Chris Grenier is nothing if not a man of passion. Whether he is snowboarding, recording podcasts, making people laugh, watching sports, or building something, he always puts 100 percent of his energy behind it. This is probably why he generally has success with most things he does. It comes naturally to him, because he doesn’t contain his passion, he simply lets it fly. So when it comes to motocross specifically, you’ll notice that Chris is reminiscent to that of a little boy. Unconfined joy, fearlessly excited. Unselfconscious. It would be nice if the world had more people like that.
What’s up Chris? What have you been up to this summer?
I've been renovating the garage for the podcast studio. We moved The Bomb Hole studio back to the garage where it all started, but this time with big improvements. So we just finished that. Then otherwise just home improvement, skateboarding, riding moto.
Sounds productive. I want to know more about moto, because I have seen how excited you get about it.
Yeah, I think since I haven’t been doing it as long as some of the other things in my life like snowboarding and skateboarding, I notice my improvements much more. Which is really fun for me, and so feeling myself getting better is addicting.
How often do you moto in the summer?
I try to ride two days a week. Sometimes three. Fridays are 'Members-Only' days at my local motocross track, so I try to ride every Friday for sure.
Would you say that it is your favorite summer activity?
Yes.
Why?
Well, lots of reasons. It’s a good workout. You feel strong and fit afterwards. You catch air, you go fast, and you get in this crazy flow where you lose track of time.
And you do like races too, right? Like you travel places and do races?
Yes. My favorite is probably this one we race called Washougal in Washington. There is this race called Old Timers that is really good. I go and ride with Scott Blum and a bunch of our homies, and we camp and stuff, it's just really fun.
How does riding moto supplement the feeling of snowboarding? Or, does it?
I think they are totally different.
Can you elaborate?
With moto, there is no break. You are usually going for 15-50 minutes. Well, it depends. What I mean is, with moto, you are in flow continuously for much longer. You’re not thinking about anything else. You never stop to get on a chairlift or you never stop to talk to your friend. You are just in this deep focus and kind of just letting muscle memory take over for long periods of time, and that is kind of the drug of it.
I see how that could feel addicting. There aren't many moments in our busy, distracted lives that are built to facilitate that deep focus.
Yeah, that's why I like to do things outside like snowboarding and skating and getting in my garage to build things. But with motocross, it's even more of that intensely focused feeling, and you're just so in the moment.
Do you have any major accomplishments that you are proud of from your moto career so far?
Yeah, I got a bunch of Top 5’s in C class races, haha, but I am proud of them.
How long have you been riding?
I’ve always had a dirtbike. But I just started racing motocross like five years ago or something.
Is it something you think you’ll be able to do forever or will your body stop?
Yeah, there are guys that are in their 80s that are still racing.
That seems gnarly.
Yeah.
Do you hope to be able to both snowboard and moto for the rest of your life?
As long as my body lets me.
Listen to Chris explain this more in-depth on the Gypsy Tales podcast here.