Mark Webb: Success After Scars

"You want to talk broken bones…?" asks a voice infused with a faux-Californian accent. This is no American BMX rider though, this is European Champion Mark Webb, one of the most exciting riders to come out of Britain in the last decade.

Injury is a huge part of all 'extreme sports', but there is a lot more to the recently crowned NASS BMX Park Champion than snapped ankles and cracked ribs.

The last few years have seen a meteoric rise of the tattooed Webb, as he attempts to build his profile in America as one of the best riders in the world.

Despite oozing self confidence and focus, he maintains an air of humility while contemplating his progression from Southsea parks to European stardom.

"It just spirals," says a humble Webb. "I just go out there and do my riding and don't let anything affect that."

Then Webb says something which really strikes a chord, "With good riding, comes good results."

Although he doesn't consider himself a perfectionist, Webb puts a great deal of work and preparation into each run. As he watches his competitors, analysing the difficulty of trick and how they are linking each part of the park together, he always has a game-plan in mind.

"The hardest thing about contests is remembering your run. You've just sort of gotta go for it.

"When you're pumped up for your run, you can lose focus and disappear. You get out of your head a bit. It's a moment of freedom, but it's hard to switch back on and think 'I need to do this'."

Webb is described by many as 'no half-measures personified', a trait which can be seen in his immensely technical runs. His intricate tricks, smartly linked together and building to the climax, his signature flair, has become a staple in competition, seeing Webb claim a whole host of accolades and titles.

But as much as he enjoys his successes, the pierced face of Webb returns to a focussed expression as he emphasises the need to evolve if he is to stay at the top.

"It's hard getting there, but it's harder staying there," Webb acknowledges, in an almost cliched way. "I've had so many younger kids coming up and bringing new stuff to the table.

"They think and see things differently [on the course]. They make you think 'wow'. I take their idea and see if I can make it better."

Although Webb speaks like an elder statesmen of the sport, at 26, he is still young, but as he feels the pressure from the new generation of riders, it reminds him of his own progression.

"I remember coming up and [Chris] Mahoney was the top guy. He was going to do the double flip pretty much every year, there was that one year when I was seasoning all the boxes in a row. I started flaring all over the course. It was stuff people hadn't done yet and I think it put the pressure on him.

"I think he knew at that point he couldn't win. I saw a window of opportunity and climbed through it."

Despite pushing himself to the limits, Webb appears to have a different relationship with BMX. For all the accolades and prize money, it is the freedom to ride which appeals to him most.

"That's what BMX is all about," says Webb. "When I first started riding I could be in my own space. I was doing something that I loved doing, just riding around.

"Then before I knew it, I was doing tricks on my bike and it went from there. You hear people say when they pass their [driving] test, you won't know yourself until you pass it. You get a freedom with your car and it's the same for me with BMX."

For all the feelings of independence and freedom, there is always the bugbear that this can be over in an instant as the ills of the sport rear their ugly heads. Injury is a necessary evil within all 'extreme sports' and BMX is no different.

Following his opening gambit, Webb consciously lists his various bumps and bruises, as though they were badges of honour. As he mentions concussions, collisions and a compound fracture, which saw his tibia pierce through his ankle, there is one particular injury which stands out from the rest.

"I was getting really good, making a name for myself and I went through a patch of a few bad injuries. It must have been about a month later, I front flipped a box and broke my back."

It was a difficult injury to get over, damaging Webb's confidence as much as his anatomy. "It does knock your confidence and took me a really long time to get over it.

"I still feel kind of funny about doing flips. I just think how it was such an easy mistake to make and I ended up breaking my back, but if you're doing to be a professional athlete be one."

And that is exactly what Webb did. One month ahead of schedule he entered an X-Games tournament in China, and went on to win, overcoming a mental and physical challenge than can be ranked as one of his best victories.

Mark Webb is a Relentless Energy sponsored rider/BMXer/athlete. For more information, please visit: www.relenetlessenergy.com.

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