Monster Energy’s Bestwick pulls off fifth straigh...
Interview by Pat Schutte
Guys like Jeff Watson, Mike Marker and Tinker Juarez sought it out first. Eddie Fiola, Bob Haro and Mat Hoffman certainly put the sport on the map. But Monster Energy’s Jamie Bestwick just elevated the sport of BMX Vert riding into the stratosphere.
Wrapping up, hands down, the best-ever BMX Vert competition summer in the history of the sports, Bestwick completed the ‘full pull’ so-to-speak in winning the Dew Tour’s PlayStation Pro this past weekend in Orlando, Fla. The win, coupled with wins at Chicago’s Nike 6.0 BMX Open, Portland’s Wendy’s Invitational, Salt Lake City’s Toyota Challenge, allowed Bestwick a perfect score of 400 on the Dew Tour – first time that’s ever happened in BMX Vert – and an unprecedented FIFTH STRAIGHT BMX Vert Dew Cup. Add to this gold at X Games 15 (despite being knocked out cold on his second run in the finals) and Bestwick has, to visit it one more time, just completed the greatest BMX Vert competition season in the history of the sport.
Practically old enough to have fathered half the field in BMX Park, Bestwick stands as a testament to what the future holds for the sport. Hard work, Dedication with a capital “D” and standards set for himself as lofty as his set up airs, Bestwick, er “Bestrick” as he’s called, carries the torch as BMX’s burliest of the burly.
Traveling back to his home in Pennsylvania today (Bestwick commutes to Woodward Camp), Monster Energy caught up with Bestwick via iPhones and scored some comment from him on his utterly monstrous, mind-roasting summer high above the metal coping.
Monster Energy: How do you put the perfect season you just had into words?
Bestwick: “Absolutely amazing! It's such a great achievement for me to ride at such a high level all season and pull of a feat that has always eluded me.”
Monster Energy: Outside the concussion you suffered at the X Games, did you have any injuries you had to overcome this summer, or was it a relatively injury-free competition season for you?
Bestwick: “No my torn MCL has plagued me all year, then I severely damaged my ring finger. The X Games crashed knocked me out, the Salt Lake crash sucked. Still have missing skin and scars, now my right wrist has a cyst in it and it's bothering me when I ride.”
Monster Energy: Fuuuuhhh …
Bestwick: “Yeah, but you tend to forget about those things when you’re riding well.”
Monster Energy: You have a TON of kids that look up to you from Woodward Camp. How rewarding is that to get a text message, call or email from those kids congratulating you on your Dew Tour sweep?
Bestwick: “It's awesome, to have such great fans and friends is a blessing, and their support means the world to me. My Facebook page has been a great way of interacting with the fans, and at signings at the Dew Tour.”
Monster Energy: And what’s some of the best pieces of advice you dole out to the young, up-and-coming Monster Army kids that are looking to excel in the sport of freestyle BMX?
Bestwick: “Have fun and enjoy riding bikes! Be safe and always wear a helmet. The Monster Army crew knows the score!”
Monster Energy: You’ve raised the bar in BMX Vert to stratospheric heights. What can you, Chad, Steven, Kevin, Simon, Jimmy and the others possibly do advance the sport in 2010?
Bestwick: “There's so much left to be done, sometimes contests don't give you the opportunity to go for unrealistic tricks. They (contests) make you ride smart and be more focused on you dialed tricks. BMX has so much more to give in regards to tricks, and over the coming years your going to see huge leaps in vert progression.”
Monster Energy: Right on, Jamie! Thanks for your time, man.
Bestwick: “Anytime. Hit up my Facebook page at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jamie-Bestwick/118939134572?ref=search&sid=1219393646.2610279096..1&v=wall#/pages/Jamie-Bestwick/118939134572