MTB
Over the past nine years, Carson Storch has blown away audiences at events, from slopestyle competitions to Red Bull Rampage. He talks to us about the path that led him to where he is today.
“I never planned on even being in Red Bull Rampage or pursuing freeride as the main focus in my career,” Carson Storch readily admits at the start of this interview, “but competing in slopestyle – and a little bit of luck and timing – just naturally led me to where I am today.”
Carson was talking to us during the briefest of breaks between filming in Hawaii and competing in Red Bull Devotos de Monserrate, the longest urban downhill race in the world, in Colombia in February.
Carson first came into the public consciousness as a freeride mountain biker in 2013 when he landed the cover of Bike Magazine – a feat that many athletes wait their whole career for.
Over the past six years, Carson has experienced both ends of a typical career in sport – battling back from injury and celebrating massive success. Most recently he's transitioned from mainly slopestyle competitions to making video parts, including the films Riding the Tatshenshini, North of Nightfall and Land Escape.
Watch Carson's part in Rupert Walker's Land Escape below:
Carson tells us about the natural transition to filming: “For me coming up in the sport, it was all about dirt jumping and slopestyle. It paved the way for my career and allowed me to find what I really liked most about riding bikes – which is riding all of them. Slopestyle allowed me to progress more than I ever thought I could and now it's all about transferring those tricks over to the big bike on big-mountain terrain.
"Nowadays there are different ways to start a freeride career. Ethan Nell is a prime example of that and I think social media is the main thing that allows that to happen. When I had just started out in my career, I was basing the route I would take on what my influencers and mentors did: compete, try and kill it, and maybe get some support and free product."
Carson begins to reminisce: "Travelling and competing in small slopestyle and dirt jump contests around the US and, eventually, Canada definitely developed my career in a positive way. I think back to those days and miss them so much!
"There have been many turning points for me. The major one was landing third place and best trick at the 2016 Red Bull Rampage [watch his run below]. I didn't expect it, it just happened. Mostly because I was having fun with it at that particular event. That led to invites to movie parts and that has led to filming being the main focus in my career.
"Being a part of larger feature productions is something I have always wanted to do. Growing up watching snowboard films, NWD and other films inspired me more than anything. Now the thought of me being able to put everything into these film projects and having content that is long lasting and something people will remember is my main motivator.”
Carson came into the 2016 Red Bull Rampage with no expectations and approached the competition as he had in previous years. He connected with other riders and through teamwork created a top-to-bottom line that suited his riding style.
“I didn't come into it expecting to find a big-three drop, but I saw it and thought, 'Sick, it's big, it's scary, but it will work.' I went with it; built it and I did it – and I got a good score that held.”
This highlight may not have necessarily changed the trajectory of Carson’s career, but it certainly expedited it, as he explains.
“It allowed me to focus on the freeride aspect of the sport and less on slopestyle, which for me was huge. It helped me grow a lot as an athlete. I'm super grateful to have done well and it was all unexpected, which makes it even sweeter.”
This wasn’t the first time that Carson had wowed an audience with this talent and skill. In 2014, he was an alternate for Red Bull Joyride. He describes getting the call the morning of the competition.
“I practised all week as an alternate, not knowing if I was going to get in or not. The morning of Red Bull Joyride, I got the call at 7:30 saying that I was in. It was a whirlwind experience of trying to chill and stay cool throughout practice. I didn't land the run I wanted, but still got my first run down into the sea of people and it was an unreal feeling of relief and joy.
"My first time landing a run in Red Bull Joyride is something I'll never forget and honestly something I miss. The comradery between all of us riders and the big crowds made for a fun atmosphere. Progression happens at every contest and it's a fun scene to be a part of.”
He may not have executed the run he wanted, but it was enough to land him eighth place – a top 10 finish for his first Red Bull Joyride.
Unfortunately, the next year presented challenges for Carson. At the 2015 Red Bull Joyride, he crashed on his final practice run and broke his collarbone. With a lot of determination, he healed enough to compete that autumn at Red Bull Rampage but ended up with a badly sprained ankle while testing a jump on his line. The injury forced him to make the heart-wrenching decision to withdraw from the event.
“It led to a recurring sprain for the next two-and-a-half years and my ankle is still kind of messed up from it. I want to be doing this for a long time so risking getting really hurt because of a smaller injury... It's definitely worth it to pull the plug sometimes."
He's already been a pro for more than nine years and in that time he's watched and participated in the steep level of progression that has occurred in slopestyle. Although his focus is more and more on freeriding and big bikes these days, Carson still maintains a connection to his roots by participating in a couple of slopestyle competitions each year.
“Over the past five years, many of the bigger slopestyle courses have become more refined, with similarly sized jumps and similar radii on all the lips and features. That has allowed for crazy progression to take place in my opinion. Before that, every course was a lot more unique and I feel like it diversified the tricks a bit. The progression was slower but still existed."
Carson would like to see some of the unique features and technical courses come back.
"On the one hand, everything that's built nowadays is so good and possibly safer as well, so it allows for more progression with tricks. But different courses means different judging, which allows for creativity and style to be a bigger factor in the judging process, which is something I would be stoked on.
"I was never the most progressive rider, but I tried to do everything smooth and high, and always made room in my runs for my own creative moves. They weren't necessarily going to score the best, but were tricks that I loved doing. Everyone has their own way of coming up with a run through a slopestyle contest and, when I first started, I would look at the course and know exactly what trick I wanted to do on each feature without even riding it – which isn't a good way to do it.
"So, over the years, I've learned how to just simply ride the course, know the speed and pop like the back of my hand, and do what felt best on each feature. So I would know at the end of the week I could connect a line together, hopefully without pedalling, and without hucking my way through.
"I don't think anything needs to change. Slopestyle is bigger and better than ever and freeride is bigger and better than ever. I think more events need to happen that fill those voids of creativity and style.”
This year Carson is focusing on filming and Red Bull Rampage, while also making time for a slopestyle competition or two. He signed off with this teaser.
“I may or may not be focusing the majority of my energy over the next couple of years on a project…”
Stay tuned for that one!
