What tunes have you been listening to?

Robbie: Right now I have H2O in my car along with Clutch and AFI. Stuff that gets me going in the morning and pumped up to ride.

Where do you spend most of your time?

It depends. For the last 2 months I spent my summer on the road doing BMX clinics all over the country. Teaching kids how to get faster at BMX and promote all my sponsors. I guess its like being in a band without all the girls and tour buses. After all that I spent my time at home in Newport Beach, California. We have a lot of good riding spots here and a lot of people to train with.

A close race in Evansville, Indiana

Where is your favorite place to ride?

I have a lot of places I like to ride. For the most part it is a good set of trails like Sheep Hills here in Costa Mesa, CA or the Downhill BMX track in Woodward PA. That's where the X Games race is going to be this year so I'm happy to be going back

Are you looking forward to the X Games this year?

Sure am, but I am getting sweaty palms about it already. Last year I almost won it and crashed at the finish line getting last instead of first. Anything can happen there so I'm up for anything that comes my way. Big jumps and fast tracks that scare you are my favorite for sure.

So you are helping to design the track this year, any new obstacles you think will be particularly dope to watch on TV?

The track is a lot longer so it will give us more time to make moves and pass each other. As far as the jumps go they are a little bigger and faster. TV has never made the jumps look big so this year we put more of them in to keep the action going. The bigger the better for me.

360 table, lake Perris Skatepark

How do you feel about what happened last year with the gnarly finish to the downhill comp?

I was never mad that I fell, just kind of confused on why. I ask myself everyday why I had to fall. It was in my hands and I threw it all away. Sometimes I think I should have settled for second but that wasn't even on my mind in the race. First or nothing, and that's what happened. At least my crash made the race interesting on TV. I'll try again this year!

Are the X Games an important comp for you?

The X Games are the only comp for me this year. The only race that means anything to me is the Games. All the other races I compete in all year are just easy tracks and muscle head races. I like the jumps and skill aspects of Downhill BMX and the normal tracks just don't offer that. So X Games is where it's at for me.

Do you think that the X Games has helped the sport of BMX Downhill?

The X Games is the only race that is Downhill BMX. Everyone likes it a lot and it is definitely exciting so I don't understand why it hasn't evolved yet. We had the Van's Triple Crown one year but that's over and done with now. Hopefully we will have a series to race but until then it all comes down to the X Games.

How come Downhill gets no love? How many other sports go down when there is a tornado coming?

What's your favorite thing to do in the City Of Brotherly Love (Philly)?

Never really been there. Our race is in Woodward, Pa about 3 hours from Philly. I always tell myself that if I get top 3 at the Games I would go to Philly to hang out at the main venue and watch everything else. We'll see this year.

What your favorite comp been so far this year?

Normal BMX is boring to me because it's not challenging as far as the tracks go. So I haven't had a favorite comp this year. There's a race in Tours France every year that has an awesome track so I will go with that one. The track there is so tech and smooth making it a good race for me. I love going there.