MARCH 2016
Arif Gül is one of the most talented vert/street BMX riders in Turkey. Despite the injuries and limited access to facilities in the cities he lived, his determination and perseverance made him the rising talent of Turkey. This talented athlete caught the interest of Redbull and became a Redbull Athlete. We had an interview with Arif regarding his point of view towards the sport and his future plans. We hope BMXTR followers find the interview very interesting!
AKMAN ATILGAN
BMX TR: Hello Arif. You have achieved to be a well-known athlete as a result of your recent years performance and competition ranks. We know you very well but for our followers could you please introduce yourself.
AG : First of all, thank you for the interview. I am pushing myself both for my future and the future of BMX in Turkey.
BMX TR: How did you start riding a BMX bike. Asking it in a different way; nearly everybody recognises BMX during childhood, but few of them decides to ride a BMX bike. You must have a moment that you decided to ride a BMX bike. Would you tell us your story?
AG : I start riding a BMX bike 6 years ago. My mother purchased me a BMX like bike. I start riding and when ever I was in a bad mood or disappointed about anything I was going for a ride and negative thoughts were disappearing. This positive feeling affected me much.
BMX TR: If we take your athlete identity in consideration, what would you say about an athlete’s life style. How should it be?
AG : In my opinion, aiming as high as possible is very important.
BMX TR: Would you share us your lifestyle as a BMX rider. How BMX is affecting your daily routine?
AG : BMX is enabling me to put my life in an order.
BMX TR: It is apparent that you are spending a great deal of your time with training. Is BMX affecting your personal life? How this sport is affecting your relations with your family and your girlfriend.
AG : I have set my life based on this sport. I can clearly say that both my family and my girlfriend has limited effect on my sport at the moment.
BMX TR: BMX is not a well known sport in the cities you have lived. Would this be a disadvantage for you in the past?
AG : In fact it was quite motivating and I took the advantage of being lonely, being with my bike and unite with the bike completely. This idea motivated me more.
BMX TR: As you know, all pro athletes continue their sport as long as their body allowes them to continue. You are …. years old right now. Are you planning to have a future in BMX or you are considering to have another carrier according to the education you have? Are you considering BMX a carrier chance for you?
AG : As I say, I am living my life based on this sport. If I don’t have serious injuries, I like to ride as long as I can.
BMX TR: Vert and street are two of the most risky disciplines of this sport. A minor mistake could result in very serious injuries. Are you having doubts while trying new tricks?
AG : Any doubt will bring the fear and you make a mistake. Focus and being in present time is very important. You mind must be absolutely clear to be ablt to focus on the trick only.
BMX TR: In 2014 you had a very serious injury. Shortly after the treatment you had, we have seen you on the podium first place at Kanyon. It is not possible for any athlete to achieve both physically and psychologically. Could you share your experience from the injury to the podium?
AG : I have a great deal of research regarding how to get well fast, because I can not stand even one day without BMX. I recovered quite fast as I had special care of myself.
BMX TR: How do you find the sport’s status in Turkey at the moment? Do you think there are many riders, facilities and events at the moment?
AG : Unfortunately there not much riders at the moment. There is not enough support and facilities anywhere in Turkey. There are only 2 different rider types at the moment, the ones riding with passion, and the ones riding for fun only.
BMX TR: What kind of changes happened in your life after Redbull?
AG : Actually Redbull enabled me to change my mind to a great extent. After Red Bull, promoting the sport in different cities seemed not so difficult as it was in the past.
BMX TR: Which riders do you follow in the world at the mement? Which one do you like the most?
AG : Garret Reynolds ve Daniel Dhers are the two riders I like their style the most.
BMX TR: How about the Turkish riders? Who are the closest riders to you today?
AG : There are many talented riders in Turkey at the moment. Closest riders around me are Ertan Üçkumru, Caner Kurtoğlu, Batuhan Guldengel and Gokhan Yildiz. Those are the riders I spend most of my life.
BMX TR: What would you say about BMXTR. How did you like our web page? I like to you’re your opinion about especially the rider profile page. We are currently trying to mp the riders in Turkey. Would you recommend riders to open an account and register at the web page?
AG : I hope BMXTR will be beneficial for our country’s promotion to other countries and cultures. For sure I like to have all riders in Turkey to be registered to the portal and unite here. I believe it is very important to gather as much riders as possible in order to develop this sport. Only by gathering many riders together we can force the authorities to construct new parks and other facilities.
BMX TR: Arif, thank you for your time. We like to thank you for this interview. We hope you achieve all your dreams and we have many interviews in the future.
