Steve McCann might have grown up in Australia, but these days he calls Pennsylvania home.
In fact, the 30-year-old BMX star lives just on the outskirts of one of the nation’s biggest skateparks, which could give him a slight edge this week when he participates in the second annual Mongoose Jam.
The event will feature Mongoose riders Greg Illingworth, Paul Ryan, Ben Wallace, Cam White and the bike brand’s newest addition, Kevin Peraza – along with many more – competing for $50,000 in front of fans of all sizes on August 14-16 at Camp Woodward.
We recently spoke to last year’s X Games BMX Freestyle Big Air gold medalist to find out a little bit more about Mongoose Jam 2013, how he’s feeling after a tough outing at X Games Los Angeles and what kind of tricks he has in store for his adopted hometown crowd later this week.
CraveOnline: First off, got to ask, how are you feeling after X Games LA and that fall?
Steve McCann: Yeah, [laughs] X Games LA was definitely a rough one, it’s just the nature of the game. I’m feeling pretty good and I’m looking forward to this week at Woodward for the Mongoose Jam. It’s going to pretty rad and it’s going to be a pretty cool week for the guys involved.
Crave: Can you explain the Mongoose Jam for those who might not be familiar with the event?
McCann: So basically, I get to pick four pros and there’s one amateur that’s involved. The day before the pro contest there’s an amateur contest and basically the top five guys from the amateur contest go into a hat and each pro captain, there’s five, gets to pull a name out and that’s the guy they get. There’s no advantage to it, it’s just the top five guys and we get to choose someone. From there, that guy actually becomes a part of our team and his score goes towards ours at the end of the week – if he’s good enough or better than anyone on the team his score will calculate towards our overall score.
Crave: Is it fun to pick who you ride with, because it’s a little different than what you’re used to?
McCann: Yeah, it’s definitely a rad concept. I love this idea of just having a whole bunch of guys and you’re not really just relying on yourself, you kind of get to ride with a bunch of guys you respect and guys you really want to ride with for the week, you don’t really know what’s going to happen, I guess. If one guy messes up, then the whole team kind of suffers a little bit, but that’s part of the concept and I think a lot of the guys really enjoy it. If you get behind in a round, it gives you that extra reason to get behind your other teammates, you know.
Crave: This is the second annual event, did you participate in Mongoose Jam last year?
McCann: Yeah, we definitely did it last year. Our team took second and it was a very cool event and I think a lot of guys had fun and they’re all looking forward to it this year. Definitely pumped to be here.
Crave: What’s it like to ride at Woodward, do you enjoy it?
McCann: Woodward is, I mean it’s the largest action sports camp in the world and there’s really no better place. It has something for everyone, all levels, and for the big guys at the top it’s a ball – there’s endless amounts of fun there for sure.
Crave: You’ve been with Mongoose for a while now, what’s that experience been like?
McCann: You know, the great thing about getting sponsored is they kind of get behind whatever you want to do and they are there just to support you and for you to kind of represent them. I guess like with any sponsorship, they kind of buy-in to what you’re doing and that’s pretty rad because they’ve always supported everything I’ve wanted to do and I definitely can’t thank them enough. It’s been a great relationship, and friendship as well, and I look forward to many years to come.
Crave: Are there any tricks you’ve been working on that you have planned, or any planned runs?
McCann: This is my local park, so I definitely have more stuff that I can do here. I just have to see how the weekend plays out and the idea is to keep it on two wheels [laughs] and just try to push myself as much as I can.
Crave: What’s your favorite trick to do now?
McCann: At the moment, I love 720s – that stuff. A lot of tailwhips and 360 whips, stuff like that you know.
Crave: Do you remember what the first trick you landed was?
McCann: The first trick I ever landed on a BMX bike? That’s a hard one. I’d say a no-footer or a one-footer, or something, like when I was a little kid. Or it was like kicking the back wheel out or something.
Crave: The X Games “season” is wrapped up, so what’s next? What do you have coming up?
McCann: Well, from here on Friday night I go off to a demo in the San Juan Islands and then back to Virginia Beach for another contest. It keeps on rolling along, you know. My year will probably finish up in October for the Dew Tour, which is in San Francisco.
Ed is an MMA/Extreme Sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller, and subscribe at Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Pavia
