MTB
Opportunity Seized
DYLAN STARK ponders his winding path to his first Rampage—and how he doesn’t intend to let a dream opportunity slip by him.
I rode bikes as a kid, then it faded out. My local skatepark said no to mountain bikes, so I started riding BMX. I ended up turning pro by 16.
I never really dabbled in mountain biking—I always liked it but I could never afford it. After BMX faded out, I was in my mid-20s, working for an electric-bike company, and one of my co-workers asked me to ride after work. So I built up this old bike and started riding and posted some clips on it. Then Brandon Semenuk reached out. I’d never even met him before. He ended up sending me a really nice downhill bike, a Trek Session, that he didn’t need.
That bike changed my life. I went to a local mountain and won some best trick contest. I bought a season pass and started mountain biking. But a month later, I let a friend do a run on that Session and he snapped the frame, and I had to hang up the mountain bike again. I worked in a bike shop and I got money to fix the frame that Semenuk gave me. So I started riding and filming again and jumped off the roof at El Toro High School. That video went viral, which is where YT ended up following me and sent me a bike.
Fast-forward a couple of years—I’m in Red Bull Rampage. It’s insane. It’s been a dream of mine but I never thought it would happen. I’ve pretty much had no money my whole life. Growing up, my mom was just not around, and my dad passed away this year. Semenuk extending that bike to me really turned my life around completely. I hope he understands how much it helped.
I love digging. I have done big drops, and I know a lot of those dudes aren’t really sessioning 60-foot drops on the regular. They’re saving that for Rampage. I just have to try this first year not to overdo myself, to stick to a build I know I can get done. My goal is to make it to the bottom first run. I never thought I’d have this opportunity, so I want to get a good solid first run. For the second run, I have some tricks up my sleeve.
I lost my dad in March, and I haven’t had a proper funeral for him or anything. So on the way to Utah, I’m going to pick up his ashes, and I plan to spread some before I drop in. Whatever happens after that happens, but I know he’d be really proud of me.
Four years ago, I was basically about to be homeless, not knowing where I was going in life. Now, getting into Rampage is the craziest thing. I completely changed my diet and lifestyle for this event. I want to give it my all, because you only get one shot at this. I’m lucky to have this opportunity and I’m not going to waste it.
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