Lacy Kemp and Jasper Wesselman have pointed their collective lens at Darren Berrecloth for the next in DirtTV's series, Beyond the Bike.
One of the best known names in the MTB world Bearclaw has built it himself, from spending his time behind his house digging to understanding what and who a rider needs to be for sponsors. Darren is pro and everything he has put into the sport shines through his riding.
I love that he touches on the fact that sponsorship isn't all about riding skill. I represent Lynn Valley Bikes because I'm a people person and Ken and Rick know that I go out of my way to help others and spread the stoke. I ride with a bunch of guys who are considerably better riders than myself but are much more introverted as people and for that reason they don't represent anybody but themselves. There's nothing wrong with riding for you but you're not going to see much support from companies unless you're one of the best riders on the planet and you get to be a household name.
I live in a small town as well and build my own trails because no one around rides MTB and I have to build stuff I want to ride but it's hard to keep going when I show up and come across a destroyed feature... Not by the owner of the land but just stupid teenagers looking to vandalize...
Its a shame, that these kind of things exist, but theres not much you can do about it. When Bearclaw mentioned the start of hes career, and how he had to build all the stuff to make him able to ride something, that kind of touched my heart, becouse here in Hungary that sort of thing is as common as breathing. We had to built an entire trail so we can use our bikes with my friend, we did an insane amount of buildtime on the trail, and it was destroyed twice by local gypsies. When they needed firewood, they just took it from the jumpers, and from other obsticles, and when they didnt needed firewood, they just destroyed it anyway for fun.. Thats just how some country is planning to leave this year anyway.. :/
Darren is the first professional rider that inspired me to step up my riding, would love to see more footage of his backyard, it never fails to get the stoke rising when theirs a new Darren edit
Seems like the old guys of mtb'ing like Bearclaw and Peaty etc get asked so often "when are you gonna retire?" When really what they're actually asking is "when are you gonna retire from riding and get a boring/shit job?" So no wonder the answers are always the same - HOPEFULLY NEVER
Oh I can tell you that I certainly didn't ask Darren when he would retire, but what he was going to do after he stopped competing. Darren will always be in the bike industry. That's a given. I think it remains to be seen whether he spends his time on the event side or the film side...or the product side... or a combo of all three. He really can go wherever he wants, and at this point he can already ride, compete, and dabble in other career areas as well.
The dude can rip. No doubt. But,... I have to say, he comes off kind of douchey. Not just in this vid either. Neg prop away. But he rips it up, which is prettttttty cool.
I dunno; I've not met the cat, though he's got the cred to back up what he says. And, he's still here, and without knowing what questions he was being asked, it's hard to know the whole context of his answers. I believe that to be one of the best in the world at what you do, you need to have an acute awareness of what you're doing, how you're doing it, and why you're doing it. And at the end of the day, he's a better rider, can dig deeper in himself, can work the professional side of the game, and come back better than a lot of other guys. In our little corner of the world, that's still saying something. And, he knows where he wants to go; as David Whyte writes "anyone or anything that does not bring you alive is too small for you." And the clock's ticking; the Claw ain't getting younger...if that drive to raise the bar comes off as arrogant, perhaps that's a risk that's taken....
I still remember the Specialized ad with him 3ing off a ladder. He forever changed Freeride MTBing for the better. Bearclaw has and always will be my favorite rider.
When really what they're actually asking is "when are you gonna retire from riding and get a boring/shit job?"
So no wonder the answers are always the same - HOPEFULLY NEVER
And who can blame them?