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Michael Beran looks to the future
Michael Beran chats to Ryszard Syryczyński at Vans Rebel Jam and reveals a surprise move into FMX
Written by Ryszard Syryczyński
3 min readPublished on
Michael Beran at Rebel Jam 2012
Michael Beran at Rebel Jam 2012© Bartek Wolinski
Michael Beran is competing at the BMX Park contest at Vans Rebel Jam this weekend. In this interview with Ryszard Syryczyński, Michael talks about his recent injury problems, the Berry Routines video concept and a potential move into riding freestyle motorcross.
Do you like Rebel Jam?
This my second time at the Rebel Jam. I love the contest and the people around it, so I'm here again. I missed the previous one so I'm really happy to be here in Tossa De Mar. It is so beautiful, the sea is pretty close.
How do you like the skatepark here?
The skatepark is pretty much the same as it was in Barcelona 2010. I like it. It looks fun, there are transfers and you can also do tricks plus more technical stuff. Everybody likes it but I hope nobody crashes.
Are there many good riders here?
There are so many good riders riding here that competition will be tough! Vince Byron, Dean Cuson, Harry Main, Ryan Taylor, Mark Webb. Everyone who's on the list is great, I'd say.
You picked up some bad injuries these past few years, tell us more about this?
I broke my wrist in July last year and it took two months to recover. But after that I jumped straight back into a contest and then broke my elbow and was out for seven months. When you're off the bike that really is the worst time because you need to find different things to do. I am happy that I am riding again and enjoying it.
What was the idea and what's the story behind your recent video Berry Routines?
We started the project in 2011 during the winter and had the idea down on paper. However, we needed to find money to fund the shoot. We talked to Red Bull and fortunately it worked out in terms of funding. From there, we got all the equipment together and found the locations. As for the concept, I wanted to do something different to the "Day in the Life" videos that most bike riders were doing. It took seven days of filming. It was fun but pretty exhausting. Preparations always started at 8am but to make everything right such as putting ramps in the right place, making backgrounds, it took so long. We had to film during the night to have perfect darkness. It was pretty nuts. I hope to make something similar to Berry Routines in the future!
Will you be taking part in anymore contests this year?
I'm going to be at Red Bull Skylines in Paris. In November I'm going to California to see Drew Bezanson and Daniel Sandoval. Next year, I won't be competing in so many contests as I'm going to film more. In February, I'm going to Dubai and after that to Turkey. I hope to have my cameraman with me and we will try to do some filming in these places. The BMX contests that do appeal to me next year are the BMX Worlds, Rebel Jam or X-Games Europe.
We've heard some rumours about your plans to do a little bit of freestyle motorcross. Is it true?
It is true. I think that if you're trying something else other than your sport, you will be better in your sport long term. I always wanted to ride motocross, since I was a kid. Now I have the money I want to buy a bike. If I get used to it, I'll try to jump and do some tricks.
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