Getting to Know: Cam Zink Invitational Golden Ticket Winner Brady Tweedy

In an effort to get more up and coming riders to the event, the Cam Zink Invitational hands out a couple of 'Golden Ticket Invites.' This year, Brady Tweedy was the recipient of one of those invites, and with good reason. Tweedy is not only a dedicated rider, but is deeply passionate about the community that the sport and events like the Zink Invitational foster. If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Tweedy, here's a little intro.

Give us the basics. What's your name, how old are you, and where are you from?

My name's Brady Tweedy, I'm 31 years old, and I'm from Salt Lake City, Utah. Well, I'm based in Salt Lake City, Utah, but originally from Blackfoot, Idaho.

How long have you been riding?

I feel like I've been mountain biking for six years, but before that was BMX. I used to race BMX in second grade. I raced for a couple years and then it all went to skate park riding and street riding. That's what brought me to Utah, just the bike scene out here.

What made you switch to mountain biking?

I always kind of kept up on mountain biking, throughout BMX days, but it was always so expensive, I could never afford one. So then when I was able to afford a mountain bike, I kind of just dove into it. I definitely went straight to the jumps at first, but then started trying to be more healthy and pedaling. It's all super fun.

Have you ever raced?

I've done one Enduro, it was in Sun Valley, Idaho. But I only did one because I hated pedaling and I'm not that competitive.

Did you have other people that were kind of figuring out with you the freeride thing with you or a mentor?

There's a local bike park, it's called I Street. I would just go there every single day and kind of just figure it out. I had somebody too that rode a little bit that would help me with setting up suspension and just working on the bike and all that so I could get comfortable riding jumps. But I definitely spent a a lot of time alone just going out there, riding and trying to figure it out.

How did you end up going to Zink's event?

Zink's was definitely my first major mountain bike event. My buddy Navi [Guerra] and I drove out there last September and got to ride in Truckee and a bunch of other spots nearby. Then we linked up with Damon [Iwanaga] and he took us to ride at Zink's place for half a day, but didn't actually meet him. Then, this year my plan was just to go out there and help dig for the event. But then the week before we were going to leave, Cam DM'd me directly and was like, 'Hey, can you make a video of you accepting the Golden Ticket'

I don't know who sent me through to him but I was freaking out, screenshotted the message and send it to the homies. To me, you always have to work your way up in a sport. BMX was like that. You start out maybe getting discount parts or whatever and then you work your way up until you get free stuff or a signature bike or something. That's how I've always tried to do it in mountain biking too. You can't just go pro, you've got to earn it. With Zink's, I was just gonna go dig and do whatever they needed to get the event going. So that's what we did, but then I got to ride too. I was there for 10 days.

Did you have any big takeaways from the event?

It was awesome. I got to ride with a bunch of legends, like Aggy and Cam and all those dudes. It's super sick to have an event where you're just vibing and riding and it doesn't feel like a competition. It's more of a jam format, and I feel like some people, me especially, just ride better in that setting.

In other aspects, you can just go do it, you know? Like Enduro or DH, you can just go race. But in the freeride scene, there's not as many competitions for unknown riders. I think that the mountain bike world should definitely have more of that for up and comers and to be able to go out and prove themselves and whatnot.

Who are your sponsors right now?

Deity Components, TRP, Delium Tires, and 686.

What are some of your goals right now?

If I could, I definitely would be a full time athlete. That would be the dream. I'm also more of a video part person than competition, that's what I want do in the future. Riding more events would be sick too. I love being able to build and ride with everybody and push myself more.

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