Bike
BMX
Kieran Reilly: How I became pro
The newly-crowned BMX freestyle world champion on the love for his old-school Mongoose Pit Crew bike and why his mum never watches his live events.
Leam Lane skatepark, Gateshead, is just like any other skatepark. A bowl, ledges, banks, flyouts – the kind of thing you see in every town and city across the world.
The difference is that freestyle BMXer Kieran Reilly used to spend almost every spare minute he had here. “Once I was nine and had a BMX, I pretty much lived there,” he says.
Cruising the skatepark on their Mongooses (“I remember waking up on Christmas Day to a Mongoose Pit Crew, and Boxing Day I was straight back out to the skatepark”), Kieran and his gang of friends were desperate to be able to pull off the tricks the older kids were doing.
We had the gear, we just had no idea, so had loads to learn
“We had the gear, we just had no idea, so had loads to learn,” he says. “We’d watch the older kids do a trick 100 times and ask them for tips, and because they'd been riding for a long time, they helped us out.”
Kieran’s friends were highly competitive, which helped to push them all beyond what most primary school kids would be achieving. “We were always trying to get ahead of each other,” he says. The day Kieran nailed his first trick was a pivotal moment and formative in leading him to where he is now. “It was a 180 out of a ramp. We were trying to do it for ages, and now I look back, I can't understand how it took so long. But when I finally pulled it off I was like, ‘Yes! I’ve done it!’
Kieran pulling a tailwhip at an early competition
© Kieran Reilly
“That adrenaline rush and relief of landing a new trick when you’ve put that much work into it, even as a kid, I thought, ‘I like this!’. I also liked being the kid at the skatepark who was good for their age. I loved it back then and have been addicted since.”
The fire was firmly ignited, and from doing 180s Kieran quickly learnt a 360, and things escalated from there.
His mates, who weren’t as determined or as naturally talented, ditched their BMXs for scooters, and Kieran began to hang out with the older BMXers, where he progressed rapidly. In fact, it wasn’t long before his peers began to learn tricks from him. It was then he realised that the time was right to see how he compared to other riders his age, and so began entering competitions.
Blood on the tracks
Kieran moved to Corby to be closer to Adrenaline Alley skatepark
© Leo Francis / Red Bull Content Pool
“The first competition I entered was the Urban Games in Whitley Bay when I was 11,” Kieran says. “It was the first and last time my mum came to watch me, because during the comp, my front wheel washed out, I knocked myself out cold, cut my chin open and there was blood everywhere. Ever since she's been scared to watch me. It was a rough day out, that one.”
Kieran’s dad, Darren, played a huge part in Kieran getting where he is today. Not only did he teach his son to ride when Kieran was five – “knowing my dad, he just pushed me then let go of the bike and I just had to keep going” – but he also ferried the prodigal talent across the UK to competitions every weekend.
I wouldn't even know these competitions were happening, and my dad would wake me up asking if I wanted to enter this competition or go to this new skatepark
“I was young, so I wouldn't even know these competitions were happening, and he'd wake me up asking if I wanted to enter this competition or go to this new skatepark. My parents have done so much for me – got me to competitions, bought me things I've needed for the bike. They’ve been amazing.”
Entering comps was crucial in showing Kieran that he could compete with riders much older than him. “It made me think, ‘How can I show people I’m better than these other kids?.’ I like to push myself – I wasn't enjoying it unless I was scared. I love the feeling of being really scared to do a trick and then getting over it. I got quite bored if I wasn't learning something new.”
It didn't take long for Kieran to start winning competitions
© Kieran Reilly
It wasn’t long before he began to get podium places in his age category, and he started to analyse his competitors’ performances to see what he could do better. “Wherever they were ahead of me, I was going back and trying to learn whatever they could do better than me.”
He also spent hours studying a trio of UK riders: Harry Main, Mark Webb and Alex Coleborn. “Once I saw that it was possible to do the stuff that they were doing – and the fact that they were from England and not America – I realised I had to get to that point.”
The road to Red Bull
Kieran Reilly got his Red Bull helmet in 2020
© Leo Francis / Red Bull Content Pool
As his skill and talent bloomed, something had to give. For Kieran, it was the lads’ holidays and festival weekends. “I was seeing my friends less and less because I was choosing to ride and train,” he says. “I even missed my school prom to go to a competition.
“A week after leaving school, Mum and Dad said, ‘You can't just bum off us and ride your bike – you have to get a job.’ I got an apprenticeship as a joiner and rode my BMX every spare minute I had. I didn’t see my mates who were working all week and living for the weekend.”
I couldn’t keep burning the candle at both ends. I was constantly tired and never had free time
For Kieran, working full-time was key in motivating him to work even harder to turn pro. “I couldn’t keep burning the candle at both ends. I was constantly tired and never had free time.”
Despite being exhausted after a day of work, his time at the skatepark was key to everything. “I’d turn up and turn it on. I was there to get stuff done. I turned it on whether I had the energy or not, as I needed to keep progressing.”
Kieran with his first Tall Order 187 BMX
© Kieran Reilly
Kieran was riding for Seventies Distribution when he got a life-changing message. “One day, Dad said he’d got a call from Bas Keep – he’d started a brand called Tall Order and he’d asked if I wanted to ride for them. I was obviously over the moon.
“Me and Bas are close friends now. He’s been so supportive – he’s given me ideas regarding how to progress both on and off the bike, helped me with social media, provided me with so many tips. He even took me to my first international comp. I'd never travelled abroad, and Bas said, ‘Do you wanna go and do your first FISE in Montpellier?’. I got that milestone because of him, which is huge in terms of getting your name out there.”
Kieran won the best trick at FISE Montpellier 2019
© Kieran Reilly
He came third in a FISE Xperience event in the same summer
© Kieran Reilly
Kieran’s other career milestone was signing with Red Bull at the end of 2020. “That was definitely one of the best moments. For any BMX rider, any action sports athlete, it’s what they dream of.”
The historic moment he was told the news was captured on camera. “I had no idea,” says Kieran. “As far as I knew, Red Bull were a little bit interested. When I opened the rucksack and saw the Red Bull helmet I thought it was a prank. But when Bas said it was mine, I couldn't think of what to say. I started laughing as I was speechless. If I didn't laugh, I would have cried out of pure relief and happiness. It was definitely a good day.”
Adrenaline spike
Kieran can now dedicate his time to learning new tricks and progressing
© Adam Lievesley
It’s no understatement to say that now is an exciting time for Kieran. He’s a rider oozing talent and has the determination and skill to push himself further to achieve what no other riders have achieved – and he’s still only 20 years old.
“I like to do things that are progressing BMX as well as myself,” he says. “Like trying to do world firsts and pushing myself to the limits. Standing out from other riders is always massive for me – doing a trick that has shock value that someone else wouldn't do.”
He moved down from Newcastle to Corby to be nearer Adrenaline Alley indoor skatepark, where he can now ride every day. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done in terms of riding. I can see my progression has skyrocketed. Riding-wise, tricks-wise, how clean and consistent I am. Now I’m able to turn my best and scariest tricks into everyday tricks, which makes a huge difference.”
Kieran Reilly lands the world first triple flair
© Eisa Bakos
In terms of the next few years, he says that he has a ton of ideas for Red Bull projects. “I want to push myself and get some of these ideas ticked off.” The first of these was his world-first triple flair. An eight-month project, it pushed him mentally and physically further than he's ever gone before.
"The triple flair is mentally something I look back on a lot. I mean, anytime I think I'm scared or something I think about the triple flair and how I felt then and it makes me think not to be that scared because that was like going next level."
Outside of setting records, the competitive element for Reilly is a strong focus. There’s the ‘O’ word of course and the X Games. BMX freestyle made its debut in Tokyo and Paris is where he wants to be at his best. “Without a doubt, the 2024 Olympics are a massive motivation to get better, to perfect runs and aim towards. To represent my country, doing what I love, is a huge goal.”
Becoming a world champion in 2023
The hard work is paying off and Reilly is achieving impressive results in competitions. In 2022 he won silver at European Championship, then in May 2023 he was jubilant to win bronze at his first X Games, in Japan. The progression continued for him in June 2023 with a gold for Team GB in the European Games in Poland with a score of 92.33, and then the ultimate happened for Reilly. In August 2023, at a home World Championships in Great Britain, Reilly became World Champion.
A home World Championship's was massive motivation to perform for Reilly
© Jeff Holmes
A near perfect run in the minute he was given
© Jeff Holmes
Reilly knew that he had nailed down a great run as soon as he finished
© Jeff Holmes
He's second run score of 95.80 was enough for him to finish ahead of Logan Martin of Australia and Nick Bruce of the United States in a high quality competition in Glasgow, Scotland. This success, together with first-place wins on the UCI circuit, notably at the UK-based Backyard Jam comps in autumn 2022 and spring 2023, puts Reilly firmly on a trajectory heading towards Paris in 2024.
"Being World Champion is just amazing. It's showing me that all hard work is paying off. This is a lifelong goal of mine. It has just opened up so many possibilities for me.
"Having my parents there and all my family just made it all the more important. They've never been able to come and see us at an event of such calibre and having them there to see me was amazing. an experience I'll never forget."
This success, together with first-place wins on the UCI circuit, notably at the UK-based Backyard Jam comps in autumn 2022 and spring 2023, puts Reilly firmly on a trajectory heading towards Paris in 2024.
"2023 is by far the hardest I've ever worked and there's correlation there with how hard I've worked and what's happened."
