Stephen Murray interview

Interviews

Stephen Murray interview

Apr 18, 2006

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 18148 times

Name: Stephen Murray

Age: 26

Hometown: Riverside, CA

You've been involved with BMX since age three. How good has it been for you?

Stephen Murray: I just want to thank my parents for supporting me and getting me involved in BMX. Not only getting me involved but keeping me involved! You go through ups and downs as a young kid and are sure to get some bangs, bruises, cuts and other things that could quite easily shy you away from a sport like BMX. They have been there since day one. Through the highs and through the lows and I am still riding the same roller coaster they put me on 23 years ago! I don't know any different, BMX has always been a lifestyle for me and I have never took a break and gave it up for a while, like you would with other hobbies as a kid. BMX is my life and has given me more than I could ever have dreamed of. Thanks!

How hard was it (paper work) to move from England to the USA?

Stephen Murray: It is a whole bunch of bulls**t. Getting into the USA is definitely a mission. I mean immigration just don't make sense to me you know!

There are like hundreds of thousands of immigrants in California alone who all have no work. You go down the street from my house and the whole street has hundreds of them all standing there waiting for cash work. I mean we are legit people with talents who are trying to further our careers. When I came here in 2000 and had a two-year contract with Nirve, they still denied me my Visa. So I just stayed over here until I became reputable enough to qualify for one. It sucks because if you pay a lawyer a lot of money, it's not a problem and they open the doors..

For the people who don't know, what medals do you have hanging on the wall?

Stephen Murray: 1 X- Games Gold, 2 Gravity Games Gold, 1 Bronze.

For a while it seemed like your posse bought bigger cars and bigger houses and partied like mad men. Has that slowed any now that you are married and have a kid?

Stephen Murray: Yeah, god damn we all had the time of our lives too! I lived my life full throttle for a while... yeah yeah let's go run it harder than ever, nothing could stop me. I've had crazy experiences to say the least! I have seen and done things that only few people will ever get to experience. Yeah, I had money to burn and did some wild things.

It's my life and I'm gonna live it to the fullest! It's a stage that every person will go through in their life. Given the oppurtunity, I think all of those people that had so much shit to talk, would have loved to have been standing in my shoes! I definitely have no regrets and would not change the past for anything. It has made me the person that I am today. Now my life is simple, my son 'Mason' is now 8mths old and is the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me. I feel like I have moved into a new phase in my life where I hold a very important prescence. I am now responsible for guiding a brand new innocent life in the right direction. It is very important for me to make sure my kids make the right footsteps and are raised in a proper manner and enviroment. To be a real man you must complete and forfill your role as a real father. No man is a real man if they are not true to their children. My number one priority is my son Mason, my wife Melissa who is the best wife and Mother in the world!, and Seth my step-son who is now 3years old. Being in this position has landed me with huge responsibility in life, and has made me appreciate what amazing people my parents are. They couldn't have brought me up into this world in a better way and I appreciate everything they have done for me!

With GT team mates Randy Stumpfhauser and Jamie Bestwick putting on their own fun BMX events, has your bike sponsor been pushing you to do your own?

Stephen Murray: Being a little kid in the crowd at the OG Backyard Jams back in the day when the 'chasm' was rocking, was an experience that I will never forget. Everyone pushing their limits and feeding off a vibe and atmosphere which is what BMX is all about. There was no big money purses like there are nowadays, the riding was for the pure love that everyone shared for BMX. Everyone seemed to be having so much fun. I don't think BMX will ever see those days again, not like that! Anyways, now I am putting on my own Jams and am trying to capture that similar vibe for the riders that never got to experience the old school Jams. As far as GT, they are not pushing me to do this, I am doing this because I believe the BMX scene needs this. I spent my own money and worked really hard putting on the jam last year for everyone else to have a good time riding. I wanna put the fun element back into BMX especially in Dirt. It seems like there is nothing but strict contests which are not the most fun for Dirt riders. GT are really supportive this year in what I'm doing and have paid for a fullpipe to be built in the Rythum section in my yard! Now that is really cool for them to make dreams like this become reality! Oakley and Vans are also helping me out hugely at this years jam and are sponsoring dirt being brought into the yard, machinery and also a purse for the best trick! Thanks for the support!

When's the jam taking place and who's all coming?

Stephen Murray: Jay Miron, TJ Lavin, Mike Aitkin, Cory Nastazio, Alistair Whitton, Fuzzy Hall, Matt Beringer, Nyquist to name a few!

You are a rider who can work on revolutionary tricks and show them for the first time at the big comps in an all-or-nothing attitude. Is that the same approach for this year?

Stephen Murray: The level of riding at Dirt comps have seriously gone out of control. Coming up with new innovative tricks is becoming harder and harder. However I do have visions of tricks that I want to do that have never been done. Right now, I have been going through a bit of a rough patch. I had bad bronchiatus which developed into phnemonia at the begining of March. I got back on my bike and felt good for one day and then slipped in the bathroom on wet tile and sprained my foot the following day. This put me out for another 2 weeks and only a couple of days ago I had an existing eye disease calles Scleritius flare up again. Scleritus is the inflamation of the tissue in the inner part of your eye. I got this from smashing my face at Cory Nastazio's house 4 years ago. You can get Scleritus from major head trauma which is where I started encountering the problem. It is very painful to focus on things and bright lights are a major eye sore. I am now Flying back to London in two days to see the leading eye specialist for the problem. Hopefully I can get this under control so I can get back on my bike and ride at my jam and then get ready for the contest season!

Are you hoping the comps will have loopings in the dirt course this summer?

Stephen Murray: It would definelty be something to consider!

BdJ

Photos: Woodage/GT/Murray