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05/15/2008
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The Darren Butler Interview
He's back, better than ever, and
loving every minute of the ride
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Words by guest writer Adrian Bergles
Photos ~ Cam McRae
I recently had the chance to catch up with Darren Butler on the phone. Darren is well remembered for his unfortunate crash on season one of Drop In. I was doing some digging, hoping to find out a bit about his comeback and what he is up to now.
Darren was a great interview, never short on words. He is someone who has lived through all our worst nightmares and has come out stronger, loving bikes and biking more than ever. His words are wise and I’d like to share them with you, members of the Mountain Bike Nation.
AB: What are you up to these days?
Darren Butler: I work at John Henry’s [bike shop in North Vancouver]. I’m the Internet and media co-ordinator there. I look after the Web site, the online store, the computer network in store, and I’m starting to handle most of the media and marketing.
Basically one of the things that happened to me as a result of my injury is that I [realized] I was riding for so many people. I just got riding for so many reasons, and there were so many things that I was trying to do while I was riding. I was trying to progress. Trying to push it, trying to evolve [the sport] but at the same time trying to get representation for this sponsor, for that sponsor… I got to the point where I needed to take a step back and kind of get back to the roots of it all and rediscover why I ride.
AB: So you’re riding bikes all the time?
DB: Yup, I am. I’m not riding as much as I used to. You know when I was doing the Drop In thing, I was riding once or twice a day. Now I ride one or two times a week. I take a little bit more time to heal and a little bit more time in between rides, but at the same time I enjoy the time [off] that much more. Even though I’m riding less, I feel that I’m getting so much more out of it and I’m
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A very confident North Van swagger |
enjoying it so much more that I ride better. I had to rebuild everything after my accident. I had to learn how to walk again at 27 years old. I remember being in the hospital and I was just glowing ‘cause I had stood up. You start getting back into riding and you’re just so happy to be out there after spending so much time in a wheelchair... You’re really just enjoying it more. You really don’t want to aggravate anything so you’re just keeping it all smooth and mellow, and kinda having some fun. And before you know it you’re smoother and flowing better than you did before.
AB: I’ve heard you ride BMX as well. What do you get from 20” bikes that you can use on an MTB?
DB: I kind of got into some BMXing about five years ago and just would kind of do it here and there. You know, over the past few years I’ve just kind of realized that it’s the perfect opportunity for me to still ride all year long and still take a break [from MTB]. I generally take November, December, January and as much of February as I can stand off a mountain bike and that way I’m all stoked again in the spring.
During that time, I try to just ride BMX and road bike. The BMX lets me work on my skills and still progress a bit. Keep it smooth and work on the pump - it really helps the style and overall feel. And with a road bike, it really helps me build fitness and balance.
AB: Do you ride XC?
DB: I ride everything. I ride cross-country, I ride road, I ride cruiser, I ride BMX. I have one mountain bike that I ride everywhere. I’ll ride it at Whistler, I’ll ride it on the Shore, I’ll take it dirt jumping. I’m up for just about anything. I mean, I’ve ridden from Vancouver down to Fresno California, spent 55 days on the road so… I just love to ride. As long as it’s got pedal power, I’m down with it.
AB: How did your accident change your life?
DB: Obviously, having to learn how to walk again at 27 years old is a little bit of a trip. I spent a year trying to get back to the point where I could actually stand in a room with people and fit in. Just in the sense where people weren’t, “Hey what’s wrong with you?” And then it took me another year just to get to the point where I could actually ride with some of my friends. I’m certainly not so keen to jump over any roads or do any 20’-plus cliff jumps.
But at the same time, there are some things in life you just don’t forget. There’s all these things that you’ve done so many times that you’ve just built up such a confidence level and a level of skill in some areas that it just becomes second nature. And so, sometimes I’d just surprise myself because I didn’t think I had that in me. I wouldn’t predict that I would ride that line and then I’d catch myself riding it.
I just enjoy my time on the bike so much more these days. I enjoy so many more things in my life now. I really balanced out my life, being down and out. It got me playing music, it got me reading, it got me in touch with my more creative side. I started doing a lot of drawing and sketching and stuff, which is something I did a lot of growing up. I figured I might as well be productive while I’m down. I went to multimedia school and that is kind of how I got into the whole computer thing. Just try to make the most of it, right?
AB: You probably realize what’s important and what isn’t. You were living the rock star lifestyle and then it’s all taken away from you.
DB: Yeah, it’s gone. I can’t say I have any regrets. As much as I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, I can’t say I have any regrets. I’m pretty happy to be where I am and just the space that I’m in and where things are going.
Rolling it smoothly on the Shore... |
AB: So are you completely healed?
DB: I’m about as healed as I’m going to get. I definitely have some mobility issues. I can’t move my ankles left to right. They’re totally robotic. They go up and down but they just don’t go side to side. I can’t just roll an ankle over on the side. It just doesn’t happen. I literally can move them a millimeter (side to side).
When I spend a lot of time on my feet on a hard floor, I ache like crazy the next day. I feel the weather changes, and the changes of seasons. I’ve got a bunch of hardware in my feet (four plates and 19 screws). I have the option of taking that out but it basically means going through the whole surgery again. That’s not really something I’m interested in.
One of the things it’s important for all of the riders to remember is the trails aren’t going anywhere. I had to take a couple of years off, but here I am. I’m back out there riding. You know the kids are sicker than ever and the trails are |
better than ever. That’s one of the things I think the kids really need to be reminded of. They can get caught up in pressure from media trying to get into magazines. "Oh there’s a photographer here, maybe I’ll throw something down." That kind of thing. And I don’t necessarily think that is the best approach, but different strokes for different folks.
AB: You probably see that a lot in North Van, where there is a lot of talent.
DB: Yeah, you certainly do. You see some people that just go about their scene and the last thing they want to do is be in a picture. And you see the exact opposite. [Exposure] means the world to some of these kids. All they care about is being sponsored - they just want to be in a video, they just want to have their picture taken and they just want to be the man at school.
AB: Can you relate to that, when you were younger?
DB: When I was growing up, I played hockey and was pretty competitive in the whole hockey scene. I played up until junior B. Trying to get into some Junior A in Saskatchewan, ultimately trying to get a college scholarship. Yeah, that’s pretty typical around Saskatchewan. For me, I can’t say I did aspire to be a sponsored rider or be in the videos because it wasn’t there. I just rode my bike.
AB: I just want to take you back a bit. Earlier you were talking about changing your style after your crash. What about guys who have serious injuries and come back to go as big as ever? Wade Simmons comes to mind. Where do these guys get their motivation from?
DB:It’s kind of funny, actually. Wade and I were in the same wing of the Lion’s Gate Hospital [in Vancouver]. I believe we had our surgery on the same day. We actually got to be pretty good friends. Every time I’d get to leave my room, I’d just be like, "Hey, can you just swing me by Wade’s room? I just want to wave on the way by." And he’d do the same. Eventually, we ended up going to rehab at the same time. We had the same physiotherapist. We really helped each other along the way and it was pretty cool to see the determination that he had.
I don’t know if he just had that little extra fire burning inside of him or what the scoop was. But during rehab he just had this whole confidence about him you could just tell he was going to be back. This thing with his leg and his drop foot just wasn’t going to stop him. I think he appreciates it more now. A lot of the things he’s learned how to do, he’s never going to forget. And it doesn’t matter if he takes six months off the bike, it doesn’t matter if he takes a year off. Your intuition and your style is never going to leave you. It’s with you for life.
AB: I’m just trying to figure out his mental approach. He’s just a confident guy?
DB: He is, and he was in a little bit of a different position because he was at the top of his game when he went down. And he was one of the most sought-after riders on the planet. It’s no secret he’s got a contract, he’s paying the bills riding his bike. It is his livelihood and I don’t know his motivation.
I know because of the name he created for himself, because of the icon he’s become, even if he’s going half-tilt, he’s still incredible to watch. And even going half-tilt he’s still better than most of the riders you can bring to the table.
AB: Injuries are just an unfortunate part of our sport. I’m just trying to figure out people’s motivation who come back from injury and just shrug it off. It’s not an easy thing to do.
DB:No, it’s not an easy thing to do and it’s not an easy game that the kids are playing out there right now. The kids are pushing real hard and some of the riders who have been around for a long time, |
Not bad for a guy who couldn't walk all that long ago |
they’re working real hard just to keep up with the kids. The kids provide a lot of energy, and they provide a lot of inspiration. The table has kind of been reversed. Now kids go out riding with [established pros] once and they see them do something and … the kids just pick it up so quickly that all of a sudden they do something in their first, second season of riding that it took one of the best riders in the world ten years to progress to.
Where the tables have turned I think is that the riders who’ve been around for awhile are turning around and they’re taking that inspiration from the kids and they’re saying, "‘Hey, I saw how fast and easy that kid picked that up. If I can apply my experience and my perspective to some of the lines that I have up my sleeve." Then I think it helps them evolve into better riders, and I think that’s what you’re seeing from guys like Wade now.
AB: So what is the limit for mountain biking?
DB: The limit is imagination. It is. Last weekend, I was at the Gathering in Seattle and I saw 360 tailwhips, rodeos, backflip 360s, I saw people going for 720s, I saw dudes tapping the roof mid-backflip, backflip-no foot-x up, one foot-x up, flares. All the tricks that people have been saying are going to come to the sport in the past few years are here. Two, three years ago, if you threw down a tailwhip on a mountain bike it would be in the finals of some contest. At the Gathering, I can’t tell you how many tailwhips I saw in practice. Now a lot of the kids can do tailwhips. No-foot can-cans are pretty standard issue around North Van. That’s where the riding level is at right now and it has progressed to that point.
AB: You and some friends have recently started a mountain bike guiding / coaching company called Endless Biking. What's Endless Biking all about?
DB: It’s a mountain bike service company. We’re based in North Van and our primary goal is skill development. Our slogan is, “Building riders, North Shore and beyond.” We just want to build better riders. We’re all extremely qualified and certified. We’re taking wilderness first aid right now, we all have our CMIC (Canadian Mountain Bike Instructor Certification), which is going to be the new standard in the mountain bike industry, as well as the current national coaching standard.
We’re just trying to provide something for people of all ages, not just kids and not just women. You see a lot of stuff that is just for kids and just for women. We’re not a tour company - we certainly do tours, but we focus on skill development so they can keep up with some of the skills and some of the trails that are out there these days.
DB, heading up to the top and looking forward to the ride down
AB: You’re still totally involved in the scene with the Rampage and the Gathering. You just put yourself right in the middle of it all, I guess?
DB: Well, I didn’t really put myself there. It just kinda happened. I happened to be a rider at the first Redbull Rampage and that was pretty cool, I feel pretty fortunate that I had that opportunity. Just to be there for the first one and then to go down this year and judge for the last one. It was just really cool to see how it’s evolved. Actually, I do know how it happened. We were putting on a dirt jump contest at John Henry’s, Hoots Jay and I, and we hired an emcee. I kept having to ask the emcee, "Hey, can you plug these guys, these guys, these guys," and I kept having to ask him.
Finally, I realized there was another microphone there and I just kept thanking sponsors and throughout the day I was told, "Hey you should just stay on the mike there. The crowd responds to you a bit better than they do the other guy." I was like, "OK." So I kind of kept yapping. I was just down at the Gathering as an emcee. I’ve been emceeing dirt jump contests and small events throughout B.C. and even doing some of the B.C. Cups. There’s parts of me that have a few mental difficulties about not being out there because I want to be out there, but at the same time I know it’s my place to just be where I am right now.
Go in to John Henry Bikes in North Vancouver to see Darren do his thing. He's pretty good at it, and has some great stories to share.
This interview was brought to you by guest writer Adrian Bergles.
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