Till The Very End – Owen Marks

Till The Very End – Owen Marks

PHOTOS: HÉCTOR SAURA


I grew up going to the Post Office jumps, having a public and welcoming scene as far as dirt jumps go, but a lot has changed here in Aptos. Unfortunately, there’s not too big of a scene at the moment. Although it’s not the worst situation for me, it sucks that the next generation doesn’t have a spot like that. Only a handful of us have private spots that we can go to that are still rad and progressive.

I still ride alone a fair amount, but it’s not as motivating. I live for dope sessions with the crew. Everyone feeds off each other and gives each other shit, but we’re all tight homies. I got into biking through the friends I grew up with, so I prefer riding with people; it keeps it super fun.

Wally and I wanted to grab some footage at La Poma for my new video, Till The Very End, so we went to Barcelona to finally check that place out and ride around the city. Every time I’m riding, it puts me in a good mood and gets me stoked; that’s why I love it. Currently, it’s my top priority, and I try to have a session once or twice a day.

I definitely owe a lot to Brandon, who’s helped me a lot over the last few years. He let me stay with him for a summer, which changed everything for me. Getting to ride with the crew up there and learn from the best was an unreal experience. He’s such a good homie, and I’m super thankful for all he’s done for me. I learned a lot about cooking as well. Thanks, B!

For 2020, I’m just trying to ride as much as possible, have fun with it, and do some FMB events. I got the wildcard to ride Slopestyle at Crankworx Rotorua by getting a good result at last year’s Tom van Steenbergen’s Big White Invitational (thanks, T!), so I am super amped to have the opportunity to ride there.

I have been doing the same things I’d typically do every winter to prepare for the event, riding with everyone around. I’m not going into Rotorua trying to win, but I will ride as well as possible.

I tend to stress out when trying something new on a hard-packed bigger feature, but I don’t typically try anything too gnarly unless I’ve been practicing it for a while. If I’m scared about something new I’m trying, I can usually convince myself that it should work out because I’ve been practicing it.

As for what the future holds? I will keep doing my thing and ride until the very end.