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Forging ahead: Kieran Reilly's career as a BMX pro so far
The British BMX freestyler, renowned for his tireless work ethic, credits his greatest achievement to a distinctive haircut. Get the lowdown on how dedicated hard work brings medals of every hue.
Kieran Reilly is a two-time Summer Games champion. He took home a silver medal in Paris for an incredible performance, and this is a step up on the podium from his bronze victory in Tokyo. "Hard work pays off," says Kieran. He's been working toward this since he was a kid.
Leam Lane skatepark in Gateshead, England, 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 the freestyle BMXer 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 Mongoose 16in wheel bikes ("I remember waking up on Christmas Day to a Mongoose Pit Crew and Boxing Day I was straight back out to the skatepark."), Reilly 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'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."
BMX freestyle's next big star is Kieran Reilly
© Adam Lievesley/Red Bull Content Pool
A genuine love of BMX riding led Reilly from the local skatepark all the way to winning a silver medal in Paris. A love of bikes and, perhaps, his "lucky mullet." Reilly accidentally got a mullet haircut from a new barber, but since he won World's in it already, he kept it, which obviously paid off.
01
Perseverance and no little talent
Reilly'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 proudly exclaims.
The day Reilly 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!'
"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."
Reilly pulling a Tailwhip at an early competition
© Kieran Reilly
The fire was firmly ignited and from doing 180s Reilly quickly learnt a 360. Things escalated from there. His mates, who weren't as naturally talented, soon ditched their BMXs, and Reilly began to hang out with the older BMXers, where he progressed rapidly. It wasn't long before those riders 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.
Find out more about Kieran Reilly
02
Blood on the tracks
"The first competition I entered was in a place called Whitley Bay, when I was 11. 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."
It didn't take long for Reilly to start winning competitions
© Kieran Reilly
Reilly's dad, Darren, played a huge part in him getting where he is today. Not only did he teach his son to ride when he 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.
My dad would wake me up asking if I wanted to enter this contest 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 contest 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 Reilly 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."
Reilly moved to Corby to be closer to Adrenaline Alley skatepark
© Leo Francis/Red Bull Content Pool
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 says.
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."
03
The road to becoming a pro
As his skill and talent bloomed, something had to give. For Reilly, it was holidays with friends and spending time with them off the bike: "I was seeing my friends less and less because I was choosing to ride and train. 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 [a tradesman who works with wood] 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."
Kieran Reilly got his Red Bull helmet in 2020
© Leo Francis/Red Bull Content Pool
I couldn't keep burning the candle at both ends. I was constantly tired and never had free time
For Reilly, 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," he admits.
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."
Reilly with his first Tall Order 187 BMX
© Kieran Reilly
Reilly's name was beginning to be whispered around UK BMX freestyle circles as a talent to watch and then came a life-changing message from a legendary British BMX pro.
"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."
Reilly won the best trick at FISE Montpellier 2019
© Kieran Reilly
He came third in a FISE Xperience event in the same summer
© Kieran Reilly
04
Getting a Red Bull helmet
Reilly'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. 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."
Reilly dedicates his time to learning new tricks and progressing
© Adam Lievesley
05
Adrenaline spike
It's no understatement to say that was an exciting time for Reilly. 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 was still only 20-years-old.
"I like to do things that are progressing BMX as well as myself, 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 and that someone else wouldn't do."
Reilly has participated in some of BMX's biggest contests
© Eisa Bakos/Red Bull Content Pool
He then moved home from the North East of England to a town called Corby, which has an impressive indoor skatepark facility where he can 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."
In terms of the next few years, he says that he has a ton of ideas for riding projects – "I want to push myself and get some of these ideas ticked off."
06
Scoring the world's first triple flair
The first of these great ideas was a world-first triple flair, an eight-month project that pushed him mentally and physically further than he's ever gone before.
Kieran Reilly lands the world's first triple flair
© Eisa Bakos
"The triple flair is mentally something I look back on a lot," he says. "I mean, anytime I think I'm scared or something, I think about the triple flair and how I felt then. That helps me calm down because that was like going next level."
07
Becoming a world champion
The hard work is paying off and Reilly is achieving impressive results. In 2022 he won silver at European Championship before winning bronze at his first X Games in Japan in May of 2023. Just one month later the progression continued as he secured gold for Team GB at the European Games in Poland with a score of 92.33. Then, in August, Reilly achieved his dream as he secured gold at the 2023 Cycling World Championships in Scotland.
His 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. Reilly even threw in a double flair at the end of his run, which no doubt impressed the judges.
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
"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," said Reilly.
"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. It was 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 a correlation there with how hard I've worked and what's happened," he added.
08
The work (and fun!) of training and competing never stops
Working obstacles sharpens all-round fitness
© Eisa Bakos / Red Bull Content Pool
Reilly loves the training, competitiveness and camaraderie of fitness-orientated activities, especially ones that challenge him and prepare his body and mind to be even stronger and more agile on his bike. As a way of honing his fitness levels, he competes in HYROX events.
A mix of running and training, HYROX involves a series of eight one-km runs interspersed with eight different exercises aka ‘movements’, which can be performed solo, in pairs or in relay teams. Not surprisingly, there’s a world championship in the sport and, being of a competitive nature, Reilly has taken part several times, including his first solo attempt at the London event in May 2023.
“It's a very different kind of fitness,” Keiran says. “Riding in a competition involves a high-intensity one minute run, whereas a HYROX event is challenging in other ways – such as pacing it right and keeping going.”
