Our very own Chase Hawk just took home the gold medal in the X Games park contest, and we’re stoked. Keep reading to get a little insight from Chase now that he’s Austin’s newest X Games champion.
So Chase, you just won the X Games, how do you feel?
Um, I feel great. These last few months have been kind of revolving around this past weekend. I feel like I take it serious every year, being a part of X Games, because it’s such an amazing opportunity getting to be able to do it and be a part of it. This year with it being in my home town made it a little bit more special for me I guess. I wouldn’t say it made me want to do any better, but I guess you could say I put a little more pressure on myself to try and take it seriously and do the best that I could. Yeah, I did exactly that and kind of went into it with somewhat of a game plan, stuck to it, and it ended up working out.
Did you do anything to prepare?
Just really tried to be conscious of my health. Spending a lot of time with a personal trainer and really trying to rehab certain areas of my body that take a beating on a regular basis. I really wanted to come into it feeling as strong as I possibly could mentally and physically, and I feel like I just kinda found my spot within the first couple of days of practice. I felt really comfortable about where I was at and what I was doing; kind of went into it with a certain level of confidence, and it stayed there throughout the week. That definitely helped.
So no long hours in the foam pit?
[Laughter] No, no long hours in the foam pit. I just tried to stay true to the way I would normally ride a bowl like that, and it was kind of easy to go into it with that kind of vibe with it being in my home town; I really wanted to treat it like it was a normal session anywhere else that I’d be having with any of my other friends in Austin, and essentially that’s what it kind of was. I had a blast the whole week, and it was awesome.
Are you nervous about having to defend your title next year?
No, not at all. Any one of those guys is fully capable of taking down that top spot. It’s definitely going to be awesome going into it next year having won this one, but it’s going to make me want to take the same strategy and work even harder next year trying to defend it. I can’t wait, and I really hope this event stays in this city for as long as it can. Austin really supports it, and overall it was a positive vibe throughout the weekend. I think everybody was really stoked on every event. I’ve never ridden in front of a crowd that big or that loud, and to have it be local too is the cherry on top.
Can I ask how much money you won?
I think it was $50,000 for first.
Holy shit, that’s crazy.
Yeah.
So what now, you going to Disney Land?
[Laughter] No, but I do want to take some kind of trip without the bike, just kind of get away for a week and enjoy it with my fiancé. Get away from everything and go to the beach or something. That’ll probably be first on the list.
Awesome. Thanks Chase!
