BackKriss Kyle: Being creative is the reason why I ride
Kriss Kyle is known for rocking the world of BMX - spellbinding both riders and fans all over the world and his newest edit The Land of Everyday Wonder is no exception.
He has his own Freedom Frame and Freedom bar from BSD. With his newest edit from Denmark, he once again shows that he is one of the best BMX riders in the world at the moment.
We are, of course, talking about Kriss Kyle. We caught him when he was working on a new secret project, and sat down with him for a talk about getting scared, going big, doing your dream tricks, and where he draws inspiration from.
Focus is the key to not getting scared
Kriss is known for doing a lot of crazy stuff weather it's riding a park based on optical illusions or jumping out of a helicopter in Dubai. But does he ever get scared?
"I get scared sometimes. I'm just saying to myself inside my head: ‘you are doing this Kriss’. I turn around 3 times and then go for it. My body goes into autopilot, and I'm just ending sending it off", he says and continues
"I'm actually afraid of heights. But when I'm on my bike, I focus on what I'm doing at that moment. For say in the helicopter flying up to the Burj Al Arab, I was hanging out of the helicopter, but I did not look around me, I was just focusing on what was about to happen.”
It takes preparation
When you take a look at Kriss’ edits, you quickly realize that this is not just your average BMX edit. When we ask him if he prepares a lot for the big tricks his answer is clear.
“A lot of these stunts are thought through and well calculated. I have a massive team behind me that helps and looks after me - so, all I need is to concentrate on riding.”
With edits such as Kaleidoscope and his Red Bull edit from Dubai, Kriss has really ridden some of the most amazing spots in the world. But what is the process when he is choosing spots.
“In my head, I have a picture of my dream spots for doing my dream tricks. These spots do exist, it's just about searching for them around the world, hunting them down”, he says.
The world's first to do a curved Wallride to Flair
One of the tricks that Kriss has been dreaming of doing was a curved Wallride to Flair, a trick that he was the first one to land in the world.
“I've done wall ride flairs before. One of the best things I know and love is to ride a curb. You pedal as fast as you can into it, and it shouldn't work, but it does. So, I thought to myself ‘imagine if you could flair that’, and I just gave it a go, and it worked out, and since then, I have taken it up a level”, says Kriss.
But it’s not always going big or go home for Kriss, who is also enjoying doing technical stuff.
“I'm not going massive all the time. I'm also enjoying doing technical stuff. I go through phases of riding small stuff. I love riding fast and having a good time on the bike.”, he says
Riding a bike is about being creative
Kriss is one of the most creative riders we can think of both when it comes to tricks, but also when it comes to making edits. So, where does he draw his inspiration from?
“I’m a creative person and being creative is the reason why I ride. It's not like football, where there are rules. It's just you and your bike. You can do whatever you want, express yourself, and that's why I love it.”, he says and adds:
“Of course, I also draw from motorbike riders, snowboarders, skaters and other action sports people, and then I kind of mix it all up into what I’m doing.”
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Be sure to follow Kriss on Instagram for more crazy riding. Check out our huge selection of parts from BSD and get the same setup as Kriss Kyle himself.
