Martti Kuoppa says farewell to BMX flatland
Finnish flatland BMX living legend and brand owner of Jungle Rider Martti Kuoppa announced his retirement from BMX flatland on Tuesday, December 20, stating that he can no longer get his level higher than he has been at since the last two years.
The 33-year-old rider had been obsessed with pushing the boundaries of the sport through the innovation of new and original tricks. It had been this quest for invention and innovation that had kept him going for all these years. However, he recently began
to feel that he had reached the limit of his capacity to progress and therefore decided to throw in the towel.
"Progression kept me going all these years and now I feel inside of me that I am not able to get my level higher than I got during these last two years,” the Finnish rider stated on the website of Jungle Rider. “Trust me, I tried my best with tears, sweat
and blood.”
Kuoppa also admitted that the obsession with flatland BMX had began to tear his heart apart and it was best for him to part ways with the sport before getting consumed by it completely.
Hailing from Helsinki, the Flatland BMX maestro started riding in 1991 and turned pro in 1996. Kuoppa made a solid impact in American contests, which included a podium finish in 1998 X Games. Three years later in 2001, the Finnish rider took home the most
prestigious award for an action sports athlete, an X Games Gold Medal.
Despite being on the top of his game, Kuoppa began to move away from the competition scene to embark on the quest for progression of the sport by dedicating his time to the invention of new tricks, while showing off his progression to the world through his
YouTube channel.
The flatland BMX phenom revolutionized the sport through development of not only new manoeuvres, but also contributed to the progression of flatland BMX by designing frames for the bikes that allowed more room for the riders to pull off their tricks. This
in turn opened up the gates for innovation and originality even further.
Even though Kuoppa has said his final goodbye to the sport, many fans will be keeping their fingers crossed, hoping to see the legend return to flatland once more. Knowing the Finnish rider and his deep-rooted love for the sport, one cannot help but feel
that the last of Kuoppa has not been seen yet.
Tags: