FMX
Some of the biggest advances in action sports have happened on ramps Nate Wessel designed and built.
A couple of two-by-fours cobbled together made for a simple boardslide rail. That basic skate obstacle back in 1984 was the first thing Nate Wessel ever built. It filled a need for something to shred, and in the process triggered a desire to build better and build more. Influenced by magazine photos and videos, Wessel next brought faster-sliding materials into the mix, as well as a need for air and launch ramps. Although he didn’t know it at the time, building ramps would turn from a riding necessity into his burning passion and a creative outlet that would change BMX, skateboarding, freestyle motocross and the stunt world forever.
Wessel’s dad didn’t let him keep those skate ramps in their Ohio home’s driveway, but he did help with some building fundamentals and gave Nate his first tools. "My parents didn’t understand what I was doing," Nate remembers. "They grew up differently and didn’t understand action sports, but they backed me in everything I did."
Skating in the '80s turned into BMX in the '90s, and Wessel was a natural badass on a bike. In 1995 he found himself working at Pennsylvania’s Woodward Camp and learned better building techniques from fellow rider Jay Miron. Along with Miron, Wessel also credits skaters/builders Mark Podgurski and Tim Payne as the ones he learned the most from. "Tim Payne was my idol when it came to building," he says. "I came from skateboarding, I knew all of the stuff that he had done — like the Animal Chin ramp. He was so ahead of his time."
Wessel met riders all over the world, including those who told him they were going to use their vacation time to travel to and ride a park he had built.
Working at Woodward not only progressed Wessel’s building, but also his riding. Sponsors, coveted spots on Props video trips and world travel became the norm, as did building more and more ramps and even full parks, like the game-changing Chenga World in Ohio. There, Wessel’s creativity produced the world’s first-ever wooden rhythm section to mimic a set of trails. Beefed-up ramps and a bowl at another indoor Ohio park — Section 8 — followed. Soon after, a BMX magazine’s top-10 list of the nation’s best parks included both, with Chenga at the top.
Riding and building full throttle, Wessel met riders all over the world, including those who told him they were going to use their vacation time to travel to and ride a park he had built. Wessel couldn’t believe it. Seeing his parks listed as the best and knowing that riders traveled from the opposite side of the globe to ride them was an eye-opener that told him he could build for a living. "I never thought I would go anywhere being a pro [rider]," he says, "but I always followed my dreams and what made me happy."
Wessel knew sponsors wouldn’t last forever, so he continued to build. With ramp income, he didn’t have to stress on riding — he got to enjoy it. And his level of riding — and gnarly, go-for-it style — fueled his fire when it came to his designs. "Riding on top of your game with all your friends, you [get to] know how they ride, you can visualize it and understand it. That’s what’s helped me the most with my designs and building."
Those designs would turn into X Games courses, new Woodward Camps, Hot Wheels stunts, parkour gyms, groundbreaking Red Bull contests, rider projects, movie work, Nitro Circus events and Bikes Over Baghdad military shows.
"I have a lot of [favorite builds]," he says. "I could name 10 and they’re all different. Red Bull Skylines was probably the first time I got to release ideas I had in my head for 10 years. The Hot Wheels corkscrew, as a stunt, made me use my brain. But my favorite thing that I do, that is different than all the other things, is work with Travis Pastrana. He thinks along the level of how I think. And he dreams so outside the box on things that have never been done. He’s not scared to push that limit. I get to work with somebody who has just as open a mind but is also just as insane as I am, knowing that a lot of these things are going to work.”
MX triple backflips, BMX quadruple flips — the risks are deadly with those tricks. There’s no room for error when it comes to building those setups and time and time again Wessel’s insight, knowledge and skills have helped make those firsts reality. And there will undoubtedly be more firsts. "I want to keep creating and learning, take a lot of things to the next level," he says. "Use my brain and really try to push into a different realm."
When asked what one word he would use to describe a Wessel build, he thinks back to that driveway slide rail. "Evolution," he says. "It’s what keeps me excited about my job and passionate about what I do. Always trying to be cutting edge — that’s evolution for me."