For the first time in months the sun shines through the clouds onto a cracked 10 by 20 yard slab of concrete where Dave Benji sits on his mountain bike while joking with a local skateboarder. Benji’s face goes from a bubbly smile to an intense stare as he starts to pedal and then launch himself 15 feet into the air, throwing a flat spin 360 for the 10th time today. Kids at the skatepark stare in awe as Benji, the only pro rider in the Willamette Valley, does another trick off the cracked concrete wall at Amazon Skatepark. He said “most people think I’ve learned massive tricks by just being fearless, but that’s not it.” The real key to his progression is his ability to focus intensely on every detail of his riding without any distractions.

Benji fell in love with jumping his mountain bike in 4th grade at Amazon Skatepark, a old concrete bowl in Eugene. The closest designated mountain bike jumps were 3 hours away, so Amazon was his only place to go. As he rode more, he dreamt about riding like the pros he saw on Youtube, who learned tricks on dirt jumps with soft mulch landings and foam pits. He said “at the time it seemed crazy to attempt any big tricks on unforgiving concrete.” Every time he rode his mind was clouded with envy, doubt, and fear that kept him from learning new tricks. So he decided to focus on playing basketball instead while putting his love for biking on hold.

After the first basketball practice Benji realized his coach was going to teach him something new that year. Coach Morgan taught them to focus on one small detail of their game at a time until it was perfect. He told Benji and the team “Don’t think of anything outside of exactly what you’re doing. Whether you’re making a pass or taking a shot; the score, the crowd and your record don’t matter.” Benji felt himself improve at basketball faster than ever before. One day after a game Benji went home and used this focused mindset while riding his bike and was blown away by his confidence to try new tricks for the first time on concrete. As the basketball season ended Benji’s love for biking was back. Eventually Benji entered his first competition where he felt a massive anxiety as thoughts about the crowd and the other riders went through his head. Surprisingly, he enjoyed this feeling because he thought of Coach Morgan and blocked everything out except the thought of dropping down the first ramp.

As Benji looks to the future, he hopes to enter the Red Bull Joyride, the biggest freeride mountain bike competition in the world. His goal is to represent his hometown of Eugene and encourage the city to build public bike parks with dirt and progressive jumps so riders can feel comfortable learning new tricks.