Samantha Soriano in an interview: "I fell into a hole"

The US American was long regarded as the number one up-and-coming DH talent, but suddenly the successes failed to materialise. From then on, Sam tried her hand at freeriding. She lives in Utah, near the venue of the Red Bull Rampage. Sam quickly learnt complex tricks and was discovered by major companies such as Canyon and Adidas. She was the face of the EOFT 2024/2025 and had her own film feature. Her film is available here: outdoor-cinema.net

BIKE: Sam, this winter you were part of the EOFT (European Outdoor Film Festival) in many European cinemas. The film documents your search for your roots. How did you come up with the idea?

SAMANTHA SORIANO: I was born in the USA, but my father emigrated from the Philippines. The idea flashed up in my inbox at some point. Bikers from the Philippines had come across my Insta account. They had learnt about my Filipino roots and invited me to explore their trails. Of course, I thought that would be a good idea for a video. Someone at EOFT got wind of it.

Your story in the film is very personal. Was there a moment when you thought: stop, this is too intimate to show on the big screen?

No, it's a vulnerable story and a very personal one at that, but I think it's a beautiful story. And I'm happy to share it.

The video is about the people. In the action scenes, you don't even begin to show what you can do. Does that annoy you afterwards?

You may be right. But no, it doesn't annoy me. I can be seen on enough videos in Utah where I'm pushing my limit. It was time for a different approach. Besides, many people can identify more with trail riding than with stunts somewhere in the Utah desert.

Speaking of Utah: women took part in the most important freeride event, the Red Bull Rampage, for the first time. You were there, but didn't take part. Do you regret not being there?

No, I applied and was shortlisted, but in the end it didn't work out. I'm not sad about that because now I know what to expect. You have to know that the atmosphere among the women before the Rampage premiere was tense. Nobody knew what to expect. In the end, everything went really well and it wasn't as scary and impossible as we all thought.

Fancy more strong women in sport? We have an interview with them:

• Patricia Druwen
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• Kathi Kuypers

I thought you had made a conscious decision not to take part.

Yes, at the beginning. I was nervous and wanted to have a look at it first, but then changed my mind at the last minute and applied.

You're under contract with Canyon and Adidas. Do you feel the pressure because everyone thinks: "Sam, why aren't you there?"

I'm often asked about it, but I can deal with it. I have my reasons, I'm still young and I still have plenty of time. Why rush into something if I'm not feeling it at the moment?

Do you function under pressure?

Phew, that's a topic in its own right that has kept me busy for many years. In one sentence: I think I can get even better. I like film projects more than competitions. And not without reason: there is pressure in film projects, but it's not broken down to the moment. Do you understand? I'm young, I'll still gain experience and get stronger.

You sound very mature, but also a bit as if you've already worked out the sentence.

Prepared? You have to know that I've been racing since I was a little girl. I've experienced many highs and lows. It's not as if I haven't thought about the subject.

Tell.

At 17, I was the youngest US downhill champion. That brought me a lot of attention. After that I lost my speed, no matter what I did, I was too slow for the podium. Racing took the joy out of biking and even life. Switching to the freeride track was a blessing.

There was no longer any competitive pressure here.

Well, you have pressure in all situations in life. Especially at work. And biking is my job. The Red Bull Formation 2022 was a kind of test for the Red Bull Rampage. Here, too, I had the feeling that I couldn't improve. So I fell into a hole again. And it felt like I only crawled out of it two years later. You can imagine what that does to you. I had flashbacks to my racing career. I was treading water.

How did you get out of the hole?

My team-mate Braydon Bringhurst heard about my doubts and recommended the book "The Fearless Mind".

"That sounds trite, but it's the truth: What you tell yourself will happen."

Let us be part of it.

It sounds trite, but it's the truth: what you tell yourself will happen. Success comes from confidence. If you think you have no style, then you'll look like shit on the bike. You also learn to celebrate the way to the finish. Enjoy learning a trick, whether you can do it in the end or not is another matter. I can only recommend this book. It was an eye-opener.

After reading the book, you came up with the idea of making stickers with the slogan: "You can do this!"

Exactly. It's crazy how much feedback I've had. So many messages that I didn't even get round to answering them all. So I came up with the idea of selling the stickers. The demand was beyond my imagination. I can hardly keep up because I make the stickers myself.

The Red Bull Rampage is considered a lion's den by the men. Have the women got their elbows out too?

(laughs) We women are pioneers and fight for the same cause. But when it comes down to it, everyone fights for themselves. And I think that's also necessary to push the level. You need that push to overcome yourself to make big leaps.

You spend a lot of time travelling with boys and know both paddocks. How would you describe the difference?

(laughs) The women are more elbow-deep than the men. The men also often seem more relaxed to me.

Really? Yes, but perhaps that's also because there was very little room for women in freeriding in the industry for a long time. Women were therefore more afraid of falling behind. That's changed now, which is why the atmosphere is also more relaxed among us women.

You were there at the Rampage, you saw the lines. Would you have had what it takes to stand on the podium?

It's hard to say because they weren't my lines. But I've got what it takes for the Rampage.

Some say that freeriding and competition don't go together, what do you think?

I think anything is possible with freeriding. As the name suggests. Whether it's a competition, video contest, jam session. No matter what.