The bloke with the epic riding style on issue 72’s front cover just so happens to be one of the most likeable humans you’ll ever meet. And, rather annoyingly, he also possesses the uncanny ability to make riding a mountain bike ridiculously well, look effortlessly easy. And the craziest thing about that is that Connor has only been riding MTB’s for a couple of years!
As you are about to discover, Connor is a man of many talents.
Photos // Michael Sadler
[R]: To start this off tell us a bit about who Connor Griffin is and what riding bikes means to you?
Connor: Well, I am 26 years old and I work full-time as a plasterer. Bikes are my main passion though and I’ve been riding at least some sort of bike my entire life. I try to get out and ride every day, whether it’s a quick driveway jib, an afternoon skatepark session, or a full day out on the trails. Whether it is with my closest mates or by myself, all the best memories I have are made are around riding bikes.
How would you describe your riding style?
Haha that’s tough, I don’t really know how to describe my style. After spending years riding at the skatepark, when I got on a mountain bike for the first time during COVID, my BMX style just transferred over and helped me see things in a unique way.
Ah that make sense then! We’ve seen you absolutely shredding a skate park on your MTB as well, have you always been into park and street?
I grew up in Frankston North, aka ‘The Pines.’ The local skatepark only had a few bank features and a stair set with a handrail, so it got pretty boring after about 15 minutes. Most of the time, I’d just ride anything on the streets or hitch a ride with one of my mates who could drive to hit up any skatepark around Victoria. I still ride at the skatepark at least twice a week with the same crew I grew up with, and they’re still some of my best mates, riding the same parks.
You’re pretty handy on a moto-x bike too, eh? Did you grow up riding MX?
Actually, nah, all my mates grew up riding moto, but I never had one myself—until I bought my own in 2019. I only rode it for about three years before it randomly bogged out, and it’s still sitting untouched in the garage to this day. That’s when MTB took over my life.
What’s your current ‘go to bike’ MTB?
That would be my 2024 Santa Cruz Bronson CC, set up with full SRAM and RockShox components. I tend to run a pretty straight forward setup on all my mountain bikes. I try not to mess with the suspension too much because it all feels pretty similar to me, so I’d rather just adapt to the bike. In the future, I’d like to learn more about the basics of suspension to get more out of my riding. Recently, I also got some Reserve Carbon wheels built up, thanks to Santa Cruz AU. for hooking that up and helping me dial in my bike even further!
Rad. Are you still running your front brake down through the steerer?
Ha yep, I’ve actually been running that setup for about a year now, thanks to Oscar at ChainBrain for dialling it in. I’ve always wanted to be able to do whiplashes and barspins on my MTB. I don’t plan on changing it anytime soon, as it feels super comfy.
What other bikes have you got in your current rotation?
I’ve got a couple of sure, my current e-Bike is a Santa Cruz Heckler and I’ve also got an awesome little Santa Cruz Jackal hardtail.
Describe to us your ultimate trail?
A flow trail built around rock boulders with unique features—I’ve seen videos of tracks out in Arizona, and they look like a natural skatepark. I’d love to ride anything like that.
Both on and off the bike you appear to enjoy having quite the artistic flair and a lot of the photo shoots and film shoots you’ve done have been really ‘outside the box’ and creative. Tell us about your vibe on that front?
I’ve always grown up watching bike videos and reading skate magazines, looking up to what my favourite riders and skaters were into. So, the artistic side of things has always been a part of riding bikes for me—everything from the clothes I wear to the music I listen to is influenced by it. Watching video parts always made me want to create my own, and one of my mates from the skatepark, Michael Sadler from Slowburn, is someone I’ve always ridden with. We started shooting during COVID and have since been trying to put out as many projects as we can for fun. Any opportunity like this feels like a bonus, as they all feel like passion projects to me.
What’s your plans for 2025?
This year I just want to keep riding with my mates and continue what I’ve been doing projects with Fox Racing Australia—whatever else comes with that, I’ll be stoked. A few things I’d like to tick off this year are potentially getting a DH bike, as I’ve never had the chance to ride one, and hopefully a trip to Queenstown, NZ or Derby & Maydena down in Tassie. I also dropped to four days a week at work, so now I’ve got an extra day to ride. 2025 is already looking good. Hopefully, I will be at more races too. Apart from that, definitely more video projects and photoshoots!
[R]: Cheers for the chat mate, we’re stoked to have you on the front cover of issue 72!
