Community Connection

Community Connection

One thing that I am very passionate about more then any other activity or hobby is mountain biking, it is one of the most fun and challenging sports there is and it is also a great way to meet new people. For my Community Connections project, I contacted Brett Tippie, a legendary mountain biker who has been riding since 1983. I chose him because of the many amazing achievements he has made but also because he is a Vancouver local, so I would be able to make a closer connection with him. He is known as the “Director of Good Times” for his happy and robust personality and well known by all bikers across the world and he has also been inducted into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2010. Other then being a professional mountain biker, Brett Tippie is also a professional snow boarder, an announcer, a coach and much more.

 

I learned a lot of very interesting things that could be very useful for me in the future during my interview (over text). From the questions I asked Brett Tippie, I learned he loves to be outdoors and working where he can inform and inspire people is something he loves to do. When I am older, I would love to have a job that would not stop me from mountain biking and skiing since I feel like I would not be the same person without doing those sports. I have also learned that he has faced many very difficult obstacles in his past such as addiction, injuries and also being broke. This inspires me so much to see how resilient someone can be to have come this far today and to turn their life around.

When I asked Brett Tippie what advice he would give to somebody who is interested in what he is doing, he said “Practice, hang out with like minded people, be on time, under promise and over deliver and look ahead to anticipate opportunities.” This is some very useful information that I can make a connection with since I always try to focus one being on time with my work, events and everything in general. I also think that being friends with like minded people is something very useful to keep in mind since having the right friends can really change the way you act and think. Being friends with like minded people means these people would most likely have similar goals to your goals in life so they will only push you further to achieving your goals and you will be able to do the same to them.

For the two questions that I personal made to ask Brett, I asked “What is a way you cope with fear when it comes to doing scary features?” This question was something I was really interested and curious to see what Brett’s response would be since I must admit, I myself am not the best at coping with fear when it comes to doing big jumps or drops on my bike. I asked this question because I wanted to to know the secret of Brett’s success when it came to doing the utmost crazy and scary looking lines I’ve ever seen. His answer was to practice easier features to build your way up to have more confidence and also to visualize, commit and execute. He also told me to remember to breath! I can really relate to some of the tips Brett has given since I have noticed one problem I sometimes have is that when I get nervous, I can hesitate and stop right before I am about to do something, or my muscles can tense up with can lead me to crashing much easier. I think that it is very important that you visualize what you are doing so that you will be more confident know that you can do it if it is a feature you are sure you are capable of doing. It is also very important to commit since like I was saying earlier, sometimes I hesitate which comes to a greater risk of falling because there will be that small doubt in your mind that will increase more and more which will make you more and more scared. Once you commit you need to execute and finish what you are doing, maintain your focus all the way until the end to finish it off. I’ve seen a countless amount of crashes on YouTube and Instagram and a good handful of them could have gone well if the rider chose a better landing, or was more aware of his surrounding once they landed from being in the air.

The last question I asked Brett Tippie was “Who is someone who inspired you to start biking?” This question was one that I was really interested to know the answer to because Brett Tippie was definitely someone who influenced me during my life as a mountain biker. His response was “My father, my older cousins, my red neck buddies and fellow Froriders back in the day.” In case you were wondering, the “Froriders”  are Wade Simmons, Richie Schley and Brett Tippie. These three people were the ones who made mountain biking the sport it is today and are known around the world for their amazing skills and achievements in the biking world. I can really connect to Brett’s answer because he said his father got him into the sport and my father also got me into mountain biking.

I learned so much about Brett Tippie during this project and I am super glad I had the opportunity to interview him, I owe him a huge thanks. All these answers are things that can help me throughout my life and can also influence me to make the right choices to go on the proper path for my life and my future career opportunities.

 

 

 

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