[size=60]GETH SHOOTER [/size]
1.Hello Geth, can you tell our members a little bit about yourself today ?Er......? Starting to go grey. Don't find enough time to do what I really love, and that's to ride bikes.
Mind you, it's not just BMX like it used to be. I now have a BMX, 2 MTB's, a Kawasaki Z1000 and just looking at buying an Enduro for some fun green lane'ing!
I never know which one to ride the most. At least I've got most covered now!
Oh yeah... Then there's the kids. Two of 'em. A 6 yr old & a 3 yr old. They keep me busy as hell too.
They just started to pester me to take them down the BMX track at the end of last summer. YES!!!!!!!! :o)
2. What changed after your win at the Kellogg's in 85 Geth ?For me, nothing.
It should have done, but I was a naive young boy who believed that life was meant to be ALL fun.
It ought to be, but it's not. Sometimes you really do have to put some hard work & dedication into things.
I was a lazy sod. I should have grabbed that opportunity with both hands. It's only now I have children that those thoughts come into my head though...
MY life would've still been good without it.
3. Up until that win, the Magazines seemingly had mainly been about Ruffell, March, Sid Salisbury and Llywellyn Brothers e.t.c, had you always been as quick, and if so why does it seem you burst onto the scene after that win ?Did it? I saw hundreds more racing!
"Big names" are just there until someone comes along to beat them. Then they're part of history.
I guess anyone not really into their racing thought I'd "appeared" at the Kelloggs, although I'd been racing for 18months before that & had a couple of National & British Champ titles on 20" & Cruiser.
I won the first national final I was in (1984 NBMXA Ribby Hall cruiser) and I fell while challenging for the lead on 20" at the same race. (Sorry to Scott Williams who I took down with me!)
4. What riding do you do now Geth, and do you still keep up with the bmx race scene in 2010 ?Up until my 2nd kid was born I rode pretty much all the time in some form or another. Mainly BMX. Mainly skateparks & trails.
I raced in 97 & 2005, but it always gets too expensive to travel around.
2005 was good because Raleigh started importing Free Agent into the UK at the time I worked there, so I got all my expenses paid! We won the National Team AND the British Champ team for that year. I got British Champ in Masters.
I try to keep up with BMX nowadays, but my kids are my main drive now. If they're interested, it would be great!
5. Who was the fastest guy in your race era Geth, and was it consistency or all out speed that won the titles in the 80s ?When I first started, the older classes were all about Tim & Andy. Rightly so. They were banging bars in the races & falling out in the magazines. MINT. I love a good bust up! Nowt wrong with a bit of scandal now & then! All publicity is good publicity, right?
Two years in? ....Trying not to sound too big headed, Probably me!
I couldn't seem to do much wrong on the race scene after 85 through to end of 88. Apart from break my ankle & leg (and almost everything else in that area) in June 86 on a poxy skateboard. I loved skating, but it definitely finished that love then!
I seemed to come back even stronger in 87 after that accident.
This sounds horrible to say, but I was bored shitless racing Pro towards the end of 88. I don't think I'd lost an overall race win ( out of 3 finals) for almost 2 years.
I'd fallen out with Tony Hoffman (Prat in the Hat PRA man & commentator) as I thought the Pro race scene had become a joke. We were all being told that Superclass was faster than us which was very frustrating.
I asked if I could go back to Superclass (UKBMX) for some more competitive racing and quit Pro Class. I did for the last two Nationals of 88.
I won both.
6. How much interest do you pay in the OS Scene today Geth, do you have any of your bikes left from back in the day ?I don't I'm afraid. On both questions. I'm more interested in people than the bikes. I love to meet names from then even now. I feel a little starstruck!
It was good to catch up with some people when everyone started to get back into BMX, but I'm not the kind of person to dwell too much on the past. I had a good time then.
Good times would still be happening for me now if Derby Storm skatepark hadn't closed down. I miss it soooo much.
I find having two children & travelling about to ride skateparks or trails really doesn't mix too well. Injuries or time!
7. With the recent 40 years event in the Usa, its a shame the Uk scene doesn't seem to remember their bmxers in the same way, was the UK circuit viewed the same as the Us scene in the 80s by the race guys, or was the Us a different league ?I really don't know! I never went to the US as a racer.
It is a pity that some of the lads don't get much recognition. I hate the fact that everyone seems to think everything revolves around the States.
I was riding bikes on dirt waaaaaay before I'd even heard of BMX in the early to mid 70's.
As for being remembered for anything that I did in the past, I find it all a little embarrassing. I'm not that great at accepting praise for something I love doing. I'm getting better though!
I'd rather someone just say that I could ride a bike. Praise indeed.
8. Take us back to the start gate at the kellogg's in 85 Geth, were you confident at that time you could beat the Worlds best ?Who were the worlds best? Again, I really have no clue. I don't believe hype. I never did. I never will.
There's always someone, somewhere that will stick it up the present winners eventually.
Why not me? Hopefully I made someone believe that for their own future, cos WHY NOT THEM TOO?
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9. What set up did you have on your bike Geth, can you remember the details in case a member wants to create a tribute bike ?Er.....
? I think it was a PL20? Does that sound right? Chrome. Forklifter bars & stem. Think the stem was white? That's about all I remember.
10. Does it suprise you now how big the OS bmx scene is, and whats your thoughts on bikes selling for £6000+ ?I'd heard the bikes were fetching daft money. 6 grand could get me a nice new motorbike!! I'm not one for looking at bikes. They need to be ridden.
HARD!
11. Although obviously your remembered for that remarkable win Geth, was it your favorite memory of your bmx career, if not what was ?I'm a quiet bloke who isn't the best around new people, so making friends & acquaintances from all over has got to be the best thing ever.
The racing all blurs into one. A race is a race. 86 - 88 was probably the best for me though.
Best memory...... ? Probably finally going to California in 2001 & 2003. SHIT, I shoulda moved there years ago! :o)
12. How does it feel now watching bmx racing hit Olympic heights, and do you think modern day bmx would be a place for a young Geth Shooter ?There's no doubt that I would've got sucked up into it though if it had come in my era.
The set up at British Cycling might have suited me. I would've needed help from the psychiatrist regularly!
13. Once you hung up your wheels and "retired" from bmx racing can you tell the readers what you got into and what keeps you busy these days?Retired? I'm struggling to find the time to ride nowadays if that's what you mean? Kids keep me busy. They're driving me mad right now.
I NEVER retired!!!!!
14. During your time at the top of of the UK Scene can you tell the readers about the highs and lows during those times?I reckon that's nothing to feel low about. I was British Champ in my first year of racing (1984) & British Champ in 2005 with a ton of titles in between.
Not bad going for someone who only dips into racing now & then.
15. So all that's left from the Rewind team is to say thanks for taking the time to do this Rider interview Geth and is there anything you would like to add that has not been covered ?BMX has been pretty much my life, for most of it, but it's nice to take a break now & then. I'm most definitely on a break at the moment, most of it down to finances, but I will never, ever, be able to leave it alone fully. It's been good to me. A quiet bloke from Derbyshire who has many, many friends around the world because of it.
I suppose I really should say sorry to anyone I ever upset on the way, but that's my competitive head for you. I'm mellowing as I get older, but still lose my rag now & then!
BMX, bikes & friends for life....
Thanks to everyone that still TRIES to keep me involved. Gaz, Pete, Phil, Mick.
Thanks to all that have done me favours or helped me in anyway. Too many to mention, but Carole Gosling, Billy Stupple, Tim March, Stobarts at Profile, Carlo at IMG spring to mind straight away. Thanks.
