Brandon Meadows Interview
Brandon Meadows has been side-lined with bigger injuries than the broken collar bone he has now and always comes back strong. Views on Todays Racing and the future.
"Broken Collar Bone, When and How. Are you riding yet?
I broke it at the ABA Reno race this past September. I don't really remember how due to the fact I hit my head so hard. I think that I just got hung up on someone's tire, then straight to the ground. I can ride a bit. Jump, manual, things like that, but I can't pull really hard yet. Another long drawn out process that I'm only too familiar with.
Your still one of the younger AAs. Have your goals changed since you first turned?
Actually they have. First and for most I just want to stay healthy. Something that seems to hold me back a lot from achieving the goals that I have had for some time. Mainly I want to be really consistent at racing and have as much fun as I can riding my bike.
Where do you see Racing headed now that Transworld BMX is gone and Theres no TV coverage at all.
Well, hopefully BMXPlus can pick up all the racing aspects that Transworld is leaving behind. When it comes to TV coverage we have had are chances and lost them, then had them again and lost them again, so maybe we will get another chance, but it is hard to believe that BMX racing can grow without any major coverage of any sort. I hope that I am wrong and maybe something will come up out of nowhere.
Besides people going faster, Has BMX Racing progressed since you turned pro.
That and I think that skills of the younger riders have progressed. I am not sure where they are getting the skills from since the tracks today seem to be real basic. As for Pro racing I think that the age of the class has gone down and changed the way we race. The younger guys bring in the elbows and bumping mentality, which is what racing is, so it makes the older pros have to somewhat change their mentalities.
Do you think Bubba will be a modern day Gary Ellis? Hes already on the Golden ABA team Redline.
Bubba is hands down a great rider and no one can take that away from him. IT is just hard to say that he is the modern day Gary Ellis yet, because Gary did it for so many years at such a high level. Another thing that Gary did that Bubba is not doing is he raced both sanctions, and dominated in both. Also at one point Bubba is going to have to start racing for himself, and not for other people and other factors. I think that time will tell
When Dale Holmes goes to the Fall Nationals and sits in the stands, What does that say to a Fan that came to see him race?
Man the fan has to be bummed what else can I say.
Whats your normal day-to-day routine? Training all day? Or not?
Well I go to school Mondays for a bit, Tuesdays all day, and Thursdays all day. On the other days I do what I can since I am limited to what I can do. School is my main focus right now since it is my last semester, and then I will be graduated and done for a while which will be good because then I can focus on BMX all day long, something I have never been able to do.
You've always been a strong rider even after your broken leg. How do you mentally pull it off being hurt for so long?
I can tell you that, there have been some times when I just want to give it up. The frustration of getting hurt all the time and trying to get back to where you were before. It is hard. Stumpy told me something one day that sticks in the back of my mind all the time now. At a time he wanted to quit because of injuries, but look at where he is now. So I just try and think of the positive things of toughing it out.
Any plans or taking jumping to the next level and entering some contest? You know theres a big series next year. Man I would really like to. It is something that I have always wanted to do. I am not sure that my sponsors would be to psyched if I got hurt at a jump comp. And I have a small bag of tricks compared to the big dogs. But I always have to remember that The Blue Falcon still makes it with trail style and creativity. Maybe you'll see me at one next year. I just need to maybe have a Woodward session to learn a bit more.
Any tips to the younger Pros turning AA in the near future?
Be patient, and put the hard work in."
