<<back

Flippin Champion
The Levi Story



Words: Mary Perkins

What do you call a boy from Palmerston North who takes up the opportunity to fly to Mexico for a round of the Red Bull X-Fighters – then spanks the competition in his first ever international event? Overseas they might call him a ‘Rubber Kid’ – we just call him Levi, the Kiwi lad from PNT (Parmy North Town)…

After his amazing feat in Mexico, it was on the top of our list to knuckle down with Levi and get him to spill the beans about his first major win and the long road that took him there. However, after numerous attempts to catch up, it took the abilities of the undisputed queen of Freestyle, Mary Perkins to tie him to the ground and get all the dirt – but is dirt even the right word? This is what went down…
How does it feel to win the
first major competition you
ever entered?
It feels great! When I went to Mexico I had no expectations for myself and just wanted to have fun and get a feel for things. So to walk away with a win was awesome! But now I have a lot to live up to for the next round.

Did you expect to get to where you are so quickly? I mean, to a lot of people you are just the nice kid from Palmy, but now you’re one of the best at your sport.
Nah, not at all. Everything moved so fast when I was in the US. At the beginning of the year I didn’t expect to even ride any major events like X-Fighters. But now I’m doing the whole series so it went from a cruisey year to competitions every month. I’m looking forward to getting amongst it all and really proving myself because I want to be there for the long term in the sport.

How do you learn all the difficult flip tricks without having your own foam pit?
I first learnt back flips into Nick Franklin’s foam pit in Tokoroa but that’s a few hours away from my house. So after I learnt normal flips I just started trying new flip tricks without the foam pit at my home. I think it’s a lot faster learning flip tricks without a foam pit.
 
Why do you think is faster?
Because you can’t afford to mess up so you put more effort into getting it right the first time!

Have you had any major sponsors chasing you now that you have proved yourself at a top level?
Well I have a few more sponsors now and my old ones are pretty stoked at the moment. But sponsors aren’t knocking on my door - it just makes things a lot easier for me when it comes to getting new sponsors. They also want you around for the long term not just to win one competition, so I need to go back and really prove what I’m about and that I’m not a one-off wonder. They want to see you are worthwhile and are making a mark on the scene before just handing it out. The way everything is at the moment too doesn’t help. You’ve really got to consistently standout for them to chase you.

Will you make any lifestyle changes because of this achievement, like buying yourself a flash new car or anything?
I think now I can just retire and start my own rock band on Playstation. But on a serious note I’m going to have to spend a lot of time in the US this year now so that will be a big cost and I will have to invest in a few things there.

Do you think you’ll still be able to ride local shows in New Zealand now that you are rated one of the world’s best?
Yeah of course I’ll ride shows in NZ when I’m around for Encounter FMX. I love riding good old Kiwi shows, they’re fun and aren’t stressful like competitions can be.

Have the American riders been accepting of you and helpful or do you think they feel threatened by you?
All the American riders are cool with me. I spent a lot of time with a few of them when I was there and they treated me just as well as they’d treat any other rider.

Are you going to try to qualify for X Games this year?
Well you can’t exactly just qualify for X Games. It’s more of an invite event. Hopefully if I can keep riding well leading up to X I’ll get an invite.
 
Do you like the name ‘Rubber Kid’ that people have labeled you with?
Nah not at all. I’m pretty sure that should be the name of some cartoon super hero and I don’t think a cartoon could rock as hard as me on my Playstation Rock Band.
 
What does your training
schedule involve?
Well I don’t really ‘train’ as such. I just go out and have fun riding with all the local boys in Palmy. I have tried making myself practice everyday but it just doesn’t work for me. I end up riding worse than when I started and getting burnt out too fast so I just try and have fun and just go with the flow.

So what you’re saying is you’re a natural talent then?
Well I would say on Playstation Rock Band I’m extremely talented yes.

What advice would you give any riders out there wishing to make a career out of freestyle motocross?
Just go out and have fun riding. New Zealand is too small to make a career in FMX so if you really want to make the big time you need to move to America or Europe. Life’s not all about being the best though, it’s about enjoying it, well that’s my motto. So I’d say just live it how you enjoy it best, and if that includes FMX then go for it.

So what’s next on the agenda for Levi ‘Rubber Kid’ Sherwood? He will be attending the remaining X-Fighters rounds coming up and then it’s into the Dew Tour in America, which is another three rounds of serious FMX competition against the best in the world. Otherwise you might see Levi carving some mad lines on his snowboard and checking out the local sites before his next big international event.

If you’re on Bebo go to www.bebo.com/levi_smells and check out all his antics – but for God’s sake just don’t ask him about Playstation Rock band…