Flashback 1997: Hans Rey meets George Bush Senior

It was the year in which Lady Diana died, Jan Ulrich became the first German to win the Tour de France and the film "The English Patient" was released in German cinemas.

Hans Rey had long been an international star, and not just in the cycling scene. Hans lived in Laguna Beach and his appearance in the American TV series Pacific Blue made the Emmendingen native famous in high circles. He was given the opportunity to be photographed with former President George Bush Senior.

"I wasn't a big Bush fan back then," says Hans Rey today. However, Hans liked the idea of appearing next to the President in his trade mark Statue of Liberty. He also presented Bush with a prototype with an electric drive from a brand in which his sponsor GT had shares. One of the first e-MTBs ever. "Bush Senior did his e-lapses in the hotel conference room and wanted to order several for his wife, himself and the Secret Service so that they could follow him and his wife," recalls Hans. When the e-bike boom began in the early 2010s, Hans was still travelling without an e-MTB for a long time. The first GT model didn't arrive until 2016.

Hans Rey in an interview: "I was riding a wave of happiness."

BIKE: Hans, would you let yourself be photographed with a US president again today?

Hans Rey: It's not something that's on my bucket list, but I think it's definitely cool. If anything, it would be Barack Obama.

How did the meeting with George Bush Senior come about in 1997?

It was an investment conference. My sponsor GT was going public at the time and was therefore there. George Bush Senior was invited as a guest speaker.

You were the first superstar of mountain biking. Looking back, what do you see as the secret of your success?

John Tomac was the first superstar in mountain biking, I was perhaps the first who wasn't a racer. Back then, you could only make a living from the sport if you raced.

But then you did succeed. What was your recipe for success?

I brought the sport to the people, in TV shows, shopping centres and trade fairs. The racers travelled to remote races in the mountains and when they were invited to talk shows, they had nothing to show. I, on the other hand, hopped around on the back wheel in the TV studio. People liked that. And another thing: I was the first to release bike videos, back then still on VHS tapes.

You were known as a trialist, but it was on a mountain bike that you really came into your own.

It was only then that I got the attention. No wonder: trial bikes were seen as something special that hardly anyone could relate to. It was different with mountain bikes. People could identify with them and knew how awesome it was to ride them up onto a car.

When you look back on your career today, what highlights come to mind?

Phew, there were many. My video appearances in the Bogner films, being part of the Olympic closing ceremony. But also small, modest moments during expeditions. For example, on the way to the summit of Kilimanjaro with Danny MacAskill.

And low points.

Injuries were annoying, but nothing more. I was riding a wave of happiness.

Have you made any bad decisions?

No, at most I missed out on opportunities. I already had concepts for TV shows in the mid-90s, but they were ten years too early. Later, there were formats like that that were very successful. Or video game concepts, but I wasn't persistent enough.

Tell us about the TV concept.

I was travelling a lot at the time. It was supposed to be a kind of reality show for children, with an educational mission. You have to imagine it like this: At trial shows in Japan, in addition to the action on the bike, I would also have got to the bottom of the question of why people eat with chopsticks in Japan.

Why didn't you ever become a Red Bull athlete, as that would have been a good idea in the early 2000s?

That's right. Red Bull approached me at the time and offered me 5000 US dollars. At the time, however, I already had the watch manufacturer Swatch as a helmet sponsor. I then drew their attention to the freeriding category, which was brand new at the time. So I suggested two names that were available for a small budget. The boys both became superstars in freeriding.

You were one of the first to believe in e-mountain bikes. How difficult was this pioneering work?

Difficult, because the bikes were ugly, heavy and had hardly any power. In 2009, I rode a BionX hub motor on my GT for the first time. The thing was loud, had hardly any power but I liked the idea. At Eurobike, I had to listen to stupid comments, even from well-known riders. Along the lines of: "Hans, you're getting old now, no wonder you're riding an e-bike". One of these guys was a well-known German pro and signed with an e-MTB manufacturer shortly afterwards.

In your opinion, which development has gone in the wrong direction?

I think freeriding took a wrong turn at a certain point. The assessment of freeriding contradicts the basic idea. Slopestyle is a good example. In the days of Adidas slopestyle in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, people could still identify with it, and also with the bikes. Today, slopestyle is like gymnastics. You can no longer keep up with the rotations, and they ride bikes that nobody knows, let alone buys. In my eyes, it's too far removed from mountain biking.

You've ridden all categories of mountain biking, if you do a fun ride now, what do you ride?

I still ride without a motor, but my first choice is an e-MTB. I use it to ride uphill on technical trails and let off steam. I did that long enough with the biobike, but now I have the most fun with a motor.

Final question: Which move should every biker be able to do?

Trail label. How to behave on the trail. Simple things like being considerate of hikers, not driving blindly round bends, no shortcuts, no skid marks, no engine tuning. Things like that. For die-hard bikers it's clear anyway, but many don't know that, they're new to the sport.

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