The BMX Commentator Podcast

Episode 24 sees Quillan Isidore join The BMX Commentator Podcast, he was one of the longest standing riders ever to be on the BC program. His career as a BC athlete spanned over 15 years when, as all full time athletic careers do... it came to an abrupt end.

Quillan shares the difficulties he endured, how it affected his life, and ultimately how he turned the situation around to stay in the sport of BMX racing via his new passion of coaching the next up and coming generation of riders both at home and in other countries.

You'll hear some frank admissions from Quillan, describing the pressures he felt in the points chase for Paris 2024, and the tears that were shed. How sour if felt when he finally walked away from the BC program, and how his new career and parenthood has changed things for the better.

This conversation outlines that even if you don't achieve your dreams in BMX, there's always light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to be prepared to change direction whilst keeping your eyes on the prize, and maybe get what you want in a different way.

Episode 23 sees us chat with Chris Mapp, who most people know as the man behind the BMX Hype race team. What a lot of people don't know about Chris is that he is the driving force behind one of Britain's most innovative recruitment companies - Mixxos.

Chris shares the stories of his BMX career starting as a 6 and under who was too scared to ride down a start hill, to becoming a member of the infamous Crupi Europe squad counting Liam Philllips and Marcus Bloomfield as team mates as they raced around Europe and the world.

Chris also tells how he ended up almost leaving the sport, and the reasons behind that before making a run at the 2012 World Championships in Birmingham where a crash on the third straight put him in a wheelchair and unable to carry on with his profession at the time.

This forced Chris to step into a completely new job role, one that saw him find not only his calling but also led him to create an innovative new company in a notoriously difficult sector - recruitment.

This move has taken Chris to a level he never dreamed of, and he shares the lessons he learned along the way from racing BMX, that helping him manage a rapidly growing business.

Sit back, relax, and take a ride into the crazy world of Chris Mapp.... there's never a dull moment!

www.mixxos.com

Episode 22 of The BMX Commentator Podcast sees us catch up with Hyper Bicycles pro rider and Aker Farms owner Jeremy Smith.

Jeremy tells the story of how breaking his hand at the Verona World Cup race in 2021 led to him finding the property that was to become the Aker farm. Years of hard work have now got Jeremy and best friend Will Grant to the point where they have a private training facility in Florida with a practice track, gum and accomodation for visiting riders from all over the world.

Jeremy also covers his Paris Olympics experience, the races he'd love to go to (hint - bonjour!) and answers the all important Frankenstein BMXer question....plus much more besides.

It's all contained in episode 22 of The BMX Commentator Podcast.

To connect with Aker Brand go to https://akerbrandfarms.square.site/

@akerbrand on IG

@jeremysmithbmx to connect with Jeremy directly

Episode 21 of the podcast takes back across the globe to chat with BMX/MTB rider Jayce Cunning. This is a slightly different episode as Jayce is a rider I haven't met on the World Cup scene prior to our conversation.

Jayce tells us about his prior World Cup history in BMX, and how the move into the MTB scene came about. We also dive deep into why the Crankworx series is so good for riders, and what BMX racing can do to follow their lead whilst also diving into why it's so good as a media outlet for companies that are supporting riders within the sport.

We also chat about coaching young riders, what they can learn by NOT doing more training, plus we bring Frankenstein into BMX racing.

Yes, we create a monster hybrid BMXer in real time, and introduce you to him right before we wrap up the show.

It was an absolue blast to chat with Jayce, check out the conversation and give him a follow on IG @jaycecunning or look him up on YouTube to follow his channel.

Episode 20 of The BMX Commentator Podcast sees a chat with up and coming Australian U23 racer Bella May.

From starting as an eight year old on a local track, Bella has grown into one of the most exciting prospects in the sport.

Episode 19 of the BMX Commentator Podcast - A Chat with Mitchel Schotman about the dual role of organising a festival whilst balancing the responsibility of being a full time Elite BMX athlete.

The BMX Commentator podcast sat down with 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist Connor Fields.

The BMX Commentator podcast sat down with 2016 Olympic Gold Medallist Connor Fields.

Connor gives us his unique perspective on the Paris Olympics, and how he saw it from the perspective of TV commentator for NBC and most importantly through the lens of being a former Olympic champion himself.

We delve into why the all conquering French mens team are so successful, why the goup of riders born in 1991-92 became so good, and how they ushered the changing of the guard in the Elite class.

Switching gears, we touch on Connor's post BMX career working for PBS Vegas on Outdoor Nevada, keynote speaking at places like Nellis Air Force Base and UNLV....and much more!

Episode 17 of the podcast sees a slight change of pace, simply because I didn't manage to get a guest sorted and I didn't want to miss an upload.

So I went with an AMA (ask me anything) episode, got some questions in via Instagram and proceeded to answer them.

You'll find out...

The difference between a Wigan kebab abd a Wigan Big Mac, and why it matters.

How I prepare for commentating at a major event.

How I started as a commentator, and who influenced me in the early days.

The advice I'd give to anyone wanting to try their hand at BMX commentary.

The reason behind my racing days ending and why it was a massive positive, even though it took a few years to work out for the best.

The most exciting race I ever commentated on, with only 2 people on the gate when it dropped.

What you need to do become a top level BMX commentator (hint: be prepared to work at it for a long time)

All this and more besides... so dig in and have a listen.

Episode 16 of The BMX Commentator Podcast is with one of my most requested guests, Ross Cullen of the Great Britain Cycling Team.

Ross tells us how it feels to be in the unique position of going to two Olympic Games and competing in neither one, what his goals are for the years leading up to LA28, and how his dad broke his neck when he was a kid which then led to him discovering BMX racing for the first time.

He also tells us why people think he's a robot, why British Cycling have told him to 'dial it back a bit' and how he ended up with a deal with BMW UK to drive a new car and motorcycle.

I've said on more than one occasion that Ross Cullen has been a professional BMXer since he was 12 years old, such is his committment to excellence and the fact he leaves no stone unturned to be the best he can be in all areas of his life.

Indeed, in the week after recording this podcast, I visited one of Ross's current sponsors to buy some clip shoes for my son. I told them that he was to be a guest on the podcast, and their response was that he was the nicest lad, professional to a 'T'and a pleasure to work with.

And the BMX Mums like him as well :-)

Ladies and gentleman, the much requested and long awaited interview with Ross Cullen... enjoy!

It's only been a few episodes since we last had Scott on the show, but after we briefly touched on sponsorship and marketing last time around I was frothing to get him back on the podcast to dive into the subject in more detail.

Scott and I sat down to run through everything you need to know to get on a potential sponsor's radar (clue: Your social media numbers aren't the be all and end all!)

Also we talk about how to put together a proper sponsorship proposal (hint: use a spellchecker) and what you should do immediately after a new sponsor comes on board.

We also talk about the worst mistakes you can make when approaching a sponsor, what to do on race day to maximise impact for your sponsors, and how to build relationships ahead of time so companies know who you are way before you start to work together.

Scott is a fully sponsored (paid!) professional BMX and MTB athlete so he knows what he's doing... so sitting down and taking some notes might be a good way to spend an hour of your time.

Check out Scott's website www.beaumontracing.com and be sure to check out The 96 Podcast as another addition to your podcast rotation.

As an addition to this episode, I'd also suggest having a listen to Episode 310 of the Gypsy Tales Podcast with Caroline Buchanan. It's a monster 3+ hour listen, but Caroline drops a ton of knowledge bombs about how she markets herself as an athlete. The principles are there, you just have to dig them out and apply them...