You’re born and raised in Marseille. What makes you stay in a city? Why not be closer to the mountains as a freerider?

I grew up loving the city. There are many homies to ride with, even though most are BMX riders. My roots are here; I like the vibes of cities, the constant activity, and the different kinds of humans doing their things in this big circus—it’s always been inspiring to me.

Over time, I’ve felt more and more the urge to move out and get closer to nature, for sure, and the idea of having a house and backyard somewhere else for the same price as my apartment in Marseille has crossed my mind a few times, haha.

If I were living alone, things might be different now, but my wife is also from Marseille, and her roots, friends, and family are here. Honestly, I’m away during the bike season, so I see a lot of everything. I’m always happy to leave home and always happy to come back. Let’s see what the future holds.

What does the bowl mean to you?

The bowl is really where I learned most of my freestyle skills. It’s the place I spent the most time on my bike — my little garden! I love it because it reminds me of everything from my youth. I still go a lot, whether for riding, seeing friends, or spending time there when I’m injured. I like to watch people skate and ride. It’s my happiest place to be in Marseille.

How’s dad life going?

It’s a rollercoaster, haha! I’m learning how to leave the kid era behind to become an adult. It definitely changes a lot of things in life when you’re a pro; my freedom and energy took a hit. I love him, though, I ain’t bored every day.

Where does the inspiration to do music come from?

I’ve always needed music in my life since I was very young. At some point, I just wanted to tell my own stories—my thoughts and visions. Lots of things inspire me, but I mainly make music to express how I feel as a rider in this world. No gangsta shit, no cap.

How does it make you feel? Compared to riding, do you find any similarities?

I like how it goes well together. Biking is, let’s say, my most physical activity, where I put all my body energy. Music makes my brain work, and I love the fact that I just need a beat to spend potentially a lot of time. When I’m tired or injured, it helps me have fun when my body can’t.

I started trying, loved the exercise, wanted to dig more into my creativity, and I really never stopped. It never was to make it pro, I’m just trynna keep having fun, and I feel blessed that it could motivate people to go ride or do whatever! I feel like I could try and connect biking and music more, but I’m just going with the flow on all of that, really.

Why buy vinyls when you can listen to music online through an app?

I like the object itself; I feel like it reveals more about the artist and the overall mood of the album. I believe it’s a better way to support artists. Also, the way I listen to music has changed for me. On the apps, like most people, I started selecting only my favorite song from each album and listening to playlists, always changing songs. I wanted to go back to listening to a full album, like I did when I was a kid with my dad in the car. We used to buy a lot of CDs and could listen to one 25 times in a row if we enjoyed it. It’s also a kind of collection to me.

Looking back, how do you remember your Slopestyle days? What are your thoughts on the current status of the discipline?

It doesn’t feel really far, to be honest, haha. Probably most of my life has been dedicated to this world tour of Slopestyle, and I only have insane memories from it. From trying to go pro to living my best years on tour! It built me, taught me so much about life, about travelling, and chasing goals.

I think we should have been heard better as riders, and kept this shit dialed for both sides. I believe the evolution of the sport took a hit, and so did its interest. In my opinion, they let it burn out, and people lost interest because of how it became–the courses not evolving, the judging changing a lot, and forgetting many important criteria… MTB needs new formats, I’d say.

Joyride 2022. When did you plan the gap? Was it right after you saw the feature? Do you remember your thoughts moments before trying it? And when you landed it, how did you feel?

Haha, as soon as I saw it, I had obsessive thoughts that it was possible. Some believed in it, some didn’t. I believed it was possible so much that the only option in my head was to try. I took my time and worked a lot on the speed prep, and of course, I was super stressed about miscalculating the speed and getting into trouble. Speed management was my only fear for this feature. Everything else, I knew I could do it. It felt so insane to land it in front of all these people and see the crowd’s reaction! It’s one of the top 3 moments of my bike life, for sure.

How was your journey to Rampage?

Rampage had been on my mind for a few years, and I really tried my best to be dialed on the big bike. I had a lot of fun exploring my low points to get there and feel prepared! The journey is always more important to me than the final result. That’s where most of the work happens, where your thoughts and confidence grow. I love the process.

What was on your mind as a first-timer?

I just wanted to enjoy it. Give my best. Fight like in a war, but the main goal was simply to live the dream I’ve had for so many years. No expectations, and I’ll approach it the same way next time. I’m just giving my best because I love it, and whatever happens will be part of the story! It was so sick and different to hit a contest with the feeling of working as a team. I really felt great out there. I loved the desert energy and aura.

Now that the dust has settled, how do you feel after competing and coming home with a 4th place?

Finishing 4th was the cherry on the cake. I always don’t know what to think about a lot of the judging out there, not because they don’t do a good job, but because it’s just really hard to compare lines and how they’ve been ridden. Everyone has different opinions on what they like to see. So I’ve always told myself I just wanted to make it down to the finish line. Being proud of my riding would potentially be my best result. I‘m tough on myself, and I still think there are things I could have done better. I’ll try to be better than myself next time, whatever the results!

What’s next?

What’s next? I don’t know, haha. Projects, events, more events, new events? I love biking, I love what I’m doing, and every bit of this riding life makes me happy. So hopefully, I’ll keep grinding the same way—more art projects, hopefully—and try to be the best dad I can be for my little boy. I hope I can keep riding and naturally share this passion with him, teaching him everything I can.

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