Levi Sherwood
© Simon Makker
It seems like the sport ’ s progression has picked up a lot the past years . What are you thoughts on where it ’ s heading ?
The rate of progression has been good I guess , but I don ’ t like the direction of it . Everything is done on quarterpipes , which are easy and low-risk : if someone crashes a quarter-pipe nine times out of 10 they ’ ll bounce up . If you bounce up from a 75ft crash , you ’ re like “ sweet , let ’ s go to the pub ”.
Hahaha ! Just to be clear you ’ re saying the smaller stuff is overrewarded and it ’ s taking away from the bigger tricks ?
Exactly . As a result no-one ’ s bringing out many new tricks on the bigger ramps because the risk versus reward isn ’ t there . I think it ’ s hurting the sport in the sense that no-one who ’ s watching for the first time can understands what ’ s happening anymore .
At the same time , I talked to you after you won Nitro World Games and you were stoked on that event .
Yeah , it ’ s funny – I just turned up with zero expectations and after I won qualifying I was like “ yep , this is all me right now ”. It ’ s the first time I ’ d come to an event and they ’ ve appreciated my quality of riding ; there were no increased scores for squirrelly riding or for the “ excitement factor ”. It was judged just on the sport . I went out the next day and won , and I was fizzing on that , but I think I was probably more stoked on the fact there was a solid new judging system that worked . It shows there ’ s hope for the sport .
Nitro World Games did use mechanical ramps though , and you ’ ve been outspoken on your hatred for those things .
That was the one thing I wasn ’ t stoked on there . I genuinely think cheater ramps are the scum of the earth . They ’ re killing the sport and we ’ ll turn into a circus act if we carry on jumping that shit .
Fortunately , the Nitro judging system scored them fairly for what they were worth , but there ’ s a real danger they could become over scored in the future . I feel for someone like Jacko Strong and all the years he spent trying to perfect the front flip now seem to have been thrown out the window .
So we can safely say you ’ ll never hit a mechanical ramp ?
Nope , I ’ m not supporting them in any way . I think anyone who ’ s going to ride them is killing the sport . I ’ ve heard riders say “ I don ’ t agree with them but I ’ ll jump them anyway because they ’ re going to be here ”. That ’ s just idiotic : if no-one jumped them they ’ d fade away .
For shows they ’ re primo as they ’ re safe and that ’ s where they belong , but even then it still sucks a rider like Jacko is basically getting money taken from his pocket .
You ’ ve got some of the best flip tricks in the game but don ’ t have much in the way of varials . Is that something we can expect to see you work on in the future ?
I ’ ve just avoided varials . I just don ’ t like them . They look ugly , rushed and messy , and have never been my jam .
You know what ’ s funny ? You ’ re only 25 , but you ’ ve always had an attitude of an OG freestyler . What do you put that down to ?
I ’ ve always probably been a bit older than I am . I grew up with the older freestylers – they were my age when I was 15 , so even though I ’ m riding in this era , that was more my era , if that makes sense . That was how I was brought up in the sport and I kinda don ’ t mesh with the new way of doing it all . I do s ** t my way and don ’ t like it when people don ’ t speak their mind or they go out and undercut other riders . Also , being in the sport you do grow up quicker because you ’ re risking it all and you ’ re losing friends .
Has there been an instance where the passing of a rider has had a big impact on you ?
Definitely . The thing that rocked me the most was when Kurt Caselli died . I lived with him for a couple of years and he played such a big part guiding me along and helping me with my riding . He taught me a lot about life in general and how to be both successful and a good person . I probably didn ’ t realise just how much it rocked me . Stuff like that does take its toll and that ’ s also part of the reason I don ’ t go back to the US any more . It ’ s not the same there now . u
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