in the industry, still a very young company. The first commercial activities started in 2006. Leatt Corporation is founded by Dr. Chris Leatt, originally an orthopedic surgeon and motorcycle enthusiast. Chris went on an Enduro ride one day in 2000 together with a friend and the friend had an unfortunate crash and broke his neck and sadly passed away due to this accident. 
Of course this was very hard for Dr. Leatt to deal wtih but with this experience he said to himself; 'Why has there never been made a good neck protection? Your whole body is protected, but the most vital part is not. With the knowledge I have as a Doctor, I will put all there is in this project and develop high-standard neck protection for all action sports. Well and with many years of R&D (under which with KTM, BMW and University of Munich, Germany) the project was started and the brace developed over those years. 
You deal with loads of sports people. What is it like to work with BMX riders? Lenny: It's great, but it is nice to work with most athletes in whatever discipline. In the last 2 years I have been to many different races from Motocross, Enduro, Dakar, Supermoto, Road Racing, Downhill Mountainbike to BMX and each 'type' of athlete is different and at the same time all the same. It is nice to see the differences and also learn from one discipline and translate this into the other. BMX riders tend to be pretty relaxed before the race but then during the heats mega concentrated,
which shows their discipline and 'race face' mentality! What races did you visit in 2010?
Lenny: PPfff, better ask which races I didn't visit ;-)! Okay in 2010 I have visited Supercross, Motocross, Enduro, Downhill Mountainbike, BMX, Supermoto, Freestyle MX, Go Karting. For BMX, I was at the M
adrid and Frejus Supercross races! Were you impressed by the size of the jumps on the Supercross tracks?
Lenny: Definitely! I walked up the start hill in Frejus and you shouldn’t have fear of heights! It seems to be getting closer and closer to a hard pack motocross track.
When the jumps get bigger, the crashes become gnarlier. More reason to wear a Leatt-Brace?
Lenny: In my opnion, more reason for better helmets combined with a Leatt-Brace! This way the risks on head and neck injury are greatly reduced. In Motocross Leatt has te
sted that wearing a Leatt can reduce the risk of serious head/neck injury with 80%! How does it feel to wear one of the braces, does it hinder the riding?
Lenny: No, the brace is made to ride with it without hindering a rider, and it will start functioning once a crash occurs. Some need a bit more rides to get 100% used to the brace and others put it on the first time and never take it off anymore!
The DBX is a new model that caters more to the cycling world. What are the adjustments made to this brace to make it better for BMX?
Lenny: The Leatt DBX has been made a bit lower in the back area, the riding position of a BMX rider is more with the neck back
than in for example motocross riding. So Leatt did numerous tests and came out with the result of the DBX that has the best function and settings for DH MTB and BMX.
Who are some of the Leatt Sponsored BMX riders?
Lenny: Pretty much the whole Dutch Selection! Ramiro Marino, Mike Day, Nick Long, Caroline Buchanan, Sifiso Nhlapo,
Liam Philips and quite a few others, but hopefully more and more each week! Do you have any applications open for BMX teams or riders for 2011?
Lenny: Well, everyone should wear a Leatt so I am always open to look into product support for the world class riders!
Where can people find out more about the Leatt products?
Lenny: Best is to have a look at Leatt-brace.com! Or contact me!
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.