Long time UK freerider Elbry Sandland answers some questions and talks to MoreDirt about his plans for the future.
Name:
Elbry Sandland
Age:
34 last week!
Location:
Exmoor, UK
How did you get into riding mtn bikes and then freeride:
I got my first mtb in the mid 80's, then in 89 i moved to north devon and started racing the local grit series run by no sweat, After that I raced most weekends and stopped racing in 98 having won the south west title in experts, number 2 in national champs and raced over in mainland europe. I took up the freeride type stuff around 1997, I wanted to do what I did on my snowboard in the winter on my mtb in the summer.
How long have you been riding:
Born on a bike.
Where's your favourite place to ride:
my spot.
Describe your riding style:
Some would say old school, I would say maybe dated! lol, just smooth, fluid, precise. Im not in to tricks, Its about flow and shredding in the hills and making things look fun. I think i bring the same focus and intenserty that i had as a racer and bring that to my freeriding, i think this is maybe why i have been around for so long. To start with a lot of freeriders were just dare devils, but now the guys that have stayed and have been around like myself from the early days are the athletes and not the hang on heros.
Fave buddy to ride with:
Anyone whos stoked on riding and having fun and any of the Vandal family. But most of the time, I like to ride alone out in the hills or on the moors getting stuff done.
Who do you look up to in life:
Tall people, lol, you have to give props to guys like bourdo, simmons, Tv, schley etc..
Whos sponsoring you at the moment then:
we are lucky to be working with some great brands this year such as Marzocchi, kbc helmets and goggles, Mace Gear, THE Gopro, Fro systems, Monster energy.
What are you up to this year:
Lots on this year, Already this year we have done shoots for websites and cats for such brands as THE, KBC, GOPRO, MDE. I have been on the front pages of such websites as nsmb, pinkbike, dirtmag etc. You will see a lot of small head cam flicks with the GOPRO wide hero this summer on the net, Im working with jonathan over @ www.jdwphotography.co.uk for photos, We have a lot of shoots we are working on what will take up most of the summer and it looks like we will be doing some articals in some of the euro mags. Other than that.. I hope to get some true trail ridng in, Race some 4x over at SWE and i will be working with some brands on future products, not only the ones im sponsored with but also brands i work with like MDE and tyre brand Geax, i love doing the R&D and its a key part of what i do, with the credit crisis you have to be more than just a media freerider, people are not going to sponsor a rider that rides well, you have to do more, I have a column in down load mag Wideopen, blogger with http://elbry.blogspot.com/. An announcer for some fmx events, You have to step up your game.
What bikes have you got setup at the moment, whats the spec like:
MDE 69, MDE pusher and gettting made right now for me should be a MDE keeper4X.
What you listening to on you iPod right now:
Punk rock! Bad religon, Downset, China drum, Pennywise, Sick of it all.
Favourite MTB dvd/vid:
Flicks with bourdo sections normally are worth a look, other than that, fmx flicks.
Anyone you'd like to thank:
All the sponsors and people that have supported me over the years, family, mates and even the haters on the forums! lol, they fire me up to ride harder..lol so thanks.
Thanks again to Elbry, you can check out his website at
http://elbry.blogspot.com
