Interview: Brandon Semenuk Signs With Team MIPS
Photos by Toby Cowley
Three-time FMB World Tour gold medalist, three-time Red Bull Rampage winner, and five-time Red Bull Joyride winner Brandon Semenuk has announced today that he is joining Team MIPS.
Semenuk is the second athlete to join Team MIPS; the first being accomplished X Games Swedish freeskier Henrik Harlaut, who was announced alongside Team MIPS’ founding in September 2020.
 | Team MIPS is a global force of helmet safety advocacy led by athletes from across the world, spanning a diverse range of backgrounds and professional sports including cycling, skiing, motorcycle/motocross and more. The core mission of Team MIPS is to raise head protection awareness and lead the world towards using safer helmets. Its athletes, above all, will draw upon their own experiences to encourage all people, regardless of age, skill level, or preferred sport, to make the right decision when purchasing a helmet. Many of the athletes have either experienced a head injury personally or have worked in close proximity to those who have. |
| Mountain biking is my biggest passion, having longevity in the sport matters to me most, that’s why I understand the importance of having the best equipment. I feel that MIPS is leading the way with added safety in helmets and making it available to action sports athletes around the world. I’ve known many people, many of my close friends, who have experienced brain trauma from sport. That’s why I've always chosen a MIPS helmet and that’s why I’m so excited to join the team and help spread such an important message. |
We asked Semenuk a couple of questions about what this partnership means to him, his own history with head injuries, and whether he has any advice for fellow riders.
In recent years, we've learned a lot about head injuries. At Crankworx Rotorua in 2015, you had a hard time seeing out of your left eye but you still dropped in to attempt a second run. What thoughts were going through your mind in the moments leading up to your second run? How did you finally make the decision not to do a full second run?
Brandon Semenuk: Yes, head injuries are not black and white, still so much to learn, but with lots of new information becoming available and more testing happening we can start to approach these injuries better (before or after they happen...). My choice at Rotorua was not easy and highly driven by a fight or flight mindset. After deciding to continue it was obvious when the first tricks didn't go as planned that I should end the run there to minimize risk. I took 5-6 weeks off after that event and got base line tested so I had a reference for the next time I might hit my head
What have you learned since that experience?
Brandon Semenuk: In the last several years I've been fortunate to work with concussion specialists and be involved with the development of new Troy Lee Designs helmets. I'm by no means an expert on the subject, but by seeing test results and talking to professionals it has given me the opportunity to make an informed decision on my injuries and the equipment I use.
Have there been other times throughout your career where you've had to make difficult calls like that?
Brandon Semenuk: Yes, a handful of times. This is a position any action sports athlete trying to compete at the top level will experience in their career. Rotorua was the furthest extreme, where I was only given 15-20 minutes to assess my health and make the call. In hindsight it was a bad idea, but these are the risk vs reward moments we need to make as athletes. I won my first Rampage after getting a concussion in my first run attempt. That win obviously propelled my career forward, so it's hard to know where to draw the line. Better technology in our safety equipment will hopefully reduce the chances of us having to make those difficult decisions.
Do you have any side effects from concussions that you live with daily?
Brandon Semenuk: Luckily, no. I've always done my best to take time after a concussion to heal and feel 100%. I've had short term side effects and it's a scary feeling..
Why did you decide to join Team MIPS and what can we expect from this partnership?
Brandon Semenuk: I've always been an advocate of helmets and I chose MIPS from the early beginnings because rotational impacts are very common in mountain biking, so when they reached out about building this all-star team and wanting to work closer with the athletes, it seemed like a great opportunity to collaborate on some ideas and through that hopefully create more awareness that people have options when choosing a helmet.
What advice do you have for your fellow riders?
Brandon Semenuk: Send it! And keep doing what you love! We are lucky to live in an era with such good equipment and it continues to get better. For people looking to develop their skills it's that added confidence to keep pushing. Whether you're a professional or weekend warrior, risk will always be a factor, so play smart and listen to your body if you want to keep the wheels turning.
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Member since Mar 30, 2011
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www.cyclenews.com/2018/12/article/neck-brace-effectiveness-study
Protection adoption is, at its heart, a fashion industry. People want to look like their heroes. There's no other explanation for this year's wave of glove-free edits, or the haters in Remi Morton's sound of speed edit where he dared to pick a neck brace over kneepads.
Happy to see Brandon doing hero right and influencing towards brain safety.
LOL can you imagine a bunch of bro dudes sending A-line raw dogging it? Hmm
I rode home from the pub (not pissed just a few beers in) then woke up in the local hospital....... Major bleeds on the brain, headaches for the next 3 years and strange twitches that I can’t control......
Put your ruddy helmet on!!!!!
Never say never....
Ive had other lesser impacts without the system that resulted in worse outcomes. Maybe its a better helmet/foam/design or maybe a combination of all. For me it appears worth the small $ for something that appears to have worked. I'd understand if others feel the opposite. More data would be nice.
Had a big highside at speed, landed on my head. It was actually weirdly comfortable, and could genuinely feel the outer shell rotate on the slip plane and actually allow my head to slide rather than slap. It was a massive crash, and all I ended up with was whiplash for a week or so.
Mightily impressed, would (and did) buy again, and won’t buy another helmet without some form of MIPS or similar.
We pedaled up. He donned his battle armor of knee-pads, elbow pads, gloves and future helmet.
He sends it. Comes up short, gets knuckle bucked. Front flip over the bars to tailbone slam. Armor never touched the ground. Off the bike for almost two months after.
I like to remember my unfortunate friends legendary ass slam whenever I'm looking at safety gear. In that situation his $700 helmet was less “safe” then no helmet at all, because it caused him to ride a feature he would never even consider without it. Is that the helmets fault? Of course not. But I feel like we all get sucked down that path of thinking more easily then we would like to admit. Thinking back to my favorite trail: Would I still ride it if I somehow got to the top without realizing I forgot my helmet? I think I would. Would I go as fast? Probably not...
No matter how much foam and plastic you strap to your body, you are not “safe” while careening through the woods on a bicycle. If safety was truly priority one then you'd be riding an exercise bike in your basement. Safety equipment should really be re-labeled as Risk Mitigation Equipment. It's not keeping you safe, it's helping to potentially reduce risks that you find unacceptable.
I think that's why I'm slow to judge the BMX/DJ punks with no helmets. They know the risks of no helmet riding, but they believe the reward to be worth it. I do the same unconscious evaluation when I strap a plastic shell to my head and descend mach speed down a mountain side. Neither is safe, but the risk has been deemed worth the reward.
By no means do I mean to belittle the effectiveness of MIPS or any other safety gear. I love my helmet and welcome every advancement helmets can receive. I just want to remind everyone to be aware of their behavior in regards to safety.
Tl;dr: Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
All that said this year I saw 5 people riding without a helmet on my local trail system. I stopped every one of them and offered to give them a helmet, they all acted like I was crazy. How you can ride a multi thousand dollar bike without a helmet is a mystery to me. I keep a couple extra helmets in my truck (in part because my friends forget them) so my offer is never an empty promise.
helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html
There are a few non-rotational impact helmets that beat out MIPS helmets, but the trend is undeniably clear: MIPS helmets are very likely safer than non-MIPS helmets. Unless the cost difference is large enough that it means you wouldn't buy a new helmet, look for a MIPS (or SPIN, wavecell, spherical, etc) for your next one. The #4 rated helmet is $50. Its worth the extra money.
helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicycle-helmet-ratings.html
I you were to fall flat on your ass on a pillow, would you rather have one pillow, or two?
Important to note is that they've attatched sandpaper to the anvil the head drops onto, so i think depending on the surface you're crashing on this also makes a huge difference since in a lot of conditions the outer shell will be sliding on the ground and not even picking up that rotational force.