Even though he’s just 19 years old, Nor-Cal’s Bryce Tryon is far from a newcomer to the scene. Bryce started riding at a young age, with parents who supported him, travelling to as many races as possible – and it’s paying off as the young American is really starting to shine.
You're one of the younger riders on the Park scene but by no means a newcomer. When did you first start?
Bryce Tryon: I’ve been riding Park for as long as I could remember, I mainly grew up riding Park because I loved to go fast, high and flow the ramps. But my first ever Park contest was at Woodward West when I was 10 years old and I placed 2nd.
Where did your parents usually take you to ride?
My parents honestly took me everywhere they could in California to ride, anytime we heard of a contest or a jam we went. I spent most of my time riding my local skatepark in Lodi, though.
What do you have to ride close to home?
There is a skate park two blocks away from my house which I grew up riding. It’s a really fun park but just a little too small for the kind of riding I’m doing nowadays, so we ended up building a private set-up in the country at a friend’s house called the Snakepit!
With so many riders now having access to their own park, do you feel you're at a disadvantage?
Personally, I don’t feel at a disadvantage with people having their own parks, it’s more that I feel I have a rough time finding people to ride with that are at my level to help me progress. But I still find ways to motivate and push myself when no one else is there. It really depends on the weather, but I try to ride about four or five times a week.
Do you watch many BMX Park videos?
I didn't really used to when I was younger, but recently I’ve been watching a lot more.
Has racing BMX helped with your bike handling skills?
It’s weird because I already had pretty good bike control before I started racing, but I think it still helped me even though I had been riding for about eight years prior to racing. I haven’t touched a track in a LONG time but I would love to get back into it to just mess around.
What's a trick you haven't mastered yet but is on the agenda?
I have a couple new things on the list but it’s a secret!
Do you take the foam-resi-box approach?
I usually do just foam to resi, because I know once I do it resi I can do it on a box jump.
If you land a trick on resi, does it count for you?
It really depends, in my eyes it counts because I’m physically rolling away, but if I were to do it for a video or something it wouldn’t count and I would do it on a legit box.
What countries have you travelled to because of BMX?
I’ve been to Canada, Mexico, France, China, South Africa, Croatia, Poland, Estonia, Hungary and Japan. I’d say my favourite has to be South Africa.
Any plans to move down to Chula Vista to ride the park at the OTC?
I don’t know about moving down there but I do plan on going down there for a couple weeks at a time to train.
Are you planning on the 2024 Olympics in Paris or do you just ride for fun without any goals?
Yes, I’m planning on the 2024 Olympics, but it’s still pretty far away, so I’m just slowly getting ready as of right now and then as time goes on I’ll ramp it up, if that makes sense? Lol.