Polygon USA rider Simon Silver over the rollers at Post Office.
Simon Silver (Polygon USA) may not be the first name most people think of when they think of the Aptos Dirt scene. Most of the biggest names in the sport came out of this patch of dirt. But Simon is definitely a product of his environment. The quiet rider has a ton of style and boost whenever he rides. He is focusing on big bikes and freeride this season but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have chops on the Dirt. FInd out a bit more about Simon below and stay tuned for a bike check of his Polygon TRID hardtail that drops next week…
How did you get started riding? I started riding after going with some friends to the premiere of New World Disorder 8. After I saw the film, I was pretty much hooked. My friend Jackson, and his dad Mikko had an extra Hardtail that they would lend me to come ride with them. Eventually I got my own bike, and that.was that!!
What keeps you motivated to ride? I remain motivated to ride, by seeing the younger generation absolutely killing it, and progressing so quickly. Also daydreaming about video projects, trips, and events, that the future brings, always gets me all stoked to go out and ride. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of shredding bikes with friends!
Who was/is the most influential person on your riding? There are a lot of people who originally inspired my riding (and still do), mainly the original post office crew, including Jamie Goldman, Cam McCaul, Greg Watts, Ryan Howard, Alex Reveles, and more. Currently I really look up to Matt Hunter, Aggy, Semenuk, Doerfling, and crazy Andreu Lacondeguy.
What’s Your Preference? Street, Park, Dirt, Freeride, Vert, Flat? FREERIDE
Which do you wish you were better at? Tricks/Park
What was your first bike? Huffy from Costco
What’s your favorite trick? Oppo 360
Where’s your favorite place to ride? Post Office Jumps… RIP
What’s your favorite event? Crankworx Whistler
Yet another epic sunset shot of Simon Silver at Post Office.
What’s been your best moment with your bike so far? Best moment on my bike, most definitely was the time that I hiked up a massive loose gravel mountain. The hike was a bit un-proportionate in that it took two hours to get up, and about two minutes to get down. The view at the top was absolutely unreal, and made me remember why I travel, and ride bikes. Also I’m pretty sure I went the fastest I’ve ever gone on a bike before!
What’s your favorite story from a road trip? My favorite road trip story, is when my buddy Luke Hutchinson and I traveled up to the opening day of Woodward Tahoe. The Redbull girls were handing out a bunch of free drinks, and we filled our backpack up. On our way home, we realized that Luke’s bank account was frozen, and I didn’t have my wallet. We were running very low on gas, and were absolutely desperate when we pulled into a gas station. What we did next might not have been the most ethical decision, but it definitely got us home. We brought in a big handful of Red Bulls and returned them to the gas station in exchange for some cash, which we used to fill up our tank, which barely barely got us home. Good times hahaha!
How do you feel about the bike scene today? I’m not too sure how I feel about the current state of the bike world, I think that the FMB world tour does not represent freeride mountain biking accurately, and that that name should be granted to the dudes running the Fest Series, because that’s really what it’s all about. I think kids these days are a little bit too focused on tricks, and need to perfect their style first, before they huck flip-whips and truck drivers. When it really comes down to it though, each person chooses to ride in their own unique way, and I’m just very stoked to have been part of the Aptos scene, and been ushered to dig before I ride, and perfect my whips before my flips.
What type of music do you ride to? Lots of music gets me pumped, from Black Sabbath to RZA
What do you do when you are not riding? Surf, School, Work, Snowboard
What’s your day job? Team Manager at Gamut USA
What are your riding plans for the future? Work on riding my DH bike on large jumps, Film insane videos, Travel to ride.
What’s the best advice you have ever received? To place yourself around the people you look up to, things just start to click after that.
Any last words, thoughts or shout outs? Massive thanks to my Mom for being there for me ALWAYS, Mikko and Jackson for getting me hooked on bikes, my boss Juan for supporting my riding and giving me time off when I need it, and my supporters for 2015: Polygon Bikes, SR Suntour, Gamut USA, G-Form, Kore Usa, VP, SDG, DZR Shoes, TRP Brakes, Arcade Belts, Sandbox Helmets, GoMacro
Check out a sweet edit Simon and Ray George dropped together before they were teammates at Polygon USA…
