Interview: Alex Schöll/Bodie Terrill
The East Tyrolean Fabio Wibmer has long been one of the most colourful figures in the bike industry. He mesmerises his fans with action-packed stunts. His unmistakable style and a mixture of precision, creativity and a willingness to take risks are what make him stand out. Fabio now lives in Monaco. He travels around the world for videos and shows. Almost 8 million fans have subscribed to his YouTube channel.
1 Fabio, congratulations on your latest video. You travelled to Chile, why did you choose Valparaiso?
Thank you. In fact, the people on Instagram decided to do it. We went to the airport, looked at the options and Chile was one of them. People seemed to like it, so we boarded a plane from Nice via Paris to Santiago de Chile - and then Valparaiso was the obvious choice as the venue for the Urban DH race.
2. it is the fourth video of your Urban Freeride Lives series. How many people were involved in this specific project?
My team consisted of four people: Olek (filmer), Max (drone and BTS filmer), Hannes (photographer) and Alex (management). On location, we were also supported by guides and security. In total, we were always just under ten people on set - more than usual on my shoots, but we had to increase the number of security staff in the meantime as we were getting a lot of attention in the local media.
Fabio Wibmer: short but intensive preparation for the new YouTube video
3. your video is full of superstunts. Which one was the most nerve-wracking for you?
Phew, difficult question - in terms of my riding, the drop onto the skinny landing, i.e. into the narrow chute. In general, however, the biggest challenge was the short preparation time. We didn't even know where we were going at the airport.
4. for us, the drop onto the skinny landing was also the coolest stunt in the video. Tell us about it?
The drop into the slide was definitely really scary. But I didn't just jump down there at random, I jumped it several times beforehand onto a wider landing. So I was perfectly prepared.
5. how high was the drop?
We measured the distance from take-off to landing at 12 metres.
6. in some passages you ride at the limit. Were there any crashes and if so, what was the worst?
Knock on Wood - I actually only had a minor crash when I flew over a barrier out of the bend. But that wasn't tragic. The fakie manual down the stairs took a few attempts, but there wasn't a real crash.
7. your film material for Urban Freeride Lives Chile was stolen from the car. Did you get it back?
Our guides said that our car was parked in a good place, so Max left his rucksack in the car while we quickly checked out the dunes. Unfortunately, when we got back, the rucksack was no longer in the car. You can see the whole story in the behind-the-scenes edit.
8. you drive along house walls, drop over cars and that in the middle of the city. Did you have a licence for that?
With the help of the locals, we managed to get a few licences. But we didn't need that at all the spots, the people and the police were super relaxed and seemed happy that we were there and filming.
Laurin Lehner
Editor
