China FMX: Manager, Cameron Sturtridge

Following on from our recent article ‘The Other Side of FMX’, this sixth instalment of China FMX introduces you to the Manager, Cameron Sturtridge. 

Often when an action sports athlete retires they fade from the scene remembered for the highlights of their career but never really heard of again. Things were a little different for retired FMX athlete Cameron ‘Sturto’ Sturtridge. One of the OG’s of the sport, Sturtridge has been involved with FMX since he first appeared at the Planet X games at Melbourne’s Docklands in late 2000, since those early days of the sport Cameron went from strength to strength not only performing and competing but taking on behind the scenes roles like judging, coaching, course design, and event management, all while studying a degree in Architecture and training to be a Strength Coach.

After hanging up his boots almost 5 years ago Cameron shifted his focus and concentrated on developing his strength coaching business Actionsport Performance where he helps action sports athletes develop their athletic performance and rehabilitate after injuries. He didn’t completely turn his back on FMX though, continuing his relationship with long-time employer ARD, Sturtridge took on roles in event management and as a part-time MC. Because of this, when ARD was looking for a manager to take the reins for a 6-month long contract in China, Cameron was the obvious choice.

When asked about the opportunity and taking on the role Cameron said, “Dion (ARD Director) and I had been talking about the possibility of this job for a while and I was all for it, I’ve been working with ARD most of my professional riding career and have run events for them both at home and overseas before… Just not one quite this long, haha. But it’s all good I am familiar with China I’ve been going here for the last 13 years both riding and running events, I actually lived here for half a year in 2006 so I knew exactly what to expect.”

Taking a team of FMX riders half way around the world is no small feat but it makes it easier when you assemble the right team in the first place, “In Australia, we are very fortunate to have a massive talent pool to draw from, Dion and I had an original list of over 20 riders before settling on the final 4 we took over. The guys we took were kind of a no brainer though, they were all selected not just for their talent but their general attitudes. When assembling a team like this, particularly for a gig this long you need to consider personality types and the way the guys will act off the bike as well as on. The fact that the guys not only have to trust each other in the shows but have to live and work together every day means there isn’t really any room for over inflated ego’s.”

If running an FMX show is not hard enough doing it in a foreign country with a different culture and language barriers poses even more challenges, “It was actually pretty smooth sailing, not that we expected things to go wrong, but we were prepared for just about anything to happen.  As I said earlier we selected a professional bunch of guys so there was no real hassles there, just the usual frustrations of being away from home which I talk the guys through and keep them motivated. Outside of that, niggling injuries because the guys are riding so much and it takes a big toll on their bodies, as well as managing events I’m a strength coach and my specialty is rehab and injury prevention so I hooked the boys up with training programs and worked on them when needed to keep them going. On the business side though, when dealing with other cultures, there is always challenges. This is mostly just because things are done differently and there may be different expectations to those of home, but we adjust to suit. I think understanding those differences in the first place can be the hardest part. Once you do understand though accommodating them is easy. Like I said earlier this wasn’t my first rodeo I’ve been coming here for over 13 years and though still very limited I have learnt a bit of the language over the years which can help from time to time.”

Living and working overseas does offer its advantages though, the chance to see and experience another culture and its history first hand is something many people will never get to do, “It’s funny, I’ve been coming here so long but have never really had the chance to be a tourist, we usually fly in do the job and fly out, even when I was living here in 06′ we were pretty isolated and it was very difficult to get out and explore. This time was a little different, Tianjin is right beside Beijing and there is a bullet train between the cities so it only takes about 50 minutes to get there, Tianjin also has a fairly busy airport so flights to places like Xian (Terracotta Warriors) and Hong Kong are very accessible. We had one day off a week so the boys took full advantage of that, a lot of the time for me though a day off just meant I didn’t go to the park and had to do work from home. But I still got the chance to explore and see some really cool things like the Great Wall and the Tombs from the Qing Dynasty. I have my partner Morgan here too which has made things easier and she has really enjoyed experiencing what China has to offer.”

On the overall impression of the of the show Cameron had to say. “It was really good, we had a great bunch of guys, that were a dream to manage and we had no incidences. Having the ARD infrastructure provides so much peace of mind not only for the riders but me too, it’s just one less thing I have to worry about. I couldn’t have done it though without the support of ARD head office in Australia. I guess that’s why we have been such a successful team over the years, a solid support network and good people behind the scenes”

Cameron would like to thank: “First up my partner Morgan, I dragged her to a foreign country for 6 months, and obviously Dion from ARD for giving me not just this but so many opportunities over the years and I’d like to thank my riders, Joel brown, Dillon Kattler, Brayden Davies and Codie Rooney, you guys killed it thank you so much for being a rad bunch of dudes.”

You can keep up with Cameron on Instagram or via his website.

If you enjoyed Cameron’s story make sure you check out the other stories:
Part 1 – The Other Side of FMX 
Part 2 – Brayden ‘Muggins’ Davies
Part 3 – Codie Rooney
Part 4 – Dillon Kattler
Part 5 – Joel Brown