bmxultra.com:
You have been racing for a long time now, when and how did you get started?
Travis: My parents were friends with the Crisp family. Darren, Dean and
my buddy Adam all raced and got me interested. It was sometime in 1980.
Beenleigh had a little goat track close to my house I would go to for
small races. Then the local council and my parents and their friends obtained
the refuse dump site the Beenleigh facility is on today.
bmxultra.com: Who did you used to ride with and race against
when you first started?
Travis: I mainly rode with Adam Crisp, Shane and Jason Pearce and Beenleigh
locals. My first real competition in 7 expert was a wee little boy-Wade
Bootes.
bmxultra.com: Do any of them still race now?
Travis: Just Wade. Adam is a skater, Jason lives in So-Cal and my friend
Shane is a gear head and still in the bike industry.
bmxultra.com: What was your first race bike?
Travis: JMC micro mini
bmxultra.com: Do you still have any of your old school gear stored
away?
Travis: Every time I go back to Oz my dad and I throw away a little more
away. They have a lot of my trophies and team photos also.
bmxultra.com: When did you turn pro?
Travis: When I was 16 you could race 16x and Pro-Ams but eventually I
was a Pro at 18.
bmxultra.com: What's the biggest difference between racing pro
in the US Vs racing pro in Australia?
Travis: The initial accelaration from the gate is much more important
because you can get shut down easily due to no lines. Nobody makes mistakes
and everybodies level is much closer than in Oz.
bmxultra.com: What was your best result at the Australian championships?
Travis: I got second so many times as an amateur that I don't even remember...like
4 or 5 times until I literally had 5 minutes of fame at Nerang in 96.
It was good while it lasted and is part of the reason I headed stateside.
In the US you can actually touch another rider in a turn and not be dq'd,
because that is just racing...Thanks Darren [Hawkins].
bmxultra.com: Do you think Australia could benefit from running
a national series for all age classes instead of the single weekend national
championships?
Travis: Well this is a tough one. I think that BMX Australia
is finally realizing that there is other ways to do things. With that
said some type of pro series could really help out the Aussie pros so
they don't have to travel half way around the world in there off season
to compete in a few big US races. After not racing in a title race since
96, Cairns did not seem much different 9 years after the Nerang theft
occurred. The whole UCI/Olympics deal seems like a joke. Not what you
know, but who you know. When is the Aussie national teams next tryout?
bmxultra.com: Has the depth of the Aussie pro riders changed
much in the 9 years?
Travis: I would say that the 'new' young guys have replaced the older
breed. They are better riders but not as fast (except saucelock [Warwick
Stevenson])
bmxultra.com: How often do you come home to Aus?
Travis: Every year.
bmxultra.com: Have you raced in Aus between 96 and 05?
Travis: I did a January race at Ashmore in 2002. Warwick [Stevenson] won,
I was second and Luke [Madill] was third. Other than that I just ride
BEENLEIGH.
bmxultra.com: What would it take to make you want to travel all
the way to Australia for a BMX race? Large prize money, national team
selection, TV coverage, a downhill race, coinciding with a family visit?
Travis: This past 2005 Cairns race was perfect as far as family,
holiday, and DB. It was no special reason, it was realistically the last
time I will probably race the Aussies [Australian Championships] so it
made sense.
bmxultra.com: How did you end up living in Ohio?
Travis: My wife grew up there and it reminded me of home when it was summer.
bmxultra.com: Which do you prefer ABA/NBL/UCI/BMXAus?
Travis: Because of my location the NBL was my choice but any non santioned
BMX downhill event such as the Vans [Triple Crown] races and the X-Games
showed what you can really do on a kids bike. It's funny how some UCI
dude comes to the US and uses a non santioned X-Games built track to showcase
BMX and get an Olympic spot, and he thinks he invented downhill/supercross
BMX. It will just be a bunch of roided up meat heads trying not to flip
their carbon fibre bikes in their aero helmets and limmy suits. But who
is to decide what BMX really is? When I came stateside I had no idea you
could get a monthly cheque using this or that component. These days you
are lucky to get dole wages to bust your ass all week for a company that
pays you a little, but has the crash clause...just in case.
bmxultra.com:
At what point did you decide to make the move to the US?
Travis: I fought my parents on this a lot straight out of high school.
Peter Moyle and my mother and I would do the trade show in Anaheim and
some Friday night races at Orange or Coal. After my decent performance
at the Brighton worlds in 96 and smoking Darren [Hawkins] and his Sydney
mates at the Ipswich Internatinal race and later at Tamworth, I decided
to leave town.
bmxultra.com: Do you have any words of wisdom for riders who
would like to one day follow their dream and race as a BMX pro?
Travis: Have an open mind, it's like starting racing all over
again.
bmxultra.com: Your parents bought the Aussie BMX clothing company,
PeddlePower, when did that happen?
Travis: PeddlePower was purchased around 1988 by my dad from the original
owner.
bmxultra.com: They provided you with a lot of support along they
way didn’t they?
Travis: I owe my parents a lot. I still think about the Friday
nights my mum and dad would load up the team and head to Sydney or even
Melbourne for a weekend race so I could hit different tracks and race
older pros.
bmxultra.com: Is PeddlePower still running today?
Travis: It is in semi-retirement.(07) 3807 3244
bmxultra.com: When you started racing in the US it didn’t
take long to get picked up by SE right? What kind of deal did they have
you on?
Travis: My first season was probably the best of my career because
I travelled so much with my team-mate Chris Sanchez and lived all over
So-Cal with SE legends (Bubba Hayes, Rod Beckering and Perry Kramer).
They were a really cool bunch of people and showed me a lot about BMX
in the USA. They let me and Chris drive their pimped out 77 Dodge van
across the states for 2 months doing clinics and racing and then into
Canada for the ABA and UCI worlds and then back down the west coast to
SE headquarters. They picked up the tab for the whole thing and it led
to bigger and better things for Chris and myself...the stories I can tell.
bmxultra.com: I remember seeing you at the 1998 worlds in Melbourne
spectating, it must have been disappointing to not race in front of a
home crowd?
Travis:That was an all time low. 2 weeks earlier I crashed at
the NBL South Park race and broke all the bones in my hand. SE already
had my ticket so I came home anyway and did a lot of training for the
following season. Soon after I quit SE and signed with Schwinn.
bmxultra.com: You were off the radar for a while then started
to appear in the downhill races, what was it that brought you back to
the track?
Travis: After Schwinn went into receivership, the whole industry
took a huge down turn. About 9 of the top 20 double AA's were now with
no sponsor and none in sight. I did an NBL only schedule on the east coast
only, riding for Profile, Fox and Airwalk going to all the nationals close
to my house. When you don't have a major sponsor and aren't hitting all
the big nationals all over, you are out of the magazine radar. The next
year Clayborn picked me up and I was able to do a bigger race schedule.
bmxultra.com: What did you think of the downhill races?
Travis: I think true downhill may never happen again because the current
people involved are mixed up with the NBL and UCI. They are not pushing
the envelope at all. They are more interested in making a great TV race
and are still using basic track layouts. They are even using scaffolding
start hills to call it downhill but are racing in parking lots?
bmxultra.com: Do you really think there is no future for them?
Travis: It is how the NBL/UCI got into the Olympics and it will
turn into a regular track with a tall hill - silly lines down the gate
and jumps you can manual and don't have to ramp. It always ends up the
same with a governing body with an egotistical old man running it.
bmxultra.com: Given the opportunity would you do another?
Travis: I probably won't because these latest UCI/NBL races are still
about power more than skill unlike the original Vans/X-Games races.
bmxultra.com: What is you best result at a downhill?
Travis: I got a fourth and a seventh (crash) at the first two Vans [Triple
Crown] races and was a consi finalist at both X-Games.
bmxultra.com: When/How did you hook up with Diamond Back?
Travis: At the first UCI dowhill race I crashed in my semi while leading
going into the first turn and got ran over, knocked out and broke my ankle.
An industry friend of mine, Steve Buddendeck was there and we talked about
the possibilities of doing something with DB. I soon was at Beenleigh
[Australia] rehabing my ankle, riding a new bike and deciding if I wanted
to keep racing and crashing. I went back to the states and signed a 1
race deal for the next UCI downhill in Cali. I qualified second and had
a bad semi. Soon after I signed on for the rest of 04 and 05.
bmxultra.com:
How did your life change when you were married and had your first child?
Travis: I now know how self centred I used to act, and my wife and son
have made me a better person. I also go to bed early and am on a strict
schedule of a 2 year old.
bmxultra.com: Do you look at BMX differently now to when you
first decided to leave Aus to follow your dream?
Travis: For many reasons it looks different from the other side
of the world. BMX is more business driven in the US which sometimes takes
the true love out of it and has changed the direction of pro racing as
I once knew it. I have learn't that you need to take chances and everything
happens for a reason.
bmxultra.com: Have you set a goal for yourself that you are yet
to achieve?
Travis: Maybe race some nationals in the later part of the year on flat
pedals in vet pro.
bmxultra.com: What are your thoughts on clips Vs flat pedals?
Travis: Clips are a must in AA but flats are true BMX. The NBL
tried to change the AA class back to flats in 2003. The 1st race in Vegas
everyone rode flats, at the second race in Florida Bennett rode practice
in clips and 20 mins later every AA was yet again clipped in.
bmxultra.com: If you had a choice which would you run?
Travis: Flats.
bmxultra.com: Do you still keep in touch with Chris Sanchez?
Travis: It has been a while.
bmxultra.com: If you raced Wade as a boy do you remember racing
my brother Bryce?
Travis: Yes I do. I was much bigger than Wade and Bryce was much bigger
than me. He also didn't like me high lowing him for the win at Albury
Wodonga.
bmxultra.com: Do you try to keep up with BMX in Australia?
Travis: Not very much. If they are a badass they end up over
here at some stage.
Luke Madill: Skinny and fast, needs to move and try
for a season.
Michael Fenwick:Young and strong with no style.
Jamie Gray: He is always in the right place at the right
time.
Wade Bootes: Motivated win at all costs, old school style,
old school sauce?
Warwick Stevenson: Ultimate pull. new school sauce? needs
a sponsor
John Smart: Good rider on his so-cal track before clips
mattered.
Anthony Waye: Untouchable in his prime. old school sauce?
BMXAustralia: To much POLITICS.
BMX coaching: Is boring for kids, go ride trails.
Sean Dwight: original old school sauce? besides Mr Ward?
Grant White: as above. Way too serious.
ABA: basic tracks, pros treated like 11 year old intermediates
NBL: there outdoor tracks are decent, they care more
about the pros.
UCI: I am not sure that they know which way BMX is headed.
They are trying to be supercross/downhill but they build this stupid 12
year old expert level track for the worlds 3 years before the Olympics...and
Jamie Gray was winning - just shows how tech it was....
Bubba Harris: if he is in the race he wins from any position.
phenominal.
Mike Day: trail boss with horsepower
John Purse: legend
Jason Richardson: stiff
Dale Holmes: nearly as stiff
Jamie Staff: biggest quads ever
Christophe Leveque: the original next level
Robbie Miranda: bad ass all rounder
Vet Pro: the patures of has beens
Politics: BMX in Oz
BMXPlus: trying to keep bmx alive
BMXPress: nice photos
Travis Turesson: Trying to decide if it's worth it anymore.
bmxultra.com: What music do you listen to?
Travis: Deftones, Slimthug, Helmet...
bmxultra.com: What do you think of neil young?
Travis: He is SMOOTH...
bmxultra.com: Have you heard of the Mark Of Cain (Aussie band)?
If you like Helmet you would love them.
Travis: Yes, I have 2 of their early cds.
bmxultra.com: What was the last CD you bought?
Travis: Madonna-confessions on the dancefloor...
bmxultra.com: Who do you think will benefit most from BMX being
at the Olympics?
Travis: the officials and coaches
bmxultra.com: Who would you predict to take the top 3 at the
Olympics?
Travis: [Matt] Pohlkamp, Bubba [Harris], Butter.
bmxultra.com: Butter?
Travis: Kyle Bennett
bmxultra.com: Do you expect that the Olympics might help growth
in the sport?
Travis: Not at all. BMX has faded in the US in the last 2 years due to
no media coverage or corporate sponsors.
bmxultra.com: In Australia the media though that BMX racing in
the next Olympics was a joke. Do you think peoples opinions will change
once the event is over and the gold medals have been won?
Travis: No
bmxultra.com:
Do you think you will ever come back to Australia to live?
Travis: Don't say "one day"...
bmxultra.com: What does it take to earn the respect of Travis
Turesson?
Travis: As a rider you need to actually be able to control your bike,
not just pedal and hang on.
bmxultra.com: What do you do when you're not riding your bike?
Travis: Be a husband/dad and work at Dunhams.
bmxultra.com: Where do you see BMX in 5 years?
Travis: Probably the same but no more Olympics.
bmxultra.com: What are you up to now?
Travis:Working through the winter and getting my knee back to normal.
bmxultra.com: Who are your current sponsors?
Travis:My DB deal ended December 31st.
bmxultra.com: Is there anyone you would like to thank?
Travis:Jude, Dicko, Ryan, Bubba, PK, Sanch, Mike Devitt, JPRogers, Steve
Buddendeck, Ryan Birk, Billy Au, Dwayne Taylor and my new family for all
their love and support.