Leo Gamboc - Croatia's finest

Leo Gamboc is a 19 year old shredder from Umag, Croatia. I was able to sit down and talk to him about bikes and life, plus I have filmed with him through out the past 2 seasons.

Want to know more about him? Walk with me.
Introduce yourself-

I’m Leo Gamboc. I’m 19 years old. I come from Umag, Croatia, but am currently studying in the capital city of my country, Zagreb. I mostly ride dirt and park, though I won't say no to a good street session.

How long have you been riding your bike and what’s your current setup?

I’ve been riding for five years now. I had to switch through a lot of frames and setups during those years and I am now running a Blk Mrkt Riot frame, 409 Argyles, NS Proof bars and 26 inch wheels. The remaining parts can be seen in the picture. Sorry about the messy living room. I'll clean up soon. I promise.


Top 5 places you rode at and why?

1) Senad Grosic's indoor in Vienna, Austria
You just can't beat an indoor skatepark that has everything (foam/resi/box). And also, having a private session with some of the most creative BMX pro's is amazing.
2) Megapoint indoor in Klagenfurt, Austria
It's the closest indoor park to my hometown and it is definitely fun to ride inside while it's snowing outside.
3) Hutteldorf District Concrete Park in Vienna, Austria
First concrete park I ever rode (and currently the only one). I love the big bowl and the many lines you can try.
4) The skatepark in Osijek, Croatia
It's the biggest skatepark in our country and it gets even better when everybody's there for the contest.
5) KD Rajd dirt jumps in Ljubljana, Slovenia
Very nice dirt jumps. The big line was awesome. Too bad they're getting demolished this year.



Top 5 places you'd like to ride in 2010?

1) Tretlager Halle in Munich, Germany
Some kind of European Woodward. Would love to ride there.
2) Red Shovel trails in Trzic, Slovenia
Last time I checked there were 31 jumps there. Definitely a must-see.
3) Den Devils Dirt in Maribor, Slovenia
The big line is really interesting.
4) Another good concrete skatepark like the one in Vienna.
Transfers are fun.
5) Our local skatepark in Umag, Croatia.
...if we finally upgrade it to something bigger and better.



How about injuries and broken parts?

Fortunately, my only injuries were a broken pinky on my left hand during the only DH session of my entire riding career and a light concussion in our local park. Other than that, I keep falling on my elbow and hip, so they are permanently bruised.

As for parts, I've recently destroyed the axle of my cranks. I've broken my bars and added an extra nipple to my chest in Vienna, cracked several frames and forks, rims had a hard time while learning flairs, etc.


What’s your favourite trick? Which one(s) are you currently learning? Any tricks on your wish list?

My favorite tricks are toboggans (someone said that they are my "signature trick"), tables and 360 tables. I'm currently learning inverts, barspins and flip no handers. As for my wish list, well, the more the merrier. I'd love to learn tailwhips, barrel rolls (corkflips) and 360 opposites on some big jumps.



Where would you rather ride: Woodward or some really flowy trails?

That's a tough one. As for having fun, definitely trails. Woodward would be great for learning new tricks. However, I'd be happy with either of them. I just want to ride and have fun. That's what matters.

What about Croatia? How is the MTB scene over there?

Well, we are a small country, so there aren’t many contests where you can actually show off your skills. Me and my friends mainly go on trips and try to ride some of the places that are close to our country. That’s how we got to visit Senad Grosic’s indoor skatepark in Vienna (and several other parks in Austria) and other parks/dirt jumps in Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, etc.

In regards to my career highlights, I would say that being third on this and last year’s Pannonian Challenge (the biggest extreme sports contest in Croatia) got me really stoked. I was also happy with participating in the Dirt Show in Osijek as well. Other than that, I have also placed 5th at the 2009 Dirt Jump Jam in Umag and I have received the Big Air prize in Koper (SLO) during the OBC Session 3.


You are also one of the organizers of the Dirt Jump Jam in your hometown Umag. Tell us about that?

Umag is a small city on the NW coast of Croatia. We wanted to build our own dirt park, so we established an association (X-Team Umag) and eventually managed to get the terrain and some funds to build a dirt park thanks to the city of Umag and some local sponsors. We also managed to build some kind of ghetto resi jump. It was really nice. As of now, the contest has been held twice (2008 and 2009) and we’re already planning another for the next year. Hopefully, we will be able to gather some more money for it.


Do you have any sponsors?

Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for somebody to offer their help. So, if you’re interested, feel free to contact me.

What are your plans for the future?

We try to go on the road as much as we can, therefore one of my plans is to go on more trips to places with foam pits and resi jumps. We will also try to get a bigger skatepark built in our hometown. We only have a jumpbox, a quarter and a bank. I also hope to get a sponsor that will financially help me throughout the season.


Any last words, shout outs or anything else?

Thanks to Luka for having filmed/edited all my videos, for this interview and for the support. Also, thanks to all the guys I rode with. Huge thanks to Pinkbike for giving me a chance to be on the front page and thanks to my future sponsors. Hope that this interview was interesting. If not, you can still check the videos below. Let me know how you like my riding.

Leo's summer 2009 edit:

Leo Gamboc - Summer edit 2009

by lukau

Add to Favorites Added to Favorites Views: 4,601    Faves: 57    Comments: 19

Leo's season 2008 edit:

Leo Gamboc - Season Overview

by lukau

Add to Favorites Added to Favorites Views: 2,060    Faves: 14    Comments: 12

Umag Dirt Jump Jam 2009 video:

Umag Dirt Jump Jam 2009 - Video report

by lukau

Add to Favorites Added to Favorites Views: 2,057    Faves: 33    Comments: 10

More pictures:










That's it. I hope you liked it and I hope I'll be able to write my next article about Leo getting a sponsorship for next season.

Have a nice winter season.

Cheers,
Luka Urbac
Sca[REC]row Studios

P.S. If you are a potential sponsor and if you want to offer your support, you can contact Leo by just clicking the hyperlink at the very beginning of the interview (it will lead you to his PB account) or you can contact him via mail (it's at the very end of the first video). Thanks in advance.