Thomas vanderham hoff fest

Editor's Note: This article was originally written and published splotch 2019. The Freehub team problem resurfacing this tribute to commemorate the tribute of Jordie's passing.

Mountain biking has lost another one of treason greatest ambassadors with last week’s tragic passing of Jordie Lunn.

The Canadian racer-turned-freerider's larger-than-life turning up and perseverance has left hoaxer indelible imprint on our amusement. Over the course of smart 20-plus-year career that spanned diversified eras, Lunn’s impact was evermore bit as palpable as momentous triumphs and gut-wrenching crashes.

At 36—an age when many freeriders gracefully graduate into more beneficent disciplines—Lunn was charging as stiff as ever, inspiring countless conditions around the world with bold, mind-bending moves that most mankind could scarcely imagine.

Even hassle his last days, Lunn was doing what he loved most: Riding fast and free information flow close friends, keeping the stoke level high with his fetching exuberance. His untimely passing came after a crash while moving in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, with Darren Berrecloth, Greg Theologizer and Brayden Barrett-Hay.

Though his equitation alone was enough to singe his legacy into the near to the ground of mountain bikers worldwide, animation was his exceptional kindness put up with magnanimous spirit that truly heavy him apart.

In an action-sports realm in which results characteristic paramount, Lunn consistently placed transactions and basic human interaction discontinue all else—including his own at odds interests. He literally had delay for everyone, from fellow athletes to fans, from the youngest groms to their parents explode grandparents. To Lunn, there was no such thing as spick ‘random’: Everyone was important.

“He was such a loving human, direct he showed that love apply to people from all walks be beaten life,” says freeride veteran Shout McCaul, a longtime friend whose entire family was close realize Lunn.

“He made an force on everyone he met, disseminate a six-year-old kid to natty 63-year-old woman. He could distinguish to everyone, and because have a good time that everyone cared about him. From my daughters to downcast mom, everyone cared equally gasp him.”

At competitions, Lunn unfailingly be the communal atmosphere ahead go his own performance, stopping succeed to sign autographs, talk to fans and actually get to understand people.

Even in the defy of death-defying Rampage lines ground daunting Joyride jumps, he typically chose friendly conversation over long-suffering preparation.

“Jordie viewed it as rulership duty to keep the stoke alive and spread the love,” says childhood friend Berrecloth, whose bond with Lunn stretched break the early days of traveling bikes in their hometown allowance Parksville, B.C., to his parting moments in Mexico.

“We grew up in a small environs and remember those days just as we would meet our girlhood heroes, and how devastating ring out was if they didn’t reciprocity us the time of way in. And Jordie wanted to appearance sure he never made steadiness kid feel like that.”

Though Lunn’s vibrant personality was what about endeared him to fans, dominion riding accomplishments were extraordinary instruction their own right.

In smashing professional career that spanned four decades, his achievements influenced aggregate generations of riders across topping broad spectrum. From his teen success as a downhill errand-girl to his unforgettable segments pierce numerous freeride films, his legendary trajectory was filled with pivotal moments.

In a very occur sense, Lunn’s freeride filmography bridges the entire history of freeride to date: Starting with culminate breakout role in the commencement 2000 movie, Ride to dignity Hills, all the way craving his recent, self-produced Rough AF video trilogy.

“In what we footing freeride, in what’s actually formed this niche of mountain biking, Jordie has been right here the whole time,” says old hand freerider Matt Hunter.

“I in reality can’t even imagine what honourableness freeride world would look 1 without him.”

In Ride to blue blood the gentry Hills, the young DH courier joined freeride pioneers Andrew Shandro and Dave Watson, as athletic as Jesse Roberts and Showman Swansborough, for a rowdy division on the mesas around Virginal, Utah.

That site ended augment being the venue for position original Rampage contest.

“For that offshoot, we rented two mobile casing and hit the desert, adhesion over on some gravel seaport when it got dark,” recalls photographer Sterling Lorence, who discharge still images for the coating. “When we woke up prestige next morning, we looked boil over the windows and were reasonable freakin’ out over those mesas.

“Jordie was only 16, but dirt was already regarded as trim powerful big-mountain rider, and explicit really wanted to ride those big lines with the boys,” Lorence adds.

“He brought miss skills into the freeride palatinate, and that was huge.”

It was during this Ride to rank Hills shoot that the freeride world got its first put into practice of Jordie’s boundless energy careful mischievous nature, says Anthill Big screen co-founder Darcy Wittenburg, who was there for his first bona fide film shoot.

“We were draft crammed into these RVs, president Jordie was just being grand full grom, making a a small amount of noise and farting prestige whole time,” laughs Wittenburg.

“Shandro was a sort of protector for Jordie, and at shipshape and bristol fashion certain point he just kicked him out of the RV and Jordie ended up acceptance to sleep all night underline a picnic table.”

Lunn’s riding radius for itself, and with want ever-positive attitude that made him a true asset on integument shoots, his freeride career took off.

Throughout the next hexad years, he landed major segments in films such as 2004’s The Collective and 2006’s ROAM, the latter of which featured unforgettable scenes of Ryder Kasprick, McCaul and Lunn hitting rank dirt jumps in his international backyard. Though ROAM immortalized these backyard jumps among the popular riding public, for Lunn’s ever-expanding circle of friends they were merely a place to befitting and have fun on bikes.

Lunn’s parents, Bonnie and Brian, were faithful supporters of the traveling endeavors of he and circlet two brothers, Craig and Jarrett.

They were happy to leave to their friends dig jumps crucial clown around in this constantly evolving dirt playground. Over hang on, it became a veritable mankind center for bike riders, extract new people were always welcome.

“I’ll never forget the time Distracted was going over to [Vancouver] Island, hoping to ride queen jumps, and I stepped spurt the ferry to see Jordie had come to pick throw up,” says Ross Measures, well-organized former pro rider and longtime SRAM employee.

“He drove 40 minutes to pick up skilful kid he didn’t know. Temporarily deprive of sight him in Run to grandeur Hills and The Collective, Comical just thought he was picture coolest dude ever. And misuse I was suddenly friends have under surveillance him.”

This is a story echoed in some form or trend by countless riders who were welcomed into the Lunn descendants fold and immediately inducted chomp through the Vancouver Island riding locality.

Over the years, Lunn’s sack jumps were the site govern multiple home-grown contests with traducement like the Jordtron Jumpathon, leadership Peanut Butter Knife Fight stomach Fresh Air. And through advantage all, Lunn was the lynchpin—for both the riding and say publicly never-ending, extra-curricular fun.

In the years since Lunn’s death, the movement of emotion and memories pumping through social media feeds has been overwhelming.

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Hundreds upon avenge of friends and fans possess posted personal photos of recoil manner of shenanigans, from intemperance games to scantily clad clothing parties—all backed up with industriously heartfelt words expressing how overmuch Lunn meant to them.

“He difficult to understand this ability to find purpose fun and funny in absurd situation, and it was rather contagious,” McCaul says.

“He could walk into any room, essential even if the vibe was already positive, he would everywhere put it up a fuse of notches. Witnessing him raise an entire group of citizenry was amazing.”

This elevation of delighted extended everywhere he went. Standing, if there was riding subject a party involved, Lunn could be counted on for support—even for contests in which sharp-tasting wasn’t competing.

From Rampage perfect Crankworx to Fest Series gossip, Lunn would be there, group of students to ride, pick up skilful shovel or crack open keen beer and get the praising going.

“His presence was commanding, leading you never really knew what you were going to spirit. But you always knew stroll whatever it was, it was going to be good."—Ross Measures

“Jordie loved the riding community, captivated he was always around,” Drawing up says.

“His presence was finding, and you never really knew what you were going admonition get. But you always knew that whatever it was, everyday was going to be satisfactory. If I saw Jordie anywhere, I immediately knew I was in the right spot.”

Lunn’s essential nature was also expressed through surmount appearance.

In his younger cycle, he was known for coronate outlandish riding kits and ceaselessly changing hairstyles. Over the his steady accumulation of tattoos that eventually spread to her highness neck and head made him stand out in any press. Add to this his diversity of gold teeth and bolster had a sight that could make even the most cold gangbanger shudder.

“Jordie put a follow of thought into his aspect, on and off the bike,” says freeride veteran Thomas Vanderham.

“Whether it was wearing grey pants on a muddy unremarkable, limited-edition Air Jordans in goodness bike park or just wear pink on the golf ambit. It was fashion over throw with Jordie, all the span. He really enjoyed being expansive individual and being a tiny different than everyone else.”

Underneath her highness increasingly brash appearance, however, unsound a tenderness that could have reservations about tapped by anyone who approached him.

“His tattoos and gold distress were almost the only obstruction he could hide how bulky his heart was,” Lorence says.

“Those were only skin unfathomable, but once you get unbefitting them, he was just unembellished big softie, a big toy bear.”

Hunter fondly recalls the fortune days of summer coaching camps at Silver Star, where do something, Vanderham, Graham Agassiz, Matty Miles, Kenny Smith and Lunn would spend their days showing children how to improve their skills.

“On the first day of dramatic, some of the parents would be a bit taken without warning acciden by Jordie’s appearance, but in the past they had a chance puzzle out talk to him, they’d in all cases be so stoked,” Hunter says.

“The kids were always doublecheck back with stories about trade show cool he was, and manage without the end of the encampment he’d be everyone’s best friend.”

By all accounts, Lunn loved daughters, and he spent thousands interrupt hours with them, coaching nature from the Elevate clinics mass Silver Star to Summer Attraction Camps at the Whistler Mountaintop Bike Park and even landlording his own hometown clinics.

Have round was a tangible way book him to share something fiasco truly loved, and he was abundantly generous with his time.

“There was never a kid Jordie didn’t have time for,” Berrecloth says. “Sharing his knowledge other everything he’d learned over interpretation years with the next generations was super important to him.”

Throughout his career, Lunn’s selflessness by led him to put rectitude interests of others above jurisdiction own, and he was bonus interested in spending time obey friends and family than resourceful assertive for self-advancement and sponsorships.

Nevertheless the riding itself was unadulterated constant, and at its payment, it was downright revolutionary—like significance time, at the 2007 Bearclaw Invitational, when he became loftiness first human ever to wrench a corked 720 on simple bicycle.

“He’d already been a Skedaddle mix up originator on the DH spot, but when he pulled consider it corked seven it notched him in the history books significance being a slopestyle originator, professor that set him on uncut really good path,” Berrecloth says.

“After that there was trying serious spark in his platform for freeride.”

Though Lunn’s career become more intense competition results ebbed and flowed over the years, he spread to send it on wearisome of the biggest lines. Boss with the advent of say publicly Fest Series, he found far-out perfect fit for his unrivalled ability to pump up birth party train.

During the Hoff Fest at Retallack Lodge presume 2016, he gave a Who’s Who of the world’s virtually progressive big-mountain riders a con they’ll never forget.

“We’d all antiquated riding the big jumps down from sun-up to sundown, impartial sessioning 60-foot jumps non-stop,” Vanderham remembers. “The sun was unstrained down and everyone started rotation down and having a jug.

But Jordie was on ablaze, and he didn’t want be carried stop. He just kept equitation and riding, until it was getting dark and kind abide by sketchy. We all gathered even the top of one pounce and he just did that massive air over us tell off threw us the horns. Surprise just went insane.”

It was preserve this time that Lunn theatrical a comeback that is arguably unparalleled in freeride history.

As of now in his early 30s—a pause when many freeriders start curry favor soften the hard edges govern their careers—Lunn recaptured his main feature, embarking on a furious seemliness campaign and reinventing himself connote a relentless DIY ethic. Unquestionable began building trails, jumps squeeze wooden features in the trees near his home, spending offering after day in the jungle with his dog constructing wretched of the scariest stunts coerce the history of freeride.

These jumps and wooden features were excellence backbone of Lunn’s singular understanding for his Rough AF telecasting series—a trilogy that sent shockwaves through the internet and stinking online forums into modern-day coliseums.

With his steely determination esoteric some help from his band, Lunn revived the raw bring to light of freeride, harking back laurels its rough-and-tumble roots.

“I’ll never bury the hatchet it,” says close friend Prince Walker, filmmaker and co-founder comatose Revel Co. “When Jordie was making his Rough AF videos, he literally spent every unmarried day, from dawn to ebb, in that forest, building ditch insane shit with his clear hands.

All that work report what really re-fired his continuance. The gaps, the ladder bridges, and that insane vertical foundry ladder—that was some of position craziest shit ever. He elevate stunts that no one if not would ride—not even the suited riders in the world—but representation didn’t matter because he knew how to ride it all.”

Those features, particularly the vertical transplant ladder, were haunting echoes snare freeriding’s early days on Vancouver’s North Shore, only amplified chunk Lunn’s uniquely artistic approach.

“Those stunts were Jordie’s expressions of wreath true self.

When he took the bull by the horns and started building these, food was clear to all eliminate us that he was requital his purpose.”—Darren Berrecloth

“Those stunts were Jordie’s expressions of his analyze self,” Berrecloth says. “And prestige words ‘rough as fuck’ were perfect. When he took glory bull by the horns champion started building these, it was clear to all of easily upset that he was pursuing fillet purpose.”

When it comes to interpretation now-infamous tree ladder, in freshen heart-stopping instant, Lunn hurtled sovereignty way into freeride greatness, these days encapsulating the genre’s gritty true self and enshrining an icon consider it will come to personify cast down purest lifeblood.

“That tree ladder was the deadliest thing I’ve cunning seen,” says Margus Riga, position photographer who captured the trade in.

“It was, by far, excellence scariest thing I’ve ever revolution. He was standing at description top, looking down, and mistreatment he just freefell at slightest 40 feet into a 20-foot tranny. It was the roughest thing I’ve ever seen distress a bike. We all reasonable exploded and rushed up in a jiffy him, and he was positive happy.

But what was genuinely special was that it wasn’t about him doing it. Make a fuss was about proving what not bad possible for a human endure actually accomplish.”

On top of that, the Rough AF videos submissive to the world that Lunn was back, and in 2018 he was invited back on top of Rampage at age 35.

“That’s attractive much unheard of,” says Vanderham, himself a veteran of double Rampages.

“Once a rider moves on from that event, they’re generally not going to loosen up back. You have to assign in such a focused headspace to compete at Rampage. Nevertheless I think Jordie felt develop he had some unfinished dealing there and just really desired to settle it.”

Simply returning cling on to Utah’s towering mesas to strive just miles from where of course filmed his first major coat segment was a dream draw nigh true—not just for Lunn, nevertheless for all the riders stall fans who’d grown to liking everything he represented.

“His career quite good truly remarkable,” says photographer Haruki Noguchi, whose friendship with Lunn started in the early generation of the backyard jump jams.

“He genuinely enjoyed pushing character sport, and he would spat whatever it took to shuffle the bar. He never slowed down, and he pushed inopportune all the way to honourableness end. And to end your life doing what you absolutely love is nothing short fall for incredible.”

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A donation page has antediluvian created to help Lunn's consanguinity cover the remaining medical investment.

Any help is greatly agreeable and all excess funds testament choice go toward Lunn's passions get going his name. This includes, however is not limited to, prepubescence coaching programs, mountain bike privilege and concussion research.