After taking a couple of years off from the web edit game, BMX rider Anthony Napolitan returned today with a stylish video featuring clips from the wild course that hosts Red Bull Roast It in New Zealand, the Blue Bench trails and Heath Pinter's trails in Southern California, and Volcom Park in Costa Mesa, California. Napolitan ends the video on the set of Red Bull Kluge, where he gets a tow into Robbie Maddison's immense landing ramp to fire out a few tricks.
Currently recovering from clean-up surgery on his ankle, Napolitan checked in with RedBullUSA.com to talk about his latest edit, the return of BMX Dirt to the X Games, and the 2013 edition of Red Bull Dream Line, the epic dirt contest he helped mastermind in 2011.
It’s been a while since your last edit; why did you decide to crank one out now?
Over the past six or seven years I’ve been riding a lot of contests, and I haven’t put out a web edit since 2010. I really wanted to get back into the Internet side of things, pumping out edits and photos. After moving out [to California] last April and getting settled, then all the traveling I was doing -- the time passed by really fast. Toward the end of the year, I knew I needed to work on this edit, because it was something I really wanted to do for myself.
I had seen Dylan Pfohl’s edits with a bunch of different riders, and I was really into his style of filming and editing. I asked if he’d be into it and he was stoked on it. We filmed on and off for a few months; I’d catch him for a day or two between all the trips we were each going on. I was also still dealing with my ankle; it was always hurting.
It didn’t really take that long to film, though; we only did like five days of filming. Dylan involved me a lot on the creative aspects, like consulting me on angles and the music choice. It was really great to work with him, and my phone’s been blowing up today since about 2 a.m., so I’m pretty overwhelmed at the response I’ve been getting.
Do you feel like your riding has evolved since your last edit?
Definitely. I think my riding has evolved into a much faster style. I love going fast; I get a rush out of it. I’ve always been a dirt rider, so I’ve taken that trails flow to whatever I ride. I love how my riding is evolving; I’ve learned a lot of things over the last couple of years and I just feel good on my bike. I can’t wait for my ankle to heal up and actually ride the way I used to.
With your ankle finally fixed up, are you more excited about your riding prospects this year than you’ve been in recent years?
Definitely! My ankle’s been bothering me for the past four years. I remember injuring it; I caught a tailwhip weird and unknowingly fractured it and rode on it all year without knowing. The past two years, I haven’t been able to ride with the ambition to try anything new; I’ve been very cautious. If I ever put my foot down on something, my ankle would blow up and I’d be off the bike for two weeks. It’ll take some time for sure to get used to not being afraid to put my foot down, but I can’t wait until I’m physically and mentally 100% again.
You medaled in your only X Games Dirt appearance in 2006 before they dropped the discipline, and they just announced its return -- for X Games Brazil in 2013. How psyched does that make you?
I’m really pumped. Me and a few other guys have been trying to convince X Games for the last few years to put Dirt back in. For Red Bull Dream Line, I wanted a platform for people to see what BMX dirt was really about, to show everyone that BMX dirt is alive and it’s thriving. Once we did the contest, I talked to a lot of people at X Games and I was like, “You can do this!” I think after seeing that, they talked to a bunch of people and decided to bring it back. I’m psyched for Dirt at X Games Brazil; I know it’s going to be a really good event.
Any news on Red Bull Dream Line for 2013?
It’s happening. We’ve got our location locked down, it’s part of the Red Bull Signature Series, and it’ll be in the June/July timeframe. I can’t disclose much about it yet, but I can tell you that we have twice the amount of space as the last one, so the course is going to be long. It’ll be faster, too.
How is your schedule shaping up so far this year?
I’m going to New Zealand for three weeks in February; I’m going to Paul Langlands’ contest south of Auckland, then I go to the south island for the Farm Jam, and then Red Bull Roast It at the Queenstown dirt jumps. That takes me into March and that’s not too far off from the X Games stuff, so I have my plate filled and I’m looking forward to all of that.
Follow Anthony and Red Bull for more updates.
EDITORS' CHOICE:
- All-Star BMX riders take over the streets of Berlin
- Huge ramps and massive air at Red Bull Skylines
- BMX riding on satellite dishes at 40 feet above the ground
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