What the? First Anthony Messere, now Jackson with a real bike droppin shit? I quit. he'll probably be better than me in like a year. im selling my bike and gunna crawl back to my couch.
Fantastic. Fast forward 10 years ladies and gents and he'll probably be winning at Crankworx so we can see comparative photos of today and then.. Go for it Jackson, good on you.
this photo is amazing......just shows it really helps when you get into it young, wish i had, im over double his age and not nearly as good........i can see him dominating the mountaing biking scene when he is older.....and could possibly be the youngest ever rampage rider?
He probably would have done this at 5 if someone would have bought him a real bike earlier -_-. But props to him! I'd love to see a new video of him on his new bike
"At least somebody finally bought him a bike with pedals!" This young ripper is 7 not 3 or 4, Those bikes without pedals are for much younger tots who are just starting by working on balance. I think the bikes with out pedals are absolutely genius and to be sending it like this at age 7 I wouldn't doubt he started on a push bike.
^ A-bunnah, Search jackson. He rode a push bike til he was like 6 1/2 years old, and we all thought it was ridiculous and that he needed a real bike, hence the comments. He rode the push bike like it was a real bike anyways, standing on the BB/frame and jumping it.
@hoolydooly, hes like 7 years old. when i was 7 years old i thought clearing a little plastic jump was super cool. hes more than doubling that. i bet all the girls at his school like him.
I know I will get neg props, but what do I care about some online keyboard warrior not liking what I type, so here goes:
Awesome stuff in this photo, seeing the little guy go big..... but on a side note, wasn't that what the book "Outliers" was about? Some people are born into the ideal circumstances and have 1000X more opportunities handed to them than 99.9% of the population. If you are born into the right environment, and you take advantage, you get the above photo! I mean, born in BC I can assume, with parents/father that rides A LOT/pro (not sure what the story is behind it), and then having access to gear and awesome places to ride...
Think of it this way, if he were born into a poor family, who had no interest in cycling and he had never been exposed to it, then he would also be in a sandbox playing lego just like you were at 7 lol.
I have never lived near a mountain, nor could I ever afford to go near one (move that is)....so I could never realistically hope to ride freeride professionally. I live in a boring flat city (Ottawa), and I never had interest in street/bmx that much, so I could never get good at that. Couldn't afford DH bikes, and had no where to REALLY ride them, so that was out... See where I am going with this?
Why am I saying this? I see all these comments about how "I should just sell my bike now" or "I could never be that good"
Sure he's good, especially for that age. Can't deny it.
However, don't feel bad about your skills. Do what you can with what you have. I mean, you weren't handed everything on a silver platter (so to speak, he still needs to have some talent and the guts to do it obviously), so be happy with what you have and just try your hardest...sometimes, it never too late, but you have to understand a lot of professionals are given an unfair advantage from the VERY start (like this little guy! Maybe he would never be as good if he started at like 14 or 15 yo).
if doubledeuce's comment were true I would be a pro surfer today... it takes a lot of hard work, determination, and skill to become pro at anything, not just the right environment and handouts from your parents.. Big props to the little man, keep shredding dude!
can't this be said about everything then? a child born into a family with 2 lawyers as parents should naturally be good with law, a child of 2 chefs a natural cook? just because you live in bc doesn't mean you can't be a fat computer nerd...you should see how many little party animals come out of whistler's high school that have no desire to ski, snowboard or bike!
buffalo1313: not at all, its just that you are 99% MORE LIKELY to be a pro surfer than someone who was born in the desert, its pretty obvious.
quigs: yes I think it can be said about almost everything, but just because your parents are good lawyers there is no GUARANTEE you will be, but there is a good chance, it has a little to do with nature, but more so to do with your environment. a lawyers child is more likely to be a lawyer than a non lawyers child, and a cooks child is more likely to be a cook than a non cooks, the point is the child will be exposed to those professions at a very early age and with the guidance of a very invested pro, thus if they are at all inclined to do that profession or have any natural ability they have a MUCH higher chance of being pro at it than anyone else.
the sky is the limit for this kid, the biggest obstacle he will probably have is dealing with injury, since your entire career and life can be ended with 1 unlucky event, since its out of your control though no point in worrying about it.
There are a ton of factors, but the main one is living to bike.. This is my seven year old www.pinkbike.com/photo/6951906 and yes we do ride alot. CHEERS Jackson
It would be great if every kid would have such perfect conditions like Jackson has to improve his/her skill. However downhill/freeride may be practiced almost everywhere. Otherwise TOP 80 would be crowded with Canadian rippers from BC. Although Poland is not a center of the international freeride/downhill scene like Whistler we also try to give our children a chance to have fun from mountain bike riding: www.pinkbike.com/news/Frower-Power-The-Gnomes-Revolution-part-3-2011.html
Or in simplistic terms: It's f**king good parenting. What an amazing gift for a parent to give a child, teaching/encouraging them to send it that hard.
But to an extent, every one of us here had that advantage, to some degree. So next time you see him, say 'Thanks' to your Dad, for buying you that bike when you were 4 years old, and teaching you to ride without your training wheels.
brit-100: I do thank my dad. I thank him for teaching me all the other stuff he's taught me. Thanks to him, I can fix my car because I was always around him when he was tinkering. now my friends ask ME for help...however if he didn't know how to fix cars, I probably never would have been interested in looking under a hood. (That, and the fact that his friends are mechanics and I hung around them as a kid too).
Buffalo: I never said it doesn't take any hard work. You can't just hop on a bike and be pro. However, being born into the environment that VERY easily allows you to develop can make you a lot higher in your game than the others.
Best example? Michael jackson. Sure, he was worked like a horse by his nutty father, BUT if he wasn't in a family that was into music and wasn't a part of the jackson five and the Family business, do you think he would go on to be a hug pop star
Or look at LMFAO, those dumbshits that create that Shots Shot shots! crap music and all that. Do you think they would be famous "artists" if their father/uncle had not founded Motown Records? Hell, even THEY admit that's the only reason they are allowed to make music and have it play in clubs.
IT IS VERY much dependent on your environment. If your parents are famous photographers, chances are you will be there one day too. Lots of musicians'/actors' children get fame thanks to their folks and the connections/environment (will smith's kid, leonard cohen's son, etc)
Trust me, being born into something and having the opportunity given (and having the cojones to TAKE ADVANTAGE...THAT"S the big thing. You HAVE TO seize it), you should be able to propel yourself above the heads of all the others.
You say what you say, but all I hear is "evolution". To be a great swimmer you need wide shoulders, long body, big feet. To be a great basket ball player, tall, fast. To be a model you need to be attractive. To be a banker you have to have no morals and no empathy. And so on. To be a great MTB rider you have to want to impress your friends / family by how brave you are. To be a failure you have to want to impress others too much. There's a balance. We all make calculated risks, this is evolution, survival of the fittest. Those who are bad at understanding probability do not get to have children.
I live in Ottawa to man! i used to DH alot at local trails in kanata but realized how expensive it to get out to fortune and stuff, let alone keeping up with the maintenance of the bike, so i moved over to bmx because it seemed more suitable for the environment around me.
mtb1stdegree: exactly what I mean! See? This kid has the access to a huge resort etc etc. We just can't afford ot put ourselves in the right environment!
Justincs: You're not trying hard enough. Ask your neighbour, I am sure they can help you. lol
@doubledeuce i just dont think this is relevant at all, yeah i think that what you end up as is very much dependant on the circumstances that you were born into but people who arent born into this can still make it, it just takes dedication. i know a girl who just started riding her bike a year ago and then started racing 7 months ago and already she has placed 2nd in britain and is one of the youngest in her catagory but she doent come from a family that is in any way into biking but started thorugh chance and is now an amzing racer through natural skill and dedication. shes 15 and the girls she is racing have mostly been racing for way longer than sha has. yeahh this kid has access to amazing resources and stuff but for one thing do you really have to start an argument about it here and for another he obviously has the talent for it cuz even with these resources etc he could still be absolute s***!
@mtbgirlzcatzx: That's what Malcolm Gladwell refers to as an Outlier. Most people need 10000 hours to do become a professional at something (that meaning, to do something for that amount of hours before they're good enough to be pro). However, there are people like your friend, who just have some darned natural talent, and without any formal training or anything special, become pro's their own way/route. THey're not that common obviously, but it does happen! (as you have seen first hand)
mtbgirl: ~ 8760 hours in a year. So just over a year, say 1 year, 3 months. That's doing somethign 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So take into account having to sleep minimum 6 hours a day, that's 2190 hours lost a year. Next, Eating, bathing, walking, driving, yadda yadda.
No one has time to do something ALL DAY EVERYDAY NEVER SLEEP. So those 10 000 hours end up being like 5-6 years. So its quite some time, and that's just to become noticeably good. Doesn't mean you're at the peak of what you;re doing. That's just to get noticed. The Beatles apparently played 1000 shows before becoming noticed/signed/making it.
Oldandintheway (I doubt you are in the way lol): haha thanks for noticing
but maaybe the whole point of mtbing is to be good enough for yourself not in realtion to everyone else on the planet, basically what im saying is theres no point being in mood about it just cuz some wee kid is going to have an amazing future and you shouldnt consider it unfair, hes just destined to be awesome
when i was 7, i build a jump out of a piece of wood, a toolbox, and bricks. and it was about 2 feet high and i maybe got 3 feet off the ground total. and i thought i was the best too. seriously, i thought i was super good. not im 14 and racing road bikes and 1st in the state and racing mountain bikes, not so seriously on the mountain bikes though. Jackson, if you read this, your amazing. go big kid!
Jesus... is it real? I thought I do some crazy s**t sometimes but he does it when he's 7... 7? Seven? Anybody wants to buy my bike? I'm starting to play scrabbles as a full time hobby now...
LOL, Ya, but the last thing I want is for Biking to be another competitive sport that parents push their kids into at a young age(like Hockey, or Soccer) thats why I love biking, its a relaxation from all the pressure of competition. I guess not anymore.
Awesome. When I shot Jackson hucking the stairs by the lineup a couple years ago at Crankworx, I figured this wasn't that far off. His sister is a park ripper too!
Holy Crap that kid is Hanging it out . What Kind of Bike is that ? Just imagine what he will be doing when he is 17 ? Watch out tippie this kids going to hit some big drops www.tsquaredvancouverpersonaltraining.com
This picture is awesome! I would really like to know what bike that is? I have never seen a proper dual suspension bike for kid before, I ended up getting my son a rigid Trek M200 (basically a super lightweight BMX made to look like a MTB).
ive seen a couple small sesion 88's and a couple small konas too. just look around the internet. a kid that shreds near where i live is amazing at mountain biking. he started BMXing first and was crazy good at that. and right next to dirt jumps is a downhill course. so he was getting into gravity biking. his dad told me he just got him the smallest size he could find of some bike and it fits him really well. hes quite amazing.
That's depressing.... at the age of 7 riding like that... The photo is kinda shitty by itself, but when you put 7-year-old boy.... WOW!!! Maybe future world champion?
Yaaaaa big ups! That kid is not only dropping glc he boosting it. Expect to see alot more kids coming out of the woodwork blasting jumps at a young age. Bike companies better start making youth dh bikes.
Youth DH bikes? You can't even get a quality 12 or 14 inch rigid bike. No such thing in this country. All the kid bikes weigh about as much as my hardtail, almost as much as my Trek Remedy for some... I think we'd be way ahead of the game if someone started making a 9 or 10 pound kids pedal bike that didn't have a heavy 1 piece crank and heavy steel coaster hub...
Ellsworth makes custom bikes for small people. They are custom one off's though. Seen a few of them, they are freaking sweet. So there is such a thing Ian, just rare to come by.
There are definitely a few one off custom bikes out there, we have a 16" hand welded chromoly bike that is sweet. But for most people these bikes really are not accessible. And the price for them is more than we'd spend on a bike for ourselves, so they're relegated to people that have lots of money, or friends that they get passed down to...
www.pinkbike.com/photo/2452136 krudor makes them too I think. Yeah I know, just was saying they are there in the states and do exist. .
Yes cost is a factor though, less you can get your 7 year old sponsored... hehehe. i broke my first frame off a drop at the age of 12, definately know about the quality factor of kids bikes.
Where were you when Aiden was 4,5,&6 and I was trying to build a bike for him. We went with Specialized for the 20" and 24" because of standout height but the are still heavy and Specialized is no longer making the grom hit Aiden @ 5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NNpC5M-ti0 Aiden @ 6 www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC9yNL2xJ40
saw a kid the same size, doing the GLC drop last year, whilst eating my beef dip. He flew off it like it was nothing, you guys over there dont know how lucky you are to have a playground like that on your doorstep!
wish i was riding at that agewhit a bike like that but in the 70 s we had no air in our tires, all rubber , but still we where happy ,i love it wen i see stuff like this the kid deserve his POD .
Why does someone always say he has big balls when they do something tough? The balls are one of the most sensitive and fragile organs. It would be more appropriate to call him a big vagina, cause that is meant to take a pounding!
I bought my son a Strider for his first birthday, he was pushing around on it by 14 months, riding at a year and half. He's now 3 and pedaling like a fiend, trails, skatepark etc.
Diamondback also makes a great little run bike, although a friend just ordered one and they're now a few inches bigger than they used to be. A little too big for a younger kid now, maybe after they turn 2...
I can't say enough about the Kokua like a bike jumper. Jackson BEAT that thing to the ground and never even got a flat tire. They are low stand over too so as soon as they can walk they can hop on. Yes,they are $250 but well worth it. I think the challenge now if the next step. Once these mutants graduate to pedal bikes there is very little out there for quality bikes.
www.pinkbike.com/video/212405 This is Aiden who is also 7 But does not live in whistler and have the pro's watching him all the time and just loves to ride.
I remember watching this video www.pinkbike.com/video/147106 of him skipping kindergarten to go shred and thinking wow haha! and now look at him a year later hes a real ripper and only 7 when he gets a lil stronger and older this kid will be a absolute beast!
210 Comments
Awesome stuff in this photo, seeing the little guy go big..... but on a side note, wasn't that what the book "Outliers" was about? Some people are born into the ideal circumstances and have 1000X more opportunities handed to them than 99.9% of the population. If you are born into the right environment, and you take advantage, you get the above photo! I mean, born in BC I can assume, with parents/father that rides A LOT/pro (not sure what the story is behind it), and then having access to gear and awesome places to ride...
Think of it this way, if he were born into a poor family, who had no interest in cycling and he had never been exposed to it, then he would also be in a sandbox playing lego just like you were at 7 lol.
I have never lived near a mountain, nor could I ever afford to go near one (move that is)....so I could never realistically hope to ride freeride professionally. I live in a boring flat city (Ottawa), and I never had interest in street/bmx that much, so I could never get good at that. Couldn't afford DH bikes, and had no where to REALLY ride them, so that was out... See where I am going with this?
Why am I saying this? I see all these comments about how "I should just sell my bike now" or "I could never be that good"
Sure he's good, especially for that age. Can't deny it.
However, don't feel bad about your skills. Do what you can with what you have. I mean, you weren't handed everything on a silver platter (so to speak, he still needs to have some talent and the guts to do it obviously), so be happy with what you have and just try your hardest...sometimes, it never too late, but you have to understand a lot of professionals are given an unfair advantage from the VERY start (like this little guy! Maybe he would never be as good if he started at like 14 or 15 yo).
Anywho...cool stuff, but don't feel bad!
quigs: yes I think it can be said about almost everything, but just because your parents are good lawyers there is no GUARANTEE you will be, but there is a good chance, it has a little to do with nature, but more so to do with your environment. a lawyers child is more likely to be a lawyer than a non lawyers child, and a cooks child is more likely to be a cook than a non cooks, the point is the child will be exposed to those professions at a very early age and with the guidance of a very invested pro, thus if they are at all inclined to do that profession or have any natural ability they have a MUCH higher chance of being pro at it than anyone else.
the sky is the limit for this kid, the biggest obstacle he will probably have is dealing with injury, since your entire career and life can be ended with 1 unlucky event, since its out of your control though no point in worrying about it.
and yes we do ride alot. CHEERS Jackson
But to an extent, every one of us here had that advantage, to some degree. So next time you see him, say 'Thanks' to your Dad, for buying you that bike when you were 4 years old, and teaching you to ride without your training wheels.
brit-100: I do thank my dad. I thank him for teaching me all the other stuff he's taught me. Thanks to him, I can fix my car because I was always around him when he was tinkering. now my friends ask ME for help...however if he didn't know how to fix cars, I probably never would have been interested in looking under a hood. (That, and the fact that his friends are mechanics and I hung around them as a kid too).
Buffalo: I never said it doesn't take any hard work. You can't just hop on a bike and be pro. However, being born into the environment that VERY easily allows you to develop can make you a lot higher in your game than the others.
Best example? Michael jackson. Sure, he was worked like a horse by his nutty father, BUT if he wasn't in a family that was into music and wasn't a part of the jackson five and the Family business, do you think he would go on to be a hug pop star
Or look at LMFAO, those dumbshits that create that Shots Shot shots! crap music and all that. Do you think they would be famous "artists" if their father/uncle had not founded Motown Records? Hell, even THEY admit that's the only reason they are allowed to make music and have it play in clubs.
IT IS VERY much dependent on your environment. If your parents are famous photographers, chances are you will be there one day too. Lots of musicians'/actors' children get fame thanks to their folks and the connections/environment (will smith's kid, leonard cohen's son, etc)
Trust me, being born into something and having the opportunity given (and having the cojones to TAKE ADVANTAGE...THAT"S the big thing. You HAVE TO seize it), you should be able to propel yourself above the heads of all the others.
Ha!
Justincs: You're not trying hard enough. Ask your neighbour, I am sure they can help you. lol
No one has time to do something ALL DAY EVERYDAY NEVER SLEEP. So those 10 000 hours end up being like 5-6 years. So its quite some time, and that's just to become noticeably good. Doesn't mean you're at the peak of what you;re doing. That's just to get noticed. The Beatles apparently played 1000 shows before becoming noticed/signed/making it.
Oldandintheway (I doubt you are in the way lol): haha thanks for noticing
(can we please watch our language today when posting, Jackson can read now)
The photo is kinda shitty by itself, but when you put 7-year-old boy....
WOW!!!
Maybe future world champion?
Yes cost is a factor though, less you can get your 7 year old sponsored... hehehe. i broke my first frame off a drop at the age of 12, definately know about the quality factor of kids bikes.
He's starting building little bikes, and helped us with the White Bros fork.
Aiden @ 5 www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NNpC5M-ti0
Aiden @ 6 www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC9yNL2xJ40
Aiden @ 7 www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KpOXjth3ww
So there is a need for companies to step up and make kids bikes that work!
gooooooo Jackson. " A fondo" In spanish...
what bike?????????
I think the challenge now if the next step. Once these mutants graduate to pedal bikes there is very little out there for quality bikes.
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