AIRprentice Riders Chosen

Words Cam McRae

Date Jul 12, 2009

Two weeks. For the first time ever we’ve managed to give our AIRprentice crew a little time to get their lives in order before the comp. It would have been easy to stretch it out while we pored over resumés, photos and videos but our choices weren’t getting any easier as time went on – so we pulled some names out of a hat. Okay – we did a little more than that – but frankly choosing riders for AIRprentice via email is a bit like picking a bride out of a catalogue; things aren’t always as advertised. Our inboxes were thick with talent and it was extremely tough to whittle the list down to nine riders. To all of you who applied – thanks very much and maybe we’ll see you next year. Many of you did a great job of presenting yourselves – and we won’t forget that.

You may think that talent is number one on our wish list – but talent without back up isn’t good for much. We were also looking for riders who could follow some instructions and get some stuff together. If we weren’t sure about someone we just had a look at how well they followed our submission guidelines. Being a pro rider isn’t all about tail whips and results; these days companies are looking for riders who can write a blog, snap some photos and maybe even edit together some video. Promotion is part of the job and if you can’t do it the going will be tough.

The nine lads listed below will be vying for the AIRprentice title in 2009. If they show up at Silver Star on the evening of July 24th they will already have won a sweet phone from Nokia – and a couple of epic days of riding in the Silver Star Bike Park. In fact we’re going to start things off with a paintball session if you make it there by 5:00. One of them will go home with a couple of the most dialled Specialized rides you can imagine – decked out with components from Syncros, cranks and pads from Race Face, Suspension products from Fox Racing Shox, Brakes from Avid, drivetrains from SRAM, shorts and hydration packs from Dakine, shades and goggles from Adidas Eyewear as well as some tasty meals from Denny’s of Canada.

Here is the AIRprentice crew for 2009 – along with videos for most of them.

Daryl Ostendorf – 16 – Abbotsford