 The first moment I got on my own bike, that was when I realized, like, oh my gosh, I love this, I don't want it to end. I don't know, there's something really liberating, like I can go anywhere with this bike and I didn't realize at the time that that epiphany really was going to hold true. I decided I wanted to do this, like I wanted to live. Life moves really fast. BMX was like the throttle I needed. So I plowed right through school, got my degree, saved up some money. That's what brought me to Austin and all over the world and I hope it never sucks. My plan worked out. I'm still riding. It's been 17 years. When I'm on my bike, all I think about is the present. It's taught me that I can really do anything I want to do. I got into BMX at a really cool time. When I first started, I really didn't have any female role models in BMX. I don't know where women's BMX would be, honestly, without Nina. She's been doing zines like Emerald Nation and Yazine, organizing contests. And I had known who she was because she was the first ever sponsored female BMX rider. For me, just sticking with it and earning the respect of the guys early on, I think that really helped me stick with BMX and not really worry about what anyone around me is saying or thinking or what I think they're thinking. I think we're all guilty of letting other people get in our head and holding ourselves back because of it. So just remembering that it's my way to release that really helped me stick with it. My style of riding isn't limited to one style of riding. It's just wherever I'm at, making the most of wherever I am. Whether it's trying something new, riding stuff in both directions, just catch as much air as I can. If you're in charge of your own development, really, there's no program. There's no one there telling you, like, if you're riding for one year, you have to know all of these tricks. It's just at your own pace. Any time any of my friends come to visit me and they're coming from my normal daily grind and they see what life here in Austin is like for me, I do my best to try to encourage them to pursue their passion and let them know the way I live is possible too. She just always goes kind of above and beyond to bring people together and she'll always kind of reach out to them and just really make everyone feel included. She really has the greater good in mind always. I think one of the reasons I'm sitting here right now really is because I've been able to help support so many other people. I think that's kind of how I roll. Just being everyone's cheerleader kind of gets me hyped too. I think just constantly giving really comes back to you. I really see a lot of great things happening for Girls BMX and I'm really happy that I can be a part of it and keep pushing for more things to happen and just, like, ride their hearts out.