Sam Shucksmith is head of mountain bike design for Whyte Bikes and has been passionate about MTB racing since he was a teenager.
We caught up with Sam for an episode of the MBUK Podcast to find out about his wealth of experience in the mountain bike world.
From his early days racing downhill bikes to developing and testing new MTBs for Whyte, here are 8 things you may not know about Sam in his own words.
1. He’s got nearly 20 years of racing experience
“I’ve been racing since I was 15. I got into it through my brother, Phil, who was racing World Cups at the time. I raced downhill for eight years and then transitioned to enduro after knee surgery, which knocked my confidence a bit.
“It just seemed more fun – being able to spend a lot of time on your bike riding new venues, new tracks, new equipment.
“The first enduro race I did, in 2011, I was wearing a skateboard lid and some high-ankle Five Ten flat boots, because enduro clothing didn’t really exist.
“If you were a downhill rider, you just had a DH helmet and a BMX lid for dirt jumping and stuff.”