The breeze whipped past sophomore Aubrey Valenzuela’s face as he jumped down a staircase landing on the bottom. He immediately pedalled a few feet further away from the stairs, then circled around to try again. Being a new member on a BMX team, he would need the practice.
Aubrey Valenzuela performs BMX with his team of five people, called Defiant. They each decide on individual tricks to try, then learn from each other by watching each other and trying to mimic them. The team only wants six to eight member max on their team, plus a few cameramen.
“I love being in Defiant,” team member Dalton Mead said. “The thrill of landing a big trick off a ramp is like nothing else in the world. It’s a huge rush for me. We would all like to make it big someday.”
Valenzuela started practicing BMX when he saw his neighborhood friends trying it. The only requirements to be in the team are to have a BMX or mountain bike. The team gives anyone trying out one month to practice, then the group analyzes them to see if the person meets their standards to make the team.
“It’s not challenging if you go at your own pace,” Valenzuela said.
The participants run the team themselves; they have no official coach. Even without a coach, however, they have managed to attract sponsors. They have been sponsored by Sun Rims, Epic Cameras, Allsport Dynamics, Ride Live Be, and Dyno Power. GoPro contacted the team, telling them that they are also close to a sponsorship with the company, which would allow them to receive large discounts on cameras made for first person viewing.
“They are good quality cameras,” Valenzuela said. “We probably won’t get GoPro until the summer, but when we do get sponsored by GoPro, it’ll really help with videos and stuff like that. We could have multiple GoPros to get multiple angles.”
The team made a Defiant instagram and youtube account to help advertise the team. They plan to construct a website to further advertise their team to potential sponsors.
“BMX is a sport that takes hard work and dedication,” Valenzuela said. “But it’s a sport that’s easily enjoyable if you learn at your own pace, and do your own thing.”
