Interview: Patrick Schweika
Patrick Schweika is a 24-year-old slopestyle rider from Schwalmstadt, Germany. He started to ride downhill and four-cross in 2004 and has spent most of his time on his dirt jump bike since 2007. Besides contests Patrick is known for his role in several dirt jump shows and bike movies like "Action Heroes".
You own a nice dirt jump spot. What does it look like?
It´s maybe not my "own“ spot, it´s more the spot for all the locals here in my hometown. Without all these guys there would be maybe only a few jumps. But with their help it has grown over the last year and today we can say we have one of the biggest and best dirt jump spots in Germany. The Park has different lines for all riding levels. One for beginners with tables, waves and berms. A smaller line with a 6 meter step-up trick jump at the end and on big line with a 8 m boner log, followed by a berm, two jumps 8 meters and 6 meters and a quarter at the end.
Someone lit up your foampit. What happened and did you get help from the police?
Yeah, that's sadly true. A nine years old kid was playing with fire and it got out of control. The police can´t do anything because he is still a child and so we have to wait for answers from an insurance company.
How much money did you spend to build it?
Fortunately, we have some sponsors who pay our bills, but it is a lot of work like everybody knows who also has a spot.
How would you describe the bike scene in your hometown and in Germany?
Ohh. I think it´s pretty big. Over the last few years the sport has boomed so much in Germany. In almost every small city kids have bikes and go riding in the woods or on jumps. We also have also lots of bike parks here; for example Winterberg is only a few kilometers away from me.
You just signed with Rockstar Energy. Was it always a dream for you to ride for an energy drink company?
That´s right. Last week I signed the contract and I am so damn stoked about that. Definitely, it was always a dream of mine. Maybe every rider dreams about that. Its simply amazing to have such a brand behind me now and I´m looking forward to working with them the upcoming season and hopefully as long as I can.
Where is your focus on in 2014? Will you compete in contests or concentrate on video and photo projects?
For this season I will put my focus on some more media stuff, although I´m going to compete in important contests and shows. I have still some work for the new "All in One" bike movie, which will drop this year.
What kind of movie is "All in One“?
It is a German movie production with riders like Peter Henke, Szymon Godziek, Simon Kirchmann, Nico Scholze and a lot more riders. It´s always so much fun to work with the "El Flamingo" crew and I don´t want to miss that. It will be a non-profit full-length bike movie.
You also do lot of shows. What kind of show are you part of?
I am a set rider for the German / European "Night of the Jumps" series. Mainly it is the World Championship of Freestyle Motorcross but if you have to watch FMX straight for two hours it gets boring, so we ride a show of 20 minutes between qualification and finals. On every show we have about 10,000 to 13,000 spectators and always a really good atmosphere. Sometimes maybe a better one than the FMXers have.
Is it more fun to do a show or participate in contests?
Both, it blows me away every time to ride in a big arena in front of thousands spectators, but if I finish a contest run the way I planned it, it´s always an incredible feeling.
How do you train during the rainy winter in Germany?
To be honest, not that much. I know we have some indoor places in Germany but I´m not a skatepark kid. I get bored after a few minutes, I need real dirt under my tires to be happy. So most of the time I spend building and if the weather is good (not like this winter) I spend my time on a snowboard.
Your sister Dana Elena also rides bikes. Was it "your fault"?
Haha, definitely. I like girls who also ride their bikes like we do, and so I told her so many times she should try it. After some years she did it and loved it from the first second, and now she has a big list of successes.
How much time do you spend with your sister riding bikes?
Sadly not that much. During the season, every weekend we are at different competitions. But when we have some spare time we like to spend a day in Winterberg or other bikeparks to shred our big bikes together.
You are also good at building jumps. Can people book you to build a dirt park?
Yes, for sure. I have built many things in the last couple of years. My last project was to build the training spot for Nico Scholze - our German slopestyle young gun. It´s nice to see how happy he is to have his backyard with some reaaaaalllyyyy big jumps. You will hear a lot of this little shredder this year. I promise!
What kind of custom parts do you have on your slopestyle fully?
Like many other riders I put my trigger on my bottom tube and I replaced my 9 gear with a custom made 4 gear. Four gears are enough for dirt jump and slopestyle. Most of the time I don't switch them but sometimes it´s good to have more opportunities.
What was the worst bike related injury you've had?
I dislocated my hip in 2006 and that was really the hardest pain I have ever had. I slipped away on a wet tree root with my front wheel on the landing of a quite fast jump. I went over my bars directly into a tree. Unfortunately my bike went the other way then my body did and my leg was caught in the frame. It took me out for nine months with relearning going the right way after that. But luckily that was the only big injury i had in the last 10 years. No broken bones – no ligament rupture – fingers crossed.
Patrick's Sponsors:
Rockstar Energy, Diamondback, Halo Wheels, Gusset, MRP, Uvex, Maxxis, Suestem, Horizon Watches
www.facebook.com/patrickschweikaofficial
www.instagram.com/patrickschweika
Member since Jan 4, 2001
Such a nice track to ride at, nice jumps and huge airtime!
I'm really looking forward to shred it this year!
Ride on!