010 – Glyn O’Brien – Racing, Rampage And First Tracks

by Gareth Beckett April 25, 2023

Todays Guest

Glyn O’Brien

Its episode ten and its the man himself, Glyn O’Brien.

Glyn’s mountain bike career has spanned from the 90’s to the present. Glyn raced the UCI Downhill World Cup circuit from 1997 – 2006. In 2009 Glyn came 2nd in the World Masters Downhill Championships. He also had an awesome 3rd place finish at the 2003 Redbull Rampage and a Gold at the World Police and Fire Games in Canada in 2011 and the same in 2013 at home in Northern Ireland. We chat about all of the above including his MTB coaching business, First Tracks MTB, plus much more.

I was super stoked to get Glyn on the show and I have to say a huge thank you to Ethan from Mountain Bike NI for sowing the seeds and helping make this happen (See episode #4 link at bottom of page for more on Mountain Bike NI).

You’ll Learn

How Glyn’s season has went
What he thinks about injuries
Why Glyn thinks there is some great talent at the present from Northern Ireland and why
How Glyn got into mountain biking almost by mistake
What support Glyn had from sponsors when he was racing
How Glyn never spent any time in jail when his mates did (joking?)
A ‘Day in the life’ of Glyn O’Brien
How Glyn came to be competing in the Redbull Rampage
Why Glyn started First Tracks MTB Coaching
What First Tracks can do for you
Why Glyn also started the First Tracks Enduro World Cup Series
How Glyn worked for Disney
Future plans for Glyn

I really enjoyed chatting with Glyn. He is super positive and always up for a challenge and he would need to be as he has so much going on. He still races at a very high level, has his own coaching business, organises a Enduro World Cup Series and is a fire man. Glyn is still super stoked to get out on his bike and still makes this one of his top priorities.

Glyn has a lot of responsibility and is a super busy man, but he still comes across as one of the lads. Glyn has seen a lot happen over this racing career throughout the 90’s and has some great stories to tell (you would need a day to crack the surface). I really enjoyed Glyn’s description of the Redbull Rampage, how it came about and how he felt when he first saw the size of the play area!

We chat about all of the above including how Glyn and his team came to be working with the Disney Channel (subscriber question from – Gareth McClean) and how he keeps his energy levels so high.

Enjoy the show, its a good one!

To Connect with Glyn

Web: firsttracksmtb.com

Email: ride@firsttracksmtb.com

Facebook: FirstTracksMTB

Facebook: VitusFirstTracksEnduroCup

Facebook: VitusFirstTracksRaceDivision

Twitter: FirstTracksMTB

Instagram: glynobrien

YouTube: FirstTracksMTB

Glyn’s Current Sponsorships

deniswilsonofglenavy.co.uk

niallclarkeoils.com

hillsmixtape.co.uk

erdinger.de

FairAndSquareInsurance

rapidracerproducts.com

conservation-solutions

wtb.com

Glyn would like to thank

Chain Reaction Cycles club

Mum & Dad

Cato

Friends

Riders

To Share Your Thoughts:

Share this show on, Instagram or Facebook
Leave a note in the ‘Contact Us’ section on the website

To Help Out The Show:

Rate and leave an honest review on iTunes or Stitcher. Your ratings and reviews really help and I read each one.
Subscribe and listen to on iTunes
Subscribe and listen to on Stitcher

Special thanks to Glyn for being a guest on the podcast and for taking the time to get involved and for Gareth McClean’s questions for Glyn.

Thanks for Listening!

Join me next week for another MTB TRIBE Podcast show!