How and when did your passion for motocross start?
“Well, my dad started riding motocross when he was 13 or 14 years old, basically because my grandfather told him that riding on the streets will not happen. He got his license later though, but the passion for motocross remained until this day. Back when I was a little boy I remember going into the garage and there was this ‘thing’ hidden under a tarp, which I was afraid of back then – today I know it was not a monster, it was a Husqvarna motocross bike. That was one of my first encounters with motocross and I think that is what started it all. I started watching VHS videos my dad had at home like Dirt-Demons and eventually wore them out as I watched them so often. Shortly before I turned six I got my fist Husqvarna 50cc MX bike and I have been riding ever since.”
That was about the time when the nickname ‘Wild Child’ came up?
“Yeah, my time in school was quite difficult as I couldn’t sit still and I was all over the place all the time. I always had this urge to move, so it was quite hard for me, being used to skiing and riding motocross, to be told to sit still, listen and focus for a couple of hours a day. The result of my behaviour back then was that nickname, and I liked it a lot - but now it feels quite outdated I think.”
Are you not ‘wild’ anymore?
“Not in that way, I do still believe that moderation is for cowards and I want to do my own thing and not what everyone else does. Over the last few years, especially last year, I think that I have grown up a lot as a person and have lost quite a bit of that impatience, although sometimes it still flashes up.”
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