While wandering around Eurobike last year I found myself being introduced to Sam Pilgrim, YouTube personality and former Freeride Mountain Biking (FMB) World Champion. As you do if you’re a bike journo meeting someone (fairly?) famous, I sat him down for a quick interview. It was all going OK, until he said ‘I don’t ride with girls, I never would they’re too slow’.
Frankly, I was too shocked to think of any other questions. I wanted to stick him on a gravel bike right there and then, and rip his legs off on a long and hilly route. What the what?
Getting back from Eurobike, I wondered what on earth to do with the interview. In fairness to Sam (I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt here), there are no women’s categories on the FMB World Tour, so perhaps in his little niche of the sport there weren’t many opportunities to ride with women. The absence of women’s categories isn’t necessarily his fault (though it would be great to see male athletes calling for opportunities for female ones). Maybe he just needed to see a different corner of the world? I didn’t want to make him look like a jerk. Hmm. What to do? What to do?
And then, I wondered. He said he could teach me to do a backflip, if I could ride a roll in. He also said it’s a mind over matter thing: you have to want to do it, to jump, or do tricks. If there’s one thing that’s going to make me want to do something, it’s being told I can’t. He’d never ride with girls? Really? What if I could do the roll in…could he teach me a back flip? If I could learn to back flip, maybe Sam would reconsider his ‘no girls’ stance.
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Hmm…maybe I should see what I can do?
In this interview I call myself a ‘wheels on the ground’ rider. I categorically state that I can’t jump. I’ve never been in a foam pit, never done a roll in at a skate park, and I don’t do tricks.
Looking back, that seems a long time ago. A different me entirely. Now?
Now I can jump.
Now, I have spent hours throwing myself into a foam pit. I can roll down a roll in.
Now, I own a BMX and I’m a member of my local indoor skatepark.
Now, I can clear a table top (and I’m not talking about the one my kids have just finished eating off).
Goddammit, I can even do a few teeny tricks.
I wanted it, and I’ve done it. Better still, I love it.
So Sam, if you’re reading this, how about you teach me that back flip? I would offer to take you out on that gravel ride, but, I don’t know…do you think you’d manage?
A Note From Hannah:
This article originally appeared with the video interview, however it is clear that it could be taken out of context of the article, which was never my intention, and I’m sorry if anyone was upset by it – that’s not who I am. We had a fun chat, and following the interview Sam was impressed to see the riding skills of female friends we showed him on Instagram. The point of the article was to highlight how Sam’s comments had spurred me into acquiring some new skills, and to light heartedly suggest that maybe I could take him up on his suggestion that he could teach me to backflip in a day – not to have a go at Sam.
don’t want to burst your bubble, but i’m pretty confident he’d be far more likeley to rip your legs off on a long gravel ride. do you think a world class athlete isn’t going to be fit?
The important thing is the definition of long. Mine would be in excess of 80km at current fitness levels, it used to be the wrong side of 130km before it was a long ride.
It was a bit of an odd thing to say, especially in an interview.. Don’t imagine many women would *want* to ride with a boy who comes out with lines like that. Good on you Hannah for mastering the jumps etc, attitude is the most important thing (I think).
So this was sent to me by my other half because it has been posted on ladies cycling pages as “sexist”
Firstly the comment is clearly In jest and why have you sat on this interview from year this is clearly an attention grab
Secondly you have clearly not prepared for this interview as you have no understanding of what slope style is and clearly have a very worped veiw of the riders and how they train
Please do research before interviewing anyone so you at least have some clue what your talking about and don’t look this stupid again
Hutch out!!!!
Sam was asked about this comment by another journalist only ten minutes after and at the time if you know Sam you know he wasn’t trying to offend anybody especially Hannah ,but he meant it.in a factual way.
Now even though he might get flack for it he’s justification was even Rachel Atherton the fastest women on a dh is a minute behind the top men on a five minute course .
He’s right ,he’s also entitled to say it without being quoted as sexist imo which is a sign of what a snowflake society we have become .
Should he of said it ,imo no not because of sex\race etc because it’s simply poor manners .that’s all.
Is the upcoming ladies only ride this wkd which takes in my favourite loop and the upcoming ladies only skills day at bpw sexist because I can’t attend due to my sex or a sign of how society still thinks we have to come .
Or are we all simply sugar coating it
Those evil women taking over BPW for a whole day. Oh no wait it’s not the whole park it’s just your favourite loop,but wait you can attend,just say you’re transitioning.
What a spiteful headline.
Interview appeared to be easy going and fun, the rapport was good. He made what was clearly a light hearted comment, perhaps based on his own experience.
What Sam didn’t realise was that he was dealing with one of the perpetually offended for whom anything remotely gender-y can never be taken lightly!
Let’s hope Sam didn’t rush off and start taking drugs, to prove he is a ‘real’ slope style rider to Hannah. I like nothing more than to listen to double standards (Trump?).
Ah, the apologists are here in full force. Most of the tropes seem to have been deployed: “She’s just trying to get attention, because she’s A GIRL.”, “She’s stupid and doesn’t understand mountain biking, because she’s A GIRL.”, “It’s just a fact that she’s slow, because she’s A GIRL, no need to be offended, you offendeeish SNOWFLAKE GIRL”, and to top it off, “He was only joking.”
Now, if you people have managed to pump this out in a few hours, have you considered how many times the writer has heard these things in her life so far? Do you think it might get slightly annoying being told over and over again that you can’t do the things you want to do, because you’re A GIRL? Do you think it might change an innocent jest into an exemplaire of something that has been going on forever, no matter the intentions of the jester?
Interview summary:
Hannah: Sam you’re on drugs.
Sam: That’s just a silly stereotype.
Hannah: Do you ride with girls?
Sam: No, they are slower than me.
Hannah: I’m calling the Police.
She just needs to self identify as a slopestyle rider then.
That way we can all accept that she is in fact, great at backflips.
haha lev – summed up nicely
Being sponsored by an Ebike company, I can’t imagine there are many female riders who can keep up.
Do not apologise if people are offended then f$£& them. being offended isn’t a right and if you worried about it you’d probably never right anything. Good article though and I hope he does teach you the awesome back flip.
disappointing all round.
to be honest most of what i have read from this woman is mildly disguised feminist propaganda.
Thank goodness for the internet, good job there is an editor for the stuff that goes to print 🙁
Why would you not trust a bike review from someone who can only just clear doubles?
There are a lot of people out there, me included, that do not regard themselves as expert jumpers / riders, doesn’t mean they don’t spend plenty of hours in the saddle enough to know what feels right or not right and happen to be gifted enough to be able to communicate their experiences.
There are plenty of gnarcore bike reviewers and writers that spout total tripe and rely on nonsense cliches to sound like better writers.
Maybe MBUK is more your bag?
Urgh. What was the point of all the above but to provoke strong reactions. Most of subscribe to single track to avoid the rubbish reaction that seems to fuel the bulk of the other forums. How was this let out and why? Somewhat disappointed.
wheres the interview video?