Things or people that inspired you in your youth?

Weathers crap, loads of work to do, started reflecting about this.

John Gill, took a real gymnast attitude to bouldering and climbing. Way ahead of his time and contempories in terms of the standard he climbed at.

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Antoine LeMenestral, I saw him do the first ascent of this route (one of the first 8b+s) It made a big impression at the time and made me get serious about climbing.

Made a big impression as a young lad.

Who or what inspired you back in the day?

(although i cannot fight for **** 😳 in self defense you understand

i cannot fly a helicopter/play the cello 😳

no more needs to be said 🙂

up the irons 😀

have always had a big crush on her (and still do truth be told 😳

Shaun Baker (The kayaker)

Id1 and 2.

For the kayakers amongst you I have never paddled in Iceland but did cross out the word allegedly in Sladden’s welsh guide book.

Still in me yoof

Ivar loovas & Stephen Morris (drummer for joy division/new order)

Syd Scroggie blind, one legged hill walker, poet and Man o’ The Hills. The very definition of the word “inspirational”

Public Enemy. They reached out across nations, colour and background. Gotta lot of respect for chuck.

Elmer trett … he was one of the first people to really see how much you could push a ‘fuel’ motor in a bike.

Paul Gast … could pretty much get the best from any engine. As a kid he was just a picture in magazines and books. I never thought that 15 years or so later I’d be stood talking engines with him in the pits at the world championships in the US – happy days 😀

Mr Tim ford my science and climbing teacher in school. Thanks to him I now teach outdoor pursuits and lovely job cheers Tim

Molly Ringwald
Steve caballero
John cardiel
Tom Penny
Eric Koston
Ian mckay
J Mascis

And hundreds more…

John Ridgway. Got sent to his school for a month when I was 14 for a “holiday”, ‘cos I was turning into a bad lad. Was better than borstal and the experience was genuinely life-changing.

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&

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Seb Coe
Daley Thompson
Beefy
Brian Jacks
John Noakes
Norman Wisdom
Gareth Edwards
Monty Python
James Hunt

Loads more….

Hermann Buhl’s Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage – self reliance to the extreme -got no where near it but might have helped me move out of my comfort zone a few times

Zola Budd
Pele
Daley Thomson
Peter Beardsley
Bruce Lee
John Tomac
John Claude Van Damme (shame he’s lost the plot nowadays, I mean the Coors advert…WTF) 😯

Has always, will always.

Superman.

Surprisingly can’t think of any but perhaps Bruce Lee might be the closest one but I/we like Bruce Lee for his kicking power.

jurgen honshied… he rocked up to the johny walker weymouth speed trials, then the biggest and fastest sailing speed event there was, on a 7ft surfboard with a windsurf rig glued onto it and not only threw down some great times but also uneashed the ‘power gybe’. windsurf mag ran a full page sequence, it had’nt been seen before, i was 14 or 15 and i was in awe. and straight out on the water trying to emulate the man and the move.

its at 6m25secs if you don’t weant to watch the whole thing.

thing was at that time everyone i sailed with was heading into racing boards, just sail round triangles and all that, that moment and that move was when i started to slip off into sailing in waves and for pure pleasure not points.

years later i was at a windsurf event and saw jurgen. he’s the only person i have ever gone up to and asked to shake their hand, it was amazing after so many years to be able to tell the man what an effect he had on me as a kid.

John Noakes

Carl Sagan
Sid Vicious
Marc Bolan

This guy:

and these guys:

Partly because of this:

Loved watching Senna in my youth

Growing up in the NW Fred Dibnah + 1 ( loved looking at his steam engines parked outside the local pub…while he had a pint inside.

My primary school’s cleaner Mrs Norton who cycled from lands end to John o groats unaided back in the days when it was extraordinary people that did these things and not like today where people have to enter an event in order to be given their adventures.

John McAleese
George Mallory
Enid Blyton

Awaits for serious” Thatcher” post……

Met this guy at the Euro’s at B’ham Wheels, on sweltering June day in about 1983. Even after one of the heats, when totally knackered, he stood, chatted & did autographs when all the other “superstars” headed back to their camps. To a young BMX’er he was a total icon.
Tim March on the other hand…big headed ****.

never got a gpz though 😥