Remy Morton is a Bike Prodigy. Born and raised in Queensland, Australia, 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 the sport and never stopped. 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 around the world, achieving one of his biggest dreams at Crankworx in Rotorua in 2020. Remy not only competed in the event, but also helped to build the course. The greatest feat of the weekend was when he was handed a RedBull helmet as the contest finished, awarding him the honour of becoming a prestigious RedBull sponsored athlete in Australia.
Remy lives in the adventure capital of the world - Queenstown, 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 the backyard his entire life. Starting out as wooden pallets with small dirt landings, the jumps got gradually 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 essentially 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 basically 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 put limitations on 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 aim to 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 also 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 in order 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 chose to purchase their first machine for Flux Trail. They went with Kubota excavators and Attach2 attachments as they believe that they are the best in the industry, and now have a lasting relationship with both Norwood (Kubota Dealership) and Attach2. Their Kubota U27 excavator is fitted with the A2 Heli-Tilt Performance Package and has become a key part to Flux Trail’s success.
“It was pretty insane. He gave me the answers I needed (at Norwood Kubota) and he 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.
Remy was approached to compete in the X GAMES Real MTB competition this year. After realising he was going to need 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 he wanted to continue to stay loyal to those who had supported his dream from the beginning.
”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 rest of the boys 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 whole 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 near 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 whilst 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 whilst 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 kind of screwed. You're not going to be able to get out of it in a safe way. It's definitely just a complete game changer for us.”
Relatively new to operating machines, Remy needed something that was 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 sort of 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 when it comes to 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, it's made life easier, it's made life safe to be experimenting in this kind of thing on this terrain in a safe way - having the right equipment has actually 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 up 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 and Norwood.”
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