TR exclusive: the Kent Woods interview
Ive known Kent for a couple years now and the way he rides has always impressed me. Was about time for an interview if you ask me. Hit the read more link for some interesting reading!
Name: Kent Bruce Alexander Woods
d.o.b: May 22nd 1989
Hometown: Kincardine Ontario
Current location: Same place.. for now
Years riding: pretty much forever
Sponsors: Dobermann / flow from Atomlab
Q:That is a typical question but the answers are always interesting. What is it that first got you into riding bikes? Have you ever been skateboarding or riding cross country or stuff like that before you switched to the big wheeled manoeuver bicycle?
A: Basically i always loved riding my bike since i was like 3 ft tall. I grew up living on a farm till i was 10 or so and i would always just jump off what ever i could find. Do wicked cat walks and the longest skids possible on the gravel, haha. Always had fun if i was on my bike.
when i was little my big cuz who was super cool to me at the time would always be skateboarding. So i went to Zellers or something and bought a real crappy one just to try and learn how the hell to do it but it never went anywhere haha.
before i got really into street and park like i am now, i was more into like big DH bikes and freeride stuff. That was the shit back then. "Hucking" was like the name of the game. The bigger the drop you did, the gnarlier you were haha. But, as you know, i kind of got out of that. Although there is nothing wrong with a good huck.. haha
Q:Tell us a little about the way you ride. You always look so relaxed and everything you do is usually super smooth and stylish, how would you describe your riding style?
A:Wow thanks! yeah i don't know really, i just really enjoy doing tricks and making them feel as good as they can to me. Usually if the trick feels good when you do it, it will likely look real good too. I find i'll have to keep trying the trick until it feels as smooth as possible. That way, i know i got it! It's simple, seee?!
Q:How is the riding scene in your area?
A: Man, the riding scene blows in my town. It just kept getting worse. Not to be a total debbie downer tho, cause there are a few lurkin' around that are killin' it, which is always awesome to see. But compared to a few years ago even, things have really flatlined. I live in a small town, generated by a nuclear plant and everyone seems to play hockey. Little do these kids know however biking is much cooler! haha
Q:Who do you ride with on a regular basis?
A:On the weekends i usually ride with my GTA homies like MATT MCDUFF! Ryan K, Brett Kilroy and that crew of friends. If i'm not down in the depths of toronto, i usually ride with my boy Tyler Dogan who kills it on a bike too!
Q:What kind of stuff do you enjoy riding the most these days?
A:Right now i've been finding myself riding a ton of park. I hardly rode much street this summer, which kinda sucked but a nice park is always fun. I think its just the fact that my town has no street at all but i got a nice cement park like 20 minutes away from me that i always go to after work.
Q:If there would be only 2 tricks you could do for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?
A: Not to sound trendy or cliche, but a dialed 360 and barspin's would fine by me! There is a ton of variations you can do with only tho's two tricks!
Q:What are your biggest influences when it comes to riding?
A:BMX. It has been for a while. But i'm influenced by a lot of other minor things to. The music i listen, art and life in general are all big factors in how i ride i think.
Q:Tell us a little about your bike setup. What part are you the most stoked on these days?
A:Other then my messed up death creek headset, my bike is feeling pretty dialed. Right now the frame is just raw with all black parts, simple and sexual my man. I love having a low fork, but i high front end at the same time to keep my back from not killing but to also keep the head angle tight and twitchy. So i rock high bars with a lowered argyle 409. Pretty solid setup!
as for the part i'm most stoked on, Gotta say the frame which feels super solid right now. Love the new dropouts they came out with, makes the frame looks sooo good! and i also got these random bontrager cruiser tires that i just slapped on, they are fat and roll so nice, so i'm pretty excited about that too!
Q:I heard you went on a nice trip out west this summer. Can you tell us a bit about this experience?
A:Man that trip was unreal! so much crazy stuff happened out there, you have no idea. To all the kids who are reading this, living out there right now.. i'm so jealous of you. But yeah, amazing time! Went with Matt McDuff and Ryan K, driving in Ryan's pimped out Tacoma 4 cyl!!! haha. Probably our first most amazing encounter was getting to winnipeg to ride 4 of the best parks i've likely ever ridden. That place is a Gem! sick scene, sick parks, great vibes, awesome place! So after that we basically drove 155km for like 10 hours going thru the prarries to make it to calgary in the morning. That was insane, but what was more insane were the cougars we met at this bar they dragged us into! These 2 chicks bought us 3 rounds of drinks, then later asked us to have a 4 sum with there boyfriend the one chick had.. haha. we had to book it out there, they were gunna attack fast! And to make this short, i'd say my biggest highlight was making it to Whistler to watch Crankworx, find that Matt's raceface sponsor rented us big bikes to ride down then mountain, then to realize we were being taken to the highest peek in whistler to ride 2 hours down these crazy death trails, hoping to live. It was such a blast.. i can't wait to go back!
Q:What would your life look like if you would not ride bikes at all?
A: Dirty. I'd likely be fat and wear a mullet driving a jacked up truck or something, drop out of high school and try and own my own porta-potty chain. Probably something around tho's lines.
Q:Do you work and/or go to school at the moment?
A:Yeah, right now i'm an apprentice for my Dad's construction company, and i'll be going to college in january. Should be rad.
Q:In a few words, what keeps you going in life?
A:Family. My Girl. Friends. Metal. ..and money helps too..
Q:I also know you drive a Smart car. Do you have any interesting or funny stories that might have happened with this kind of unusual car?
A:Yeah, i sure do. Man, smart car life can be hard. Living in a small redneck town, you get made fun of a lot.. but thats anywhere really.. haha. I have also been cought speeding multiple times which has actually lead to having my license suspended for 2 months! that shit is unreal! as i said, hard life with smart cars. Oh ya and 2 winters ago the ABS braking system totally died and if you don't have that shit on a smart car in the winter, you're asking to die. So anyways, drove to work in the morning, didn't have a choice, went around a parked car basically going like 40km and started spinning.. like a top. flew into the ditch and flipped it onto the driver side door. I crawled out and walked over the front wheel which is now in the air, i grab it and yank the car down, back onto all 4's. haha That night coming home from work, exact same thing happened! but i need a tow truck that time...
Q:What would be a perfect day for you?
A: Sleep in! till.. say 11. Cook some tender steaks on the BBQ, with my girl chillin' with me of course. Have riding plans made with my homies, meet them in my brand new sick suburu car or something equally as awesome. have a dope session one a great 23 C sunny day. Hit up some food, then grab some beers and get rowdy with the homies. Make it back home, have some one-on-one time with my Girl and have a great sleep. i think that'd be a damn good day for me!
Q:What are your plans for the future?
A: Well, i plan on passing college and hopefully move to the city for a bit to work and ride as much as possible. I'd love to take a few months off and do some trips, like to the west coast like cali/LA and places like that. That my goals for the next year or so i'd say
Q:What kind of music are you into these days? Any particular artists or bands you would recommend to check out?
A:Well i've always been a huge death metal guy. Bands like Black Dahlia Murder and stuff like that get me stoked. But i love the alternative rock scene too. whatever i feel sounds good to me, ill listen to. Right now i'm really into black mountain, BRMC, the black angels, wolf & cub, the reveonettes. stuff like that
Q:What is the best advice you ever got from someone?
A: don't eat the yellow snow
Q:Anything else you would like to add?
A: i don't think so! awesome interview, hope my answers are sort of entertaining. haha
-Kent
Heres a video of Kent with some new clips and some footage from The Rise movie:
