2012 LOOKBACK: Interview with GSX's Johan Lindstrom. What's new? By BdJ

Dec 30, 2012

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 4475 times

2012 FATBMX REVIEW: JOHAN LINDSTROM INTERVIEW. BMX needed a kick in the butt. The Olympics brought professionalism, BMX Supercross races brought excitement, but Johan Lindstrom isn't done yet. Read what's on his mind for the future to come.

One of the goals for GSX is to bring BMX Supercross to a bigger audience. Do you think 2012 was a good season for that?
Johan: 2012 was definitely a year where BMX got more recognition than ever before.Obviously because of the Olympic Games in London, but also that this time around (compared to Beijing 2008) much more effort was made to "educate" the general public about BMX prior to the Games. GSX obviously pushed hard getting images and broadcasts out there, but also Federations, National Olympic Committees and sponsors did a good job "building" the story leading up to London. It's interesting to also see the social media aspects and the growth… In 2008 not much of that was around.

Even though 2012 was good, BMX is still a nische sport and a bit of an unkown (amongst general audience). GSX is determined to continue refining the product BMX SX and bring it to a wider audience and putting it in front of corporate decision makers. Hopefully we can look back at 2012 as the “breakthrough” year where BMX became a household sport with a healthy following and support.

Things heated up in the qualifying process heading towards the Olympics earlier in the year. Does that put extra pressure on GSX to run the qualifying events the way they should?
Johan: For sure, everyone is on the edge trying to score

valuable points for the countries and getting the pick for the team. A lot is on stake! It would be devestating to cancel an event (due to weather), so a lot of "planning for the worst, hoping for the best" went into the operation. Overall very pleased with how the 2012 season went with not much drama and a lot of good racing action.

The tracks have been a hot topic among the riders, coaches and fans. It seems like you’ve found the right mix now to offer spectacular racing and still keep it safe. Which track is your favourite to put a race on?
Johan: Yeah, 2011/2012 was definitely the year when everyone and his grandma became a track designer/builder. Joke aside, the track is the most important part of a BMX Supercross event and we put a lot of thoughts and effort into it. The BMX Supercross series has always thrived to be progressive and pushing the envelope, and I strongly hope it can continue doing so. I'm the first one to admit that the various new elements that was in

troduced/tested in 2011 was "a bit too much to fast" (having said that, I still think the 2011 London track was one of the raddest race tracks ever build, creating far more exciting racing than the 2012 London track. Indeed, in 2012 we toned it down a bit which is normally how we try to do design tracks (3-4 years prior to the Games: progressive tracks, 1-2 years prior: more familiar designs)..

My worst fear is that because of the Olympics, people will start to push for "one-type" track design only (meaning that all track will look the same)..This is not what BMX is about and it will slowly kill BMX in the Olympic program…. As far as a favorite track this year, I must say that Randaberg/Norway turned out great being an indoor track. The track had manydifferent elements - Wide open burly 1st straight, cool brick turns, "go slower to go fast" 2nd straight and an awesome 3rd rhythm… great racing with the "Closest Finish in BMX SX History"

The last couple of years more countries have invested in a supercross style BMX track. How many do you know of?
Johan: We have definitely seen an increase in BMX Supercross type tracks around the world. Especially in South America where several tracks has been built or are under construction. Right now I would say that there are about 10-12 permanent SX tracks around the world, which will most likely double in the next 2 years.

This gives the riders a chance to practice more to show up more prepared at a SX track. Is this all a matter of time beforealso the smaller countries have stepped it up and can deliver competitive riders?
Johan: Absolutely! I think we will see a new wave of super talented BMX riders, who’s been riding SX tracks on a daily basis from age 15. I definitely think smaller countries dedicated to BMX will step it up. Interestingly enough, USA still only has one SX track (Chula Vista), so the smaller nations definitely is breathing up their neck.. Hopefully there will be a few more in US, so their deep talent pool of young guns get some consistent SX track time.

The Red Bull R.Evolution event in Berlin gave you some freedom to work with a different format and an even more spectacular track. It turned out awesome. What have you learned from that event in Germany?
Johan: It was great working with Red Bull and it for sure got our creative brains to work overtime. I honestly think we managed to bridge the gap a bit between BMX racing and freestyle. It was in no mean perfect, but such a good time for anyone who was there.

As the subtitle of the event said “putting the fun back into BMX”.. it wasn’t that we thought BMX freestyle or BMX racing wasn’t fun enough, it was just with the Olympics we and Red Bull felt it was getting a bit too serious where you couldn’t even see a no-hander during a World Cup practice anymore (which was quite common only a few years ago). So it was a relief to offer an event with no pressure and just so the riders could ride, race andhave a good time. It was great to watch the practice turning into a jam session…. Freestyler’s showing the racers some transfer lines, just laughs and a good time. That was probably my favorite moment of 2012! For the next Red Bull R.Evolution we will continue tweaking the format and the track to make it even better. The focus will also be to bring the atmosphere and action to the TVaudience in a better way. The cool thing is that the Red Bull R.Evolution is about progression, so no event needs to look like the previous one….

The turnout at the last World Cup race in Canada was on the poor side. Didn’t the federations want to send their riders there or what do you think the problem was?
Johan: Yes, it was a bit sad to see the low turnout, but on the other hand it was nice event where it was almost like a family feeling amongst the riders. Many riders still depend on National Federation support and it was obvious that most Federation’s pulled the plug on the funding after the Olympics.

What do you think needs to be done to get the riders to follow the entire 2013 season?
Johan: One of our focus points is to get the teams and industry to support the World Cup. Up until this point, perhaps many have seen the Supercross World Cup as just something for the national teams and riders in national jerseys. The BMX SXWorld Cup is a great promotional platform for teams and industry to get their top riders some valuable exposure. We will also schedule the events around/after the Olympics more carefully so it will be easier for riders to attend.

Do you have the 2013 calendar ready?
Johan: Sure do, we are doing 5 events on 3 different continents in 2013. For the first time ever we will host a BMX SX World Cup in South America, very excited about that! Not to forget, this is the 10 Year Anniversary of the BMX Supercross World Cup so we got some cool stuff in the works..

2013 World Cup Supercross BMX calendar:

19-20/4 2013 Manchester, Great Britain
10-11/5 2013 Santiago Del Estero, Argentina
14-15/6 2013 Papendal, Netherlands
6-7/9 2013 Abbotsford BC, Canada
27-28/9 2013 Chula Vista CA, USA

Where can people find more info on the GSX?
Johan: You got our corporate site http://gsxevents.com or our track building EliteTrax site.

We also have BMXLIVE.tv where all of the BMX SX events are webcasted live with some cool on-demand videos as well. Don't forget to check out the official merchandize on Dive Bomb clothing.

And of course, all fans can follow the BMX Supercross on Facebook and Twitter.

Pics by BdJ, Craig Dutton, PdJ, Red Bull Content pool.