Left: Recognize the stoke? Photo courtesy Brett Tippie
Brett Tippie is a living legend in mountain biking. He pioneered freeriding along with Wade Simmons and Richie Schley and has stayed in the spotlight by highlighting his on-dirt skills with a natural charisma and humour that’s perfect for webisodes and event hosting.
Tippie is also an easily recognizable regular at Crankworx Whistler. We caught up with the hardest working legend in mountain biking to ask about his favourite Crankworx memories.
There’s plenty to love about Crankworx Whistler.
“Every Crankworx is a highlight of that year,” Tippie tells The Insider, “but for sure my favourite was 2007 when I met my wife. I was up in Kamloops going a bit stir-crazy and I knew I had to come down to Whistler. It was a party, I was high-fiving old buds everywhere and I went to the Longhorn and saw this absolute babe that knocked my toque right off.”
(Editor’s note: “knocked my toque off” is a Canadian expression to convey surprise and awe. The girl didn’t actually touch Tippie’s toque. It also remains unclear why he was wearing a toque in July.)
“I wanted to go say hi,” Tippie continues, “and she was talking to Wade Simmons so I introduced myself and next thing I know I have met Sarah, this absolutely gorgeous woman who mountain bikes, and we are set to go on a biking date. I fell in love. ”
Left: Photo courtesy Brett Tippie. Right: ALE DI LULLO PHOTO courtesy Brett Tippie.
CRANKWORK TIPS & TRICKS
By Sarah Fenton Tippie
Who better to go to for Crankworx survival tips than the true star of this love story, Mrs. Tippie herself. Sarah has this advice to impart:
1. Drink lots of water.
Before you arrive, the whole time you are there, and for weeks afterwards.
2. Come ready to ride.
Bike Park line ups aren’t as busy as you’d expect, especially early in the morning before the hard partiers wake up.
3. Make sure you talk to your heroes.
Crankworx attracts the best of the best doing what they do best but those riders are almost all super approachable and just as excited to be there as you are. Go say hi. You can even sign up for races and compete against them. Everyone is just there having a good time.
4. The Dream is Real.
You can fall in love with a fellow bike nerd, they are out there waiting. Look, it happened to me.
The following year, Tippie and that mountain biking woman were engaged, at Crankworx. “I asked her to marry me in front of 20,000 people at the slopestyle finals,” Tippie recalls with his signature giggle. “I took the mic and went down on one knee and she didn’t answer right away. She was almost crying and I said, into the mic, ‘you gotta say something’… So she said ‘yes’.”
To keep the streak alive Tippie and Sarah opted to tie the knot at Crankworx three years later. “We did it at the Roundhouse on top of Whistler and then we had a train of 75 people riding down. It had rained for three days and then the sun cracked so we had tacky soil and shredded top to bottom on perfect dirt in white and black outfits. Rode right into the GLC…and now our kids are riding at Crankworx.”, Tippie says. “How can I not love it?”
Photo courtesy Brett Tippie
The moral of the story is if you love bikes or are looking for love, Crankworx Whistler is where the magic happens. Keep up to date with Tippie’s adventures on Instagram, and give the Tippie crew a high five if you see them round Whistler this week.
