FMX Insider No.37: Tom Robinson

Transmoto’s weekly web-exclusive column, the FMX Insider, penned by Ben Heidrich.

22-year-old NSW-based rider, Tom Robinson, has been on the FMX circuit for a while now. He competed in the early days of the RFDmx series as a young up-and-comer and is now riding overseas with the big names of the sport. Tom’s skills on a dirt bike never seize to impress me – he’s always the first one out on the course throwing down big tweaked out grab tricks and ridiculous whips. He’s been working hard on his range of Flip tricks and even has a new body varial in the pipeline. I caught up with Tommy for a chat about riding and new chapters for this year.

Ben: How long have you been riding FMX? Did you ever race?
Tom: I’ve been riding FMX for almost six years now. I love riding tracks but have never officially raced. Even if I could afford it, I wouldn’t like the seriousness of it.

What got you pumped on riding in the beginning, and why did you take up FMX? 
My Dad bought me a PW80 for my eighth birthday and I thrashed that thing around for about four years. The farm we were living on at that time happened to be across the road from the RFDmx compound in Temora, so I would ride my PeeWee over and watch guys like Joel Brown and Liam Goesch ride freestyle; so from then on I knew that’s what I wanted to do.

Who did you grow up riding with? 
I had a couple of mates in high school that I would trail ride with every weekend but once I started getting into FMX properly, I started riding with Joel Brown a lot, which was a big help.

Would you call yourself a demo rider or would you prefer to throw down in a competition?
I would prefer to ride in a comp but at the moment I would call myself a demo rider. Gotta pay the bills somehow (laughs).

Who do you look up to in FMX and who is your biggest mentor/inspiration?
I’ve always looked up to Mike Metzger since I started riding because of his riding style. I also look up to Tom Pagés because he thinks outside the box and comes up with some pretty cool stuff.

Tell me the story of how you learned to Flip.
It pretty much all started when I sent my good mate Jake Smith a snapchat saying, “Wanna Backflip this weekend?”. So he cruised over and we jacked the ramp up with some wood blocks at about 50ft. The plan was to put some hay on the down ramp but we couldn’t be bothered once we got there. We both started doing some straight jumps to feel the ramp out , then after about 10 straight jumps I got frustrated with it and just ripped one around and landed sweet. Then Jake pulled one around straight after me and landed sweet as well , so we ended up doing about 40 flips that afternoon. That was a good day.

You’ve been doing some shows overseas, how are they going for you?
Yeah I’ve been doing some shows in China for ARD which have been a heap of fun. The team all get along really well so it’s good times heading over there with that crew. You see some really cool stuff while your looking around over there , but other things you see make you realise how good we have it in Australia.

You just made the move to Wagga Wagga, NSW, so how is that all going?
Things are going good so far! I’ve only been here a week but I’ve got a heap of riding done. The boys I’m living with are real positive, funny dudes to be around, so it’s good vibes.

You have been riding a lot lately, what tricks have you been working on?
I’ve been working on a few things upside down like Seat Grab Indy Flips and getting my SG Flips and Super Flips bigger. I’ve also learnt a new body varial into the foam pit. I’m feeling pretty confident with it, so next month I’ll hopefully be sending that one to dirt while the shows are a bit quiet.

What’s riding about for you? What do you get out of it?
Riding for me has always been about having fun and pushing yourself. It’s a good way to clear your mind as well.

What are your plans for the rest of the year?
Mainly to just keep progressing with my riding and seeing what I can learn. I would love to start doing some bigger competitions, but we’ll see what happens!