Five minutes with:
Logan
Martin
BMX Gold winner
......................
2017 UCI World Champion
Logan Martin has quickly established
himself as one of the most clinical,
savage BMX riders in the game,
and again went head-to-head with
his good friend and fierce rival, Kyle
Baldock for the honours at Farm Jam
2018. Martin was able to defend his
title and had a quick chat with us
to share his thoughts on the unique
event, and give us a heads-up that
he’ll be going for the hat-trick in
2020.
Congrats on the win at Farm Jam,
man. What did you think of the
2018 event?
Thanks mate! Yeah, Farm Jam once
again produced the goods although
a couple days out it didn’t seem as
though we were going to get much
riding in. I landed a couple of days
before the event on Thursday, and
it rained that entire day, and it was
predicted to rain the next day also,
which happened to be the day before
the event. Friday afternoon the rain
went away. Come Saturday the
jumps were ready to ride. With there
being so much rain beforehand the
jumps were running a little bit slower
than they were in 2016 and were a
little bit boggy at the bottom of the
transitions, but man, full credit to all
the boys who put in hard work to
get them even running at such short
notice.
Even though they were a bit slower,
we still managed to put on a show
for the crowd, because as you know,
the atmosphere is insane when there
are a few thousand people on a
hillside cheering for you.
As was the case in 2016, it kinda
came down to a head-to-head
between you and Kyle. You two
are good mates, but I’m guessing
that friendship also has a healthy
serving of rivalry?
It was cool that we both went first
and second on the podium both
years in a row. I’ve known Kyle for
a good number of years now and
ever since we started riding together
there was always a bit of friendly
competition going on, whether
we both noticed it or not. It tends
to push us to do better, so yeah,
friendly competition does play a
big part when we’re riding events
together. We are both there to beat
each other, so I guess that’s what
makes it all the more fun. I guess it
does help knowing how the other
person rides as well, so you have a
bit of an understanding of what you
need to do to win.
When you first rode Farm Jam in
2016, what was your impression
of the event, and what made you
want to come back?
When I first came over, it was
actually my first time to New
Zealand. Even though I travel so
much, my Dad’s a Kiwi and it’s only a
three-hour flight away, I’d still never
been there.
At that first event in 2016 I felt so
welcomed by the Frew family, which
made my experience much better.
New Zealand is so beautiful; it’s
such a scenic place with mountains
everywhere and crystal blue water.
But as good as New Zealand looks,
being at Farm Jam was the icing
on the cake for me, with the big,
passionate crowd, the atmosphere
and good times all the riders from the
different sports have together, and
the jumps are just perfectly built.
Does a win like this, where it’s
judged by your fellow riders rather
than a panel of judges sitting in
a booth, mean more to you as a
rider?
That is what makes Farm Jam so
cool. There’s no panel of judges,
there’s no limit on your runs, you
just ride with all your friends for as
long as the session goes for, then
vote for who think you rode well at
the end of the contest. There really
is no pressure, it’s just a normal
everyday session with your friends. It
does mean a lot that fellow BMXers
and friends put me down as the
‘favourite’ if you will, to win the
event.
I think it’s cool because at an
event like this you have all types of
different riders. For them to still vote
for me when they don’t necessarily
ride how I ride shows there’re no
biased opinions and we can all still
appreciate each other’s skills and
style.
How did you rate the 2018 event
compared to 2016?
There was a lighter, more fun vibe
this year for sure, and I think maybe
the weather leading up to the event
may have played a part in that. We
didn’t really know when – or even
if – we were going to be able to ride
and really only got to ride the jumps
for a short amount of time before the
actual competition started.
That’s my thinking on it anyway, but
it was still an amazing time to say
the least.
What are the chances of you
coming back again in 2020? It’d be
rude not to go for the three-peat,
right?
Haha, a three-peat would be cool;
that’s what I ’ll be trying to get done!
I really enjoy this event as well as the
country, and it’s only a short flight
over from home, so I’ll be back for
sure.
Good stuff! What does the rest of
the year hold for you?
I’ve got quite a busy year of contests
coming up, I thought last year was
busy but this year is going to be
even more hectic. There are two
stops of X Games, five stops for
the UCI World Series and the UCI
World Championship later in the
year, mixed in with other events
throughout 2018. So it’s going to be
a busy one but I wouldn’t want it any
other way. Obviously a lot of work
goes in before these events as well;
I ride a lot when I’m home and work
in the gym to get ready, because it’s
definitely not easy doing what I do.
Awesome, thanks for the chat,
mate. Best of luck for the year
ahead.
Thank you! t
/LoganMBMX
@LoganMartinBMX