|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
Solid Gold: Nate Adams
By Jane Dullum
When people start talking about freestyle motocross, one of the first names to come up is Nate Adams. Nate is one of the best. He's a fluid rider, conscious of every move he makes on his bike. Why is Nate Adams so great? When you've got a resume that includes things like 3-time LG Action Sports Championship Gold Medalist, you get a certain reputation.
Besides the 3-peat, Nate has a laundry list of other accomplishments. He has over seven X Games medals, including a gold; he was the 2002 World Freeride Association Best Trick and FMX series champion; he was the first rider ever to defeat Travis Pastrana in a contest, which earned him the gold at Gravity Games in 2003; he was also one of the first riders to get a factory sponsorship through Yamaha; he was the 1st rider to land a back flip to no-hander lander in competition at the Vans Triple Crown in Minneapolis. The list keeps going, but you get the point.
2005 was a year of recovery and catch-up for Nate. He was plagued with complications from injuries sustained overseas. But it has made him work harder for what he wants, and he wants to win.
JD: What have you been up to lately?
NA: Well, I got a new house and I got moved in a couple weeks ago, so I’m dealing with that. But other than that I’ve just been riding and practicing a lot.
JD: Tell me a little about your racing and freestyle career.
NA: Well, my racing career was pretty short-lived. I just raced amateur stuff growing up in AZ. At about 14, I started doing freestyle. Then at 15, I did my first contest with Clear Channel. Then started doing more and more contests and got into X Games, Gravity Games and all the big events, and I have been going ever since.
JD: At what point did you say to yourself, ‘Self, I only want to focus on freestyle?’
NA: I don’t really know if there was one set time. I was racing and doing freestyle at the same time, and when I started doing contests, I had to put my only bike on the truck to make all the tour stops. So that pretty much made up my mind for me. But freestyle came way easier to me, so I just subconsciously started leaning that direction I think. I still love to race but only get to do so a few times a year. Freestyle is how I make my living now. This is my way of life.
JD: How have your parents influenced where you are today?
NA: They have played a huge part in the person I am today. I think a huge part of my success is just staying humble and keeping a level head and knowing when to keep my mouth shut. They have been a huge part of my success up until now and I’ve learned all of that from my parents and the way they’ve raised me. That’s a huge blessing for sure.
JD: What are some of the things that motivate you to go out and ride everyday?
NA: You know, I really can’t pinpoint one thing, but I’m a competitive person and I hate to get beat. I think that’s what motivates me. If I see someone else doing something I can’t do or someone else catching up to me, where I’m at or catching up to my status, it lights a fire underneath me that I’ve got to ride, I’ve got to practice, got to try something new. I don’t know, it just gets me motivated.
JD: How important is it to you to win? Or is it more important to just do your best?
NA: You can’t ever ask for anything more than what you can do. You just have to ride your best and give it 100% because at least if you don’t win, you know there is nothing more you could have done. I would say winning isn’t the MOST important thing because you’ve got to enjoy what you are doing and love what you are doing but I’m a competitive person so I love to win. Winning is just the bonus. When you do a lot of hard work and put months and months into one contest, there is a huge difference going there and getting first and going there and getting second. It’s just that, for me, there is that feeling that I get inside that is a huge difference.
JD: Tell me your thoughts on the back flip.
NA: I like the back flip, I like doing them, and I like doing tricks while I’m upside down. I think its great for our sport, I think our sport was at a point where it was starting to plateau, but then the flip came out. I mean, we are showing up at a contest and jumping a jump once or twice and then flipping it. There is pretty much not a jump at a contest that I haven’t flipped in the last 2 years. I think it is definitely something you can get down just like any other trick, so it’s here to stay.
JD: Do you think the back flip is practically mandatory to win a competition these days?
NA: The consequences are more extreme when you crash going upside down than doing tricks right side up. So the degree of difficulty is definitely there for sure. I would say that the back flip is extremely hard to learn but after you’ve been doing it for a few months it becomes just like any other trick. And I guess it’s all in how you receive it mentally. Because they are scary. And they are hard.
JD: You had some nasty complications from some injuries you sustained last year. How do past and present injuries affect how you prepare for a competition?
NA: Well you know, obviously injuries are still kind of lingering and they really affect what you can and can’t do, so you just kind of have to adapt. Everyone who gets hurt always gets back on the bike too soon, before they should, so you have to deal with it and just know that it might eliminate some tricks that you can do, so you’ve got to focus on other things until that part of you that isn’t working so great is back to normal, then you can go back to doing your regular tricks.
JD: You’ve won the LG Action Sports Championships the past 3 years in a row. Did you feel the pressure to perform well to make the 3-peet?
NA: Not so much the 3-peet, but like I said I just don’t want to get beat by anybody no matter who it is. I always feel the pressure that I put on myself to win. So for me it didn’t seem any different than any other contest. I just wanted to win.
JD: What did you think of the event this year?
NA: I thought it was great. The course was awesome and I thought the way the contest went, it was great. And because I won of course.
JD: Judging is always a hot topic. This year the LG Action Sport Championships had a full rider-judging panel. Do you think riders are the best judges?
NA: I’d like to see more riders be the judges, either not riding that event or not riding because they are injured, and eliminate the judges that the riders don’t know. When we go into a judges’ booth to ask questions about how the judges scored us, and we don’t know 75% of the guys up there, it makes me wonder how they got the credentials to even be up there judging some of the most important contests of the year. So I’d really like to see more riders up in the judges’ booth. Because other riders know the sport, the tricks and the difficulty and they know what goes into riding a competition. They hold our careers in their hands.
JD: What was your highlight of 2005?
NA: Well my first contest back from my broken leg was the Red Bull X Fighters in Madrid, Spain, and I won, so it was great for me to come back. I just had so many questions in my head and I hadn’t been to any freestyle contests in a year and I wasn’t sure what everyone else was doing and to show up and still have everyone beat, was awesome.
JD: I know that you’ve been riding a lot with some of the guys from the Metal Mulisha…have you been rubbing off onto them? Meaning some of the guys are cleaning up their act and becoming more dedicated to riding and winning.
NA: I don’t want to take credit for something I‘m not really sure of, but a lot of people don’t know that those are all really good guys. I think that just their image and how they look on the outside can intimidate people. People that have heard that “Whoa, those guys are gnarly,” then they see them in person, and they do have that edge to them, and they just automatically assume that they are gnarly dudes and just don’t mess with those guys. But if you just go up to them and say hey what’s up? They are like the nicest guys. I mean Ronnie Faisst, he’ll talk your ear off. You just go up and say hello to him, and he’s more than happy to talk to you.
JD: Do you think that because you are hanging out with them, you are getting associated with their lifestyle? People saying Nate Adams is in the Metal Mulisha?
NA: Ya know, there have been a lot of rumors that I’m in the Mulisha now, but there is no truth to that. We are all just good friends and we all share the common bonds of the love for the sport and riding. I mean, I compete against those guys so what better practice than with your competitors.
JD: Have you been working on any new tricks for variations lately?
NA: I am, but I can’t share them with you. It’s one of those “if I tell you, I’d have to kill you” things. You understand, right? (laughs)
JD: What are the hardest 3 tricks you do?
NA: The 360, the back flip seat grab, and no-handed back flip.
JD: Who right now do you think is your biggest competition?
NA: It’s a toss up between Twitch and Pastrana. You can’t ever count Travis out even if he’s only doing a few events each year.
JD: You’ve got a few outside the industry sponsors. How do you think that is affecting the sport?
NA: It’s great because freestyle is still a new sport. Getting attention for them, TV time, being associated with a popular athlete, and it gets me a lot of attention too. Big companies like that wanting to back me up, give me a lot of credibility and some attention in the media and stuff. Its great publicity for both the sport and me.
JD: How old are you now?
NA: 21
JD: How’s it feel to have your own house and to have done things by 21 that some people will never do in their lifetime?
NA: It feels great. Especially the fact that I get to do something that I love the most. I definitely have a great life and I’m living my dream. Ever since I was little kid, I wanted to ride dirt bikes for a living and to be a professional. It’s great. It’s unbelievable.
JD: What’s 2006 got in store for you?
NA: Hopefully a lot of wins and no injuries and just a lot of good times, having fun riding my dirt bike.
Be sure to check out and support Nate’s sponsors just like they support him!
Target, Thor, Toyota, Yamaha, Dragon, Alpinestars, Pro Circuit, Factory Connection, Ogio, Pro Taper, DC Shoes, Maxxis, Kicker, UNI Filter, VP Fuels, Red Baron Racing, Works Connection.
