Catching up with Graeme Mudd - Interview and Video

Graeme Mudd, commonly known as 'Muddy', has been a well-known fixture in the Australian mountain bike community for a long time now. After recently signing a new deal with Summit Cycles/Devinci, he is set to chase after some personal goals on the world stage, in both downhill and enduro...







Who are you?

My name is Graeme Mudd, I am 23 years of age and I'm from the coastal city of Newcastle, Australia.




How long have you been racing bikes?

I have been racing for seventeen years now. I started off with BMX, where my best result was 3rd at World Champs at the age of 14. During my BMX career, I also raced 4X from the age of 12, where I won a bunch of National titles and came 7th at the 2012 World Champs. I competed in my first downhill race when I was 15. Now, I hold the elite National series overall for both the elite seasons in 2014/15 and 2015/16, along with an elite win for the 2016 National race in Thredbo.





Why do you ride?

The reason I ride is simple. I go by the old saying, "do what makes you happy", it is the first thing that comes to mind. I love exploring new trails and going to the incredible places that my bike can take me, just as much as I love the competitive side of things. I am constantly finding new ways to get my bike and I down the hill faster than any previous time before. It's incredible what my bikes can do these days.





What influenced you to start riding?

I had a neighbor named Steven, he lived two doors down when I was growing up. He was able to wheelie the whole street and bunny hop really high. His chrome Redline Pro was the best thing out. He took me under his wing as a young whipper snapper, digging jumps down the road and racing BMX at our local track with him and that's what sparked my obsession with bikes.





What have you achieved through riding?

I try at take everything as an achievement. Besides the obvious achievements of winning, there are achievements in the lessons you learn from losing and the minuscule goals you set to concur in training.

Throughout my career in multiple disciplines, I have listed a few achievements:

- 2013 Crankworx Whistler Dual Slalom Gold
- Australian representative at Norway Downhill World Championships 2014
- Two time Elite Downhill National Series Champ - back to back in 2014/15 and 2015/16
- 4X world champs 7th
- 4X national champ
- BMX World Number 3 - 14 years old
- BMX National Champion - 14 years old





What problems have you faced in your career and how did you overcome them?

I've found that when I dwell on my failures, I will continue to fail. If I was to pick out one achievement it would be my 29th at the 2014 Cairns World cup. The conditions that day definitely did not suit my riding style, but I worked with what I had. Beating so many of my hero's and qualifying to represent Australia at the World Champs was a pretty rad experience.





Who do you ride for?

I ride for the new Summit Cycles Devinci Team. Based out of the Summit Cycles shop from both Sydney and Melbourne, we have an unbeatable set up for this season.





What's your best memory from riding bikes?

My most joyous memory is quite recent - February this year. Crossing the finish line at Thredbo as the last rider down and taking my first national DH race win. I have always been close and consistently on the podium throughout the last two seasons, but to finally get on the top step was such an unreal feeling!





Who do you look up to?

I wouldn't be a proper Aussie downhiller if I didn't idolize Sam Hill's riding ability and legendary race runs. Although it's the guys like Jared Graves, Mick Hannah and Aaron Gwin that I look up to as a racer because they are athletes who have worked hard for their results. Natural talent gets you nowhere in sport these days. Without the drive to work hard for the victory, you can kiss your hopes and dreams goodbye.





What are your goals for the future?

Nobody enters a competition to come second place. My competitive nature will always want to win. And in our sport, that means a rainbow jersey. Sure that is a huge quest, but if you told me a few years ago I would win the Australian DH series two years running I probably would have laughed. For now, it's all about kicking goals every day with my training and continue to progress into a better racer so hopefully one day there is nobody that does it better.






Sponsors: Summit Cycles, Devinci Cycles, Maxxis Tires, Joes No Flats, Sram, RockShox, Troy Lee Designs and GU energy
Instagram: @graemebobmudd @mattstaggsvisuals
Music: Supplied by Graeme's mate, Lewie Buddons

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MENTIONS: @MattStaggs / @devinci / @Maxxis / @SramMedia / @troyleedesigns / @oakley

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