ASO: Welcome to the Action Sport Optics team Kyle, we are stoked to have you.
Kyle: Thanks, I’m stoked your stoked! And I’m happy to be working with a Vermont based company.
ASO: Tell us a little bit about yourself, where you’ve been, where you are now, and where your going.
Kyle: I’m a professional mountain biker, I started out racing, and got to be in over 10 MTB movies and videos, free ride always my passion became my way to make a living on a bike. I ride everything from big mountain DH, cross country, slope style, street, park, dirt jump, to my little pump track in my back yard. I have competed and won in almost every discipline of XC, SD, DH, DS, trials, bunny hop, dirt jump, snow racing, 4X, street, park, and slope style. This summer at Burke Mountain bike and brew fest I won the Huffy bike toss! I couldn’t believe it. I’m not that strong, but I think my golf skills helped me out by building bike toss speed and getting a good release! Gave my first place prize Dakine sweatshirt to my brother in law, he was pumped. I live in Essex Junction, Vermont, I love Vermont, and I am going to kill it in 2012!
Kyles back yard video:
ASO: Who are your sponsors?
Kyle: Scott Bikes, SRAM, Rock Shox, Avid, Truvative, SDG, Mavic, Native Eyewear, TLD, Teva, and now ASO!
ASO: What is your favorite kind of riding, and how would you describe your style?
Kyle: That’s not an easy one, I will say when I’m on any of my bikes, and just pumping and flowing! I hear people say my style is flow and smooth, so I will say flow and smooth!
ASO: Is there an area in your game your looking to step up or expand upon?
Kyle: I’m working on a few things, I built this pump track in my back yard so I can go win the pump track event at the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey California. This spring I’m going to build a dual stunt course to practice on for the Teva games in Vail. I will also build some stupid big jumps this spring!
ASO: The Crankworx Colorado set up which you designed and built was looking insane! Tell us a little bit about the design, and where your inspiration came from for the set up.
Kyle: I have been on the slope style tour since it started for MTB and was a top contender, I got hurt a couple winters ago training at Woodward East, I couldn’t compete so I started building the courses. As a rider I always liked flow, so I put a lot of flow in the course. I also like big jumps that have perfect speed into them so you can float! It started small and ended big and you could trick top to bottom, perfect!
ASO: How big was your crew, and how long did it take from start to completion?
Kyle: I had a sick build crew, we lived in a house with a hot tub down the street, ate like family at the table every night, and it took one month. Andy Holloway was my lead shaper, Ryan Mcevoy shaper/runner and grab stuff guy, James Hall the bull dog could move mountains for you, and Peter Mills was my go to guy who could get anything we needed from the mountain. Tools, trucks, logs, water truck, fire truck, grill, you name it and he would come back with it! We killed it, and everyone on the build team is a shredder! I almost forgot the famous Hooter, he has worked on the mountain forever and they put him on our team, he killed it and told us some great stories, so we named a jump after him, “The Hooter Booter”.
ASO: Your back yard ( in the above video ) is looking pretty sick, tell us about this set up.
Kyle: I’m super pumped on my back yard for the first time in a long time. I always spent my time digging in the woods or building event courses, but this year was a great fall and I have been digging like crazy in my back yard. My good friend and super shredder Clay Demelo has been coming over and helping a ton. Ryan Mcevoy 17 year old shredder helps me push it on the bigger jumps flipping and 3ing all the time. I have a decent size jump line with a wall ride and a little on off box. And new this fall an insane pump track! The best one I have ever seen, and it’s in my back yard!
ASO: Action Sport Optics is an authorized online dealer of Native Eyewear, one of your sponsors, what do you like most about Native products?
Kyle: Native has great people working for them, they have been a great sponsor that really supports MTB free ride, and there glasses are a high quality bomb proof product.
ASO: What are you up to this winter?
Kyle: This winter is filled with course designing, and training for my comeback to competition this year. I have a PT coach and she is getting me healthy and fit! I will also be skinning up, and skiing down all the sick spots that we have around here in northern Vermont. I will also hit the foam pit a bunch this winter and work on flip and 360 variations.
ASO: Cool, any closing comments or shout outs?
Kyle: Thank you ASO for bringing me on board, watch out I’m going all out in 2012!
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