Remy Morton is a Bike Prodigy. A Gold Coast kid born and raised 15 minutes from the beach, at just 26, he is one of the best all-rounders when it comes to BMX & Mountain bikes. Riding without training wheels since he was around 2 and competing in his first BMX competition at 3, he fell in love with anything involving two-wheels and never stopped, travelling up and down the east coast and winning every grade. Making headlines around Australia and then the world with his death-defying crashes and insane dedication, he is now a professional mountain bike rider, competing at the highest level globally.
Equally comfortable in BMX, Slopestyle, and Downhill Freeriding, Remy has become a fan favourite worldwide, achieving one of his biggest dreams at Crankworx in Rotorua, New Zealand in 2020. Remy not only competed in the event but also helped to build the course. The greatest weekend feat was when he was handed a Red Bull helmet as the contest finished, awarding him the honour of becoming a prestigious Australian Red Bull-sponsored athlete.
Remy travels the world over, with a base in the adventure capital of the world - Queenstown, New Zealand, and it's no wonder, as it is renowned for its epic mountain biking trails.
Not only riding jumps, he has made a name for himself building them. In Queenstown, his backyard becomes a sculptural playground. Working with nature rather than against it, he creates architectural trails that challenge him as his skills exponentially grow.
Attach2 catches up with Remy while he is in the midst of a trail build for his submission into the X GAMES Real MTB competition - where five athletes and videographers create a 90-second video to showcase their skills on a Mountain Bike. We talk to him about where it all started, and how it ultimately led him to this moment - out in the bush, operating his Kubota KX080 excavator and working in harmony with the landscape around us to create his best trail yet.
Remy credits his Dad for getting him into riding and building jumps when he was just a young tot. "It's pretty special to share the potentially highest point to date [in his career] with him." He smiles as his dad helps him work on the course for the competition. He is lucky to also call him a best friend. They have been building jumps together in his Queensland backyard his entire childhood. Starting out as wooden pallets with small dirt landings, the jumps got bigger as Remy's abilities grew.
Naturally, his passion for building trails went hand in hand with his riding, and once he left school it became a 'bit of a trade'. He became more established and essentially apprenticed for a few companies.
"I loved digging and I just liked making things. I found it was a good way to build trails but also compete as they were the bike company owners as well," he explains.
Having the best of both worlds, he had free reign with his time. The companies he worked for would generally be understanding of his competition schedule - it was part of their world too.
"I fell in love with it because it fitted both my schedules. It was a passion. It paid the bills and let me ride my bike."
As Remy continued to progress with his skills, the features of his jumps were becoming bigger and more difficult. Shovels and rakes had to make way for heavy machinery.
"It has gotten to the point now that I need to build my own stuff if I want to challenge myself. The stuff that's in the public is just daily riding and it's nice to scare myself every few weeks. Having this kind of relationship with machinery is pretty good for allowing the adrenaline to keep coming." He laughs.
His dream of becoming a professional bike rider was cemented in 2020, but this began to limit his trail-building career. It was harder to match schedules when he was travelling around the world competing. And so - Flux Trail was born.
Specialising in advanced builds, Remy and a few close friends started their own business; Flux Trail, to create bike trails and courses that push the limits. Being riders themselves, they understand the fundamentals of a good trail.
A big part of Flux Trails' mantra is to show that they can build these trails yet also take care of the land. Being innovative and working with the terrain, they demonstrate that it's still possible to build massive-scale features without scarring the earth.
"You're landscaping it and making it look prettier while enjoying it. We wanted to get people stoked for the future and show what's possible."
For Remy and the team at Flux Trail, it was integral to have the best tools to build the best product. To break new ground in the trail-building space, they needed cutting-edge equipment.
Due to the remote nature of their work, their machines had to be extremely reliable. They also had to have the utmost functionality to allow for creativity. Often getting themselves into dicey situations, safety was paramount.
After years of experimentation with hiring various brands of machines and attachments, they purchased their first machine for Flux Trail. They went with Kubota excavators and Attach2 attachments as they believe they are the best in the industry, and now have a lasting relationship with Attach2. Their Kubota U27 excavator is fitted with the A2 Heli-Tilt Performance Package and has become a key part of Flux Trail's success.
"It was pretty insane. He gave me the answers I needed (at Norwood Kubota dealership in New Zealand) and told me we could have a machine within two weeks, which is fairly unheard of for any product unless you've become extremely lucky. They just had it all sitting there, which was pretty impressive. Also, being the supplier of, in my opinion, the best gear that you can buy, it was a pretty crazy combination." Remy explains.
As well as a pioneer in the biking world, Remy is a creator at heart. His business, Flux Trail, partnered with Red Bull in June of 2021 to create 7k 7 days. Based in Queensland back where it all began for Remy, he and the crew worked around the clock to build the trail at Boomerang Farm park to give back to the local community that he is a part of - to resounding success.
Remy was approached to compete in the X GAMES Real MTB competition this year. After realising he needed more equipment for his trail build, he approached Norwood and Attach2 hoping to garner their support for this latest venture. Both companies were happy to chip in, sponsoring him by providing him with another larger excavator, the Kubota KX080 - all kitted out with the Attach2 Heli-Tilt Performance Package. Working with both companies was important to him as he was happy with the products and wanted to stay loyal to those who had supported his dream from the start.
"We've never had any issues in our entire time operating our Kubota - same with Attach2. I've had a lot of Attach2 buckets over the years on different rental machines and companies I've worked for. With these machines and attachments, we know that we're gonna make that deadline and make the customer happy at the end of it all. This has been the best product we've had. It's the most capable product working on the terrain and the hillside and stacking rock. It's pretty much impossible without the gear."
Building trails out in the wop wops, - places that generally don't have a lot of connectivity when something goes wrong - Remy and the team at Flux Trail need to have dependable machines.
"You want to have reliable products so that you know you're going to achieve your goal - especially with time pressures like this. We know that this build needs to be done by this day and you need to have reliable machinery to get there. Having Attach2 and Norwood Kubota on board has pretty much achieved that goal for us and that's the reason that we've chosen this product."
As you would expect, creating jumps and trails from any given landscape is a fiddly job. Remy explains how the riding surface, shapes, angles, and circumference need to be precise, and how that is nearly impossible when using a standard generic bucket.
"You need to be able to move as far as you can and having the Attach2 bucket [and coupler] and being able to move 90 degrees both ways while you're on a 15-degree angle with the machine, it's super important that you've got the options there to hold yourself up on a tree, all while also trying to shape crazy architectural looking jumps."
Not only are the attachments essential for creating the correct curves when sculpting the earth, but safety plays a massive part in it, as the team can get themselves into really precarious positions.
"You do get in a lot of spots where if you weren't using that option I'd say you're screwed. You're not going to be able to get out of it safely. It's just a complete game changer for us."
Relatively new to operating machines, Remy needed something easy to pick up. He has been in one now for 2-3 years full-time, but before that, he had never operated one in his life.
"That's pure evidence of how well this machine works. The Heli-Tilt and the combination of those two with the landscape we've got."
Usually, when it comes to bike riding, Remy explains that most people judge the rider over the product. He thinks it's the opposite with machinery and trail-building equipment - that mindset is important but the products used to create the courses are a key piece of the puzzle.
"Having this stuff to work with has made life easier, it's made life safe to experiment in this kind of thing on this terrain in a safe way - having the right equipment has allowed that. I really think without it, I wouldn't have been able to get myself out of some of the positions I've been in."
Remy explains that without the partnerships that he has built over the years, he would not have been able to produce his Real MTB trail to such an exceptional standard.
"Having you guys believe in some of my crazy ideas to build this stuff, it's not the norm. Normal brands don't see the light of this. This project has been a big dream for me and a lot of the last few years of learning to operate and doing all of this work has led to wanting to do something like this. It is a huge goal of mine and I really don't think it'd be possible without the support of Attach2."
Tags:
