NEWS

X Games Sit Down With Colton Walker

Jul 092018

Monster Energy sat down with Colton Walker to discuss the upcoming 2018 X Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota and get a feel for what it takes to compete on the biggest stage.

Action shots from the first stop of the Toyota Triple Challenge contest

Image from the 2018 X Games Qualifiers in Boise, ID

Shots from Toyota BMX Triple Challenge in Arlington, Texas.

Q&A

Name, Age, Where Are You From, What Events Are You Competing In?

Colton Walker - 21 - New Richmond, Wisconsin - BMX Dirt and BMX Park

What happened last year?

On my final run I qualified fifth. Therefore, I made it into X Games last year for park.

Minneapolis was your first last year correct?

Yes, it was my first

What events did you ride?

I rode dirt and park, I took fourth in park and first in dirt.

Tell me about your first X Games experience.

My first X Games was obviously a good one. It was a goal of mine just to make it to X Games, but to get a Gold medal my first time there was just the icing on the cake. It was pretty sick. In my run I ended up missing one of my tricks, but was able to land everything else I tried. I missed it because I didn’t have enough speed. I was really surprised when I saw my score because in my mind I wasn’t happy about my run, it wasn’t the run I wanted to put down. Obviously, the judges saw it differently.

So, you're a pretty hard critic on yourself?

Yeah.

So, this year you’re going to go in differently?

Well, definitely, I want to put down the exact run I want this year. I guess I just have the same mentality which is to just do the best I can do.

Do you have to do anything mentally different for this event compared to the other contests?

No, I try to look at all contests the same. If I look at it that way then I won't have so much pressure on myself. I don’t want to overwhelm myself.

You were kind of a hometown hero last year, explain why…

Well I don't live in Minneapolis but I was born in Minneapolis. I lived in Minneapolis for a few years when I was really young. Then moved to New Richmond where I live now. But I do still train in Minneapolis so it’s pretty familiar to me.

Did you stay in Minneapolis last year or stay at home?

No, I just stayed at home.

Are you going to stay at home this year?

I don't know. I might stay closer but I didn't mind driving last year. It's kind of nice to wake up at my own house and do my own thing just like any other day. But I might want to try staying a little closer.

What is that car ride like?

I drive there a lot to ride but driving there for X Games is pretty crazy. It's really cool to have it that close especially.

Did anyone drive in the car with you to X Games?

Every day for practice I usually just drive myself. For X Games, my family comes later because I have to be there early.

So, is your family going to come up and watch you this year?

Oh yeah, I think more of them know about it now and are ready to come see it. So, I think more people from my family would come now.

Is your family surprised you won last year? Who's the first person you called as soon as you won?

The first person I would’ve called was my Dad, but here was there. He was right next to me. Or my mom but she was there too. Basically, anybody who I would’ve called first was with me at the time. They got to experience it with me which was pretty cool. A lot of them have never been to a contest at all. So, for them to experience their first contest at X Games is pretty crazy.

Did they understand what X Games is? What does X Games mean to you and your family?

Well they understood how big X Games was just because of how big of a deal it was for me just to go. Just from seeing me and how excited I was about it or how hard I was working they realized how important it was. When I was younger my family and I would also watch videos about it.

Is there anyone you grew up watching at X Games that you got to compete with this year or last year?

Last year was pretty crazy competing with Ryan Nyquist. I used to see him riding in the X Games and now I’m here with him.

A post shared by coltonwalker1 (@coltonwalker1) on Jun 16, 2018 at 7:06pm PDT

Q&A

So, my favorite Colton Walker quote last year was when you said, “I want a medal because they look really cool.”

They’re sweet! Those medals are sick. I just wanted a cool looking medal.

Where did you put your medals?

It’s on a shelf, hanging over my Nitro World Games trophy. I kind of want to put it in a shadow box with a photo next to it, but for now, its hanging with my trophies on the shelf.

Last year you got fourth in park, just missed the podium. Do you feel pressure? More pressure coming back winning Gold in dirt or just missing podium in park?

I'm definitely hungry from the podium in park. I really want to get on podium in park. I feel like there’s a little bit more pressure being the defending Gold medalist coming into this year but I just want to focus on it being just another day of riding and another contest. Trying not to overwhelm myself with it.

You don't ride dirt?

No, there’s like no dirt. There's a guy named Ben, he has some dirt jump in his backyard but I haven't ridden them in a long time.

Do you train for dirt? Or do you just show up for those jumps

I don't train on dirt, but I train for dirt by doing tricks over box jump so I just focus on the dirt jumps with box jumps.

So big thing for you last year was you used the quarter?

Yeah, the quarter was sick. I loved the quarter, one of the best quarters I’ve ever ridden in my life. You didn't have to do anything. It would just send you and I loved it.

Do you think it set you apart or helped you?

Yeah, because I think it benefited guys that were well acquainted with riding park. For park riders it added a park aspect to the dirt jumps which I know a lot of riders liked. It is super fun to do.

Do you have anything special in mind for this year?

I definitely want to push myself and push my limits. I’ve only done a few 1080’s, so I would like to do a 1080 possibly or a flip bar, whip bar. I want to push myself and see what I’m capable of in order to do the best I can possibly can.

Last year you were riding for Monster Army, but this year you’re riding for Monster Energy, as an Army rider you beat all the Energy riders, what’s that like?

Well I think it was cool to be in the Army and be able to win that contest. It kind of shows that Army riders can do really well. I was on Army but I was doing well enough to hang with Energy riders. I thought that was kind of cool. Now that I have moved to Energy that was the end goal. I think X Games played a big part in that move up.

How do you feel about riding the concrete park? Do you ride concrete at home?

There is a concrete park in Minnesota but I never go to it. I really don’t ride too much concrete. They recently built a new concrete park in New Richmond. It’s been there for a year and a half now. It's smaller so I’ll ride there sometimes but not often. I can't practice my really big tricks but I can still get a feel for concrete.

Sounds like you’re super versatile and it doesn't matter what you practice on, you feel comfortable on everything?

I just try to focus on everything and try to put what I've learned on park in everything else like concrete. Just focus on me riding park and don't think of it as something different. Like same with dirt, I think of it as box jumps, because I think that if you didn’t you would confuse yourself.

What are you most excited to see at X Games?

Big Air last year was gnarly. I'm really excited to watch that. Ryan Williams is going now and James was going off last year. It’s going to be sick. Motocross as well. I’ve always watch a lot of motocross with my Dad when I was younger so that was always kind of a sentimental thing to watch. I’m definitely excited for Big Air and motocross. But I guess everything else.

Anything you bring with you? Lucky charms?

I don't have it with me currently but I have a necklace at home. My grandpa passes away, but I keep his dog-tags with his finger prints on it with me. I always keep it in my pocket when I ride a contest.

Who do you think your biggest fan is?

Probably my Dad, but my whole family are my biggest fans. They just want the best for me and want me to do the best I can. Support me in anything really.

Any last shout-outs?

I'd like to thank my family for always being so supportive and my sponsors especially Monster Energy. Thanks Olivia for interviewing me. (Proceeds to eat an entire kiwi, including the skin)

Why are you eating an entire kiwi?

Someone told me the skin has fiber so it’s healthy apparently.

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Colton Walker

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