What do you get when you assemble 4 ultra rad and talented rippers together for a day of fun on two wheels? Well, you get good times, laughs, some pretty awesome content. It’s not always about having the fanciest Red cameras and film crew; sometimes all you need is a hand-dandy ‘dad cam’ and a bunch of riders just doing their thing to make something special. We’re thrilled to have this bunch on board and can’t wait for more adventures with them down the road. Without further ado, we’d like to formally introduce our BC ambassadors…
Resembling a summer camp vibe, everyone was excited and anxious to get to the activities on day one. This was the first opportunity for our entire BC crew of ambassadors to get together for a bit of team bonding and to help promote our new soft goods range. The crew met up at Cook Creek, 25 minutes South of our Candian HQ on Vancouver Island. It didn’t take long for everyone to get up to speed with a warm up lap before the camera’s came out. Things ramped up quickly as everyone started pushing one another and before long, turns were carved and gaps sent.
Who doesn’t love a good tight train?
Questionably tight trains… Dillon taking the inside line on Gav
And criss cross
The Essential Mix
Finding ambassadors that gel with our core values was hugely important for us and the idea to start local and then build outwards was important for us as a small brand. Coastal BC and the UK, representing our two bases, were logical first steps with other select riders in key zones (Aus, NZ and the USA) for Forbidden, before eventually heading into new territories. Each member of our crew comes from a diverse background, and they all bring something unique to the team and brand.
“You’re embarrassing me, dad!”
It’s not all about being the best at something, or having the biggest social media following or winning the most contests, for our BC crew, we set out to find a diverse group of riders with one thing in common; a passion for getting out there, getting after it, and inspiring those around them. Each member has a completely different background and wrap sheet, and seeing them all come together is a true testament to what the MTB community has evolved into.These four fine individuals exude the best that mountain biking has to offer, and inspire us to keep pushing to have the most fun possible on two wheels, which is, afterall, really what it’s all about.
Dillon Butcher - The Dirt Jumper
Dillon, with the shapes...
We’ve had our eyes on Dillon for quite some time and if you haven’t seen much of Dillon Butcher, you certainly will soon enough. A true master of all things with two wheels and tires and a dab hand at making everything look spectacular. Humble, polite and soft spoken, but an utter wizard and a savage once the wheels start turning. Coming from a BMX race background, Dillon has applied this precision and fluidity of racing to his dirt jumping, and more recently to his trail and downhill bikes.
It doesn't take much of a jump for Dillon to get very sideways.
We’ve been mesmerized by Dillon’s control, fluidity and style - he's the kind of rider that has more tricks in his bag than many pros, but still prioritizes style and fluidity over all else. For Dillon, his riding seems more like an art form than a sport and while high pivot bikes, such as our own, which are more known for their speed than their style, we knew that wasn’t the whole story. Rather than simply tell people, why not let Dillon's riding do the talking.
A barspin, for good measure.
This 21 year old Vancouver Island wonderkid will be sporting his custom Ziggy Link equipped Druid and Dreadnought on everything from rowdy DH tracks to cruisy jumps. He’s already got a handful of exciting projects in the works, and we very much look forward to working closely with Dillon to develop some new products and projects in the near future so watch this space...
Smack the lip, Wappah, so pitted.
Celeste Pomerants - The Alpine Adventurist
Celeste, Cheezin'
With adventure and mountain sports engrained in her DNA, Celeste is another rider we have known for quite some time and instantly came to mind when looking to put together a diverse, well rounded group of BC ambassadors. Growing up in the coastal mountains of Squamish, Celeste probably learned to ride bikes and ski before learning to walk.
Leaning into some turns aboard her Druid SLX
Passionate about the environment that allows her to pursue her sporting hobbies, it should come as no surprise to see her working in the environmental sector currently completing her masters degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of British Columbia. When she’s not working on ways to improve storage for renewable energies, she’s in the mountains. Be it epic all day missions or shredding rowdy trails, Celeste is also pretty handy between the tape racing and plans to race as many enduro’s as she can across Western Canada on her trusty Druid SLX .
on the gas, elbows on point.
Gavin Mclean - Local Legend
The local legend.
How do you describe Gavin? An all around nice guy, shredder, digger, and our longest standing ambassador are a few of the superlatives that spring to mind. Having been involved with Forbidden since the early days, back when we needed a local ripper to help put our products to the test, Gavin was our guy. Growing up in the place we now call home, Gavin knows every trail, digger and just about everyone in town.
Gavin's got that effortless, timeless style.
It’s pretty hard to go anywhere with Gavin as he seemingly knows everyone, constantly striking up conversations with everyone we bump into. Aside from being a great person to have spread the good word on-the-bike, he is also extremely talented and driven off it, spending countless hours digging in the woods, building freeride features for videos and to share with his buddies.
That poor corner taking a beating.
His hard charging and effortless style is timeless, be it on his custom Druid or Dreadnought, flipping from bike-to-bike depending on what kind of mission or mood. Gavin has some awesome things in the works for 2021, so stay tuned, and if you see him out on the trails, be sure to say hey!
Nic Court - The Loose Unit
The visible look of speed, Nic makes it look easy.
The wild child and the only member of the BC crew that we had no idea who he was until his ‘A Classic Duncan Edit’ graced Pinkbike’s homepage back in early October, 2020. Who on earth was this kid riding mach 10 down some of Vancouver Island’s most iconic lines and hucking backflips on his long travel 29er? Our marketing team watched the edit and immediately reached out. This is the kind of riding that looks amazing no matter what the skill level or riding style you have.
Ellbows.
A quick phone call later and we learn that Nic Court is, for better or worse, a 23-year old surfer bro hailing from Duncan, BC, but instead of only surfing, he spends most of his time going fast and having fun on two wheels. The surfer attitude shines through - it’s all about hanging out, having good times, and shredding.
Eye of the tiger.
Nic’s background hails in DH racing and only recently transitioned into enduro with some freeriding escapades to add to his wrap sheet, but for Nic, anything fun on two wheels will suffice. Chances are, if you see Nic, he’ll be the one getting others excited - the hype man - constantly smiling and most likely trying some sort of questionable maneuver on his bike, either stomping it or exploding in a spectacular fashion; but that’s what we love about Nic! Sporting a Druid XT this year, Nic will be spending most of his free time building rad trails and riding fast.
Wrap up
What better way to cap a great day riding with friends, then a bonfire and some hot dogs. The rain clouds started pouring, but the fire was warm the beers were cold, and most importantly under the tent was dry… No amount of precipitation would be able to ruin that.
A little dampness never hurt anyone, we think? Dillon is unsure.
At the end of the day, it really is all about having fun on two wheels, how people achieve that may very slightly from rider to rider, and discipline to discipline, but everyone can relate to that 3 letter word, fun. We’re thrilled to have these fine individuals flying the Forrbidden flag, and look forward to empowering them to inspire others as well. Be sure to watch this space and stay tuned to their social channels to see what everyone gets up to this year, it’s going to be our best one yet.
Coach, on the grill for the kids.
A couple of nice looking rides, if we do say so ourselves.
Words and Video: Stephane Pelletier
Song: “Asphalt Waves” by The Varmoors
Photography : Dan Fleury
Clothing : Forbiddenbike.com