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Mast focused for BMX Open
By John Bassetti
CHAMPION
Some 19-year-olds need an attitude adjustment.
Craig Mast is 19, but he needs altitude adjustment.
With the Dew Tour’s Nike 6.0 BMX Open starting Friday in Chicago, the action sports athlete from Champion has taken steps to improve performances in his specialty: park competition.
One way to achieve that is to acclimate himself to slightly greater heights.
“I’ve been riding vert to get myself used to bigger ramps,” said Mast. “That’s something different.”
The biggest quarter-pipes in park are about 10 feet. The vert ramps are 14 feet,
“If I can get used to riding a 13- or 14-foot quarter-pipe, a 10-footer will be nothing for me.”
If going above and beyond in practice isn’t enough, Mast has also worked on controlling his intensity.
“Normally, I’ll wear a full-faced helmet and I get pretty gnarly in a lot of tricks,” he said. “Now I’m trying to take a more dialed approach, instead of being so reckless.
“Hopefully, I’ll get myself dialed and make sure everything works perfectly. I’m not worrying about it as much. In years past, I used to stress so hard that I’d make myself sick. Now I just do my thing. I feel like I’m more focused in right now.”
One aspect Mast won’t have to fret over is qualifying.
Based on his 10th-place finish in the 2009 Dew Tour standings, Mast is among the 20 pre-qualified riders this season.
He’ll jump straight to the prelims, which are Friday at the Soldier Field south festival lot.
“OQ [open qualifying] is one of the most stressful things of the year,” said Mast, who has been residing in Greenville, N.C. “If you don’t make it, you’ll miss out on all the Dew stops for the year. I’m pretty happy I’m already in.”
In the Dew series, riders must qualify at the first stop, in this case, Chicago. In addition to the 20 already in, 12 more gain entry.
“Whoever makes it at the first stop stays in for the whole tour,” Mast explained.
Riders, however, can’t be complacent.
“If I’m really low in points [after Chicago], I’ll probably want to just get something down [tricks mastered] to get some points at the next stop,” he said. “If I’m doing great, I’ll probably just go for broke and try to win it all, even though that’s my goal anyway.”
Chicago is Dew’s first and only BMX-specific event of the season for competitions in dirt, park and vert. Finals are on Saturday.
Mast was in training when his own high school graduation took place in June 2009, but he returned to Champion last month for his sister’s ceremonies.
Mast, who is starting his fourth year as a pro, has been living the BMX lifestyle since he was 15.
He was sixth in the Dew Tour standings in 2008.
In March, Mast placed third at the Animal House Jam at Dave Mirra’s warehouse in Greenville.
In the meantime, he’s put out DVDs.
“We’re entertainers, so it’s part of our career when there aren’t a lot of contests,” he said. “The big way to get exposure is through filming.”
His current sponsors are DC shoes, Fender guitars and KHE bikes.
With a new mental approach, Mast will strive to relax, yet make his jumps exact.
“I’ve gone to contests feeling great before, but stressed so hard and got last place,” he said. “And I’ve gone to contests not worried about a thing and just hung out and won.”