It’s really just a ‘live and learn’ thing. I definitely missed out on a lot of ‘normal’ experiences for young kids but at the same time I got a whole different range of experiences from it. When I was younger and traveling around for months I’d come home and try to hang out with my high school friends, but it was weird. It didn’t really feel like it was natural to hang out with high school kids. I had a key group of friends that will always be my friends, but beyond that it was like there wasn’t a common interest. It wasn’t what I was used to or what I wanted to be doing. That whole high school life didn’t matter to me anymore. It didn’t appeal to me and I was just stoked on what I was doing to be honest. I never did the whole high school party thing. I was away doing something else. I always hung out with people older than me. It was like I matured at a younger age I guess. I had to gain a lot of street sense quick doing the things I was doing.”
When he was just 17 years old Brandon asserted his need for independence with a rock solid investment.“I’ve always liked to have goals. Like growing up my goal was getting a new bike each year. Then when I started traveling and living alone I realised I liked my independence. I didn’t like coming home and getting asked a bunch of questions all the time and people telling me what to do. I like figuring things out on my own. So basically my goal became to have a whole new level of independence, being self–sustained, and accomplish things completely on my own. So I bought a house.”
The popular view might be that freeriders are wild spirits who recklessly endanger themselves. However, for Brandon, particularly in the contest context, there is plenty of calculation and methodology. Perhaps the mathematic mind he demonstrated as a student comes into play here.“I don’t buy the idea of us being adrenalin junkies. I don’t do it for adrenalin. I do it for fun and maybe adrenalin is a part of that and it gives me a cool feeling to do cool stuff on my bike, but really it is calming to ride my bike. When I’m riding all I’m thinking about is riding my bike, I don’t worry about any stresses in my life. All there is to think about is riding. When I ride my bike I feel good about myself and any stresses go away. It makes me happy but it is also my job so I have to be good at riding my bike so now I can’t just ride, I have to get better, learn tricks etc. and if I don’t then I get stressed. However, I try to not ruin biking and keep it the same fun it has always been. I try to make obstacles or projects that keep me stoked.
I get along great with all the other slopestyle and freeriders. All of us get along, but I definitely think I’m a different breed. A lot of guys like to party and are into different things but maybe…I dunno…I’m different. I’m not like anyone else. I don’t want to be.
Riding is a challenge, which is why I do it. Slopestyle isn’t about the parties or the crowds, it is just another challenge. It was about me saying to myself, ‘how do I stack up against these guys? Can I do my best run?’ Then it turned into a career so I am given more time to do things and put stuff out that makes people stoked on riding too.”>>
