Catching up with Ashley Fiolek!

Ashley Fiolek has taken the world of women's motocross by storm over the last few years and is certainly a force to be reckoned with!  This past year has been monumental for Ashley as she has taken an X Games Gold and scored another grueling WMA championship title after an incredible last-moto push after breaking her collar bone!  She has been featured in USA Today as well as a host of other premier publications and was even nominated for an ESPY this year.  Ashley has incredible talent and is able to win races despite being deaf!  She certainly doesn't let her disability hinder her ability to ride like lightning!  I had the chance to catch up with Ashley and ask her some questions about the past year, the off-season, and what her goals are for the coming year.  Please read on to learn more about the fastest woman on two wheels!

Interview with Mike Mason

Mike Mason is one of the top guys in the sport of freestyle motocross right now.  He has always been solid at contests over the last few years, but he has really stepped up his game recently and is eager to get some more solid wins under his belt!  He's got some of the best style in the business and always impresses the crowds with his incredible Holy Grab tricks.  The picture above is one that I snapped a couple years ago at the US Open of Surfing where "Mase" was doing a demo.  It is one of my favorite pictures I have taken!  I was able to get in touch with Mike and he was more than willing to do a little interview for me over email, since he is in Australia right now.  Following is what Mr. Mason had to say: 

Shaun White's Secret Weapon

Progression certainly is the name of the game in any action sport, it takes after the old saying "innovate or die".  Snowboarding is a sport that has progressed tremendously over the last 10-15 years which is proven by the fact that it is now an Olympic sport!  However, in the realm of half-pipe snowboarding, "progression" seems to simply mean "more spins".  Sometimes, watching snowboard half-pipe contests is eerily similar to figure skating because of all the focus on how many spins they can do!  Snowboarding, as a sport, thrives on creativity and innovation...shouldn't innovation be more than just adding another half-spin onto a trick?   Some may think that half-pipe riding has hit a bit of a brick wall because of a slight decline of major progression.  It would be foolish to claim there has been a recent drought of progression in snowboarding, that just isn't true, but it would be safe to say that half-pipe riding has been in need of a "stimulus package" to bring back some more excitement and interest to the sport.  Shaun White, the god of the halfpipe, has upped-the-ante and found a way to get the ball rolling again!

X Games Five (1999)

One of my favorite memories in action sports was from the summer of 1999 when I got to attend the X Games for the very first time.  I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and the X Games popped into town for 1999 (and also 2000).  My summer job took a backseat to the action that was going down in the city.

Stoked on Stoked Mentoring

One of the best feel-good stories in the world of action sports right now is being fueled by the passion of Mr. Action Sports himself--Sal Masakela.  Sal is not only the face of the X Games (and a co-host of E's "Daily 10"), but is a budding philanthropist that co-founded the incredible Stoked Mentoring organization with Steve Larosiliere.  In their own words,

"Stoked's mission is to develop
Successful
Teens with
Opportunity
Knowledge
Experience, and
Determination through action sports and mentoring."

The World of Red Bull

If there is one company that has single-handedly changed the world of action sports for the better, it is Red Bull.  Everybody who has anything to do with action sports should thank this energy drink giant because it is likely it has improved your favorite action sport in some way, shape, or form.  Even though many other energy drinks have stepped up and supported an array of action sports in recent years, none of them would have been here without Red Bull's creation of the energy drink in the first place.  Following, I will just touch the surface of some of the impacts that Red Bull has had in just one of the sports that I love.

3 Newly Crowned BMX Champs

After the dust has settled on the Dew Tour in Orlando this past weekend, 5 athletes stand tall as the new champions.  Although I love watching skateboarding, I was only able to catch the BMX events of the Orlando stop and will cover what I saw.  Sorry skaters...next time!