Matt Jones Q&A - Field of Dreams

Since Red Bull athlete Matt Jones used lockdown to action his childhood dream of having his own home bike park, he has built lines that allow him to develop new tricks, showcase his creativity, and most importantly have fun. Here he talks us through his new and improved facilities, and life as a father, on his farm.

What does a day in the life of Matt Jones look like on the farm?

This time of year, I wake up to see what damage the wind has done and to see if the water level in the fields has dropped below knee height. But in spring it'll be unreal, I've got a supercross pit bike track ready to go, perfect trails that'll need watering and the skatepark is the ultimate on wetter days. There are also three horses, four peacocks, five chickens and a dog to look after.

Your farm has become a playground for creativity, was this always the goal, or is this just following your progression as a rider and YouTube creator?

Definitely. I would have never bought a farm without a plan to build everything I have so far. Having the barns for the skatepark and a workshop space is unreal, but really, it's the land and space that is a dream come true. I never thought I'd have jumps in my garden, let alone two pit bike tracks!

Anyone who knows of you likely follows your exploits on your YouTube channel; how do you keep the content fresh and exciting for both yourself and your viewers?

This is a challenge, especially when it comes to managing time, because some videos take six to seven days to film, if we build stuff, and I'm only really happy if I've got at least two videos going live each week. But, if I'm honest, I love my videos to revolve around building jumps and riding them. It's the perfect formula for videos and moreover it's what I love to do.

Mad jump lines, a pit bike track and an indoor skate park, is an Ariel Nomad course next?

Can you imagine a car track? I've thought about it loads and have the perfect car for it – maybe some things are best left in the imagination.

How do you prepare yourself for the next big trick?

Visualisation sounds like a really cliche concept, but it's been so valuable for me when trying to understand the mechanics of tricks and new combos. You can figure so much out in your head, even to the point of crashing when you get it wrong. Airbags and foam pits help, of course.

Is there a secret stable where you keep Ben and Jamie when they aren’t out on the farm or trail. filming?

They quite like scurrying home to escape the mud right now, but I think in the year ahead they'll pitch a tent somewhere near the jumps and claim squatters’ rights.

There are loads of siblings in cycling – the Athertons, the Hannahs, the Yateses – but what pressure did having an identical twin brother put on your development as a rider?

It's probably been the most influential factor in us becoming pro riders. Having someone to battle against on your own level is really cool and impactful but it came with huge rivalry and challenges when we physically raced head-to-head at four-cross. Now we do different disciplines, so the only challenge is being asked for the other twin's signature.

And speaking on sibling rivalries, what difference, if any, makes Jono mad fast on the downhill bike but your bike control and freeride skills epic?

Jono has always loved the precision of racing and going fast. Even on foldable scooters as kids, he wanted to find the biggest hill to ride down or weave through posts, I always just wanted to jump off kerbs, so nothing has changed.

Do you have to pace yourself with how often you ride on the farm, as it's right there and probably too easy to just get out and ride all the time?

Sometimes it's the opposite, because there are so many jobs and things to do to keep the whole farm running that detract from the addiction of riding. But honestly, now everything is built, I just can't wait for summer to enjoy it all and not sleep!

How do you juggle the duties of being a new father and maintaining progression in your cycling?

I've never been good at sleeping so the tiredness element hasn't been too bad. But it’s added a whole new category to life, and although it can alter the routine and rhythm of riding, it's been the best thing ever.