Meet the Athlete: Kye Anderson

If you have ever been to a Transmoto Event you should be familiar with the name Kye Anderson because this mad man has battled his way to a total of five Ironman wins. But he’s not just good at long distance Transmoto events, he has just arrived back in Oz after a two month trip to Europe, racing the Red Bull
Hare Scramble at Erzberg and the Red Bull Romaniacs hard enduro events on a pre-production KTM 300EXC TPI.
So, we know he’s tough on a bike but what’s he like off the bike?

NAME: Kye Anderson
AGE: 27
TEAM: Kye Anderson Racing #64
Weight/Height: 94kg/185cm
SINGLE/STEADY/HITCHED: Taken
KIDS: Yuck no way!
MUSIC: Anything on triple j, commercial radio makes me sick
MY CREW: Lesley, Champ (my dog), Shabz, Blundell, Dirty Mike and the Boys

If I didn’t race dirt bikes professionally, I’d probably be…
I’m yet to be a professional in the sense of it being my full-time job as I work full time in construction to fund my racing. But if I wasn’t racing dirt bikes I would be studying at university again and racing long distance adventure races (hike, mtb, kayak).

Three things people don’t know about me are…

I really like geology, finding cool rocks and fossils. I’m always bringing rocks back home from around the world even when our bags are overweight for flights I still have some rocks in there. Even when I’m riding or training in Oz I can’t help but look at mountains see all the different formations…… don’t get me started.
I love geocaching! I haven’t had too much time this year to do it but I really need to make some more time for it.
I wasn’t a junior rider coming up through doing all the races around the country. I didn’t start really racing until I finished school and bought a van.

The best thing about being a KTM Austria athlete is…
Getting to ride and race the pre production 2018 300EXC TPI in world class hard enduro races and give my feedback to the factory. I’ve never gotten a free bike before and this saves me a tonne of cash which is hard to come by being a little privateer from down under.

My most memorable race was…
Would have to be the extreme enduro sea to sky in Turkey 2016. Just under two months before the event I crashed and fractured my L5 vertebrae and bulged three discs pushing on a nerve in my lower back, I wasn’t even sure if I could get healed up to go over. I took a gamble and booked everything and trained my butt off for just a few weeks before I left once I was healed up enough. I finished the gold class in the race with my back as stiff as a board and still popping a tonne of pain killers for my back but had the best time with my mates from around the world doing it before and after the event. It was just a really cool feeling at the top of the Mt Olympos (finish line) coming from laying on the couch busted up for a long time and then all the hard work to get somewhat ready.

My fiercest rivalry is with…
I don’t enter the whole rivalry situation I just focus on myself and that’s all I worry about. People have tried in the past to try start this whole ‘rivalry’ thing with me but I just ignore it and it pretty much dissolves itself.

If I was a series promoter, the first thing I’d do is…
I think prize money were possible for all events is good, even if it were just to cover a riders cost or a fuel voucher etc it would encourage more people to get racing because it can be an expensive sport.

A funny story about my mechanic…
I’m both of these roles so I can’t really think of one story exactly but maybe ask anyone that knows me and has been to a presentation or after party in the last 8 years they might have something of interest.

I escape from the grind of training and racing by…
By chilling out I love going walk about with champ. Sometimes I will just drive the van out bush or anywhere away from civilisation and hike for hours and hours looking for cool creek beds, waterfalls, swimming holes, look out points or caves. Anything really that is cool and maybe not many people have or anyone has seen before.

I’m obsessed about…
I’m obsessed about adventure! I live for it all I think about is training, racing or travelling in crazy places so I can get this fix of adventure.

Don’t even start me about…
Don’t start me on social media keyboard warriors and religions. For me, they both start unnecessary trouble.