Video: 15-Year-Old Finley Kirschenmann Sends a Huge Cork 720 to Dirt on His First Try
Finley Kirschenmann has been on Commencal since he was just 12 years old. Since then it has been a never-ending journey of progression and pure enjoyment while doing it. Growing up in Utah, Finley has been at great disposal for some incredible riding all across the board.
Many know Finley from his presence with the Outlaw Bike Team, which has helped him progress his ability in everything from racing, freeride, and riding dirt jumps. We can’t wait to see where the future takes Finley with his love for progression and riding his bike; be it riding manuals through the neighborhood to get cheeseburgers or sending huge cork 720’s first try.
"This whole project meant so much to me. It was my first independent edit for a company, so I knew I had to do a couple things that would scare me. The cork 720 is a trick that I have never done to dirt, and is one I’ve been working on for a while. The trick meant so much to me, and it’s been something I’ve been working towards for so long. I’m so happy to get this done and keep progressing towards more."
- Finley Kirschenmann
Rider: Finley Kirschenmann
Directed by: Jared Hardy
Film/Edit: Jared Hardy
Music: Under The Thunder - Skegss
Photos: Jared Hardy
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Author Info:
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Hugh props to a young fellow who are riding already miles ahead of most pinkers (incl. myself for sure).
Slopestyle is one of those things, though: you just can't compete if you don't have access to the proper facilities these days. We have a 14 year old in our area who is freaking awesome (he's lived in other areas and has parents who have built complexes for him). He can flip, 360, barspin and do all kinds of things that adults in our area can't. That being said: he's WAY behind on th national/global slopestyle or BMX progression when you see kids like Sylvain Riopen @sebastian.riopel on Instagram or Connor Stitt @connor.stitt who are just doing insane things at 10 and 11 years old.
Parents are definitely the unsung heroes (or villains in some cases, hah!). My own son is pretty talented and competitive in a variety of disciplines, but we're definitely starting to run up against some barriers with kids who are either homeschooled or virtually schooled, giving them WAY more time to train and attend competitions.
You start traveling to events, and it gets even more insane. A recent race on a Saturday and Sunday was 6 hours away from where we live. Most kids he competed against went over on Wednesday night and were able to preride Thursday and Friday. My wife and I both had to work, so we didn't leave until Thursday evening. So he only got to preride one day (luckily we had ridden the area a few weeks earlier). Then there were kids who were traveling into the area from halfway across the country either flying or driving 12-24 hours to attend. It definitely made me consider the parents who are making serious sacrifices to take off 2-3 days of work so their kid can preride for a weekend race. It also made me ponder what the limits are for our own family and how to find the balance.
i am curious if the mention of his age is supposed to imply something - would it be less impressive if he were 25 or 35 and landed it first try? it seems like the mean age of high achieving athletes in most sports now is decreasing