Cam McCaul has good reason to be chipper. He spends
his summer riding his bike, travelling the world and getting paid for it. Somebody
forgot to tell him about teenage angst and dirt jumper attitude though; he's
about the friendliest, most likeable pro freerider there is. Fortunately that
hasn't stopped him from riding like an escaped felon. It's tough to
imagine a better fit - Cam McCaul with a bunch of kids coming to Whistler
to ride and learn some new tricks on their bikes. I had a chance to
ask Cam about his Summer Gravity Camp experiences in year's past, working
with Andrew Shandro and what he's looking forward to this year.
Cam McCaul upside down at Crankworx 2006. Click image to
enlarge.
nsmb.Cam - You do a lot of travelling
during the season these days with events all over North America and Europe.
How do you manage to fit in some time to coach at SGC?
Cam McCaul - It always just works out! I always coach
the camp the week before Crankworx and then I do a couple days the week
of. It works out perfect because I'm always in Whistler anyway and there's
no better way to spend the time then hanging out at the camp. It's seriously
the funnest thing ever.
nsmb.Cam - How does
your time coaching compare to the rest of your summer schedule?
Cam McCaul - The coaching is real chill. Its a good time
to just hang out and ride trails with new people. I grab a group of kids
in the morning and hang out with them all day up and down the mountain.
By the end of the week I've shredded with a ton of cool kids and made some
friends.
Cam explaining the finer points of mountain bicycling at
Summer Gravity Camp in 2006. Click image to enlarge.
nsmb.Cam - Do you
find you end up learning new skills through the coaching process?
Cam McCaul - Yeah for sure. During camps I'm riding the
mountain all day every day so its impossible not to learn a couple things.
nsmb.Cam - How do
you approach coaching? Do you have a coach - from mtb or other sports -
from your past who you respect and try to emulate?
Cam McCaul - I've never had an official coach or anything
but there are definitely people that I ride with who teach me a lot. I ride
and film a ton with Berrecloth and every time I hop on a bike with him I
learn something new. I also learn a lot from riding with Aaron Chase. Really
anytime you're riding with someone better than yourself you're going to
pick up some new skills.
. Click image to enlarge.
nsmb.Cam - What sports
were you into before riding?
Cam McCaul - I rode some moto and wakeboarded a lot. Never
particularly good at either of them but I flipped my wakeboard a few times.
nsmb.Cam - Did you
ever get to go to a camp like SGC?
Cam McCaul - No, but I wanted to.
nsmb.Cam - What's
it like working with the other coaches?
Cam McCaul - Its the best thing ever. I get to hang out
with Thomas Vanderham, Joe Schwartz, Wade Simmons, Jordie Lunn etc.... Last
year we all had the same hotel so it was rad.
Laying it over. Click image to enlarge.
nsmb.Cam - What are
the campers like?
Cam McCaul - The campers are always so stoked. They're
stoked for breakfast, they're stoked for riding, stoked for lunch, more
riding, then dirt jumping in the evening.
nsmb.Cam - How do
they respond to you - at first and by the end of the camp?
Cam McCaul - At first they're always a bit quiet, but
by the end after I've got to know them, they're my homies and they're anything
but quiet. Its cool.
nsmb.Cam - What's
the progression like for the campers from the beginning to the end of the
camp in terms of their riding, their confidence and their personalities?
Is it an experience that makes a profound difference do you think?
Cam McCaul - Oh yeah. At the beginning of the week, some
of the kids have never ridden down Whistler mountain and they think that
everything up there is just like the stuff they see in New World Disorder.
After a few runs they realize that they already have enough skill to ride
half the mountain, and by the end they have ridden every trail and they're
almost ready for New World.....in a couple years.
Cam explaining the finer points of mountain biking at
Summer Gravity Camp in 2006. Click image to enlarge.
nsmb.Cam -
What's it like working under Shandro? Does he bust your ass?
Cam McCaul - Yeah he's a tough guy. Last
year when I made 4 kids back flip the road gap he got a little P.O'd but
he eventually got over it.....Naw just kidding, it's cool working for
Shandro. He's the boss. All the kids landed it anyway.. still kidding.
nsmb.Cam -
Anything else you can tell us about SGC?
Cam McCaul - Last year I took the youngest
group of kids all the way down from the top of garbanzo to the bottom
of the mountain on some of the hardest trails you could choose! It was
so rad! It took a couple hours, but all the kids shredded so hard and
rode so many things that they didn't think they were ready for. I kept
telling them to lean back and use their brakes, and all of a sudden they
were ready to ride anything.
nsmb.Cam -
Thanks Cam. See you in Saalbach.
Cam McCaul - No worries other Cam!
Founded in 2002, Summer Gravity Camps is a six day, seven night freeride
mountain bike camp for people aged 11 to adult, located in Whistler, BC.
Under the direction of Freeride Pioneer and X Games Gold Medallist, Andrew
Shandro, camps include expert coaching in the Whistler Mountain Bike Park
– the world’s leading lift accessed mountain bike park.
New coaches for this year are Cam Zink and Matt
Hunter. Returning celebrity coaches include Andrew
Shandro, Thomas Vanderham, Cam McCaul, Jordie Lunn, Geoff
Gulevich, Wade Simmons, Dave Watson, Tyler Morland, Joe Schwartz
and Katrina Strand.
Check
out some video from last year's SGC sessions here.
Dates for this year's camps are:
July 15-22 (Youth only)
July 22-29 (Youth only)
July 29 - Aug. 5 (Youth only)
Aug. 5 - Aug. 12 (Youth only)
Aug. 12 - 19 (Adult only week)
For more information on or to register for Summer Gravity Camps at the Whistler
Mountain Bike Park please visit summergravitycamps.com
Speak your mind about Cam McCaul, Summer Gravity Camp or anything else
here.
