The Gary Young Interview

Another Gary Young interview?! Serving you up with some San D! Woozy posted that rad interview with Gary recently and this is just another little something for you all to read up on if you’re interested. I shot this interview at Gary a few months ago and after some solid heckling about it, he finally filled it out a couple days ago… Gary doesn’t care to be on the computer much and isn’t one to have heavy internet rot sessions, so it generally takes him a while to get things like this done. But thats completely understandable when you live in Sunny San Diego, where the great weather never stops kicking ass! Putting down bikes in exchange for Mac laptops is always questionable…

Your full name, age and years you’ve been shredding:
My name is Gary Bernard Chapman Young, I am twenty-four years old and I started riding sixteen years ago.

Well, we all know you’re a San Diegoian but do you ever plan on leaving us for somewhere else? Or have you ever thought about living in a far away land?
One day when my wife and I have kids. We decided that we are going to take our kids to some far away land and have them learn the language while we are there, sort of immersing them in culture, you know?

A lot, if not all people have come to know you as San Diego’s hometown hero… How do you feel about that and does it affect how you represent yourself as a rider?
Wow thanks. I don’t feel like I am any different than any other rider, we are all just having fun on kids bikes. As far as representing goes I just try to do things that I can be proud of later.

You’ve traveled to numerous countries, but is there anywhere you’ve yet to visit that you really want to see?
Everywhere I haven’t been yet.

You ride Clairemont skatepark on a normal basis with the homies, tell me how you feel about the park… Favorite lines, the dudes that ride there and the general vibe, etc…
The YMCA is awesome, they treat the bmxers so well and I am very thankful to Lazlo and the rest of the staff for that. As far as favorite lines, they change regularly because the park is always building new stuff. (Thanks Brad!) There is an eclectic mix of rad riders here, but no matter which locals end up at the park it usually ends up being a really fun session.

What’s your favorite terrain for shredding? Favorite spots and set ups to ride?
It changes with what sort of mood I am in, but the top three are street, bowls, and trails. I really liked the Empire of Dirt set up in England, it had a good mix of everything.

The new Odyssey video recently dropped, how did you feel about your section? Also, are there any lines or stunts in the section that were particularly hard to achieve? Perhaps the curve wall transfer to curve wall?
I am never satisfied with my sections, but deadlines are deadlines and videos have to come out. That curve wall haunts me I really want to go back and get it done OFFICIALLY.

You recently partook in your first actual trip with the Give D Crew, any highlights on the San Francisco trip you would like to inform those about? The parks, the crew, the college kids, etc…
That was one of the most fun trips I’ve ever been on.

Macneil’s been taking care of you for years now, how happy are you with the new line of products and designs from Macneil? Are there any new G.Y. signature products coming out any time soon?
We just revised my second frame a little bit, now the chain stays are lower so you can run any gearing now. We will have new colors and stickers around Interbike.

Describe a day in the life of Gary Young:
I get up when my wife is going to work around 8 AM. I then eat breakfast, and then check my emails and start calling dudes to go ride. Then I fight traffic run errands and ride. Then I come home and figure out dinner plans with my wife. Lastly I usually fall asleep watching Seinfeld.

Also, how do you feel about regrets?
They are over rated.

Would you happen to know the top 3 priorities of a dolphin?
Eating Fish, Playing, and Boofies!

(Editorial Note)
The top 3 priorities of a dolphin are:
1. Nestling
2. Kissies
3. Style
(I’m giving credit to Gary on that though for the use of the word Boofies!)

In the words of Crandall, How stoked are you?
I’m super stoked.

Is there any shout outs or people you would like to thank?!
My thanks goes to god, my wife, family and friends. Big thanks the GDC crew for having so much fun, also Vans, MacNeil, Odyssey, CTI, and ProTec for supporting me to live my dream. Thanks dudes!

(Photos snaked from Gary’s Myspace and top picture of Gary and the fufanu at Alameda are credited to XJosh HayesX)