Pinkbike: Characters 7: Tara Llanes - The Warrior

I had the opportunity to photograph one of my favourite and most inspiring athletes, Tara Llanes, at home in her daily life for a project with Riley Macintosh.

You can find my photos and his words on pinkbike.com 

The Bakery: My Road to Rampage

My road to Rampage started in Moab when I drunkenly arranged to become a stowaway in the Fox van. For more than six hours on the Monday before the event I stared out the window as the terrain changed like channels with scenes from “Indiana Jones” to the sand people from “Star Wars.” Each time the van braked, I expected to see a cartoon roadrunner being chased down by a coyote. I focused on being a good passenger, tried not to think about how much I had to pee and giggled quietly as we passed through Beaver, Utah.

Read more at bikemag.com 

Pinkbike: Scars

Scars and tattoos are often compared, however while tattoos are used to purposely decorate, commemorate or remind us why we don't drink tequila, scars are usually forced upon us. I got my first scar when I was eight, I went over the handle bars of my bike and landed on the jagged end of a stump. Your first scar in life gives you much freedom, like the first time you scratch the paint on a new bike or drop your $600 helmet, it's game on after that. Years later a friend's mom looked at me and exclaimed "Look at your legs! If you were my daughter you would be grounded!" If I had worried about preserving my legs my whole life, I would be boring as hell!

See more on pinkbike.com 

Pinkbike: 2013 Red Bull Rampage: THE DRAFT

This morning was reminiscent of Apocalypse Now as we drove along the rutted and beat down dirt road that winds into the canyon, the filming heli rose up from behind the ridge and ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ rattled in the back of our minds. The basecamp was quiet as racer awaited news about whether or not they would be heading into battle this morning; winds threatened to ruin the show as decisions that balanced risk and investment were made. 

Read more on pinkbike.com 

Pinkbike: 2013 Red Bull Rampage: The Oakley Sender

The Oakely Sender has a life of its own at Red Bull Rampage, it is more than just a slopestyle-esque feature in a big mountain world, it is a labor of love for all of the many hands that have touched it since its inception. Born in 2010, the structure was originally the brainchild of Steve Blick and Todd Barber, the idea was sparked in an attempt to help Cedric Gracia with his run after his return to the event from an injury. On the way to the original construction Steve’s son, Tyler, went in the hospital, they would later find out that he had leukemia, and in an attempt to keep his spirits high, the original design took shape after his favourite movie, Indiana Jones. As Tylers’s illness continued, the Oakley Sender would become a project of solace for Steve, and a personal creative endeavor for many more. 

Read more on pinkbike.com 

Pinkbike: 2013 Red Bull Rampage: Profile - Vanderham

Thomas is a quiet and humble soul, the type of guy who makes you feel like you are yelling because he is so soft spoken. He is also the only rider to have placed in the top ten in every Rampage, but who is counting? He certainly isn’t. This will be his eighth Rampage, he will be running plate number eight and you will never guess what his lucky number is. The stars are aligning for Thomas this year. With practice cancelled, I found him doing nearly nothing on a rainy day in Utah. 

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Pinkbike: 2013 Red Bull Rampage: Profile - Norbraten

Red Bull Rampage is one of those opportunities you want to take advantage of and want to be a part of. For Kyle it has always been the style of riding that he enjoys the most, and a style that you do not get a lot of opportunities to do; flowing big lines and linking together things like big step-downs on this kind of terrain. The feeling of putting down a run and the excitement of just being around the event are what draws some of the athletes in. There are not a lot of riders in the big mountain scene, but it is a challenging area to grow with the venues being hard to access. 

Read more on pinkbike.com