Her brother Tarek was the first German freeride star. In the mid-nineties, he rose from BMX racer to become a member of the legendary Frorider, who caused a sensation with their breathtaking stunts. It was a time when the sport of mountain biking was reinventing itself. Elaborately filmed action videos such as "New World Disorder" or "Kranked" brought the lifestyle into living rooms. The riders who jumped off cliffs and raced through scree fields seemed to rule the laws of physics. Tarek's accident was a shock. For the scene. But even more so for his personal environment. Nathalie Tanos, Tarek's sister, experienced all of this at first hand. Although she has always stood a little in the shadow of her famous brother in terms of public perception, she is, alongside Tarek, the go-to person at Rasoulution. The marketing agency, which organises events such as the slopestyle spectacle District Ride organised and scene stars like Danny MacAskill and Fabio Wibmer is located in a high-rise office block in the north of Munich. Rasoulution is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. However, due to the coronavirus crisis and many cancelled events, the party mood is somewhat subdued. It's unusually quiet in the office. Nathalie invites us into her office, which is next to Tarek's, and lounges in her orange leather swivel chair. The phone rings. But Nathalie doesn't answer it. She is fully focussed on the conversation. You can tell that it's not easy for her to tell her story. She has never really spoken freely to a media representative before. The story is too emotional. But today, during the BIKE reporter's visit, she wants to do it. Which probably has something to do with the special connection between Tarek and BIKE. In the mid-nineties, he was a photo rider for our magazine. The jobs and the resulting scene contacts finally persuaded him to end his BMX career and switch to mountain biking. The start of a unique career. With that terrible accident on 23 July 2002 in Canada as the turning point - which had such drastic consequences, but also marked the beginning of Tarek's second career.
Tarek and you used to race BMX together, now you're also a team at Rasoulution. Is the passion for biking in your family genetic?
Well, not quite. But almost. Tarek started BMX early on and then also raced. At some point he said to me: 'Why don't you come and watch a race, Nathi? I thought to myself: OK, why not? I immediately liked the atmosphere at the races. The people were all super nice. From that day on, I was at pretty much every race. Together with my mum, we raced all over Europe for years.
And then you wanted to try it too?
At some point, I started to wonder whether I should give it a go. I was fifteen at the time and bought my first BMX bike with my savings. I think I was the first girl to have a Redline 800P. It was an absolute blast. Nobody could believe it. Of course, I rode the same brand as my brother. That was great fun for me. But I was never a great technician and I also went to work after school, which is why I was never at the same level as Tarek. But I rode in the German Championships and was on the podium. That was our BMX time. At some point I started working and couldn't manage the BMX riding any more. Tarek switched to mountain biking. Until the accident happened in 2002.
What was your relationship like back then?
That was quite tight. But Tarek was travelling a lot back then. He didn't have as much time as he used to. I had to work and then I got married. Everyone had their own life, to put it that way. But we spoke on the phone a lot.
Have you followed Tarek's career in the family?
Of course. That was also clear to a certain extent. The bike was always really important to him. He also dropped out of school because of sport. To our mum's complete misunderstanding, by the way. I don't know if Tarek has ever told her that. I thought it was cool that he then switched to mountain biking. But back then, mountain biking wasn't really a hot topic in public. You couldn't really imagine what it meant at first. We only really realised it when the photos started appearing in the magazines.
Tarek was a successful athlete in BMX. When it came to biking, he was suddenly a kind of rock star. How did you feel about that?
That was crazy. We were happy for him, of course. Tarek then told us one day that he was going to be in a film. The film was to be shot in Canada. And.... (pauses) ....er called us from the airport in Frankfurt. My husband answered the phone. He said, Tarek, please be careful. It was like a feeling. And I had, it may sound crazy, a dream that very night. I don't normally have dreams. But that night I dreamt that my brother jumped down somewhere. And then I was awake! I sat up in bed and cried. My husband asked what was wrong. I said I had no idea, I was dreaming about Tarek and hoped everything was OK. Well, and the next day he called from the hospital. It was an emotional earthquake. I'd never experienced anything like it before. It's bad when parents separate. But that was a completely different story.
How did you deal with it?
That changes you in different ways. As a person, you always try to suppress or block out topics like death or paraplegia. Because it's too blatant. You don't want to dwell too much on negative things. But in this case, it was someone from the family. I couldn't take my husband to the hospital with me. He just cried and that wouldn't have helped Tarek. After I organised the transport back to Germany, I was at the clinic in Murnau almost every day. And it's not as if you just pay a quick visit to a sick person. There were two other patients in the room who were paralysed from the neck down. From that point of view, Tarek was actually the best off. He had visitors all the time, it was madness. But the doctor told us very quickly what the situation was. In other words, that he probably wouldn't be able to walk again. That's something you have to come to terms with first. I realised that I had to function now. But I realised, for example, that I couldn't ride my bike anymore. The moment I got on my bike, my eyes went black and I felt really dizzy. It was like a panic attack every time. That lasted about seven years for me. I was done with bicycles. There were two words that nobody was allowed to say to me. And that was bike and Canada. That was a red rag for me, that was over.
Freeriding remained the central theme in Tarek's life. You almost got the impression that he threw himself even more into the subject after the accident. He founded Rasoulution, co-created the District Ride and has had a huge influence on the sport of mountain biking over the years. Where does he get his energy from? He always seems so positive.
Tarek is also a really positive person. Always focussed on the positive things. It's probably a type thing. But of course we realise in the family that there are also bad moments for Tarek. Founding Rasoulution was certainly an important step for him after the accident. He asked himself: What should I do now? What he had was his network. I don't understand people who complain about what they don't have. I think that's the wrong approach. We should take what we have and make the best of it. And Tarek took this network, started writing for BIKE and then founded the agency. The commercial part is not his thing. I, on the other hand, can do that and that's why we complement each other quite well.
How did you join the agency?
That was in 2012, when Tarek's business partner left the agency for personal reasons. That's when I stepped in. I got in touch with the athletes pretty quickly and was also at the Eurobike trade fair, where I did the acquisition with Tarek. We were totally on the same wavelength. I felt that straight away. When it comes to the athletes, we both become lions (laughs). That was good for me. The topic of events came up in passing. I wasn't actively involved in the event team. But around 2014, I started going to more events. Tarek was on holiday once. I was in charge of an event and the event was not only a complete success, but the athletes also accepted it straight away. It was simply great fun. It was clear to me that that was exactly where I belonged (laughs). Not everyone can cope with the stress before and during the event. It either suits you or it doesn't.
Is there one that you find particularly nice?
There are many. (laughs) Of course Danny (MacAskill / editor's note), he's totally down to earth. But Fabio (Wibmer / editor's note) is also super nice. We don't sign anyone just because they're on the podium anyway. The collaboration has to be right. But I don't have a favourite athlete.
Is there also friction when you work so closely together as brother and sister?
The challenge is to sometimes block out the brother-sister thing - to do the job soberly and maintain the necessary mutual respect. At Rasoulution, we do it according to the apples and pears principle anyway. One person has apples, pears and grapes. That's three things, that's really a lot. The other only has cherries. But the cherries he has, no one else has. And so everyone has their own fruit that they bring with them. At Rasoulution, we have a basket full of all kinds of fruit, so to speak. Everyone has their strengths and we bundle them together. I also have to say that Rasoulution was beneficial for me. I don't know where I would be today with cycling if I hadn't started working here.
In what way?
It brought me closer to the topic again. But the blockade was still there for a long time. We had a Canadian athlete who asked me if I would finally come to Whistler. I said I didn't know if I ever wanted to come to Whistler. He asked why not? I told him about Tarek's accident and he didn't say anything more. Sometime later that year, I said to my husband that I had an inner feeling; that maybe I should go to Whistler after all. And that's exactly what we did. I flew to Canada with Tarek. We had previously agreed within the family that I would definitely not go biking. And then we were talking to an athlete and suddenly he got up and said: 'Come on Nathalie, we're going to the bike park. I was totally shocked. I was in tears and went outside. When I came back, Tarek said: OK, everything's easy, why don't you do it? I was then given a rental bike and all the equipment. A guide was already there. I was in the country where my brother had the serious accident. I didn't even know what was happening to me. But I also thought: Could it be that I can now get rid of this whole story?
And did you drive?
Yes, and I cried while riding. I'm a self-confessed Christian and I realised on the bike how God was taking the whole thing away from me. It was like a spiritual burden, like a shadow that had robbed me of the joy of biking for all those years. I then spent three days just sitting on the bike.
Read the interview with Tarek Rasouli, Germany's first freeride star, in BIKE 10/20 - in stores from 1 September.
