Interview: Anton Ö. Arnarson

If you've watched some BMX video in the past year, chances are that you've heard about this dude a couple times. Anton is one of those riders that can release more that 10 videos in one year and it doesn't get boring. We sent him some questions to find out more about what he's up to. Hit the Read More link to jump to the interview. Sausage wrapped in bacon sounds delicious!

Name: Anton Örn Arnarson,"Örn" means Eagle. Meeeeow.
Date of birth: 18.07.1991
Hometown: Reykjavik, the capital city of Iceland.
Current location: I live in Reykjavik.
Years riding: I've been riding for almost 6 years, time flies!!
Sponsors: Muvi Action Cameras, Rite.Se Mailorder, Sledgehammer Skibikes, DC (Local Sponsor) and Mountain Dew(Local Sponsor).

Q: Since most people probably have no clue where Iceland is, can you describe your country in a sentence or two?
A: Iceland is a small island in the Atlantic Ocean. Famous for the nature, hot springs and the beautiful northern lights.

Q: How does a kid from Iceland like you gets introduced to BMX?
A: I used to ride street on my full suspension bike back in the days. I was stoked when I saw what the BMXers were doing on their bikes.. They could bunny hop two times higher than me and they had pegs for grinds! So one day I decided to buy a KHE Goldie from my local bike shop in 2007 and I never turned back since then.

Q: How is the BMX scene in Iceland and how do you deal with winter?
A: The capital city is small but crowded of good spots, we never get bored while riding street and there’a almost no security.. There's no BMX indoor parks.. But luckily we’ve got a few dirty and ice cold undergrounds that we can ride without getting kicked out..

Q: What/who are your biggest inspirations when it comes to BMX?
A: Guys like Ty Morrow, Garrett Reynolds, Nathan Williams etc. get me really pumped to go out and ride some street.

Q: You are one of the few riders I know that are focused on releasing a lot of videos. It looks like you always carry a camera with you, get your friends to film some clips and then edit and publish your videos all by yourself, am I correct?
A: That's true. I enjoy to ride my bike and messing around with my camera.. and when the weather is bad I like to do the editing work. Big shoutout to "Gunnlaugur Steinar Halldórsson" for helping me out with the camera work!!

Q:By watching the amount of stuff you release, you must be riding really often. How often do you ride every week?
A: It really depends on the weather, 3-4 times a week.. but less in the wintertime.

Q: You went to Canada and USA last year for a couple months, how was that expecience?
A: Awesome life experience! I met so many nice people there, Americans are awesome. The gas, clothes and food is also much cheaper there. It was great to ride all the big skateparks! Our biggest quarterpipe here in Iceland is like the smallest one in America.. haha!

Q: How is a typical day in the life of Anton?
A: I wake up.. eat oatmeal for a breakfast. I assemble bikes for my local bike shop and I work as a carpenter at my dad’s company. When I'm not working I like to ride my BMX. I also ride my motorcross bike as much as I can.

Q: How did you manage to pick up all your sponsors and are they helping you out financially or do you have a job beside BMX?
A: I'm really grateful for having these companies behind my back! They help me out with everything I need except money. But that's allright.. I have a job!?

Q: Let’s say one of our readers is going to Iceland and wants the best local food and beer, what would you recommend?
A:"Anton's kitchen".. cause I do the best 'ham n cheese' sandwiches and my dad always buys the best brand of beer!

Q: What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done or tried while riding?
A: I really don’t know! I get way more psyched when I land a good technical line than one big single trick. But I still remember how stoked I was when I landed my first backflip on a dirt jump back in 2010. Sometimes it's hard to break the ice and face the fear.

Q: It is a common thing to see riders trying to fit in a certain kind of category by the clothes they wear and the tricks they do. You seem to be the total opposite of that, kind of just doing your thing and not giving a fuck about the standards. How do you feel about that?
A: We're all just doing our own thing here in Iceland. We don't care which spot we're at or what tricks we're doing.. it's all about having fun.

Q: This might not be super relevant, but how did you hear about The Rise?
A: I think it was through PinkBike back in the days!

Q: If you could change something in BMX, what would it be and why?
A: I really like where the BMX is going... everyone’s progressing so fast and bangin out tricks! I think there's nothing to change.

Q: Do you have any other hobbies or activities aside from bmx?
A: I just graduated from collage the other day and now I'm officially a carpenter. I love travelling, camping, doing crazy things, meet new people, go snowboarding, MX, hang out with friends and girlfriend. Life's good!

Q: Who are your regular riding buddies and where do you ride the most?
A: I can always find something "juicy" to ride downtown and I don’t call it a day before I've bought my sausage wrapped with bacon after a good day of riding! The BMX scene here in Iceland is really small and I couldn’t make it out here without my buddies.. Gunnlaugur, Sindri, Róbert, Magnús, Arnór and Bjarki! Riding alone is NOT fun at all.

Q: If you look back at 2012, are you satisfied with everything you’ve accomplished?
A: Hell yeah! 2012 was RAD! I'm looking forward to see what 2013 has to offer.

Q: What are your plans for 2013? Any trips planned?
A: It's all in the making, I definitely wanna go somewhere new.. to ride and explore!

Q: Any Shoutouts, people to thank?
A: Shoutout to my sponsors, family, friends and everyone who's standing behind my back in this sport! Cheers to you guys and THE RISE for this interview.

Here's Anton's latest video, and make sure you subscribe to his Vimeo Page to keep up with all his stuff!