On the Hunt | Andrew Jackson

At the beginning of the year, Hunt's Brand Manager Ken hosted several gravel group rides with the local Rapha chapter in Los Angeles. It was on one of these rides, that we met Andrew Jackson. His chill demeanor as he hit some berms at Mach 1 speeds and endo-ed on regroup stops had us all feeling like we were watching something out of Redbull Rampage.

After the ride, Ken caught up with Andrew, and after spending a few minutes with Andrew one begins to learn that there are many more defining qualities that make Andrew special.

Ken Rodriguez-Clisham: Let's start with the basics, what's your name and how old are you?

Andrew Jackson: Yeah, my name is Andrew Jackson and I'm 32.

KRC: What type of riding (motor & pushbike) do you do?

AJ: Everything! Mountain (sometimes) BMX Road Gravel. Motor, anything from wheelies down the street, to jumping stuffing the hills, to the track

KRC: How did you get into riding? Did your brother get you into riding?

AJ: I've been on bikes since I was 4 years old and he would have been around 2 haha. He races mountain bikes for the Giant Off-Road Factory team and he let me borrow the road bike they gave him. I used it to do rehab after my knee surgery because all I had was a fixie at that point. That was the start of switching to the road stuff but, it's all just bikes to me. I’ve been doing this my whole life.

KRC: What was your first bike & what is currently your favorite bike?

AJ: First bike, I have no idea. I rode Walmart bikes for way too long lol. My favorite will probably always be my signature BMX frame and fork setup from WeThePeople. I just got a Ti Blackheart frame from Zach over there, I like that a lot too.

KRC: Where has been your favorite place to ride?

AJ: Griffith Park in Los Angeles is my spot forever on the road. Barcelona, Spain is hard to beat for BMX. I haven’t traveled for the road and gravel stuff as I have for BMX though so I’m sure there’s more out there.

KRC: What got you into BMX? And how long have you been riding?

AJ: My brother and I used to just build jumps before I even knew anything about riding. I think it naturally evolved from there. I had to be like five years old when I started jumping stuff on my motorcycle and bike.  I was always more into racing motorcycles though. Bikes were just what I did for fun

KRC: How did you get into motorbikes?

AJ: My dad was into it when he was younger and got me PW50 right before my 5th birthday. Downhill from there haha.

KRC: What has been your worst crash over the years?

AJ: On my motorcycle, too many. I ruptured my kidney and was bleeding to death internally my last year racing amateur nationals. I was in a coma for a week and took like a year to get better. That was kind of the beginning of the end of racing motocross. Bikes, I’ve always been pretty good at finessing out of things. I’ve definitely had a few but nothing like racing motocross.

KRC: What’s your hobby/passion away from the bike?

AJ: I’m one of those people where if I get into something, I have to do it all the way haha. I have a lot of passions; I’m pretty into shooting photos and I work as a DP. I like doing documentary stuff the best. Shooting things no one else can/will.

KRC: Apart from riding what else makes you tick?

AJ: I think riding IS that thing that makes me tick, to be honest. I just love being on my bike.