With his viral videos, crazy stunts and successful contests, he has made a name for himself in the bike scene. Now he has gone one better: He recently started riding with a Red Bull helmet and has entered into a partnership with Saalbach Hinterglemm.
If you had to summarise your career in one sentence - what would it be?
Fabio: The best time of my life!
Let's talk about Saalbach Hinterglemm. What does this region mean to you?
Fabio: The landscape there is simply fabulous and the offer for skiers and mountain bikers is outstanding! Biking there is like heaven. Whether you want to ride fast downhill tracks or chilled flow trails - there is simply everything. I'm incredibly proud and excited to be a testimonial for such a committed and enthusiastic region.
You've shot a few projects there recently. Can you tell us a bit more about them?
Fabio: My first project in Saalbach was "Out of Mind" last year, for which I shredded the PRO Line, Z-Line and X-Line on an old granny bike. I recently filmed a new episode for my Sick Series with my friend Elias Schwärzler - the best one we've produced so far. The result is "Game of BIKE" (Downhill Edition) on the PRO Line. I was also part of a photo story with Tibor Simai and photographer Nathan Hughes. This resulted in some great photos of us riding various trails in the Saalbach sunrise, doing a flip on the PRO Line and pulling off some well-groomed trial action in the heart of Saalbach Hinterglemm.
You have no problem switching between trials and downhill. Which discipline is closer to your heart? You also have some experience in motocross. Can we also expect something in the future with regard to moto trials?
Fabio: I love downhill and also my mountain bike, but my biggest passion is definitely trials. It doesn't matter where you are, you can always find something to do with your trials bike. I raced motocross for 12 years when I was younger. I still like motocross, but I just don't have enough time to get back on a motocross bike. I don't have any plans for motocross trials at the moment. Maybe when I'm older and run out of breath (laughs)
You recently started driving for Red Bull. Does anything feel different now?
Fabio: It's definitely an honour to wear the Red Bull helmet. When I was little, I dreamed of being a Red Bull athlete. It's a great opportunity to develop myself and realise some of my crazy ideas. But I'm not going to change anything big just because I'm riding for Red Bull now.
What's next? Do you have any big dreams that you haven't yet fulfilled?
Fabio: New and crazy ideas are always floating around in my head. If you want to keep up to date with my projects, check out my Instagram or Facebook account.
You turned Sick Series into a brand. How did the idea come about and are you expanding the SICK empire even further?
Fabio: I've always wanted to show more "behind the scenes" content about biking and my life. I thought about how I could produce more personal content that would still interest viewers and not bore them. So I had the idea for a video series with my friend Elias Schwärzler, who is not only totally cool but also very talented. We worked out some ideas and tried to make the project work. Fortunately, people loved it right from the start and the feedback was overwhelming. It's great to see that the fanbase is continuously growing and more and more people are watching the episodes. We're not actually planning to expand our "empire" at the moment. But we do have our own online shop and are currently looking for cool brand ambassadors.
If you were a journalist, what question would you ask yourself?
Fabio: How much work is it to produce videos every week?
What else can we expect from you this year? Are there any big surprises in store?
Fabio: I have some really cool plans for the rest of the year. I'll just say: it's going to be awesome! (laughs)
Find out more about Fabio's activities and his latest videos here:
facebook.com/wibmerfabio
youtube.com/fabwibmer
instagram.com/wibmerfabio
