Thursday, November 8

Cinqmars Life Contd...

By MotoWorld.com Contributer

MW.com: For some of the old-timers, is there some animosity toward the new guys who didn't really have to pay their dues when there wasn't big money involved and really rode the old-timers coat-tails to a big payday?

MC: Yeah, it's like we put our heart and soul making this sport happen and making it into what it is now and the new kids coming up, it's like they are just floating into it. It sucks for us because we put so much into it and we're finally getting some money out of it and the new kids are coming in and the sponsors are coming to them with money and we're the ones who got the money started in the sport. Now they are bringing money to the new kids and it's kind of like... it's kind of messed up but oh well.

MW.com: Talk about the house jump, I mean it's up there as one of the greatest and most talked about moments in free-jump history.

MC: The house jump definitely was the biggest stepping stone for me in my career. It got me noticed. It was on TV, it was the first big TV thing I ever did and people noticed it. After that people knew me for doing the house jump. MTV asked me and I went down and had a meeting with them and they wanted me to jump a house in a suburb. I said that I've got my house out in the middle of the desert and you won't have to bring any dirt in or anything like that and it'll save you a lot of money. They were keen on that idea but they didn't know it was a two-story house until they got there and they were freaking out about that. Doing that jump was a real big stepping stone for me.

MW.com: When they started freaking out, did that get you nervous about jumping a two-story house? Maybe plant a seed of doubt in your head that maybe this is too much? I mean none of you guys had jumped a two-story house before.

MC: No, it was weird because we just built one of the ramps and it was one of the first ramps we ever built. We built that one especially for the house to get enough boost to clear the house. Mickey Dymond built the ramp and I was confident with him and I never had any doubtful thoughts cross my mind about jumping the house at all. That's what was pretty weird about it, I felt confident with what it takes to do something like that. You can't doubt yourself because if you doubt yourself you're definitely going to crash or something bad is going to happen.

MW: Then like you said right after the jump was the X-Games. It was a pretty successful couple of weeks.

MC: After the house jump was the X-Games and ever since I was a kid I watched the X-Games on TV and it was a real big accomplishment to go there and get a medal. That was probably one of the happiest days of my life, going and standing on the podium and getting a medal from something you watched as a kid on TV. Going there and being in the first motocross thing and to get the first medal from the X-Games made me really happy.

MW.com: Who are some of the guys you look up to in the free ride arena?

MC: There are a few guys like Carey Hart, who's my teammate now on Team Moto Ethics. He's the one that did the back flip and he's always pushing the limits. And Deegan, Seth, Clowers and those guys, it's all a tight group. Adoptante and those guys are always pushing the limits and those are the guys that actually started it and they're still keeping it going, it's good.

MW.com: What about a guy like Travis that wins titles racing then comes to a free style event part-time and wins medals there.

MC: You can't knock the kid, he's just amazing on a bike. Pastrana has something a lot of people don't and he's got way too much talent for one person. He can go out to a race and beat everyone and then come to a freestyle contest, not even ride freestyle during the year because he's focused on racing but comes and smokes everybody. So I have much respect for the kid and you can't knock the kid or talk bad about him because he's kicking all our asses, you know?

MW.com: Has growing up in California influenced you in what you're doing?

MC: I've always lived out here in California so there's more opportunities out here in California than there is everywhere else. There are a lot of the people that are filming around here and stuff like that so being in California is definitely good. There's a ton of riding spots and it's an all around good spot. There is good weather all the time and it's just great. You can go snowboarding one day and then the same day go surfing too. It's just an all around good spot.

MW.com So you aren't thinking of moving to Nebraska any time soon?

MC: Noooo. I'll stay here.

MW.com: You brought up filming where you not only starred in your own movie but produced it as well.

MC: Getting into the videos and all that was really good. I always wanted to get into all the videos I could just to get my name out there. Then when it came time and I was making enough money, we did our own video, which is "35-01 MY TRIP", which just came out a little while ago. It's got all my MTV jumps on it, it's got my wreck on there, its got my surgery and it's just a whole in-depth look at my life and how I came about in the industry. It's a really good thing and it's a good accomplishment just to be in my first video and to make my own video, it was really cool.

MW.com: When the sport started to break a lot of shyster came on the scene and really exploited some of the guys.

MC: Yeah, everyone is your friend now in the motocross industry. When you're up on top doing good everyone wants to be there to hold your hand and you've got everything you need but as soon as you're down, you're kind of off to the left. That's what's weird about this industry, it's really a messed up industry, there are a lot of shady people in this industry. Luckily all my sponsors stayed with me when I got hurt, NO FEAR and DC SHOES and RIGHT GUARD and ARNETTE, everyone stuck behind me and I know those are my true sponsors that took care of me. It's a real cutthroat industry and you've got to be on your toes.

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