Smutok
Posts: 3
Joined: 4/7/2010
Location: Highland Mountain Bike Park, NH USA
Administrator
Take a second to read through this educational article by Ryan Leech; he has very interestingly shed light on the cons of being Pro. It might change the way you romanticize about your favorite pro riders.
The Cons of Being Pro: The Inner Worlds of Professional Athletes - Ryan Leech
mickey
Posts: 14
Joined: 2/19/2010
Location: Easthampton, MA USA
Thanks for sharing this Dave, it's wikkid fuckin good.
iceman2058
Posts: 106
Joined: 8/1/2009
Location: ISR
Administrator
Amazing and unexpectedly candid.
bhalpin47
Posts: 7
Joined: 6/29/2012
Location: Modesto, CA USA
That was a really awesome article... after I read it I was watching a video from Crankworx(I think it was 2012), there was interview with Cam Zink where he mentions the first time that he ever tried a front flip(In his finals run at Crankworx 2011). It was exactly the type of moment Leech brings up in his article about synchronization and connection between audience and rider that allows them to achieve things beyond anyone's expectations. Although this time it had a positive outcome, it really made me think about what he would have felt if he hadn't pulled off that front flip on the cabin drop. The entirely new perspective is very eye opening and it definitely makes me appreciate all of the pro's in a whole new way.
Either way I don't think I'll ever be able to break the habit of thinking things like, "Gee recovered from a broken tibia and was racing world cups again in just a month!", every time I try something new with high risk.
