Taxonomy upgrade extras
Nicknames:
>Nick: Nickel
>Ryan: Meyers? I don’t really have one…
Birthplace:
Vancouver, BC
Hometown:
Tsawwassen, BC
Ages:
>Nick: 22
>Ryan: 21
Sponsors?
>Nick: Corsair Bikes, Atomlab, Hayes Brakes, RaceFace, Spy Optics, MRP Chain guides.
>Ryan: Corsair Bikes, Atomlab, Hayes Brakes, RaceFace, Spy Optics, MRP Chain guides.
Favorite Trails:
>Nick: Old abby jumps or Man-Pawn
>Ryan: Man-pawn (Zack Dank’s trails)
Favorite places to ride?
>Nick: California… there’s so many places to ride there and everywhere is perfectly built.
>Ryan: Anywhere with a killer set of jumps and my friends!
Favorite places to race or compete?
>Nick: Crankworx Colorado
>Ryan: Somewhere in Europe that I haven’t been to yet.
What sparked your interest in biking when you were young?
>Nick: I got a bike with front suspension and started jumping over and off things and then started building dirt jumps.
>Ryan: My brother started biking and wouldn’t stop talking about it, then he got an issue of Mtn. Bike Action and I thought it was the coolest thing in the world next to moto-x. Soon after I got an Infinity bike from Coast-co and that was the beginning of the end.
When did you get into biking, and what form of biking was it?
>Nick: I was about 10, or maybe even younger than that, and it was lots of local XC trail riding with our dad. But then I started jumping off curbs and speed bumps and roots, and that was way more fun.
>Ryan: My dad would always tell us super exciting and entertaining stories involving himself and his many motorbikes back home in Switzerland, so that was the root to all my interest of two-wheeled machines. I think I started riding bikes as soon as I could reach the pedals because I wanted to keep up to my brother, but I was always the one that had to find something to jump off or over and wind up in the hospital… Nothing has changed, haha.
Have you had any serious injuries while under the influence of DH or DJ? How long did it take you to get back on the saddle?
>Nick: I got my stomach impaled by my handle bar about two years ago riding at Woodward West and had to have a pretty invasive emergency surgery to repair things. It took me a couple months to heal up and not too long after that to get back on the bike. I had to work pretty hard for a few months to get my riding back to where it was before the accident, but I’m still timid of riding wooden ramps now. It was a simple crash, just unlucky for me.
>Ryan: I have had more injuries from biking then anyone should ever sustain in a lifetime and I don’t think it is going to let up anytime soon. I’m labeled as “injury-prone” by most people who know all of the things that have happened to me, and by the time I’m 40 my body will be aching like an 80 year-old. From personal experience though, I would far rather break any bone then tear a ligament or tendon. The most time I have spent off the bike was last season when I blew out my knee… I was off the bike for 7 or 8 months, had surgery, months of physiotherapy and training, and it still feels like garbage! I will probably be feeling it every day for the rest of my life.
Are you guys pretty competitive with each other? Does it help you better your riding?
>Nick: We are always competitive with each other, when we need to be. But we also help each other progress, we ride together a lot when we’re both healthy, learning new tricks and critiquing each other on how they look, plus traveling and riding contests together. So it definitely betters our riding, always having someone on the same level to ride with.
>Ryan: Of course we are competitive with each other—we are brothers! I feel like it affects me more though with my riding then it does Nick. If he can do a trick or ride a line that I can’t, it bothers me so much that I will force myself to try it until I can do the trick or line better then him; or until I get hurt, on most occasions. I feel that it helps more then anything else with our riding… We don’t get the same effect from riding with anyone else.
What events do you plan on attending or racing this season?
>Nick & Ryan: Sea Otter Classic, Teva Mountain Games, Chatel Mountain Style, Crankworx CO & Crankworx Whistler, Highland Claymore Challenge slopestyle, Atomlab Supersession, and any other Europe evens that our budget allows.
What are the biggest podiums thus far in your racing or jumping career?
>Nick: Got a few 4X wins back when we used to race and a bunch of top ten spots at jump comps locally.
>Ryan: I was pretty good at racing 4x back in the day, so I got a bunch of wins there and some podiums in jump and freestyle contests as we were getting into contests. I made finals at Crankworx slopestyle a few years back but haven’t had the best contest seasons due to injuries since then. I’m pushing my hardest this winter though, and training as much as my body can take. So hopefully if I play my cards right, you will see me in the top ten of all the events I attend in 2010!
What’s your signature trick?
>Nick: 360 x-ups
>Ryan: Superman
What is your philosophy on competing? Is it more metal or physical for you?
>Nick: For me it’s mostly mental… I really need to learn to calm myself down before I drop in for my contest runs. I tend to over pressure myself and end up not getting my runs.
>Ryan: There are a lot of both for me… I get super nervous before runs usually, and that is never good. The other times I am coming off an injury and can’t do all the tricks I would have wanted to do.
Do any other sports influence your biking or style?
>Nick: BMX & FMX – both have tricks that can be crossed over to mountain biking and BMX style is so amazing to watch.
>Ryan: I’m influenced by basically any extreme sport. BMX has shown insight to mountain biking that you can do big stuff and have great style and keep it smooth at the same time. FMX always makes me see that it is possible to go bigger every year. Snowboarding and skiing just makes me stoked throughout the entire winter, and I just love the culture, clothing, and connection it has with the general public to tie it all in. I enjoy watching F1 racing, WRC and MotoGP as well, and dream of being associated with one of the three at a later point in my life.
What other aspects of your life have been influenced by biking?
>Nick: Every bit of my life is in some way a reflection of my biking. Biking is a huge part of my life and gives me freedom too.
>Ryan: Everything. Biking has taken me to places I could have only dreamt of going and introduced me to the most exciting lifestyle and best friends I will ever have. It has molded me into a person that I couldn’t have become by just staying in my hometown with all my school friends.
What is your biggest goal for this coming season?
>Nick: To get top ten at every contest I enter.
>Ryan: To get my “trick List” completed and have even more fun then I did last season.
If you were to give one piece of advice to new kids on the block, what would it be?
>Nick: Ride for fun, and be an ambassador for the sport. Personality goes a long way
>Ryan: Be optimistic, have a lot of confidence in yourself without being cocky, and never give up when you get injured.
Photos by Jay Sinclair
