FMX Insider No.51: Richards Brothers

9 years ago | Words: Ben Heidrich | Photos: Ben Heidrich

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

The future of the Australian FMX scene relies heavily on the young bloods of the sport; the dirt-bike groms of today will be the champions of tomorrow. I was recently lucky enough to meet and ride with the Richards brothers – Benny (14) and Tommy (12) – who are extremely talented riders, training regularly with the Wagga Wagga locals. It is so cool to see guys like Truman Carroll, Rob Adelberg and Jackson Strong pass on their knowledge to young up-and-comers. I expect to see a lot from the brothers over the next few years, but for now, let’s get to know them!

Heidrich: When did you boys decide to give FMX a crack?
Both: After we had been watching Truman Carroll ride at his compound just over the road from our house, we started getting ideas – we wanted to do jumps and tricks like Truman. So as soon as Dad bought us a bike, we would get the lawnmower and trailer, go dig a hole somewhere for dirt and then yeah, build some jumps and hit it on our little JR50. I suppose our love for dirt bikes and jumping started then.

Benny: I would have been five and had to balls up first and hit the jumps first as I was the oldest (laughs).

Tommy: Yeah, I was four. Truman came over and invited us to take our bikes over for a ride a few years later.

Benny: When I was nine, Dad had just bought me a KX65 and Truman had a little ramp for 50s that he convinced me to jump. Then, the next day, I was lined up in front of an Aussie comp ramp set at about 27ft. As soon as I jumped that, I got addicted to the feeling of being in the air.

Tommy: I waited around a bit and watched Benny jump the ramp. I was busting to get a 65 to be able to do what he did. When I was eight, I got one and started to jump the 50s ramp – it was when I started to do little no-handers off it that I decided to go for the big jump.

^ Benny (blue) and Tommy (green) Richards…

What bikes are you guys riding at the moment?

Both: We’re both riding YZ85s.

It must be cool training with Metal Mulisha rider, Truman Carroll! Tell me a bit about that?

Both: Yeah, Truman is the whole reason we got into the sport, he has taught us that much and given us so much knowledge from how to jump a ramp properly to doing work on our bikes. He has always made sure everything is right for us, from our ramp set-up to our bikes, which gives us a lot of comfort and confidence. We really can’t thank Truman and also Rob Adelberg enough for all the help they give us!

Benny, I saw you throw an eight-trick run together the other day, and Tommy, I also throwing a bunch of big extended tricks. What have you guys been working on lately?

Benny: Yeah, that was a bit of a challenge Rob threw at me! Lately I’ve really been focussing on turning my Seat Grabs and Double Grabs into Heart Attacks and also learning a couple of new ones like One-handed Hearts, and One-handed Indys.

Tommy: Yeah, I have been working on getting all my grab tricks dialled in and and making them all clean and smooth.

^ Benny Richards…

Benny, you pulled a Backflip around to dirt not long ago. How did that feel? Did it take you long to learn?

Benny: I had been pulling Flips around into the foam pit for a long time making sure I had them down pat, then one Friday afternoon I had done a couple into the pit which were all pretty spot on, next thing Truman is saying tomorrow’s the day! It was a pretty sleepless night, but I ended up getting it done! It’s a feeling you can’t describe and I definitely want to Flip again soon.

You also pulled a few around in the pit, Tommy. Are you going to take it to dirt soon?

Tommy: Yeah, I’ve tried a few but I still need to do a bit more work on them to get them down pat – hopefully when I’m comfortable I’ll try to dirt.

What’s it like riding together as brothers? Do you push each other and learn off each other?

Both: Its pretty cool riding as brothers, de-gearing after a good session is always nice, giving each other some feedback on what tricks we did good and what to work on next ride. We push each other pretty hard, always trying to match each other!

^ Tommy Richards…

How did your first FMX demo go over the weekend at the Lockhart show?

Both: Lockhart was a perfect little first show for us. It was awesome riding in front of a bigger crowed of people, and riding alongside Jacko Strong and Sam Smith was fun! A big thanks to Jacko for inviting us to ride at his hometown show.

How often do you boys ride? Do you have any other hobbies in your downtime?

Both: We try and ride as much as possible, which is pretty much everyday as someone is always riding over at Truman’s place. If we’re not riding in summer we take the boat out for a ski and wakeboard, and in winter we play Aussie Rules Football.

Who else have you boys been training with?

Both: There’s always a good group of boys in God’s Country (Wagga Wagga) to have a session with! There’s the locals – Truman Carroll, Rob Adelberg and Jake Holloway – and then there’s the boys from out of town that come over every once in a while, like Jacko Strong, Tom Robinson, Jake Smith, Joel Brown and more. Always good times.

^ Tommy Richards (left), Jackson Strong (centre) and Benny Richards (right)…

Who do you look up to in FMX – who is your biggest mentor/inspiration?

Benny: My biggest inspiration would have to be Tom Pagés – the tricks that guy pulls out and the runs he puts together is something I’m going to aim for.

Tommy: Being around Truman, Rob and Jacko, watching them ride so often and seeing what they do inspires me to want to ride and be like them.

I heard a rumour you guys are on the Metal Mulisha team, that must be a dream come true at your age. Tell me about that?

Both: Yeah, we have been to talking to the guys over at Metal Mulisha, they are great dudes and hooked us up with a sponsorship! Like you said Ben, it’s a massive dream come true. It was definitely a goal that we both had.

What do you boys love most about riding FMX?

Both: What we love about riding FMX is being around a great bunch of guys, being able to just jump on your bike, get in the zone, then push yourself and each other as much as possible.

So what’s your plan with riding over the next few years? How far do you guys wanna go in the sport?

Both: Yeah, we plan to keep on riding, to learn bigger tricks and to go as far as possible. Riding an X-Fighters event or X Games would be a dream come true.

Well, it looks like you boys are heading in the right direction, cheers for the words boys and keep ripping!

Thanks, Benny!