{"id":35973,"date":"2024-06-07T13:16:42","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T11:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=35973"},"modified":"2024-06-25T16:53:44","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T14:53:44","slug":"cool-as-ice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/mbuk\/2024\/06\/07\/cool-as-ice\/","title":{"rendered":"Cool as ice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
TOM ISTED<\/h5>\n\n

Cool as ice<\/h2>\n\n

SNAPPER IAN LEAN<\/strong> MEETS UP WITH TOM ‘ICE-T’ ISTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW HE WENT FROM RIDING CORNISH DIRT JUMPS TO CALMLY FLIPPING THE WORLD’S BIGGEST GAPS<\/p>\n\n

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One of Tom\u2019s sponsors is also one of his local riding venues \u2013 Woody\u2019s Bike Park in Cornwall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

I\u2019ve known Tom Isted<\/strong> for 10-plus years, and he\u2019s never been afraid to try anything. He may be known as \u2018Ice-T\u2019 these days, but before that many knew him as \u2018Sketchy Tom\u2019, due to his apparent inability to see any danger in trying something others wouldn\u2019t! Maybe he simply wanted to be that person who did it first. If there\u2019s a session going down, whether that\u2019s slopestyle or big jumps, you can be sure Tom won\u2019t be shy about dropping in first or sending something big. He thrives in high-pressure situations, being happy to go first or try the line when others think it\u2019s too windy, and equally eager to get stuck in when people begin to trade heavy tricks. <\/p>\n\n

Tom grew up in Liskeard, and like many Kernow (Cornish) folk, he\u2019s never left, still living there now. When he\u2019s actually home, at least \u2013 the boy puts in the graft to travel, there\u2019s no denying that! Living in Cornwall has its disadvantages when it comes to mountain biking \u2013 we aren\u2019t blessed with masses of elevation and haven\u2019t always had an abundance of places to ride (although thankfully, that\u2018s now changing). So, it hasn\u2019t been easy for Tom to get to where he is now. Today, we\u2019re going to be visiting two spots both of us know well so that we can shoot some photos, chew the fat and get the lowdown on his seemingly rapid rise from local dirt jump hero to world-wowing freerider. <\/p>\n\n

CHASING THE DREAM<\/span><\/h4>\n\n

Our first stop is super-close to Tom\u2019s place \u2013 his compound at Adrenaline Quarry, a water adventure park just off the A38, where the owner of this local business (a sponsor of Tom\u2019s) has generously given him a bit of land to use as a training ground. He\u2019s set up a flat-drop ladder, two dirt landings and two wooden moto ramps made by his friend Jasper Flashman, and also has his airbag here, for learning new tricks. It\u2019s a prime little spot, out of the wind, which Tom uses a lot. <\/p>\n\n

All the tricks he does fascinate me. You rarely get to see people sending 40, 50 or 60ft+ jumps, or to watch dirt jumpers of that quality. In between sessioning the jumps, we talk a bit about Tom\u2019s past. His love of bikes began not far from here, on an old BMX track turned skate park across the road from his childhood home. Any spare time Tom had, you\u2019d find him there, fixed on progression. He went on to ride BMX for Mongoose Bikes, and became pretty well-known in the UK scene. Mongoose were producing mountain bikes, so he dabbled in MTB a bit, but the turning point didn\u2019t come until he got his hands on a dirt jump frame. Tom had begun to get pretty tired of riding the same skate parks in comps and was ready for a new challenge<\/p>\n\n

In 2016, he began competing in the Dirt Wars UK series, and a year later, he stepped up to the dirt jump and slopestyle events of the FMB World Tour. That same season, though, his deal with Mongoose came to an end, after six years riding for the brand. \u201cIt was tough to take, losing Mongoose after so long,\u201d Tom tells me. \u201cBut it just lit the fire in my belly to go head-first into MTB and chase the dream.\u201d<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

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Tom\u2019s world record-setting backflip put him on the MTB map, but he\u2019s got plenty of other tricks in his bag, too <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

ON TO BIGGER THINGS<\/h4>\n\n

From Tom\u2019s compound, we head to another of his favourites (also a sponsor), Woody\u2019s Bike Park. This spot in Par, close to the sea, has featured in MBUK <\/em>numerous times. Cornwall\u2019s first bike park, it has a good mix of blue, red and black trails, plus plenty of opportunities for Tom to try new tricks to dirt, with some rather tasty lips. We spend the rest of the afternoon cruising about the vast hillside, shooting bits on various features the park offers. Again, we get to reminiscing. <\/p>\n\n

The timing of Tom\u2019s arrival on the MTB scene couldn\u2019t have been better. Woody\u2019s hadn\u2019t long opened, and gave him the opportunity to, firstly, meet fellow local nutter Jasper Flashman, who builds the trails there, but also, get comfortable riding a downhill bike on big jumps. It didn\u2019t take him long. Shortly after, Jasper managed to get Tom an invite to LooseFest, part of the super-sized Fest Series, which Nico Vink organised in Malmady, Belgium. After that, he was hooked. Having ridden dirt jumps for a while by this point, Tom had some tricks up his sleeve, some of which he\u2019d been able to bring over from BMX. Transferring these to a DH bike was tricky, but soon enough, he had them dialled. <\/p>\n\n

TOM HAD BEGUN TO GET PRETTY TIRED OF BMX COMPS AND WAS READY FOR A NEW CHALLENGE<\/span><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Another rider who helped Tom get where he is today was Sam Pilgrim. After switching over from BMX, he became good friends with the FMB world champ and all-round funny chap. Just featuring in some videos with Sam gave Tom good exposure \u2013 something he knew he\u2019d need more of if he was going to make an impact.<\/p>\n\n

UP A CREEK WITH NO SPONSOR<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

In 2018, Tom was picked up by GT Bicycles and continued to build up his FMB ranking. The next year, he started a YouTube channel, following in Sam\u2019s footsteps. All appeared to be going well, but then, in 2020, Tom\u2019s sponsorship with GT came to an end, just as the world began to close down because of COVID. Unable to find a new deal, he was forced to roll solo. \u201cThe timing of my exit from GT couldn\u2019t have been worse!\u201d says Tom. \u201cThe global pandemic had just started and everyone was being very conservative.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Losing the support was hard for Tom, but it made him determined to get out there and prove to potential sponsors what they were missing. He made frequent trips to Europe, with his increasingly beat-up GT frames, so he could progress his skills, ride different jumps, feature in other FMB riders\u2019 vlogs and create his own content for YouTube. It wasn\u2019t until 2023 that he had his breakthrough, though, when he headed out to Darkfest in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n

THE CLIP OF HIS WORLD RECORD-BREAKING FLIP BLEW UP THE INTERNET, RACKING UP HUNDREDS OF VIEWS <\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

At that point, Tom was well-known within the slopestyle scene, but sufficiently \u2018underground\u2019 to be nominated in the Newcomer category of our Rider of the Year awards, despite having been taking part in MTB comps for seven years. The first inkling that this was about to change was when a video began circulating of him and fellow UK rider Sam Hodgson backflipping a 110ft jump, built the year before, but never previously flipped.<\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

FLIPPIN’ HECK! <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

\u201cThe light was fading fast,\u201d Tom recalls. \u201cSam and I were the last ones up there, and we just dropped in one after the other, resulting in us both breaking the previous [dirt-to-dirt] record!\u201d That wasn\u2019t the end of it, though. While the pair sent it an impressive 106ft and 104ft, respectively, on their first try, Tom knew he could do better.<\/p>\n\n

The day of his next attempt was windy. While most riders would have called it a day, Tom isn\u2019t one of them. \u201cThe stars aligned,\u201d he says. \u201cI had a fire in my belly to prove myself, I timed it perfectly and the wind we had was, luckily, a tailwind \u2013 but I absolutely didn\u2019t think I\u2019d go 120ft!\u201d The clip of his world record-breaking flip blew up the internet, racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. It didn\u2019t surprise me, though \u2013 Tom had been on a mission to prove himself and get a big ride, and went there knowing he wanted to do something big. <\/p>\n\n

While the jump itself was wild, what\u2019s even more bonkers is the fact Tom did it on a \u00a3300 frame. Before flying out to Cape Town, he\u2019d decided it was time to replace his knackered GT DH bike, and took a punt on a decade-old Giant Glory, building it up with parts he already had. \u201cI just wanted to change it up,\u201d he explains. \u201cI\u2019d been running old frames for years, and I\u2019d always wanted to try a Glory. One came up on eBay, I thought \u2018why not?\u2019 and the rest is history!\u201d <\/p>\n\n

When Tom returned home from Darkfest, the calls started to come in. The right person at Giant became aware of the clip circling the internet of Tom\u2019s massive flip, the staff couldn\u2019t believe he\u2019d done it on a 2010 Glory, and they reached out to him, offering the pro deal he\u2019d been searching for. \u201cIt was a perfect fit,\u201d says Tom. \u201cThey were on the lookout to expand the freeride team, and I was still looking for a ride.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

\"\"
What Cornwall’s MTB scene may lack in elevation and number of venues, it makes up for in enthusiasm and passion, with new riding spots popping up all the time <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

TOP OF HIS GAME<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n

With confidence running high after Darkfest, Tom went on to finish third at 2023\u2019s biggest slopestyle comp, Red Bull Joyride at Crankworx Whistler \u2013 a result that helped boost him into the FMB top 10, alongside the likes of Emil Johansson, Nicholi Rogatkin and Erik Fedko. Now aged 32, he can safely say he\u2019s made it. He has a pro deal, over 30,000 YouTube subscribers and 100,000 Instagram followers, and has cemented himself as one of the world\u2019s top freeriders. He\u2019s just picked up another sponsor, too \u2013 DMR, whose parts he\u2019s running on all his bikes.<\/p>\n\n

With the likes of Sam Reynolds, Matt Jones and Sam Pilgrim all having seemingly retired from the competition scene, Tom\u2019s flying the flag for the UK on the freeride world stage, and 2024 looks set to be another packed year. He\u2019s already returned to Darkfest \u2013 where he bagged the Best Moment award for flipping the same jump on his first run down the track \u2013 and competed at the first Crankworx event of the year in New Zealand. By the time you read this, he\u2019ll have been back to the Southern Hemisphere for Crankworx Cairns, and, following on from that, will be attending Crankworx Innsbruck in Austria and other FMB gold-level events in Europe and Canada. Not bad for a lad once nicknamed Sketchy Tom! <\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n

<\/p>\n\n

<\/div>
\n

PASTIES & PINNERS<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ian Lean <\/strong>gives us the lowdown on the Cornish riding scene<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe scene down here, as you can imagine, is rather small compared to most places, but there are more spots to ride than you\u2019d think. We may not have the longest tracks, but there\u2019s definitely a good mix. Gawton Gravity Hub is still the hotbed for DH racers, with Jay Williamson doing a good job of helping youngsters come through. The Fully Gassed crew, who are Woody\u2019s Bike Park locals, are doing it for the senders. Then you\u2019ve got The Track, Woody\u2019s, Old Hill Bike Park and Bike Park Kernow to whet your park whistle, plus techy DH tracks at a place called Grogley Woods. MTB is more alive here than you might think!\u201d
<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section>\n\n

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