Airtime Trickery with Scott Billett

There is no doubt that Freestyle Motocross rider Scott Billett has skills on a Dirt Bike, from throwing down a variation of whips, to wheelies and stoppies, to a handful of big and dialed tricks.
One thing that’s for sure, Scott has age on his side and is determined to make it in the world of FMX.
We caught up with the young talent to talk about his world…

Full Name: Scott Graham Billett

Nickname: Scotty, Scooty, BeatMasta or Bulletty

Age: 20

Hometown: Johannesburg , South Africa.

Years riding FMX: 6 years

Machine of Choice: I must say I love my Kawasaki but I’ll be moving onto Yamaha soon and I’m stoked with that!

Sponsors: BookBoundcc, Jungle Rush FMX, AR Developments, DC Shoes, Bounce South Africa, TRP Distributors, Thor, Ride100Percent, AMP, Shoei, Motul, LuksBrands, Skullcandy, Ogio, Dirt Nurse and Nithrone.

Tell us about your journey into becoming a freestyle motocross rider?
I grew up racing Motocross with my dad as most other riders do. Unfortunately, due to my dads passing in 2007, racing just wasn’t the same anymore. In 2009 I met up with Dallan Goldman and started playing on ramps at the Jungle Rush FMX park on my RM 85!

What attracted you to the sport?
I really enjoy the “laid back” feeling from the sport and the fact that I could just ride and have fun expressing myself rather than putting my head down and pushing it in racing. I also like the fact that your bike takes less of a beating. I find FMX to be quite a bit safer too, as crazy as that sounds to most.

What was the first trick you ever did , and how long did it take to nail it?
The first trick I ever did was a double can and I nailed it within one day of trying it out at the Jungle Rush FMX park in 2011.

Growing up, which riders did you look up to?
I looked up to Travis Pastrana the most. His diversity in the sport is what really attracted me to his riding and I always dreamt of riding at his house. Other than him I looked up to Tyla Rattray and Grant Langston!

In your opinion, which Freestyle Motocross riders have the best style?
Jarryd McNeil for his insane whip style, Jimmy Hill because of his rad mini flips, Josh Sheehan because he stuck that triple flip, Axell Hodges because of his mad bike skills and Travis Pastrana for everything he does.

What have been some of the highlights in your career?
Some of the highlights would be riding UltimateX in 2013 and 2014, Ramfest 2013 and the King of the Whip comp this year was awesome too. I also really enjoyed my trip up to Rwanda with Nick De Wit last year. Other than that a big highlight would be being able to ride with Jimmy Hill when he came out here.

What has been your biggest crash / injury?
My biggest crash was on a motocross track. I went out to ERORA to ride the supercross track with Dallan Goldman in 2009 and ended up casing a triple and landed head first, which caused me to fracture a vertebrae in my neck, break my collar bone and suffer a severe concussion.

How often are you on the bike riding and practicing?
I usually ride about 2/3 times a week depending on how busy I am with other things. Definitely always ride on a Saturday because that’s when all the boys come through to ride.

How much does putting time in at Bounce South Africa help with your riding and air awareness?
Bounce South Africa really helps me a lot with air awareness and also with my flexibility. It is a great work out and it’s super fun, so I’d rather be there than in a gym for sure. We play on a plastic bike at Bounce which also helps with getting your head around new tricks that we want to try.

You have some big and dialed tricks , what new tricks are you working on?
At the moment I’m working on perfecting the Bar Solid. From there I will work on Rock Solids and a Kiss of Death is definitely a trick I need to get dialed in soon.

When will we see you going upside down?
The backflip has been a trick I’ve been wanting to do for years. It’s hard to say exactly when I’ll do it but it needs to be done ASAP to take my FMX career to the next level! We (Jungle Rush FMX Team) have a couple ideas that we’re busy putting together to help us get there and achieve our goals.

What one International competition would you like to see yourself competing in?
I have a few international competitions in mind that I’d like to ride, but the dream would be to compete in Red Bull X-Fighters because it’s based on judges, not fans. So if you ride well, do bigger tricks and execute them better than the other guys you’ll most likely win.

What are your short and long term FMX goals?
Short term – to just get more tricks in the bag and to ride as many shows as possible.
Long term – to head over to the USA and Australia to ride with the big names of FMX, and hopefully nail a show deal in China!

How would you best explain the feeling of hitting a 20+ meter gap?
The feeling of hitting a big gap is unreal, let alone letting go of the bike. The feeling of flying through the air and that point where you hit almost zero gravity is really awesome. Definitely a feeling I’ll miss when I’m old and can’t do this sport anymore.

Whips , wheelies and stoppies, you have them all on point. How would you best explain how to master each of them?
Whips are hard but once you get them dialed I believe it’s one of the coolest tricks you can do on a Dirt Bike. I’d say you should just practice hitting big jumps before trying to throw the bike out. You don’t want to throw a big whip on a little gap and not be able to bring it back!
Wheelies and stoppies are always fun. I’d recommend learning how to wheelie in an open space so you can’t crash into things like we often see on fail videos. Another thing would be to practice them on grass if you can so if you go down it’s not too bad. Stoppies are all about committing and knowing how much pressure you need to put on the front break and where to keep your centre of mass to keep you from going over the bars. Again, I’d recommend practicing these on a soft surface such as grass.

What’s next for Scotty Billett?
I have a couple shows lined up for the rest of the year. I’m heading to Swaziland for a demo and I’ll be riding at Wet & Wild at the end of September. Other than that I’m just looking forward to my future in the sport and to nail the Backflip!

Any Shout-outs?
I’d like to give a huge shout out to my mom (Sue Billett), she’s always been so supportive of my riding and has been the best Mom and Dad in one. She gets a bit nervous when I ride at the house and at shows, especially when they’re out of the country, but she is always there to watch and support me no matter what. My dad for always keeping me safe from above. Dallan Goldman for always giving me advice on new tricks, helping out with ramps, etc for the park and for being my riding manager and good friend. And then thanks to all my sponsors for all the support they have given me over the years.