After a short tour of the offices, it’s clear that he really wants to show me the local riding. I guess they inspired something in me.” Recently, his style and attitude caught the eye of German brand Focus, and Olly now rides their frames. I still remember the big campaigns, the ones that worked. “I loved all the graphics as a kid… collecting stickers, checking out logos.
Olly is best known for riding for DMR (over fourteen years, in fact) and, after studying graphic design at university, he now works in the office putting his design stamp on the DMR brand. Riding was such a community thing for us.” I feel sorry for some of the guys now who are out there riding and training on their own so seriously. It’s where I met so many of my life-long friends. It was such a stacked youth field back then – as a kid I raced riders like Nico Vink, even Greg Minnaar came over, they were crazy times. Those downhill races were responsible for the development of so many good riders. “We had no internet back then, no Instagram or video edits, so when you saw Steve Peat ride, it was like, ‘Wow, I am in the presence of greatness here.’ For me, it really kicked off with the local Pedalhounds downhill series. Ha, I even knew where everyone lived – I still do.” “Look at surfing… those are the guys who have it good.” I used to go to local races and watch everything: I would pay attention to how the fastest boys pushed their bikes along, how they rode, how they set up their bikes. From a desire to jump came a desire to build, and from the moment he first picked up a shovel, his future was set: “I was a super fan boy back then. Like any red-blooded young boy, all he wanted to do was get some air, so he started jumping. Now thirty-one years old, Olly’s passion for riding started like many of us – riding trails in the woods as a kid with his family. Humble, easygoing, and dedicated, they are a group who have always let their riding do the talking and are never afraid to go big. Olly is one of a group of riders from the Surrey Hills, who, despite not having big mountains on their doorstep, have been at the forefront of the UK riding scene for over fifteen years.
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