GroundControlBMX

Cory Fester Interview

Last March at the Flatlands Unlimited 5, I finally got to meet Cory Fester after hearing so much about him in the past. Cory started to get noticed a few years back
when a video of him got posted on PedalBMX, then after that he started attending events like York Jam.

I was always impressed watching his videos he was doing really difficult and original tricks. For example; A rolling boomerang into a hang five or hang five into a double boomerang. Not only was it way cool but someone was bringing back some core tricks to the table in a new way!

In 2007 Cory placed 9th at Flat Ground, thats 2 places above Sam Foakes! Recently he attended JomoPro and placed 3rd.

Well we both finally got around to getting this interview done recently so here it is!

Name: Cory Fester
From: Hamlet, Alberta, Canada

GC:
How old are you?

Cory:
28 years old

GC:
So tell us a little about how you got into Flatland and when did you start?

Cory:

I started riding bmx when I was 16. I few of my friends were into bmx bikes and always trying to learn tricks. I was actually quite into mountain biking and my friends would give me a hard time about it so one day I just tried one of their bikes because I figured it would be easy haha. I learned my first trick trying to show my friends up lol. Now they all have houses and good paying jobs and I still ride little kids bikes so I’m not sure who showed who.haha

GC:
Riding in Alberta must be challenging, how do you deal with winters?

Cory:
The winters here definitely suck. The last couple I have not been able to ride my bike at all really. For a long time I have pretty much had the schedule of working all winter to save money for contests and then taking off the summers to ride. I am hoping and working with some people to get a new indoor skate park for this winter so well see what happens.

GC:
So you recently got sponsored by OG ! thats great news, how is that going and do you have any other sponsors?

Cory:
I actually got hooked up with OG bikes when I went to Europe in the summer of 2007. I really enjoy being part of the team, I think those guys have such great attitudes and they make really good parts. KHE helps me out with tires and parts as well which helps alot. I actually just got hooked up with a new company in the USA called Bluesix Bikes. They specialize in
making titanium bolts and components for bmx and we have some things in the works.

GC:
You have been attending some contests in 2009 are planning on attending more for 2010 ?

Cory:
To be honest I am not sure if I am interested in doing contests right now. I will go to Toronto of course because I feel I should support the big Canadian contest. I hope to help those guys with some improvements as far as that contest goes. As far as other comps go I just really have not wanted to be around the bmx side of riding the past few months. Flatland
right now just doesn’t feel the same to me as it used to. It seems like its more of a show now. So many guys now are more interested in marketing themselves than the riding itself. I really have no desire to be a part of that, I would rather go ride in my plain Walmart t-shirt and Levis and learn the hardest tricks I can than worry about how I can make myself cool enough to get a magazine photo.

GC:
Things you like best about Alberta?

Cory:
Haha certainly not the weather. I live in a hamlet outside of Edmonton called Sherwood Park and its a really nice community. The thing I like the best about it is that its really quiet and peaceful. My spot I ride is a concrete hockey rink that is absolutely perfect and almost never busy. Its funny because a lot of people dont like the fact that there isnt a huge bar scene or nightlife. For me I like the fact that there are no distractions, I can focus on nothing but riding and it makes accomplishing my goals with riding possible.

GC:
Have you invented any trick ?

Cory:
I dont like to claim credit for inventing tricks. I definitely want to learn stuff that I have never seen anyone do but thats not to say I did it first. There are lots of things I have learned only to see someone else do it later on in a video or whatever. For me as long as I know I came up with it myself thats enough.

GC:
What do you enjoy the most about Flatland BMX ?

Cory:
Thinking about tricks. My favorite thing is coming up with a full video section on paper, ideas I want to learn etc. The actual process of riding and filming is hard haha.

GC:
Who supports you with riding?

Cory:
My girlfriend Meaghan is very supportive. I am so lucky as far as that goes. She trains dogs and competes at a really high level as well. I went to Ottawa with her this year and got to watch her win her first National Championships which was so amazing. We both have a really great understanding of how much time it takes to do what we do. I dont think I could have
dreamed of a better girlfriend. My family and friends are all very supportive as well.

GC:
Favorite food & music ?

Cory:
My favorite food is pasta and salad. I listen to all sorts of different music. My favorite band is Tool though.

GC:
Which riders motivate you the most?

Cory:
The riders that motivate me now are the guys that I consider elite riders. Martti Kouppa, Simon Obrien ,Justin Miller. There are others of course but those 3 really stand out for me.

GC:
What else do you do when you dont ride?

Cory:
Man I am not sure. Riding is such a big part of my life that incorporates so much. I spend a lot of time with my girlfriend. Other than that not to much. Right now I am going to start work on a solo video so that is going to take a lot of my time. For me alot of time goes into planning out my links and getting my ideas together so that will be just as much time as the riding itself.

GC:
Any last words?

Cory:
Just thank my sponsors OG Bikes and BlueSix Bikes for everything. As well as KHE for helping me out. I would also like to thank my girl Meaghan for being so awesome. Just Thank You to everyone who has supported me throughout the years with my riding.

VIDEOS

3.21 minute clip from OG Bikes (mp4)

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt