Eric Porter, freeride and adventure mountain biker

Freeride pioneer and adventure mountain biker Eric Porter joins Payson from his home in Park City, Utah to talk about his adventures on the bike. As one of the first professional freeriders, Eric’s cycling career dates back to the early 2000s when he starred in some of the most iconic mountain biking film series of the era, such as Kranked and Chain Reaction, and competed in some of the first slopestyle competitions. Since then, he’s transitioned into adventure mountain biking, documenting his experiences around the world.

In this conversation, Eric talks about losing all his teeth to BMX, trying to get into downhill mountain biking in the late 90s, and eventually pivoting to freeriding. He also talks about the challenges of shooting action sports on 16mm film before the days of digital cameras and lightweight equipment, and why he eventually decided to switch from competitive cycling to adventure riding and content creation. He shares some of his most epic stories from the past few years, including riding through minefields in Iraq and burning his eyes in a freak snowstorm in the Indian Himalayas, and about how he incorporates his kids into his trail building work at home.

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