but from the lack of visibility and the lack of communication When... Was there, like, a point where you thought to yourself, like, "Wow, I can make a career out of this"? Basically 2014 I was getting a free product. I did, like, a couple of video where I was getting paid to do the video. That was very little money. Remy hails from France and has one of the biggest social media followings in the MTB world. He has made multiple appearances at Red Bull Rampage, Urban Downhill, and even World Cup Downhill events. Now based in BC, Canada, he is known for sending huge gaps, crazy POVs, and is without doubt one of the smartest business minds in the sport. Every single day you wait or every single day you lose, you potentially lose another opportunity. What is the meaning of success to you personally? I think it's looking at what you've done personally and professionally, and feeling happy about it, and feeling proud. But sometimes I don't ride for 10 days at a time because the weather is just too bad. The longest I can stay without riding in Canada would be, like First, guys, I need to ask you a big favor, to please like and subscribe. You have no idea how much of an impact this has on the YouTube algorithm, and right now I need all the help I can get. I've had some amazing guests on. I would love to keep the ball rolling, and I can't do this alone Thanks, guys. Back to the- Sweet. Remy, dude, thanks for coming on. This has been, uh... Yeah, I've been trying to pin you down for a while, but busy schedule. Yeah, thanks for having me. I, I wanted to start off with, obviously right now we, we in start of December. This time of year is, is always a, a bit of an interesting one for a lot of riders that are trying to lock down contracts and, and plan for the next season. Um, and the industry's not exactly in the best place right now. What's your feeling on the state of mountain biking right now and, and, and how is that for you, uh, as a, as a rider, you know, dealing with, with the consequences? Yeah, I think the sport is really healthy. Like, you see a lot of mountain biker, a lot of interest in mountain biking in general. Uh, but the reality is that, you know, bikes are expensive. There is a ton of options out there. A lot of brand have a lot of stock. So for the industry itself, it's really hard. Um, everybody makes really good products these days. So, you know, for a customer, you got so many choices, so many discounts available, so that means, like, little profit for brands, and little profit means, uh, less opportunity for marketing, for, you know, media photographer, videographer, athletes, people like ourself who, you know, make content. So it's definitely been, uh, challenging. After COVID, it's-- I feel like there has been a lot of opportunities for us with brands and, and, and sponsors, but now it's, like, tapered down since, I would say, 2024. 2024 was really tough, so was 2025, and unless if 2026 is not any easier. I'm sure your experience, you know, is the same, but it's been, it's been very difficult even having brands to commit to do a two-year contract. Like, I always want to do a two to a three-year contract. And the main reason, obviously stability, and because I feel I can do a better job over, like, two to three years. Like, you invest so much time- Mm-hmm ... getting to know the product, getting comfortable with the product, getting people to know the product you're riding that, you know, it's, it's a shame to do it for, for a short period of time, so you're better at doing it for an extended period. And also because that time of the year, the negotiation takes so much time and so much effort that if you can lock in a contract for two to three years, well, you don't have to do that. So you don't have to renegotiate it every year, which saves a lot of time and, you know, a lot of, a lot of stress. Um, so that's what I've been trying to do. But yeah, it's, it's been, it's been really hard. Like, I feel extremely fortunate to be in the position I am in. Um, at the same time, like, it's Yeah. I'm looking forward to, uh, the new year to start and just be done with everything. I mean, I think I'm fortunate, um, in the fact that, that I have, uh, an outside sponsor like, like OnlyFans, for example, um, because obviously they're not affected by the current state of the mountain bike industry. But ... And I, and I've had some, you know, some ti- um, brands like Scott and stuff that I've been with for a while. But there hasn't been with, with the mountain bike side of things, there hasn't been much growth in the last couple of years, and obviously because the brands don't have the budgets. Um, and things are very tight, and they need to be careful, and so it's, it's hard to kind of Obviously it's up- sometimes it's upsetting when you do, like yourself, if you put, you put so much effort into something, whether you're a racer or creating content or you're a slopestyle guy, whatever, and you're putting in so much work into something and then you've, you've done a good job, um, and you've gotten these results or you've gotten, um, this many views and really done a good job for the brands, you feel like you should be rewarded. Much like if you're in any business, if you do a good job, you'll get a bonus or whatever, or you'll get a salary raise. But in this, in our situation at the moment, it's like it's almost irrelevant, like, how good a job you did, um, because when the brands don't have the money, they don't have the money. It's like, you know, um, so it's, it's kinda hard 'cause you're frustrated. Well, at least for me, it's super frustrating, but at the same time, it's like, what do you really do? Um- Yeah ... because, like, you can't be like, "This is not fair," or whatever. It's like, "Well, we don't have it, so we're-" Yeah, that is, that's, I mean, that's a good point. It's just like, yeah, if the brands doesn't have any money, they don't have any money, and I, I totally understand and respect that. I think, like, one of the frustration for me doesn't come from the state of the industry, but from the lack of visibility and the lack of communication. Mm-hmm. Just because for, like, the listeners, um, contract starts typically January 1st to December 31st, but you normally start negotiating them in the summer all the way to the fall. So sooner the better, because every single day you wait or every single day you lose, you potentially lose another opportunity. Mm-hmm. So let's say you have a frame sponsor, and you start negotiating to renew your contract, and the discussion, like, get delayed and then get delayed, and then comes December and you think you're gonna stay on the brands, and mid-December the brand is like, "We're so sorry, we can't do anything. We don't have any budget." Then you're left with basically 15 days before start of the year, and it's impossible basically to go and find another deal because all the money was already spent. And I think for me, the frustration comes in when, when discussion take too long. And if something, if budgets are gonna be, uh, really low and there is no opportunity, that's okay, but I just want to know as soon as possible. 'Cause also what happens that if you chasing a brand, like you want to resign your current partners that you're really happy with, but you know that they might not be able to keep you on because they lack, um, you know, budget, what you might do is that you might go and spend a lot of your time trying to find other potential partners, so like a plan B and a plan C and a plan D. But this means that you're gonna take the time of other people, you're gonna spend a lot of your time, a lot of your energy, and then as a result, you don't have time to ride your bike anymore- Mm ... and, you know, create content and do the stuff you love to do. And that's for me the frustrating part, but unfortunately that's, I mean, that's how it works. Yeah, I 100% understand you, and I think that's one of the most, for me also, one of the most frustrating things over the years. Like you'll make a... You'll agree something with a brand, um, and, you know, verbally or via email or something, and you think like, "Okay, cool, I'm all set," so you don't continue down that path. Like, whether that's a handlebar spon- a component sponsor or a car sponsor or whatever it is. Like, and then you're like, "Okay, cool, I'm sorted," um, and then right when you're due to sign, there's just no communication. Like, no one comes back to you. You can't get hold of them, and you're like, "What? I don't understand. Like, we made an agreement." And for me it's just like a respect thing. It's just like if people don't have money or if they change their mind, like okay, cool. But just be upfront about it. Like, tell me from the start, like, "We don't have money," or, "You don't fit us," or whatever it may be. Like, it's not gonna hurt my feelings. Like, it's all good. But the worst thing is when you think that you're all good and then you're not. And so I completely understand. I can even tell you a story from a few years ago, um, when I was ... Before I'd moved to Germany, I was in South Africa, and I had a car sponsorship from a local dealer there. And, um, super nice guys, had a really good relationship, and I'd been made an offer by Volvo in South Africa, and it was a really good offer with some money involved, and it was, um, a three-year deal instead of a one-year deal. And so it was like I kind of ... It was very hard to refuse, um, but I was very worried about leaving the other brand bec- the, the, the dealership because I was like, well, I had a good relationship, I liked the guys, and I had a feeling I could stay there for a long time. But, it was a, it wasn't as good of a deal, but the c- the, the community was good. And so I went to Volvo and I was like, "Okay, I'll do this, but I need a guarantee that this is three years, there's no, uh, getting out of it." And, um, anyway, so went ahead. They were like, "All good. We, we've got all these big plans," da, da, da. And then that year got injured at the, I don't know, second, third race. Broke my hip, um, and w- was out for the season. And then There was a clause, and I missed it in the fine print, that, yeah, they could basically cancel the contract if I got injured, which is a bit ridiculous in a sport like down- like downhill. Um- Yeah ... and yeah, so they just pulled out. Like, no, no phone call, no nothing. A guy literally just arrived at the house to take my car, and I didn't have another car at that point, like, because I had no idea this was happening, and bearing in mind I'd just broken my hip, so I'm, like, literally lying in bed, and a guy knocks on the door. He's like, "I'm here to fetch the car." I was like, "What?" Oh my gods. Um, and yeah, so just, like, things like that. And obviously you live and you learn, so I, I, you know, in future I'll never make- Oh, yeah ... this mistake again. But it's like, so that type of thing happens, and, um, I think people from the outside, a lot of the, the fans and the kids coming up, they, they see guys like yourself and they're like, "These guys are just, like- Yeah living the dream." Like, you know, it, it... But it's, there's a lot more that goes into it than meets the eye. No, totally. And, and, you know, once again, like, like, I feel like you, I, a ton of rider doing what we do, we are extremely, uh, lucky to be doing what we are doing- Mm-hmm ... 'cause mountain biking is our passion. We loved it. Probably for you it's the same. Like, you never was like, you know, the job I want to do is to be a pro mountain biker. You first loved the sport, and at some point you are like, "Well, that'd be cool if I could be a pro mountain biker," but, like, your first drive was to, "Hey, I want to mountain bike 'cause that's cool." Like, I never forget that. But I do think people completely underestimate the amount of work that goes into everything, like, just, just the day-to-day business, um, especially at this time of the year. And, uh, and, you know, the stress, like, the highs and the lows from, like, contracts. It's really easy, especially with the time difference, you probably experience the same, but, you know, I've got sponsors in the US, in Canada, in Europe, so the time zone, Australia. So the time zone is all over the place. It's really common for me to, you know, go to bed at 10:00 PM. I go to put my phone on airplane mode to sleep, and there is an email, and it's, like, a brand that thought something was gonna work out that's, let's say, in Europe, so with the time difference it's the morning for them. Mm-hmm. Send me an email and, you know, I'm expecting to see, okay, here's a contract attached, and it's like, "You know, sorry to break the news, but we decided to, uh, cancel the contract. We... You know, something came up with our budget. We're not gonna be able to make it happen." And then just before going to bed you're like, "I just lost X amount of euros that was gonna be for the next two years." Yeah. And now I have to, like, go to sleep and be like, "Okay, well, now tomorrow morning my plan is to, you know, reach out to all those brands that make that same product or same category of product and see if I can- Mm-hmm ... if I can do something." It's, it's, it's not e- yeah, it's not easy. I think all my friends that, like, know me personally, like, they, they all comment on how much I work. Mm-hmm And how much my work versus what people would expect I think that's the, um, how people view pro riders, and it's that the feeling that I get is that they're like, "Well, you should just be grateful that you can ride your bike for a living." And I am, and I'm sure you are too. But there is also, it's, there is a part of it that has to be work because at the end of the day, you need to pay bills. Like, you need to live. So, um, I don't think anyone starts mountain biking to become a millionaire, you know? We know that it's not, we know that it's not like football or tennis- No ... or whatever. But, you know, we def- we all started for the same reason. We love it, and we're just like, "It would be so sick to be able to do this for a living." But at the end of the day, it's like it, it becomes a job because, like, w- especially, like, you're married, I'm married. Like, when you think about having a family, like, all these things, you've gotta, you gotta get a house. Got money. You know, like it, you need to earn money. So it's like this, these things, as much as you love the sport, it's like you need to be realistic as well. And like when you lose X amount of money, if you were budgeting on that paying whatever your insurance is and your rent for the next six months or a year, whatever, that, that makes a big difference. So I think that's what people underestimate and this, the- Yeah ... at the end of the day, you're an entrepreneur. You're running your own business, and much like a lot of people running their own business, as cool as it is, 'cause you don't have a boss, and you're the boss, you're experiencing the ups and downs of always being on as well. Like, there's never, at least for me- Mm-hmm ... it's like, it's always on. Like, and even if you're like on holiday, it's so hard to stop thinking about things. You can't, you can't. Yeah, you can't, you can't relax. It's- Like- Yeah ... and, and for, uh, my wife, she works for, she works for, uh, for Siemens as a normal, normal job. Um, and like when Friday comes, it's off until- Yeah ... until Monday. And like that's one thing that I think is kinda cool, that someone can just like chill and really chill. And I think as a, as an entrepreneur, w- with all the pros it's got, that's one of the downsides that, yeah, you can't really, uh, switch off. Yeah. No, uh, yeah, it's exactly that. Like this year I went to Bali for two weeks as like a honeymoon, and I did 10% of the work I would normally do, which felt like a proper holiday for me, but I was still obviously like, you know, replying emails, sending emails, but I still did something. Like there, there was no way I could go and do absolutely nothing. Whereas my wife like didn't look at a single email for two weeks. Mm. She was like, "I'm off." And that's something, and also the thing is that once you've been doing it for yourself for so long, and you manage everything, once you're done with mountain biking, it would be extremely hard to go to, to do a regular job. Mm. Like whatever job that is, like for me to have to do something as, you know, as someone that's self-employed. Mm. So let's say if I do some type of construction, if I did some type of construction I, I will need to do it for myself. Like, I will need to set up my own little construction business instead of working for someone. Um, and that's, you know, that feels like, you know, someone that's a bit spoiled, but when you've been doing it for 15 years, or 10, 15 years, you know, the good thing is that you also learn a ton of skills, you know, being, like, self-employed or incorporated or- Mm. Yeah ... or whatever. Like, understanding how finance taxes work, and I feel like you do learn a ton of things, which I'm also very grateful for. I, uh ... And I agree 100%. Uh, I mean, I think it's not for everyone. Like, I raced for a long time, and, and pretty much always as a privateer. When I was younger, it was always, like, the dream to be on a factory team, something like that. But at the same time, I'm actually super grateful that I did it the way I did, because I learned so much more than if I'd been on a team. Like, because- Mm ... when you're on a team, it's essentially being em- being employed. Everything's organized for you and stuff. Yeah. So life is way easier to race, but I think afterwards it can be really hard to adjust, you know? And, and, like, you made the transition into content, and, and I have as well. Yeah, I think it makes it way, way more, um, way less complicated, you know? And you, you know what y- kind of what you're doing to a, to an extent, know how to ... You actually have relationships with brands, whereas, yeah, if you're on a team, it's like once that contract ends, it's like, okay, bye. Um- Yeah. Makes sense ... and I think that's ... People, peop- people struggle with that. Yeah. No, that's a good point. It's a very good point. Um- I do enjoy the, I do enjoy the business part a lot. What I don't enjoy anymore is, you know, the stress from it. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And, like, how much, how much time it actually takes, 'cause it does take away from your capacity to go and ride your bike- Yeah ... and make valuable content for your partners. But unfortunately, you have to play that game. And realistically, like, me, I could have, I could have less contract and still be okay, but it, it does feel like, you know, sometime if I had 10 or 20 sponsors, the amount of work I would have to provide at the end of the year will actually be the same pretty much. Like, because I have more sponsors doesn't really mean that I have to work harder during the year, if that makes sense. Interesting. Yeah. Because r- realistically, I would do the same amount of work if I had five sponsor versus if I had 15. You know? I'll do the same amount of videos. I'll ... You know, it's just essentially I'll be promoting less brands, but I would be going out and filming the same amount and doing the same quantity of social post, and it will just be organized different. And, um, so that's why I'm, like, working hard to have those extra partners is because, you know, sometime adding a, a partner doesn't really add any work, but just adds income, so. It's, um, you also only have limited time, right? Like, you, you don't know how long- Your career, I mean, you obviously hope it's gonna be as long as possible, but you don't know how long your career's gonna go. Uh, and obviously mountain biking is risky. You never know, no one knows what happens, you know? So I think you need to also make the, the most of it like any, uh, professional sports person. Like, you need to make the most of it while you can because, like, time is, can be limited, you know? Um- Yeah, totally. Yeah, like you don't know yet. You don't know how long you're gonna do that for, and can stop at any time. And also it's not like, you know, if instead of being a pro mountain biker you were working as, I don't know, you had some type of business, when you're done with it or you no longer want to do it, you can most likely sell it. Mm-hmm. When you're a pro mountain biker you can't really sell, you know, because your business is you. So as soon as you stop riding, everything stops. So basically when you retire from the sport and stop making videos, content, like your, your brand has got no more value anymore. And that's something take in consideration. Like y- you don't build something that you can resell and pass on to someone else. How often do you actually ride, um, like realistically? Because obviously we see your videos a lot, and I know for me, like a lot of people think that I ride like every day or every second day because you post a lot of content, and I was like, no. Like go and like film a batch of videos and then spread it out, you know? So I, I'd be interested to, to find out actually how much you ride. It really depends. Um, I mean, in the winter, like in, in Canada, like, so it's a bit dark still 'cause, uh, it's still dark outside, but in the winter I ride whenever, whenever it's good. So whenever it's not pouring rain and whenever it's not freezing cold. Mm-hmm. Because your window are so limited that whenever there is a break and you can go, I usually go. But sometimes I don't ride for, you know, 10 days at a time because the weather is just too bad. I think the longer, the longest I can stay without riding in Canada would be like three weeks when there is snow. Typically there is snow in Squamish, like you can still go down to Vancouver, but there is windows of like, like about, yeah, three weeks where you can't ride, so that would be the longest. In the summer I typically ride nearly every day. Um, and then in the fall, honestly, I get... takes me so much time to deal with the business side of things that some days I could go and ride and I just don't because I'm on the computer nonstop, and I'm like, I could either go and ride for two hours or do that phone call or that presentation with this company and secure my sponsorship for next year. So, you know- Yeah ... I just stay at home and, and do that instead. I don't ride as much as I want to, that's for sure. Yeah. And the main reason- That's a- The main reason is because of the business side of things. That's the side that people don't see, right? Um, but I mean, for summer to ride most days, that, that's actually pretty good. Can you also ride- I actually- Can you ride year-round? Yeah, I live right from the trail. So like, you know, I- Okay ... if I have one hour of time, I can, I can go with the e-bike and do... Okay, let's say in one hour I can do 800 meters of downhill- Sick ... with a, with, with the e-bi- with the e-bike from my house. Like easy. That's epic. Yeah, it would be... Yeah, it would be, yeah, 800 meters, I can do that in an hour from my house- That's- ... and back to my house. So like no commuting, nothing. Which is why, you know, the e-bikes are, you know, so great for me. Like it's definitely- Mm-hmm ... uh, extended my love for, for mountain biking, for sure. Is that part of the reason that you ended up in Canada? 'Cause you're from France. I mean, you're obviously French- Yeah ... but you, you're from France originally. Uh- Yeah ... I wasn't sure at first if you were from the French side of Canada or if you were actually from France. No, no. Fr- No, no. France, France. I grew up, uh, in Nice, or close by Nice. Mm-hmm. So like close by, you know, Loris Vergier. Mm-hmm. Loic Bruni, Nicolas Vouilloz, Fabien Barel, uh, Yoann Barelli, all of these guys. And I decided to move to Canada in 2013 mostly to ride the Whistler Bike Park. You know, I was mountain bike fan, and I knew of Whistler. One of my friend had gone to Whistler and had told me like, "Hey, you need to go. It's, it's epic." And after I graduated from, um, from business school, I got a visa, like a working holiday visa, and I decided to go to Canada for one year. And, uh, yeah, just fell in love with the place right away. Just, just the outdoors really, like the forest and, you know, people ride there like, or people are out doing stuff regardless of the weather. Mm-hmm. So like my first time riding in BC it was pouring rain and it was night, and I was so confused why my friend was making plans. I'm like, "Well, what do you mean? Like it's, it's gonna be dark at 5:00 PM, and it's, it's also raining." And he was like, "Yeah. And so what? Let's go." And, uh, you know, in France you'd be like... Well, it's also because in France like obviously it doesn't rain nearly as much, right? So when would you go and ride in the rain in France when you know it's sunny and nice for most days? But in BC if you don't go and ride in the rain, you only ride like 180 days a year, so. Crazy. Okay. So maybe we can rewind it back, like you, you know, you mentioned you're from Nice. Like how did the whole, um, yeah, how did the whole journey start for you? Like, you know, how old were you when you started riding, and how did you actually end up becoming, uh, you know, who you are? So like early memory will be like I was probably like four years old. Mountain biking in France around like '94, '95, '96 was getting quite popular because Nicolas Vouilloz was starting to win everything. So the first, if I'm correct, the first World Cup, a mountain bike World Cup was actually in 1993. Mm-hmm. Maybe, maybe I'm off I think, I think it was... I thought it was either '93 or '94, one of those two years. So if it's latest three, that would have been Cap d'Ail, which is beyond Nice. I think before that there was races, but they were not called World Cups. Mm-hmm. Anyway, long story short, Nicolas Vouilloz was, you know, killing it. Um, and so he was on the newspaper all the time. You know, you'll see like, you know, local champion Nicolas Vouilloz claims another World Cup race or another world title and... So obviously you'd see mountain biking a lot in, in the press, and, you know, from that day on, I think I was, I was hooked. And, uh, so sport was on television at the time, and so I wanted to do it, but my parents were very against it because, you know, obviously it's very expensive. Oh, really? Very expensive sport and very dangerous. And so, you know, they did pretty much everything they could to stop me. And so that delayed, that delayed my start a lot. I only started to ride seriously when I was... Well, not seriously, but, uh, I got my first like proper bike that could actually jump, uh, when I was 15 or 16 years old. And, you know, I'd ride once a week. Like, I had to pedal the bike. I had to pedal my free ride bike all the way to, you know, to that, like, little woods that we had, and we'll build- Mm-hmm like a bunch of jumps and... I didn't do anything like any proper, like enduro or downhill mountain biking until I was, like, 18 or 19 years old, and then, you know, I'd ride like pretty occasionally. And, uh, once I became like sort of independent with a car, then I started to ride a little bit more, but I was still going to school, obviously. So, you know, like pretty, pretty typical, you know, someone that's passionate, but that's a student, and that makes no money, so that's pretty limited in what you can do. Mm-hmm. So I was riding, you know, once a week, maybe twice a week if I was lucky, and... But I loved it. Like, I absolutely loved it and, you know, I wasn't super good. I felt like I had a, I felt like I had a really good technique, um, but I wasn't really fast. I didn't have the, I didn't have the drive to, to be the fastest. I knew I would never be the fastest. Like, I just didn't have the, you know, the ability to let go the brakes as much as other people and, uh... But I just, I just, I just loved it. Like, I was really, uh, really passionate and obviously I'm still, but I felt like I knew everything about biking. And yeah, then the opportunity to go to Whistler came up, and I took it. And at this point, all I, all I had to do really was to ride. So I felt like I, I progressed a decent amount when I was there. Not necessarily technically, though. I feel like technically I only got better at jumping because in France, uh, where I was from, there was no jumps, so it was difficult to, to get good at jumping. Uh, but like anything that was technical terrain, cornering, if you can ride the terrain in France, that's like- Slippery and awkward and stuff like that, riding a line is pretty easy. Crazy. And how old were you then when you actually, when you went to Whistler? I would have been 22 or 23 years old. Crazy. So, so-- But at that stage, were you, you weren't- I was- ... was making a l- you weren't making a living yet? No. No, no, no, not at all. No, no. That was never a plan. Like, I never thought I would ever be making a living. I was... Because I did a business school, my dream job was to become like a, a product manager. Mm. Or like some type of work in the bike industry as someone that can ride a bike, understand the marketing side of things as well as the sales, and come up with, you know, work with engineers and the athlete and come up with a product that's actually gonna sell. Mm-hmm. Um, so that was what I wanted to do. And when I went to Canada, that was the career I was trying to have. So what I did was, I was trying to be really professional when I was riding, and I was trying to progress, and I was trying to film some photo or take some photo and film some videos to show when I was applying to jobs that, "Hey, I can also ride a bike pretty decently." So therefore, I felt like I should be considered for jobs, not only because of my studies and my knowledge of the industry, but also because I could actually ride a bike. Which obviously, you know, that's in the industry, um, I feel like as a product manager or an engineer, or whichever position in the bike world, people are gonna take you more seriously if you can actually, if you can actually shred. Yeah. That's, you know... I, I do feel like, uh, when a product manager or an engineer rides well, I do feel like it gives more credibility to, to his product. Um, so anyway, that was my idea. Uh, but I had no luck whatsoever finding any type of- Really? ... any type of job. Like, my English was definitely handicapping me a lot. Um- Mm-hmm ... you know. And I understand why. Like, in marketing, if your English isn't perfect, that makes it really tricky to, you know, do any type of, like, copywriting or anything like that. Mm-hmm. Um, but at the same time, I was also trying to, because bikes are so expensive, I was trying to get some local support. So when I got to Whistler I got some help from, like Shimano, for example, gave me, uh, like a Z kit, so I like shifter, rear there brakes. Giant, I worked at Giant and I got staff deal on the bike. Mm-hmm. Uh, but they made it sound like a co-factory, you know, when you basically get your bike at cost. So I had like a few, a few little things like that at the bike shop helping me out with custom products, which was awesome because I used to break a lot of stuff. Um- ... you know, wheels, rear there, brake levers, like you name it. Mm-hmm. Tires obviously. Uh, so that's how it started. I, I started to get paid in 2014 is when I got my first check ever, and that was from Race Face at the time. And when... Was there like a, a point where you thought to yourself like, "Wow, like I can actually make a living from... Like I can make a career out of this," you know? Basically 2014 I was getting a free product, couple of bonuses here and there. Like I did a video. I did like a couple of video where I was getting paid to do the video. That was very little money, but my cost of living was very, very little. You know, I was living in staff housing in Whistler eating like pasta with pesto sauce. So I s- I started spending, you know, no car. I didn't have a phone with like datas. You know, I didn't have a fancy iPhone. Like, so I was, I was living really, really cheap. So I didn't, I didn't like burn any savings. Um- Mm ... 2015 is when I started to get paid by a, by a bunch of brands, um, which was same, like my cost of living was so cheap, I, I was actually able to save a little bit. And then, you know, '16... and then it grew up from there. Um, but in '17, 2017, 2018 is when I felt like, okay, I'm peaking. Like now it's, it's gonna start going down because I felt like, you know, at Rampage, like I wasn't wanting to go and do a back flip off a step down or, or something like that. So I knew that, you know, I was no longer gonna get invited. You know, the bike park videos, you can't do that forever. Like the trail stays the same. Like it's hard to, it's hard to like keep innovating, um, when the terrain doesn't really change much. So I thought it was gonna go down, but actually that's when I started to ride more trail bikes. And if anything, riding more trail bikes actually helped me a lot in my career- Yeah 'cause that's what I enjoy the mo- that's what I enjoy the most, and there was like a lot more opportunities for bike brands because, you know, downhill bikes are sick, but what they actually sell are trail bikes. So- Doing cool stuff on trial bikes really helped me and something that I really enjoyed. Um, so then it kept, it kept on growing, and, um, 2018, 2019 is when I w- I realized, I was like, "Okay," like, "this is actually something that, you know, I can probably keep for, for, for a few years, and as long as I, you know, keep doing a good job and I'm professional and consistent," I feel like I do bring... Like, my name now is enough for brands. Um, it brings enough value to brands to, to justify paying, uh, you know, a consistent salary. I think it's, it's cool because you-- I mean, there were a few guys obviously, but i- I mean, social media has kind of changed over the last years, and you were one of the earlier sort of adapting, adaptive athletes that kind of made that, that sort of jump, I guess, into the social media side as the value base. Because, like, in the old days, you needed to do events. You needed to either race or do rampage, do slope style, do something. Um, the social media, sort of social media athlete wasn't really a thing. And, um, so- Yeah ... you know, if I think of guys like Sam Pilgrim, you know, he obviously, he did it as well. Like, but yeah, you were in that sort of first group. At the same time as well, I, I wasn't that early because when I came to Whistler, I had Instagram back in France. Mm-hmm. But I had, you know, I had 50 followers, something, something ridiculous, and I deleted the app thinking that, you know, it was lame. No one was using that. But when I c- when I came to Canada, you know, and you'd meet people, you'd go to a dirt jumping spot and, and someone would be like, "Oh, okay, you know, what's your Instagram?" That, like, became the point of contact. You know- Mm-hmm ... you make, you're starting to make new friends, and people would be like, "Oh, what's your Instagram? I'll message you next time I go and, and ride dirt jumps." And so I was like, "Oh, okay, I need to redo an Instagram." So I, like, restarted an Instagram account, uh, back then. I don't think I was one of the earliest. I feel like I was there at the same time as everybody, really. I just, I just used it. But y- and you know, at the time, obviously it's changed a lot. You didn't have videos, so at the time- Mm-hmm ... it was just photos, and it was super, like, basic. But I, I don't feel like I was there before everybody. I just feel like maybe I was, like, very consistent. But, 'cause I think videos on Instagram, like, started in 2015 or something like this. Mm-hmm. And, you know, all I'd do prior to that would be posting a picture of my bike or, you know, a picture of- Mm-hmm ... you know, an event or a photo shoot. Like, the super basic stuff, right? Like, the, the stuff with, like, the videos and being able to share more, like, came on later. Um, so I don't, I don't think I was that early of an adapter, but I think I, I always stayed very consistent. Right. Yeah, I mean, I feel like the, you m- you weren't early in terms of, uh, people were on Instagram, but I felt like you You weren't ra- I mean, you did dabble a bit. I think you did a... You, you... How many World Cups did you tr- 'cause you did a couple. I did stra- uh, two or s- uh, three. Like three World Cups. I did Mont-Sainte-Anne and Windham 2015, and Mont-Sainte-Anne 2016. Because that... So you didn't have much, um, on the racing or competi- competitive side. I don't know if you were younger. Did you do any racing when you were younger? Uh, so back in France I did a little bit, but very, you know, like regional cups. But the thing is that the regional cup in France, you had like... Like, the level was insane. Like, you're gonna- You have like Yoann Barelli. Yeah. And at the time obviously he was younger, but he was equally as good as, and talented as he is now. Uh, you had Loris Vergier and, you know, Guillaume Cauvin that's retired now. But, like, the... Just the level was insane. But then when I came to Whistler, like, one of the way I got to progress that I used to do those Fat Wednesday. So Fat Wednesday were like those local races that, uh, the Whistler Bike Park put together, and a $5 race. So you pay $5 for the entry, and, uh, and then you get, like, a little, uh, prize money at the end. But it's very friendly and yet very competitive. You know, people are... So like you say, oh, it's, you know, it's, it's just for fun. But, you know, the top three riders want to... I, I mean, every- everybody wants to do well. Like, you know, if you just want to do a lap with your friend, like why would you, why would you enter the race? Yeah. Uh, a lot of people, you know, get into mountain biking and like, "Ah, you know, I want to do a race, and this is pretty good. It's stress-less, you know. There's no qualification, no... You know, you just show up, and you drop whenever you... pretty much whenever you're ready." Um, but, you know, at the time there was, like, Remy Bovin doing it. Like, I mean, all the, all the Whistler BC, like Finn Iles was doing all of them. Yeah. Uh, and everybody, Jesse Melamed was doing a lot of them. Like, uh, you had like a bunch of international rider coming in. Like Troy Brosnan did a bunch of them. Mm-hmm. Chris Kovarik was doing every single of them. And because why would you not, right? It's a good training. Mm-hmm. It's like every week you got like... And for me that was, like, a way to, um, try to progress. You know, you got, like, a timing, and you need to treat it like, you know, it's still a race. So I'll do my practice lap, check the lines, and then when I try to race, like, that's the only time really where I'll push myself on, like, three minutes- Mm ... because otherwise I will never do that. And so I use that to try to progress. But other than that, I don't have any, any really, uh, racing background at all, other than some urban endurance that I've done after that. It's interesting because, like- I mean, you're a fast rider. I mean, w- also when you see the videos and stuff, I think people would be surprised that you never raced, because, like, when you see some of the stuff, you just naturally assume that there was some sort of racing background. And when you did, um, you, you mentioned you did, you did try a few World Cups. What was the kind of thought process? Like, why did you give that a go? Well, I, I think, like, you know, pretty much every mountain biker, looking up at downhill riders, you know, Nicolas Vouilloz and then more recently, like Loic Bruni and stuff, it's obviously, it's inspiring. Like, it's the Formula 1 of the sport. So having a chance to go, I definitely wanted to, you know, take that chance 'cause I'm like, "It's only gonna happen once." Um, but when I got there, I was just like, was not ready at all. Like, the speed of the trails. So, like, those Fat Wednesday races, they were on, like, fairly slow trails, like more enduro style. Mm. So, like, your average speed would be, I don't know, 25 km an hour, 30 km an hour. And then you go to Mont-Sainte-Anne, and I don't know how fast is the average speed, but it was just very, very different, and I... It just felt like two, two complete different spots. Like- Mm ... the length of the track, how demanding it was on the, on your hands and on your arms was just a huge difference. Like, the elevation of the track was, you know, it was basically twice as much- Mm ... as any of those other races I had done before. Um, much more physical dema- like, sorry, much more demanding physically. Obviously, the competition is, you know, World Cup is all your top riders. So I was... I think that was very intimidating, you know, going from being, you know, one of the fastest in the bike park, if not the fastest, 'cause I used to win, like, a lot of those, a lot of those races, to then, you know, going to a World Cup and, you know, realizing that's... I mean, obviously, I knew it. Like, I never went to a World Cup thinking, "Oh, I'm gonna, you know, do it-" "... some crazy." Like, obviously I kn- I, I knew that. I knew that physically I wasn't there. I didn't have the training and the time on the bike on that type of track to go this quick. I was never really... Like, the trail its- itself, like when you look at the Mont-Sainte-Anne Rock Garden is something I just absolutely don't enjoy riding. Oh. But it's, it's not that long of a section. Mm. You know? Like, if you look at the entire length of the track. Uh, but the thing is that you need to go fast everywhere. And so, yeah, I just feel like I'll... Like, I wasn't able to, to go fast on the entire track, and also I just... I, I did not enjoy it at all, whatsoever. Like, I did not enjoy the tracks at all. And the difference on your local mountain, like the Fat Wednesday, I also didn't enjoy the track, but funny enough, I used to go faster on the tracks I didn't like for whatever reason. The trails I didn't like- So that I will never ride because I didn't like them. I was usually faster. I was, like, more efficient. Whereas the trails I really liked, maybe I was putting myself more expectation and therefore making more mistake and not going as fast. But yeah, Monsanto and Windham just... I think it was just too intense, too quick. Um, I just really, really didn't enjoy it. But then I went to-- recently I went to Leogang, uh, and I rode part of the World Cup track and same. It's the same. Like, there's some section on that- Yeah ... track that I absolutely loved and some of the section that I really didn't like. So if I had to race on the track, it would be like, yeah, that section, that section, I really dislike it. Mm-hmm. Put no effort. And this section is really fun, so I'm gonna, like, ride it really well. That next section, I like it okay, so I'm gonna go decently well. I just felt like I was, I wasn't able to, uh, you know, disconnect and see the race as like, okay, you need to go fast and efficient everywhere. Um, and just like physically, I just couldn't handle the track, like, plain and simple. I think that's something that people really struggle to understand, like, from the outside, because it's so easy to see a video online. Like, like, when you watch, like, videos like yours, it's like you'll see some parts and you're like, you can't go faster than that. Like, it looks insane, like, looks so sick. And the same with guys like Bernard Farranclough. You know, they-- I can name so many guys that are insanely talented on the bike. But then, you know, going to World Cup and it's just like they're nowhere to be seen nowadays. Um, and it's not- It's just us. It's just different. It's like it's not a, it's not like a talent thing, but I think people don't understand how gnarly World Cup racing is now and how fast the guys are going and how it's not just about like, okay, I can ride this, but it's like- I can ride this after riding two minutes of track, like flat out, and now I'm coming into this section and I've gotta do this gnarly gap and land between these two rocks, like with no brakes. Like, and yeah, with the pressure of knowing that this is qualifying and there's no mistakes kind of thing. Like, I think just, yeah, some people don't realize, like how crazy that is. Um, and the, obviously the track's changing. And you mentioned like two different sports. I remember my first year that I came to a World Cup was 2011, I think. Yeah. And, uh, I only started riding downhill the worl- the year before. I'd done motocross when I was younger, and um, I did pretty well in South Africa. I was in South Africa at the time, and I was like, "Oh, sweet," like, "I'm gonna go race some World Cups." Like, and you feel ... Because it's kind of the same, like you mentioned, like the local tracks were slower, more enduro style, and so you, you, you feel like you're riding well, and you get... I got to World Cup. Fort William was the first World Cup I went to, and I was just like, "Holy shit." Like- Yeah ... what is this? Like I, I, I literally, my mind was just like exploding. Like, I was just like, "How is this possible? Like, how?" You know? And I, I remember getting to Leogang the first time, and there was a root section, and it was raining. I'd never seen rain before on a ma- because it doesn't rain in South Africa. And there was a section, and you kind of had to unweight over these roots, and I crashed. So I was standing on the side of the track, and I watched, like Minnaar come through, and he just goes, whoop, whoop, just floats over, and he makes it look easy. And I couldn't... I didn't know how to do it. Like I, I was just like, I'd never seen something like that before. Um, and so yeah, it is literally, it's like a different, completely different sport, even though it is technically the same, just the speed, the how rough it is. Also, the lack of practice, like you don't get a lot of time on the track. Yeah. So you have to get up to speed so fast and, and I think that's- Yeah, and the, and the commitment, like, you know, you have... Yeah, that is the thing. You have to get to speed so fast. Like in Whistler, like doing a gap, um, I could take my time. Mm. It could be like, yeah, you know what? I'll come back tomorrow. Do a run in the next day. Hmm, it's a bit wet. You know what? So day after will be like a bit drier. And then once you do it, you're like, okay, that's actually fine. The next day it's raining. I'm like, yeah, but now I know how it feels. I can do it. Whereas on the World Cup- Mm ... you, I didn't have time to do that. But also, I would say is that it takes time to go fast. There's very few riders that show up on the World Cup and right away go really quick, unless they are like juniors and they've, you know, basically done that their whole life, and then they're just, you know, fearless and... But if you look at Dakota Norton, he's doing incredible. Yeah. But from what I remember, it took him some time to go fast, and he's insanely talented. He was already insanely talented back then, but he didn't, he didn't win, um, you know, he didn't do podiums and, and like won qualifying right away. Like it- Yeah ... took him some time Um, and also at the same time, I did some urban downhill, or I guess like a year or two later, and I won like a few urban downhills that had like, you know, a really quick rider like Bernard Kerr and- Mm-hmm you know, a bunch of these guys. And on those races I had no arm pump whatsoever because of the type of tracks. You know- Yeah ... there was no vibration, it was quicker, super intense. Um, but it was like different style. And so, like I could go fast too, um, but like, yeah, riding a downhill track like Mont-Sainte-Anne is just... Yeah. So how- Not, not, not for me ... how would you compare, you know, what's your feeling between the urban stuff and, and downhill racing, you know, in terms of your feeling? Because I was... I mean, I'm pretty keen to try an urban event. Um, I've never done one. Um, but yeah, what, what was the... Like in terms of your mental side as well, like, because they're pretty gnarly as well. Um, yeah. Yeah, it- How did you feel going into that? Well, it's funny because I went to, uh, Red Bull Cerro Abajo last year, uh, 2024, and I hadn't done a race in, I think, five years. Mm-hmm. And I'm at the gates and I'm like, "Well, what gear should I start on again?" You know, it's like little things. I was like, my main concern was like, uh, managing the effort, because I knew my fitness wasn't... I mean, for anybody, you could be Jackson Goldstone or Loïc Bruni, that track was fucking brutal. Because- Mm ... it's very easy to go fast, because you could go fast without pedaling, but in order to go very fast you need to pedal everywhere. So like you could go fast during training and just pedal enough to get the speed and then tuck everywhere, and you, you, you'll be able to have a lot of fun and go fast. But to be able to do a good time, you need to sprint everywhere. Like you, you need to watch the replay of Tomas Slavik, he's pedaling everywhere. I remember like all those jumps were like, the features were actually quite technical. So the sharp turn, like lots of risks. Mm. There was a ton of crashes. And I was actually... Right away I got super comfortable on the jumps, like I felt really good, but physically I just like, I was lacking so much like endurance and power. Um, but it's not... I guess it's less intense than a downhill race in a way, because you got a lot more section where nothing is happening. So, you know, for example, um, the start, you know, two pedal strokes, you pump the two set of stairs, you gap one tight corner, two pedal stroke, right-hand corner, a drop, and then after that was basically a straight line. You still had to be focused because you could go left and right, but you had basically 20 seconds of nothing is really happening. Mm. Braking, a sharp turn that was like you have to be really alert, and then you, you sprint, but nothing is happening technically. A big jump- You have time to relax, then another technical section, then you pedal, but nothing is happening technically. Whereas on the World Cup tracks, there is always something pretty much. Like there was very, uh, I mean, Leogang, for example, would be one of those track, I guess, where there is some section where there's not much to do, like the motorway section. Mm-hmm. Yeah. You know, obviously you carry as much speed prior, but then you can be, um, finger off the brake and, like, just tucking and carrying speed. But you can somehow, like, rest a little bit. Um, whereas, like, something like Mont-Sainte-Anne, I don't remember any section where you could rest. No. 'Cause even under the gondola, like it's-- it looks smooth, but it was, it was still really rough, and so you have to be on it the entire time. And I think that was a huge difference. A lot of those Urban Downhill race, like even Valparaíso, there's a lot of dead moments where nothing is really happening. Like, I mean, you, you might be sprinting, but technically it's like you can sprint with your eyes almost closed. And you, you obviously mentioned earlier, you, you, you've done Rampage a couple times as well. You're one of the few guys that have done the Urban races. You've done a couple World Cups. You've done Rampage. Like how, um... In terms of the, I don't know, the, the whole event, the mental side, the, the whole experience, what would you say is the most, has been the most challenging for you, and, like, how would you compare those three? I think all of them is quite different. Like, I mean, World Cups I've only done, you know, like those two tracks. Um, Rampage or Urban Downhill is known as to be sketchy, because, you know, you got those big jumps, and they're in the middle of the city. Mm-hmm. Uh, often there's no case pads. You can't really go around them. You can't really test your speed. You know, maybe your World Cup track, or often on a World Cup track, I would say there is a crazy gap, but you're often able to, you know, ride next to it, or instead of pulling for a triple, you kind of do double. Um, so you can kind of make your way to the actual gap and fastest line. Same for the videos I've done in the Whistler Bike Park. Most of those gaps you can actually roll the gap before actually pulling it, so that's helps a lot, uh, to kind of build, uh, your confidence to hitting the gap. Whereas Urban Downhill, when there's this big double in the middle of the street, it's, it's kind of like you just need to do it. Mm-hmm. Um, so for me, it was often, like, harder. At the same time, there's other competitors, so you can let other people guinea pig for you. Yeah. And on, on some stuff I, I needed that, especially anything that's a big jump, I, I like to have someone that, you know, tests the speed. But anything that's really technical, like for example, in Genoa, you had the shark fin. Yeah. I looked at it, and for me, that was not an issue at all. But it was causing a lot of problem to many people. Yeah. And I still decided to let people go so I could see them. But by doing that, I actually lost confidence because everybody was looking sketchy. Yeah. Like everybody was looking really sketchy at it. Um, and I was like, huh, I didn't think it was gonna be that bad. I was very confident. I was like, okay, I'm just gonna go drag brakes, let go and treat it like a, a berm and just do a scrub out of it so that way I don't get kicked, um- Mm ... sideways. But I was like, I'm gonna play it safe. I'm gonna watch other riders and, uh, as a result, I kind of like lost confidence because everybody was getting sketchy. Um, but so for the most part, I find like urban downhill are like pretty intimidating for that reason, because also you have so little time to do it, even less than on the World Cup track. Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. And Rampage is extremely stressful, but at the same time, you build what you want to ride, or you ride what you build. So you can, you can change the feature, um, based on how you feel. So if you start building something and you're like, "It's a little bit too blind," you can move the takeoff a little bit further in, you can make it a bit flatter, like you can adapt a lot of things. So at the end of the day, you, you ride something that's gonna challenge you, but you ride it on your own term, if that makes sense. Did you do it two or three times, Rampage? So I got invited four times. I went there four times, but one time I got denied entrance in the US. Ah, man. Um, so I actually competed three times. Mm-hmm. But the first time when I got denied entrance, I went back and I did two runs top to bottom of the line I would have done during the event, which was the same venue as this year. Uh, and I did two laps top to bottom, which earned me a spot back for the fourth time. Sick. Yeah. Was it a decision that you decided you didn't wanna go back or was that just- No, I was just... No, I didn't get invited, um- Mm-hmm ... you know, because simply as a rider, I was just pushing more and, you know, bringing like a lot more tricks and, you know, I think like the organizer and, and rightfully so, like more value into that than what I was doing. Like, I felt like I could do something really cool in term of like riding like- Mm-hmm ... very technical, like more rough terrain. And I feel like since I progressed a lot, so I'm actually much better now at like anything that's gonna be technical downhill and braking controls than I was back then. Um, but no, I, I, like I just wasn't invited anymore. What's your... I mean, what's your thoughts on Rampage, um, at the moment and how it's kind of progressed? And obviously we saw this year, like with Adolf and Emil, like, you know, having some pretty gnarly injuries and this... I mean, it was-- no one wants to see that. Um- And like there were some people also saying like in the comments and whatever, saying like, "Oh, it's, it's getting too dangerous," and like, "They need to make it safer." Like, what's your feeling on how, how things have, have kind of gone? Unfortunately, like that's the nature of the sport. I was there this year. Like, I went and, and spectate and I walked every single feature. I looked at... I stand up on every single drop, every single... I think Red Bull is doing an incredible job. They provide like perfect, um, setup for the rider to be comfortable with... You know, they do everything they can, uh, I believe. You know, there is, there's medics, supports, physio, food, everything you will need. Helicopters on standby, medical crew. I, I feel like they provide everything you could expect- Mm-hmm as, as a company and, you know, each time event, like Todd Barber, which organize the events. Could they put some like safety nets maybe where Emil crashed? Yeah, but then that defeats the purpose of the event. Like, could they put rules that say, "Hey, you guys are not allowed to do any tricks on the top of the mountain"? That also defeats the purpose of the event. The rider, at the end of the day, I think we should do what the rider wants. Mm-hmm. And from, from chatting with the rider and from my understanding, the rider, they love the event, and so don't really want any more rule. Like, if you tell them like, "Hey, we're gonna remove the water on the first part of the course," therefore it's, you know, impossible for you to, to do tricks or anything. Then like the basic jumps or like just even riding on the course might not even be possible. Mm-hmm. Like, the lines of, uh, when you look riders or riders left, all of that without water, you will not be able to get enough traction to slow down. Mm-hmm. So you just will not really be able to... You'll not really be able to get down the mountain. Like, could you tell the rider like, "Hey, you guys are not able to do any tricks on the top part of the mountain because we don't want anyone to get hurt"? Like, I don't know. I think the rider collectively have to come to an agreement on what they want for a change. Um, but I, I really don't think... I don't think you can blame the event itself or the organizer of the event. Um, maybe you can blame the rider for wanting to push too hard, but also that's their decision. Like, should the event be live? I think it should be delayed a few minutes So if there is something like what happened to Adolf, like maybe it's not on live television, but yeah, the rider wants it. At least I think it was a great way for a lot of these rider to make a living, um, from like sponsorship exposure. Mm-hmm. But after what happened this year, I do feel like brands are, are like definitely impacted by, um, you know, what happened to the rider. Um- Yeah ... like emotionally, you know? Like I don't feel like... I feel like brands feel, um, probably a bit guilty- Yeah ... to be part of that in a way. Um, like no one wants their rider to get hurt. I don't know, that's, it's a tricky question. Um, I just see the comments that are super negative online. Mm-hmm. But the rider wants it, so. Do you think that they could place more emphasis on, you know, the line and the creativity as opposed to the tricks, like which would maybe... Like for example, you guys, guys like yourself or Brendan, uh, you know, that came up with really sick lines, but, and obviously there were some tricks, but not, not to the extent of a double back flip like, like Adolf did, you know? Um, and I don't know, like obviously it's, you have slope style and you've got rampage, and like I feel like they've, some of, like you got guys like Emil throwing crazy tricks, like, you know, and Adolf and, and yeah, I don't know, like maybe it would be, maybe the, if there was more weight elsewhere, then maybe the guys wouldn't wanna throw as big tricks 'cause they're like, "Okay, it's not gonna help me as much as it did before." But the thing is that for guys like Emil that are so dialed, his drop where he did, um, in practice, I think he did 360 X Up or 360 barspin. It's, it's already insanely big. For him, doing a 360 of that or a straight jump is not that much different. You know, once he can jump it comfortably straight, doing a 360 of it is not that much harder. You know, I feel like the guinea pigging is almost harder, like the first time doing it and having the right speed. Uh, but for Zinc, doing a flip drop or a 360 drop on his, it's not that much different for him than just jumping straight. Mm-hmm. So I don't know, it's, that's Emil obviously is, you know, his tail whip, like if you had told me someone was going to crash where he did, I, I would say it was impossible to stop before the last cliff. I would say that you will tumble down all the way down, and I, I wouldn't s- understand that you could survive it. But you know, somehow, somehow he did. And then like with the score, I heard some people mentioning like maybe the rider should come up to the judges and be like, "This is my line, and I'm gonna do this trick on this jump." Mm-hmm. "What my score should be-ish," you know, assuming that- Mm ... I land everything. But then- Then it's the same problem, because if the judges come to Adolf and be like, "Your score is gonna win if you land this"- Yeah ... it's even more incentive to him- Yeah ... to do the double back flip, right? Because that would have most likely be a winning runs. I mean, I think, I think he would have won- Mm ... if he had landed that, and he knew it. And so I heard also some people talking about prize money, being like, "What if we reduce prize money so there is less incentives?" But the rider have been, the rider have been fighting so hard to get more money, and now that they get more money, you're telling them that you're gonna remove some of that money- Mm in order to keep it more friendly competition and more safe. I don't know. I think it's just the nature of the sport really. That's... Yeah. I, I think the money side, I mean, yeah. I, I don't think that's gonna do anything, because, I mean, I- let's face it, like, w- what did the winner get? They get- 100,000 US. Oh, 100,000 now. Crazy. Okay. Yeah. That's- For the win ... I didn't realize it was so much. Um- 100,000 US plus, plus a Ford Raptor. Yeah. So- I saw the, yeah, the car. That was sick For some riders, that's huge, and I do think with, to go back to your first question, with the current state of the industry, I think that a lot of rider who are out of contract, uh, don't necessarily- Mm have a good deal lined up for next year, and I think, I would think it's definitely one of the reason why rider have been pushing so hard is for financial reasons. Like, I didn't ask that to anyone. Mm. But when you see some top rider like Tomme Gee not having a frame sponsor- Yeah, it's crazy ... you can only think that, okay, he really wants to win, but also he's probably thinking, "Well, if I land this perfect run and, you know, win or get top three, so it's definitely gonna help my career a lot," because that's a reality. But I guess it's like what do you do, because it's not like they not... Even if there was less prize money, like, like there was before, like, they're still... Some guys are still gonna send it, you know. If you look at the, the past years, you know, like Cam Zink doing those, you know, the flips and threes, and it was so many crazy things that happened. So it's like, well, maybe one or two guys would push a little less. But in general, I don't know if that's... Yeah, if that's gonna change. Yeah, I don't, I don't think I have a, I don't think I have a good answer for it, honestly. Um, it's just like it was crazy to watch. The finals were crazy, but for me, like, guinea pigging was even more scary. Because in finals, you know, the riders, they've already done the jumps. So- Mm ... yes, of course, like, you knew that they were gonna do tricks of those drops and stuff, uh, but in practice, you know, all it takes is, like, you go a little bit long or a little bit short on a jump, and, and that's it. And that, uh, that happened, for example, to Aidan Parish. When he guinea pigged his, his big step down, I was there, um, and he overshot it, and somehow- Handle the impact, which was insane. Um, but, you know, then he went back, did it a few more times, and then he cased it and broke his femur. Were you, like, before Adolf's run, did you guys know that, like, was there kind of a vibe that he was gonna do a double flip on that drop? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, everybody knew. He had wanted to do that actually in 2018, and I was at Rampage that year. Mm. And he wanted to do a double flip off a huge drop, and other rider told him, you know, "Don't do that." Um, the thing with Adolf is, you know, he's Adolf. Like, he, he's, he's gonna do it anyway, so. Mm. And it's, honestly, like, seeing his video from after the crash, like, his, his mental side is, it's very inspiring, like how- Mm ... how strong he is mentally. Yeah, it's, it's insane. Like, when I s- you know, I don't know. Like, that's, that's, it's a life-changing, um, injury, and the way that he's- Yeah ... handled it thus far, at least, at least coming across online, it's, it's incredible, really. Yeah, no, it's very, it's very inspiring, yeah. It's so hard because a lot of people don't have any idea, like, how big Rampage is really, um, because, like, I'm, I'm a rider, and so I can relate somewhat to the size of features, but I've never been to the Rampage site. And I know, like, that even knowing what I do, I can't, I still can't imagine, like, how big some of those things are because I know what it's like when you see something online and then you see it in real life and you're like, "Dude, this is massive." So, like, can you- Yeah ... how, can you, like, somehow explain that so that someone watching on the other side that's never s- that's never been could, like, grasp how big these things are? The thing with Rampage is that there is no trees. So often when you, when you're riding with your friends and there is some jumps in the forest, you often have, like, references of trees and, you know, you, it makes it, in a way, easier to, like, manage distances and manage speed because there's trees. At Rampage, there is no trees. Everything looks bare, and it's just cliffs. And I feel like that makes it, when you're actually there in person, it's, it's obviously huge, but in a way that kind of, like, that kind of fakes the reality a bit of how big it actually is because you don't have those visual aspects than the trees, like, usually bring you. But when you do a small jump at Rampage and you are in the air, it feels like a really long time. It feels like, when you're on the bike, it feels much longer than what you would expect. So those big jumps, like, you stay in the air for a very, very, very long time. And it's not like a bike park where you can roll the jump first. And go a bit bigger and eventually carry it. Like, you have to commit and you have to do it. And managing your speed and clipping stuff in Utah is, is very, very intimidating. And I think anyone that works Rampage, works on the site, like is extremely impressed by how steep and how exposed everything is. Like, it does look... You know, y- you think that you can have your trail running shoes and just go to the top of the mountain. It's not like that. Like, you have to have a proper plan on how you're gonna get to the top. You cannot... I can only say it, it's so steep. Like, you have to go the long way around in order to get to the top. For any mountain biker, regardless your level, like, I don't think you imagine how gnarly that is. Even the smaller feature. And a lot of the thing you don't see on TV, like for example, Thomas' run one line, it's a epic run by the way. At some points towards the first third of his, also his, um, I guess 50% of his run, he's got a little canyon gap. The gap itself is not very big. It's not very big, you know, but it's so exposed. The, the landing is very steep. If you go slightly long, you overshoot it, and then you collapse in the landing, and you could potentially jump off and fall off a cliff. If you come short, you, like, ride your front wheel and explode on the uphill. Like, and it's so insanely gnarly. But the jump itself is not that big. You know, it's... If it was a tabletop with a long run out, like, it's not that big. But riding it the way he did, coming out of a corner, having to, like, brake, line up with the cliff on the left-hand side, you know, not thinking about all the exposures that you had on the right-hand side, the compression, and everything that could go wrong in between is insane. And to me, that's-- And this is just a small feature from his line. And this on TV, it really doesn't look like much. Mm-hmm. But go and stand on the takeoff and tell me if you will do the jump. Like, but then as always, you know, everybody's got their strength. Like, this is the type of features that I'm not comfortable riding because it's a, it's pretty much a blind step down, and you have to be really precise. But if it's something that's, like, really technical on the brakes, it's something I'm gonna be more comfortable, more likely to do. Um, so everybody obviously has got their own, their own thing, and it's kind of the beauty of Rampage is that you kind of get to build, uh, stuff you want to be riding. So you can make it a way that, you know, fits your style. But yeah, it's, uh, it's much more gnarlier than what people expect, that's for sure. And when you, when you're at the top, like, when you're in the start gate and it's, you're about to drop, like, what, what's going through your head at that point? Because I mean, like- Yeah, it, like, you know, you got like, you, you could potentially have, have an insane run, or you could end up going off and high in a helicopter. Uh, for me, like, so in 2015 when I did it, I had done a lot of practice runs and you had qualifying at the time. So I, I did the qualifying first. So by the time of finals, like, like, I was not stressed at all. It was just, I just have to ride the trail. Like, I know how to ride it. So that was really chill for me. It was fun. I could have done 10 laps a day. Like- Sick ... it was... You know, and I wish I'd done... You know, you're still stressed because you're on TV and stuff, so I was feeling like I was riding tense. Um, but I knew that I could, you know, ride everything well and smooth. 2016, I got extremely little practice. Um, I actually tried the two big features of my line. I only did them minutes before the events. So just before riders meeting, like, so I just had to just go and do it. Um, and I was quite stressed. And then Fox Suspension made some changes to my bike because they had a recall on the shock. Anyway, when I dropped in, I was, I was nervous, but when I did the first drop, I bottom out so hard, and I never bottom out on that drop before. And it's because they removed some air spacer, some volume spacer from my shock. But then at, like, you know, I was wondering something is wrong with my bike. Like, did I just crack my frame? Did something happen to the bike? Um, so then it became like that run, I was extremely... Like, I was about to stop because I was like, "Should I stop because something is wrong with my bike?" So that was, like, stressful. And then unfortunately that year, I got a second run, but it was so windy, like, n-not many people took a second run. Most people didn't. Well, actually, I don't think anyone really took a second run. I attempted to take a second run, and as soon as I dropped in, I felt the wind and I stopped, so I didn't complete it. And then, um, 2017, so I didn't get to go. I went back in 2018, early 2018 by myself, and I did two runs top to bottom, and that was, like, very stressful because I knew that would be my only chance to get an invite back at Fort Page. So I did that pretty much by myself. I had just a couple of friends on the mountain, uh, there for support. Pretty much no practice. It had rained the day before, so like, you know, dirt was sticking to the tires. Like, it was cloudy, but I felt like under a lot of pressure to, you know, do a top to bottom to have a video to submit an entry. And then 2018, I got limited practice as well. My line just wasn't working really well. I had a lot of, like, little awkward things. Nothing was huge, but I had, like, I had a road gap that was, like, really, really tough to get. First time I did it, I, like, cased it. I stayed on the bike, but it was just really hard to ride So like I make, I made everything look much harder than it should have been, but really it is, it was really, really hard to ride. I had a lot of unique features, and I just like, I had to carry so much speed for it. I had to go so fast and, you know, if I was sliding a corner, like just slightly, I'm losing a couple of kilometer. It was the difference between I had to like stop and not do the jump because otherwise I knew I was not gonna make it. Uh, so 2018 I was just ... Yeah, I wasn't really stressed. Like, it's not like any feature was huge. It's more like I had to ride everything perfect, and as a result I rode just tight and awkwardly. You ... I mean, in, in, besides the Rampage, like with all the, in your videos, your POVs and stuff, like you've done some, some gnarly stuff, some gnarly gaps, um, some features in Squamish and, and all over BC. Um, it might be hard to pick one, but like is there something like if you could pick like the gnarliest thing that you've done or something that has scared you the most, um, does anything come to mind? Yeah. I mean, I've done one in, uh, in Utah, which is forbidden. You're not supposed to do it. Um, got in trouble for it. There was a sign that says, "No mountain biking," but I assume it was for liability reasons. Um- Mm-hmm ... anyway, long story short, I went and there is a big rocks that a bunch of people had ridden. And so when I went there, I was like, okay, it's, you know, it's super exposed left and right, you know, a big cliff. But the riding itself was pretty straightforward. So when I went there, I was like, I'm only gonna do it if I can do it really fast and, you know, very, very controlled. So I went and like I simply sprinted down it and went really quick. And then I look on the side and there is another similar looking rock slab, and I was like, I'm, I'm gonna go on top of it 'cause no one's ridden it. It looks fairly similar, and I look on top, I'm like, ah. It was insanely steep and like pretty bumpy, and the run out was like a bit of camber and I thought that if someone could ride it, that would be me. Like being a lighter rider, I definitely have an advantage on like the super steep slabs. But I thought it was gonna be okay, and so I did it, and I definitely underestimated how gnarly that was. You know, it's the type of, you know, sometimes you see a drop and you do it, and you're like, "Oh, it's easier than I thought." Mm. This was way harder than I thought. And so I got a bit sketchy on the first attempt, so I went back up thinking, "Okay, now I can do it better." And the more I did it, the more sketchy I got. And so I did it three times and I stopped. And, um, I know that Kian Buranji after went and stood on it and didn't think it was rideable. So I would say that's the gnarliest thing I've ever done. I, I am very, I'm very confident it's The gnarliest move I've ever done. It's a b- like very technical and insanely risky. Yeah. It's interesting you said, like, 'cause normally you'd think that when you ride it the second or third time it'll get, it'll get easier. But I also... I know that feeling, not on a feature like that, but I, I've had that before when there's been, like, a feature on a, on a track, like some sketchy drop or something like that, and then you ride it the first time and it's like, oh, not quite right, and you're like, "Okay, cool. I'll get it better the second time." And then second time's even worse, and then third time you crash. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. No, and this was like... And I had brand new tires, like, I felt like I had all the tools to be able to ride it the best way possible. Like, my bike was, you know, perfectly set up for it, brand new tires, like, everything was dialed. And, you know, brakes were perfect. Like, everything was... And I felt so controlled. And yeah, I don't think the video does justice to this. 'Cause if you stand on top, it's... I had a few people sending me picture after that and being like, "Whoa." And it's funny 'cause it looks equally as difficult as the other line. Mm. But the other line is significantly easier. Like, it's not even comparable. But in videos- I think I- ... in videos it looks the same pretty much. Yeah. I think I saw that, that video, and then you said, "Yeah, this is, this is, uh, this is illegal or something, so don't ride it." But pretty sure I saw that one. Um- Yeah, at the time I did it, at the time I did it, I knew it was forbidden, but I didn't think it was a big deal, um, 'cause, you know, it's basically in the camping spot and, you know, people walk all around the place, and you finish on a manmade ditch. Um, you know, it's not some untouched dirt in the middle of nowhere. It's a manmade ditch, um, to build the road next to it. Mm-hmm. So that's, that's why I discarded the sign at the time. Has there... Uh, do you have any regrets, uh, from your career thus far? Maybe, like, some crashes I've had where I wish I don't, like, you know, redo the feature. Mm-hmm. Uh, like, so, so many times, you know, I crash 'cause I try to do better than the previous time. So I was like, yeah, no one's gonna know if I go faster, but I want to go faster 'cause I know I can go faster type of thing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, like this, if I could, like, redo that, definitely. Um, I think I would have started a YouTube channel sooner. Yeah, I think that was a huge boost for my career. Like, YouTube is obviously a ton of work, but I think it's a, a lot of value for partners, and, you know, it's something that people enjoy watching, and in a way I felt like maybe I could have found a way to make it in line with my career and with, uh, with what I wanted to do and what I like to do, uh, sooner. Um, 'cause I started a bit late, but overall, I feel, like, extremely grateful from what I got from mountain biking, so. I will, I will not change too much, to be honest. I mean, I wish I could go faster on a bloody track, but you know. Yeah, I think we all do. When I see Ja- when I see Jackson and, and Louis- Yeah everyone else, I'm like, yes, this is, this is sick. Yeah. No, it's, it's rad. I'm, I'm happy to be watching now. Like, it's just- Yeah ... I don't know. It's, the level is just insane. Like, it's really, it's really insane. It's rad. Yeah. Um, like I, I, um, was it la- maybe last year or the year before, I was looking at results because, um, you know, I, I started racing quite a while ago, and then my best season was 2017. Um, and in, uh, in Val di Sole I was 21st, which is my best result. And for me, like it's nothing. For some people it's like nothing special, but for me personally, like that was such a, like big goal of mine. And um, I was looking at the times and like Aaron Gwin won that race, and he was 13 seconds ahead of me, and I was in 21st. And then I looked at the, then they had world champs there, um, 2021, so four years later, and if you were 13 seconds off Greg, who won, you weren't 21st, you were 51st. And now it's even more. It's like it's like this, this last year- Yeah ... I mean, there were, there were qualifyings that were, the top 30 were separated by like two seconds or less than two seconds. It was- I know. That's ridiculous ... pretty, pretty ridiculous. Um- It's what is the tightest margin of, of any sport at this level. Um- Skiing maybe. Like, I don't know ... skiing, but like how much ... It's much less viable, skiing. Mm. Like skiing is like line choices and stuff. Like, I mean, I guess, I guess here I could say that about biker, that most of the top biker put their wheel at the same spot. Mm. Cou- couple spots in tracks that are a bit different, couple of little gaps, but um, I feel like there's way less going on skiing than there is biking. Interesting, 'cause I, I only started skiing. I mean, I know that you're a really good skier as well. I only started skiing. I only started skiing like two years ago, but I l- I love it. Like, it's like my second passion. Um, and we were actually in, uh, I was in Kitzbühel, uh, yes- yesterday. Uh, and it was, I was looking at the strife, the, the, the downhill track. Yeah. I'm like, dude, like I, I guess there's less going on in the terms of like there's not like roots and rocks and, and trees and whatever, but dude, that's- Yeah that is gnarly. That is gnarly. Yeah. No, it's, it's insane. And the strength it takes to be able to ski at this speed for, you know, even if the track are shorter, it's like your legs are like ... Yeah. You need a, you need a, you need a ton, a ton of strength, and like the speed factor is Like you mentioned just now with the, with the YouTube thing, I just wanted to come back because it was something that I actually wanted to ask you earlier. But how do you create a value for yourself? Like, what determines your value for... Like, how do you approach a brand and be like, "Cool, like I expect this is the deal, and I would like to be paid this budget for this timeframe because of X, Y, and Z." Like, how do you act- because in some sports, like you know, obviously you got football, basketball, whatever, it's, it's known. Like, everyone knows what everyone gets paid, so it's super easy to look at others and justify like, "Okay, he's getting X, so I must get X." But yeah, in mountain biking, no one knows like what everyone's earning. Yeah. That's a good question. First of all, I try to find brands that I can bring something to. So like that's the first thing. I try to partner with brands. Fir- first of all, I need to love the product. I need... It needs to be- Mm ... a product I want to be riding. That's like key. Um, but also I'm trying to look for brands that could benefit of what I do. You know, if it's a brand that's already work with someone that does very similar to me, then I'm not gonna have the same value as an- Mm you know, another brand that doesn't have anyone in their portfolio of, of riders that's like similar to, to what I do. Then just over the years, like, you know, you ask an amount. At some point the company says yes, and then it kind of gives you a benchmark of what you can get for that type of product. Mm. And then based on, you know, how your career progress, progresses, that number like also progresses. Riders don't really talk about how much they make. Um- Mm ... most of my contracts actually have a clause that says that, you know, I have to keep confidential what's in the contract in term of- Yeah ... like compensation. So most of my contract basically say, "Hey, you can't tell how much we pay you." Some contract don't say that. And for the one don't say that, like, you know, with a few friends we'll like exchange a little bit on what we get paid. Um, and that's, I think that's important. That's the only way to know if you actually getting a decent deal or not. It's really... Yeah. I remember a few years ago, quite a few years ago now, um, when Gwen came out and said like one of his best years he'd made a million dollars that year, like all together from all of his brands. And like everyone was like, "Whoa," like, "This is crazy." You know. Um, and I think it was so good like to give people some- Yeah perspective on, on what the best guys are earning. Because like otherwise how, how... Yeah, it's so difficult like to... and to, to know what to ask. And even in like in racing, in the racing side, like there were guys on, on teams that were getting like no salary, like just getting expenses, and getting insane results, like getting top 10s and top 20s. And then they got guys standing next to them that are making like a couple of hundred K, you know. Yeah. So it's... Yeah, it's, it's, so it's a tricky one. And I, I think, like, chatting in between riders is a bad thing, but obviously you, you need to be, like, you need to be mindful and respectful. But, yeah, wi- without talking to your friends, it's impossible to know if you're getting, uh, a fair deal or not. Mm. 'Cause at the end of the day, you want, you want a good deal, but most importantly, you want a fair deal. Mm-hmm. You want your value fair so the relationship with the brand can be sustainable. 'Cause if you get overpaid by a brand, then they're not gonna continue supporting you in the future because they're gonna feel they pay you more than the value you bring. And if it's the contrary, if you get underpaid, then you're gonna get disappointed long term, and you're gonna leave for different brands. So I think it's important to get paid fairly so you stick and the relationship lasts for a long time. How, how old are you now? Uh, I just turned 35. Crazy. Okay. We, so we're the same age. I also turned 35 this year. Ah. Have you given any sort of thought, um, I mean, who knows how long you can, can still ride for. I'm assuming it's still gonna be a long time, but, um, is there something else that's sort of in the back of your head that you're interested to do after, after the mountain bike career? Yeah, I don't, I don't really know yet. I, I'm gonna keep doing that for as long as I enjoy it. Mm-hmm. And, uh, I don't know, I keep thinking about it every day, but, you know, so far everything is going well, so I'm gonna keep, keep doing that for, you know, un- until, until I no longer enjoys it pretty much, or until I can't do it. I'll always be biking, but whether my next career is within the bike world or not, I don't know. I could see myself doing something different and keep mountain biking for fun though. The final thing I always ask my guests is, um, what is the meaning of success to you personally? I think it's looking at what you've done, like personally and professionally- Mm-hmm and f- and feeling happy about it and feeling proud. I think you're successful when you're proud of what you've done. Yeah, if you- Love it ... if you can look at what you've done, like personally or professionally, and be like, "I'm proud of what I've done," then, then you're successful. Whatever, whatever that is, you know? Mm-hmm. If you like open a little coffee shop, you know, that makes just enough money to allow you to, to live in the town that you were born in, and, you know, you're happy with the coffee you serve and, you know, you make nice pastries, whatever, then you're successful. I love it. That's, yeah, that's a great answer. Um- Yeah, what, what's the definition? Now you're putting me on the spot. I, I would say, yeah, I think finding, finding that thing that, that makes, that makes you happy in life and, and being able to, trying to find a way to be happy every day Um, to be as happy. And whether that's, that could be totally different from person to person. You know, some people, it's, they're chasing money. Some people, they're chasing the money and success and all of that. Other people, they, like you said, like they have a little bakery, and they have a lot of time with their family and, and they don't need anything else, you know? Um, but I think being able to enjoy life and get up every day and be motivated to, for that day, you know? Yeah. Because you're like, "I'm stoked with what I get to do today." Um, I think that's, like you can't really ask for much more than that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Great answer. But, um, dude, uh, Remy, thanks so much, man. This is, uh- Yeah ... it's been awesome to, to finally get to chat to you. Thanks for your time. Sorry my, my, um, my voice is a little bit, uh, you know, sick, and I just noticed my camera is not super clean either, so, so- Yeah, nah not the- No, I think it'll be sweet ... set- setup. But yeah, hope people appreciate the, the conversation. Thanks for having me