FreestyleXtreme Magazine Issue 24 | Page 69

Charlie Hatton
Any advice for riders who want to follow the route you took ?
It ’ s easy to say it , but you ’ ve just got to do it right . You have to get to the right races and do the regionals and the nationals . That ’ s how you ’ ll get picked up by sponsors .
Riding with faster people is also a real good one . You can learn a lot from people that are quick . There ’ s nothing better than time on the bike . Riding your bike is what you ’ re trying get better at and that ’ s the best thing you can do . There ’ s so many combinations of things to get right … if they come together you ’ ll get there .
Were there any points when you thought that it wasn ’ t going to happen ?
The end of my junior year there was a lot of pressure to get on a factory team . It felt like I had to do well and if I didn ’ t … that was it really . That wasn ’ t the case though . I didn ’ t do amazingly at the World Cup as a junior but it made me a better rider and I learned from my mistakes .
There were definitely some points where we knew I needed to get a job and get qualifications . When I was racing as a junior I did personal training for two years so I still had a backup if racing didn ’ t go to plan . That was a bit of a risk , but racing is the thing I love and what I wanted to do , so it was the priority . That was the main focus .
Your parents must have been a massive part of it all ...
Yeah , for sure . My mum used to sit at the bottom of the hill for hours while I pushed up and rode . I was so young I had no one to ride with when I got into it . As I started doing races my dad would shuttle me every weekend and they ’ d come to all the races .
My parents have been a massive part of it . I wouldn ’ t have been able to get there without them . I was quite lucky that I picked up sponsorship , but whatever I needed they ’ d provide .
Is there anything you wish you ’ d known on day one … but that you had to learn the hard way ?
No , there ’ s not one thing . There ’ s a series of things you need to get right that just need to click into place . When they all do click , things will go right . It ’ s everything . There ’ s no secret though , there ’ s so many combinations of things and you just have to find what works for you . u

When they all do click , things will go right . It ’ s everything . There ’ s no secret though , there ’ s so many combinations of things and you just have to find what works for you .