Matt Hunter

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I was born in Kamloops, British Columbia in 1983. Singletrack zigzags through the hills behind my parents' house; bikes were freedom. I explored the hills and trails wherever and whenever I could. I was 12 when I got into XC racing. I was really into it until I was about 15, when I started focusing more on DH riding. Some of my friends who I raced with made the same transition, and we started to learn together. We started building big jumps and aggressive trails. We filmed ourselves riding and I made a short video. I entered the video in an online contest, the "Ultimate Freeride Challenge" and ended up winning. That was the beginning of my sponsored career in 2003. Specialized sponsored me then and I have been with Specialized ever since.

My focus has always been shooting photos and filming video segments, that is what I love to do. I really enjoy finding adventure in the mountains - whether it be challenging moves and airs or maybe it's a multiple day ride.

I like watching big mountain skiers and snowboarders, the way they shred the mountains in the snow inspires me on dirt. Besides riding, I surf, fish, and backcountry ski as much as I can.

Sponsors: Specialized, Shimano, Clif Bar, Chromag, MRP, IXS, Fox Racing Shox, Dakine, Contour

Whether or not the weather was plotting against us was in question

July 11, 2012

Whether or not the weather was plotting against us was in question. The hot July sun shone on every mountain around us, but we shivered through the sleet on our jackets and goggles as we ascended the mountain on the Comet chair.

It turned out to be the only few hours of bad weather the entire week of Elevate mountain bike camp. The dark cloud came along for half a day to remind us of how sweet the sun and tacky dirt really were, then Silverstar was once again summer riding paradise.

Myself, along with fellow coaches Thomas Vanderham and Kenny Smith, joined a group of young mountain bikers for a week of berm shredding and airtime. We rode Silverstar's finest trails in perfect conditions. We laughed and rode and ate and rode then slept then rode some more… We did a lot of riding. Silverstar is known for its flowy trails and smooth terrain and a hard working trail crew. The mountain was ready for us.

It's quite an experience to coach a group of young riders in a lift accessed bike park. The excitement level is totally off the charts and the groms are always ready for more. Gigantic amounts of vertical can be chalked up on a long July day with a chairlift at your disposal.

After a full day of shredding, all the corners and airs, manuals and scrubs, steeps and rock faces fade into one big smile. Thomas, Kenny and I kick back and crack a beer. One thought stands out from each day: Damn those kids are stoked on riding. And it's contagious.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

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