Why I Didn't Drop In - Sam Reynolds on Red Bull Rampage
Redbull Rampage is probably the mountain bike event that has the biggest media coverage worldwide.
![SAMSUNG CSC]()
Some racers have made or lost so much in just one run. In that context the pressure that is on the shoulders of the riders is huge and the decision for Sam Reynolds not dropping in was probably as high had he dropped in. Especially considering his great result of winning the best trick for his first time out there in 2015.
![SAMSUNG CSC]()
Let’s find out more about his story.
Can you tell us more about your line, the new venue, and what was your original plan?
The new venue was 'back to the roots' style which meant there were no set wooden features like ramps, gaps or drops like the past few years. Unfortunately for me going fast and hitting big jumps is what I like most so this was a bit of a bummer, but me and the boys managed to make a line that we thought was cool with a few big trickable features on the way down. I rode most of it in practice and it was actually fun!
![Images from the Why I Didn t Drop In - Sam Reynolds on Red Bull Rampage Blog]()
Can you tell us what lead you to make that decision and when did you decide it?
Well, at the top there was this horrible thin bit which I'm not exaggerating when I say was 4ft wide with well over a 100ft cliff off the side. If you slipped a pedal or got blown by the wind it wouldn't be a case of a broken arm or leg, you'd be lucky to survive, really. And for me when it came to the time in practice where I went up there, I decided that the risk just wasn't worth any amount of glory or money. Especially when I asked a few days before if it was possible to organise safety nets and they basically said they didn't have time.
![Images from the Why I Didn t Drop In - Sam Reynolds on Red Bull Rampage Blog]()
Are you happy with the decision you made?
I'm totally gutted, to turn down the honour of riding Rampage was the toughest thing to do. I hate feeling like I took the easy way out but at the same time I'm glad it's all over and everyone is safe. I think it's easy at Rampage to get pressured into doing something you would never normally want to with the prize purse and potential stage to prove yourself. I'm just a guy who likes to shred bikes and I decided I wanted to keep it that way! It was a horrible couple of days coming to the decision and looking back I think maybe I should have dropped in but at the time I wasn't feeling right, so I don't regret it.
![DCIM 100GOPRO G0411058.]()
How have your sponsors, fans, and friends been responding to that?
That was my biggest worry at the time and still now but luckily everyone seems really empathetic. Of course I want to say thanks and sorry to everyone who was disappointed to not see me ride, believe me, I'm more disappointed than anyone. I've seen a few comments online calling me out but I'd love to see any of those keyboard bashers walk up the path to the top let alone ride down the lines! I'm lucky enough to have great sponsors too, who thankfully understand and support my decisions no matter what and I really respect them for that. Except the Deakinator who won't stop lobstering on about me not dropping in and no doubt I'll probably never hear the end of it!
Do you want to go back to Rampage and what would you do from your point of view as a rider to try to improve it?
I would love to go back to Rampage and just put some safety nets or something on the bits that the riders could die on!
Any last word ?
I can't believe Trump made it this far!
You can watch the last few days before Sam Reynolds took off for Redbull Rampage here:
Fabien Cousinié - Polygon UR team owner-rider
"I personally have a huge amount of respect for Sam's decision of doing what he thought was right at the moment, no matter what. Having witnessed Sam's canyon gap superman with my own eyes last year, I think Sam has nothing to prove here.
But today in extreme sports the pressure of being cooler and going bigger has never been as high and sometimes riders do what the world wants to see and not what they’re prepared for or what they are capable of.
For sure, this kind of pressure is what pushes the limits of our sport and we need it but to me in sports if you want to truly push your limit you need to be in a special mind set driven by confidence and clearly if you're not there then you have to draw a line about what risk you’re going to take and Sam has done it here despite the pressure.
In the name of the team and the team's sponsors, Sam we've got your back and we can't wait to see what you've prepared for us for next year."
![Images from the Why I Didn t Drop In - Sam Reynolds on Red Bull Rampage Blog]()
![Images from the Why I Didn t Drop In - Sam Reynolds on Red Bull Rampage Blog]()
MENTIONS: @SamReynolds26 / @urteam / @Polygonbikes
Some racers have made or lost so much in just one run. In that context the pressure that is on the shoulders of the riders is huge and the decision for Sam Reynolds not dropping in was probably as high had he dropped in. Especially considering his great result of winning the best trick for his first time out there in 2015.
Let’s find out more about his story.
Can you tell us more about your line, the new venue, and what was your original plan?
The new venue was 'back to the roots' style which meant there were no set wooden features like ramps, gaps or drops like the past few years. Unfortunately for me going fast and hitting big jumps is what I like most so this was a bit of a bummer, but me and the boys managed to make a line that we thought was cool with a few big trickable features on the way down. I rode most of it in practice and it was actually fun!
Can you tell us what lead you to make that decision and when did you decide it?
Well, at the top there was this horrible thin bit which I'm not exaggerating when I say was 4ft wide with well over a 100ft cliff off the side. If you slipped a pedal or got blown by the wind it wouldn't be a case of a broken arm or leg, you'd be lucky to survive, really. And for me when it came to the time in practice where I went up there, I decided that the risk just wasn't worth any amount of glory or money. Especially when I asked a few days before if it was possible to organise safety nets and they basically said they didn't have time.
Are you happy with the decision you made?
I'm totally gutted, to turn down the honour of riding Rampage was the toughest thing to do. I hate feeling like I took the easy way out but at the same time I'm glad it's all over and everyone is safe. I think it's easy at Rampage to get pressured into doing something you would never normally want to with the prize purse and potential stage to prove yourself. I'm just a guy who likes to shred bikes and I decided I wanted to keep it that way! It was a horrible couple of days coming to the decision and looking back I think maybe I should have dropped in but at the time I wasn't feeling right, so I don't regret it.
How have your sponsors, fans, and friends been responding to that?
That was my biggest worry at the time and still now but luckily everyone seems really empathetic. Of course I want to say thanks and sorry to everyone who was disappointed to not see me ride, believe me, I'm more disappointed than anyone. I've seen a few comments online calling me out but I'd love to see any of those keyboard bashers walk up the path to the top let alone ride down the lines! I'm lucky enough to have great sponsors too, who thankfully understand and support my decisions no matter what and I really respect them for that. Except the Deakinator who won't stop lobstering on about me not dropping in and no doubt I'll probably never hear the end of it!
Do you want to go back to Rampage and what would you do from your point of view as a rider to try to improve it?
I would love to go back to Rampage and just put some safety nets or something on the bits that the riders could die on!
Any last word ?
I can't believe Trump made it this far!
 |
You can watch the last few days before Sam Reynolds took off for Redbull Rampage here:
Fabien Cousinié - Polygon UR team owner-rider
"I personally have a huge amount of respect for Sam's decision of doing what he thought was right at the moment, no matter what. Having witnessed Sam's canyon gap superman with my own eyes last year, I think Sam has nothing to prove here.
But today in extreme sports the pressure of being cooler and going bigger has never been as high and sometimes riders do what the world wants to see and not what they’re prepared for or what they are capable of.
For sure, this kind of pressure is what pushes the limits of our sport and we need it but to me in sports if you want to truly push your limit you need to be in a special mind set driven by confidence and clearly if you're not there then you have to draw a line about what risk you’re going to take and Sam has done it here despite the pressure.
In the name of the team and the team's sponsors, Sam we've got your back and we can't wait to see what you've prepared for us for next year."
MENTIONS: @SamReynolds26 / @urteam / @Polygonbikes
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Props to Sam, props to Fabien and the Polygon UR for being so realistic and chill.
and personally i found this years rampage too nerve racking to really get into it, yknow? i was just thinking "dontdiedontdiedontdiedontdie" rather than "i hope he hits that huge backflip/frontflip/360etcetc"
I think Sam's (and Aggy's) honesty is currently more needed in this sport and lives of sport fans than inspirational ejaculations of psychos like Dan Atherton or Stacy Kohut. FEST is an excellent example of not going bigger and sketchier within an eisting formula, but doing things differently without going smaller. But that requires a bit more creativity and risk isn't it? And then they smoke weed on FEST, not as marketable as energy drinks...
Dan Atherton - fk yea, check the first minute of his latest vid. No way to be so good at what he does without being a psychopath. Once you're in it so deep...
Imho, the risk/reward ratio is too damn high to try anything without a minimum of safety equipment. Drill, python, nets, ride, uninstall. No damage to the landscape, the feat will be the same, less risk.
Some days, for whatever reason, an obstacle will stop one person but not another... both the decision to drop in and 'ride another day' deserve respect.
Your posts smell of troll dump for a mile anyways
So what I am trying to say is a bit like the zen master and the little boy: "we'll see". So don't cross anybody out.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2cjVhUrmII
You seriously think that if a competitor in any sport isn't number one, they don't deserve sponsorship? So how aboot all the other hundreds of competitors that number one has to beat to become number one?
Sponsorship isn't just aboot winning, it's aboot representing a brand that thinks a riders persona an responsibility will represent thier brand.
You think Sam not dropping in is bad for polygons image as a bike company? More than likely quite the opposite. Including his fest series participation an FMB events, Web edits etc etc
It's why top personalities get sponsored an douchebags don't
All I want are more videos like this please.
www.pinkbike.com/news/s4p-backcountry-20-with-fairclough-reynolds-and-wilkins-video.html
If a sponsor dropped an athlete for not competing in an event that could change their life (see Paul B) I'd never buy a product from them again. It makes little difference I'm sure but if you don't vote with your feet companies won't get the hint
Yet, I think this can't apply here because there is no result. Never did Sam get a low score , and consistently. He said nope, the risk is too high, there are to many variables I can't control and that can lead to nasty outcomes, I'm not dropping. It was not a matter of 'I can't do it' but rather 'I'm not willing to do it', and for one event like Rampage, I'm not sure it will have an impact.
So in face of such dualities, why do these dudes play such a risky game?
We do.
yes. if not in the right frame of mind, never undertake any activity where there potentially a fatal outcome
when I trained as a BSAC Dive Leader (scuba diving) we were told from day one - if you are not feeling it when getting ready to dive, never go ahead with the dive. Even if sitting in the boat, all kitted up, next to your buddy about to roll into the water.
Nothing better but a bit of civil propriety police making sure no one's feelings get hurt.
And yeah, might be hurtful to some, but I'd bet more gay people use the word gay pajoritively than straight people dare to.
You understand that being a white knight creates more victims than it protects right?
@bluumax: so you freely throw the N word around a lot because it's socially accepted for the demographic it's used to describe to use it? Feel free to come try that over here and see what kind of reception you get. You do understand showing disrespect to others does not gain you any respect?
The N-word hahahaha. Let me explain the difference to you if you are too winded up in healing humanity:
"Hey, you know Peter? - That n*gger?" - ouch... I don't think you can say that... but:
"Hey you know Peter? That gay dude? - perfectly ok.
*Have you noticed how n*gger gets a * and gay doesn't? I think you should report it to Pinkbike ASAP...
Tell me, do you also react so hard when you hear someone calling woman a witch? You know, they were burned, buried alive, drowned, cut to bits and what not. Why would anyone revive those horrors by using such word? How about a Jew? Hey, how about, Oswiecim (aka Auschwitz) changing the name of the city to stop the negative connotations? I ask because I spent 20 years of my life living 1h from it, and my grandmother almost died there. For example: Nazis. Most americans go bananas when they hear that trigger word. But we Polish people whose grand parents actually experienced the sht in much worse form than US troops... we don't treat it as such a loaded word. We also don't make movies like "Inglorious basterds" where it is perfectly cool to murder with cold blood as long as they are nazis... so... Hitler Hitler Hiiiitleeeeer! There goes the Godwin's laaaaaaw
Yeah man, the election talk is annoying as hell, especially when you're not american and you feel they're f*cked either way.
when I trained as a BSAC Dive Leader (scuba diving) we were told from day one - if you are not feeling it when getting ready to dive, never go ahead with the dive. Even if sitting in the boat, all kitted up, next to your buddy about to roll into the water.
I applied this philosophy when I got into extreme freeride. If not feeling right, don't do it...
Wins?
Watching rampage is done for me. I'll keep stalking everything the days before (hurray for diggers!) and look at the result, but I won't watch it next time.
Yes, @robway, your concept wins for me.
This event is astonishing, big things and all that, but for me this is not mountain biking anymore.
I have been watching the Rampage since it started. This was without a doubt the best event ever. Building on this year's format will only make it better and my one thought to contribute is maybe it's worth considering a more active involvement for the couple backup riders. Maybe yes maybe not. I don't expect my comment to change Red Bull's event and I will eagerly be watching again next year.
It would appear that there are some things you have chosen to selectively ignore to enable your very clearly and repeatedly expressed opinion to make perfect philosophical sense within your own frame of reference, and in addition allow you to justify the total rejection of anyone's opinions where they diverge from your own, regardless of the intricacy of their developmemt.
1) "On any other day". When someone, anyone, says, "On any other day", what is it that is being expressed by that phrase? I suggest that it means the person uttering the phrase sees that day as exerting influences on you that are unusual, different, extraordinary. Would you agree or disagree?
2) ".. it's easy at Rampage to get pressured into doing something you would never normally want to".
How do you feel about pressuring people into doing things they would never normally want to? Do you see that as being a positive or negative? Could you see how some people may see it as a positive aspect yet others negatively?
3) It is dangerous to suggest that one's personal perspective should always be the basis for decisions of right and wrong. There are times when it is beneficial to see beyond that. "Honour killings are not f&@ked up, how you view the event is". Perspective is never everything; it is hardly ever as "simple as that". Some of the athletes themselves are saying as much and you are choosing to ignore them.
I have said previously we have to trust the arhletes to take their own decisions, yet it is tantamount to willful ignorance to so glibly dismiss Rampage as being without added pressures. The world is never as black and white as you appear to make it out to be Scott. It takes as much courage to admit that as it does to choose to drop in, or sit it out.
".. it's easy at Rampage to get pressured into doing something you would never normally want to" ---- Yes, just like other comps. that are pretty legendary. That's part of the mind game regardless of what sport or discipline. This isn't unique to Rampage.
And as for spectators who don't understand or find Rampage too much to watch, it is as simple as not watching it for them. Don't misconstrued or assume ridiculous things from my post or anything....
Redbull exerts pressure; pressure created by both the athletes themselves, and the media circus that it is.
"If you dont like it, dont eatch it" is, and always will be, just one way of approaching the idea of live broadcast , life threatening sport.
However, Rampage is young and is developing in response to all the stakeholders' input; it raises questions about the safety of the event and the relationships between competitors, organisers, sponsors and spectators that are deserving of a deeper analysis that "just don't watch" purely and simply because of the pressure to perform felt by the athletes.
As for the rest of your post, like I already posted, you are making absurd leaps in logic based on a simple suggestion to viewers who are not comfortable watching the comp. because they don't understand it.
I am not looking too much into your post Scott, I was taking issue with your belief that people who see an issue with Rampage should just not watch. You say it is that simple. I disagree.
If you cannot see that, you need to take a step back and take another look; more closely and carefully. Have a good day whatever you choose to do.
I couldn't watch the whole rampage this year due to feeling conflicted about giving it views/support. Ultimately the people participating do so voluntarily and they must live with the consequences. Again, I think Sam made a wise choice.
Unless I got it wrong, FreeRide is about riding whatever mother nature gave you to ride down.
Disclaimer: I'm just pointing out that Deeeight analogy is crappy. I'm all for putting nets at Rampage to provide minimum safety measures to the riders. After all, it's not like they have fresh powdery snow to brake their fall.
Completely respect the decision not to drop in. Life is precious.
Love the last word, most of the western world can't believe Trump has made it this far (it really makes us question the sanity of many Americans...
Props to UR for backing their man!! Good one Fabien!!!!!
original.antiwar.com/sahimi/2016/06/27/expect-new-wars-middle-east-hillary-clinton-elected-president
www.salon.com/2016/03/02/even_critics_understate_how_catastrophically_bad_the_hillary_clinton_led_nato_bombing_of_libya_was
observer.com/2016/10/2006-audio-emerges-of-hillary-clinton-proposing-rigging-palestine-election
nypost.com/2016/10/21/huma-on-hillarys-12m-morocco-fiasco-she-created-this-mess-and-she-knows-it
www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/8/hillary-clinton-says-she-has-both-public-and-priva
People that have no fear at an event like that have something wrong with their brains. Fear keeps you from dying or doing something stupid. It’s not something to be mocked. Dropping in at Rampage is a calculated risk to one’s very life. His calculation just wasn’t adding up favorably that day.
Smart, and in the end, brave man.
Sam that was for sure very intelligent and sympathic...
... but omg, always this patriotic pictures. For sure, guns are good for self defense, but stop the patriotic brainwash. The army is just killing people all over the world. Sorry, but Americas army (not people) has lost the respect in the world.
That Said I think rampage needs a change of venue or we need a truly different free ride contest. Why not change the scenery? I understand Virgin, Utah allows for the aerial views for a televised audience, live spectators, and judging (no trees). But I would love to see how different riders could excel at making very different creative building decisions depending on the environment. I don't know the logistics of making a different venue possible, or the new rules that would be implemented for such a contest to succeed. I am just saying I find what is most romantic about Rampage is the ability for Riders to become creative authors, not just telling but showing us new stories; how gravity continues to call us down to earth.
This could create an event where there would be no real reasons for Dropping out. The only excuse would be "I have no inspiration." Who cares about that rider?
-I Respect SR's Decision.
Good for you!
Full respect to sam and his décision!
He deserves all the respect from everyone especially from the ones who don't even has any balls to take a bike and go the the top of rampage mountain and ride it like all the pro riders do!
Rampage is such a great race but also the most dangerous one and i can't stand that redbull doesn't provide more cash prize, more sécurity for the pro riders who dare to ride there! They put their life in danger just for redbull get ads!
Nuff Said, much Respect to you
It but that little voice in your head is saying "not today, it just doesn't feel right". You may go away and come back and smash it another day but that's another day!
What I was curious about is that when Reynolds dropped out where were the reserves????
There were tons of big mountain riders posting vids of them riding into Utah during rampage
Much respect to Ren for being able see clearly enough to know that he did not want to be the first to die at Rampage
right! did the deakinator hit Sam"s line?....... right! at that level of FR, callin' out is BS.
ALWAYS listen to your instincts.
btw #f*ckrampage its fun anymore it was like watching dudes going in war praying for them to survive couldnt even enjoy the riding or tricks.
"I'm just a guy who likes to shred bikes and I decided I wanted to keep it that way!"
Did the Deakinator hit your full line? Doubt it!!