Nina Buitrago Interview
July 26, 2008 @ 8:08 AM - Features: Interviews
etnies queen of BMX, Nina Buitrago, chats about getting dirty, dislocating shoulders and taking on the boys…
Age: 26
From: Long Island, NY
How did you get into biking?
I was pretty bad at skateboarding and after seeing some friends ride at their dirt jumps, it looked so fun. I knew I couldn’t watch any more and I had to try it!
When did everything turn serious and you decided to commit yourself to the sport full time?
When I finished college and moved to Ohio to be closer to my favorite ramp park ever, Chenga World (R.I.P). The progression for everyone in the scene was so awesome. It was around that time that I knew I wanted to keep learning and pushing it. I never realised how far it could take me; I just followed my heart and kept doing what I love and trying to get better at it.
Did you find it pretty hard to break into a male-dominated sport?
Whether it was at the dirt jumps, a ramp park or cruising the street, I realized that everyone had to start somewhere; everyone has been a beginner at some point! Realizing that helped me get over the fear of going for it, and to really just enjoy learning how to ride BMX. It wasn’t until a girl friend of mine came with me to the ramp park to watch and pointed out that we were the only girls in the building, that I thought wow, I’d never even noticed that! However, the hardest part now with so many girls riding BMX is trying to get the bigger TV contests to give us our own class to compete!
Can you give us a run down of your average day?
Wake up, check the weather: if it’s nice out I’ll ride downtown and if the weather’s not nice I’ll go to one of the local indoor parks and ride with friends. Cleveland is pretty central so a lot of people pass through to ride some of our amazing indoor parks. It’s great because it means I always have people to ride with!
And if you could have the perfect day, what would it include?
The perfect day would be an all girl BMX jam, next to a beach in Australia at a park setup with the original Chenga World ramps.
What are your plans for this summer?
I’m looking forward to trying to enter some of the Dew Tour contests (they haven’t let girls ride the open qualifiers yet, but I’m trying again now!); going to Woodward camp for a few weeks; entering some contests, and quite a few team trips with DK Bicycles : )
What’s your favourite place to ride?
Chenga World Skatepark (R.I.P.), or the T1 ramp in Austin, Texas.
