By Pat Schutte 

 

We caught up with Mirra at re-lived his most excellent summer of BMX. From his back-on-the-map win at Chicago, to serious run at new school star Garrett Reynolds in Dew Tour BMX Park, Mirra checked in with Monster HQ the other day – a day after having some successful shoulder clean up surgery completed - and got us caught up on where things are at and where things are going with the most successful BMX competitor of all time.
 

Monster Energy: Hey, man, let’s start off with that last Dew Tour round in Orlando. WHAT were you thinking on that back flip entry off the vert wall into the tranny? That had to be one of the nuttiest tricks we’ve ever seen!
 

Dave Mirra: I actually did it in practice like eight times and it was dialed. I was excited about it, went to pull it in the finals and, I dunno, maybe was a little bit nervous or something. Didn’t pop the way I wanted it to, didn’t come around. My sight lines were off so my weight was ahead of my eyes I guess. Landed forward then and my foot came off and went straight to the ground.”
 

Monster Energy: The crash didn’t look all that bad on TV, probably because the trick was sofa king burly to begin with. But sometimes those types can be the worst. Did that force you to play your hand in terms of the shoulder surgery you had yesterday?
 

Dave Mirra: “No, I was already scheduled for surgery. If it was anytime to get hurt it would have been at Orlando.” 

Monster Energy: Correct us if we’re wrong, but we got the feeling that some people had written you off this summer. And I think the talk started last year, with people forgetting you were injured. “Mirra’s into rally now” or “the dude’s getting old.” Did that help motivate you to pull off the unreal summer that you had?
 

Dave Mirra: “There was a few things that motivated me this year. I love riding, I love rally. I got a great family. I had to do some re-structures. Earlier this year I made up my mind to quit partying and start taking things more seriously. Ride for fun, which really helped me relax and have a better time with it and get better results. A lot of it was getting on a regiment and changing my lifestyle a little bit. Lived the other way for a long time and over the last ten years I’ve been telling myself I was going to retire within the next two years. So I figured out I was distracting myself with all the things outside BMX, and I could never break free from it, you know?”
 

Monster Energy: Right or wrong, your season-opening win in Chicago stunned the BMX industry. Or maybe a better word is surprised. You’ve been on top of the podium more than any other action sports athlete. Will that win go down as one of your most memorable?
 

Dave Mirra: “Yeah, you know what, with all the hard work I put in preparing for this year, what a better reward than to win at doing something you love, you know? So to win that was a huge, HUGE way for me getting started off on the right foot.”
 

Monster Energy: If we remember right you wadded up in practice pretty bad at Chicago as well.
 

Dave Mirra: “I got knocked out about an hour and a half before the event. If wouldn’t have rode the way I did and got 12th – that would have changed my whole year. I felt like ‘You know what, I did well – now it’s time for me to make the most of it.’ I was cool I was able to persevere, got back up and felt ‘This is more important to me – I want to ride.’ Told the head people at Dew Tour, ‘Hey, yeah, I probably shouldn’t ride. But if I can do better than two guys, that’s 10th place – which is two spots better than 12th. Live TV and I’ve got to be in the show.’ Went out and rode and won it – amazing.”
 

Upcoming: GEICO AMA EnduroCross, presented by Monster, Nov. 21 (Vegas); “King of the Animal House,” Dave Mirra’s BMX invite, Dec. 11-12;