- Interview -

Tony Spencer

Background Information Relevant to the Interview:

First off, bmxunderground.com is not responsible for the views expressed in this interview.  We are simply a medium for riders to voice their opinions on topics, even if they are somewhat controversial. 

Tony Spencer recently made the jump from 22-29x to Elite Men's at the NBL's Elite National in West Palm Beach, Florida.  In doing so, he abided by the rules of the sanctioning body.  Some of the sports Elite Men were displeased with the fact that Spencer made the jump, skipping Superclass/A-Pro.  One of the most vocal regarding these opinions was Derek Betcher.  He has made it clear that he feels Spencer does not belong in Elite without having first being successful in Superclass/A-Pro.  

Age? 26

Class? Pro something, whatever they call it these days.

Sponsors? Dick Sonne's Racing and Leraysville Cheese Factory.

Hometown? Warren Center, PA

What got you into racing? I was just starting to ride BMX bikes when our local shop opened a BMX track. I got my start there.

How long have you been racing? Almost 10 Years

Were you involved in other sports before racing? Baseball and Football.

What would you be doing if you were not racing BMX? Heating and Air conditioning work or something like that.

Do you have a job other than BMX? No, but I'm looking into getting one.

What has racing brought you? New friends across the country and a new look on life. Anyone can learn a lot from BMX to use in everyday life.

Favorite Food? I like the Chinese Buffet personally. I have a local Buffet I frequently go to.

Favorite hobby outside of racing? Trails I think. I’m not much for tricks like some guys but I like the feel of flowing from Jump to Jump.

Favorite movie? The Bench Warmers is my latest favorite.

Favorite TV show? CSI Vegas.

Where is your favorite place to ride (Track, Trails, Ramps, Street)? Endwell Trails and Binghamton’s BMX track.

What are your favorite tracks? Charlotte, NC and Conroe, TX are my top two.

What is your favorite thing about BMX? BmxNews.com and Derek Betcher biting my ankles and slandering my name while riding for such a large company. It shows how grown up he is and how much he loves me.
I also like the freedom you have and the control you have over your own progress on the bike.

What do you like least about BMX? Injuries and people who don’t have the guts to say what they think to your face even when you approach them with conversation.

What is your favorite racing memory? Too many to list, But any day with Randy Spoor at the trails is tons of fun.

What was your biggest win? I don’t have too many big wins as an expert. The redline cups I have won were lots of fun. All the wins I had when I first started were fun. Back when BMX was new and I was learning about it.

Reflect on your amateur career. Give us some memories, highs and lows? Any Race with John Andrews or Brandon Hopkins was a Good race. Those guys are great competitors.
As for the lows. It would have to be back when I first moved away from home and couldn’t ride as much as I wanted to. I didn’t have the extra cash to maintain bikes and a Vehicle

What do you think will be the biggest challenge in changing from amateur to pro? Healing up from my current injuries and getting up to top form. Being able to give 100% when you race is a must in any pro rank.

What does your training (lifting/sprints/track time) schedule usually look like on a week to week basis? Well the last few months I haven’t been able to ride as much as I like. My shoulder has just recently been good enough to do squats, so I’m looking forward to getting back to the basics at the gym.
In a normal week I train 12-14 hours a week. Monday is a rest day with light recovery ride in the afternoon and Tuesday through Friday has a mix of gym, sprints and road rides. I try and squeeze in about 6 hours of track and trail time during the week and practice at the local tracks on Saturday and Sunday.

You debuted as Elite at the NBL's Easter classic in West Palm Beach, Florida a few weeks ago. How did the weekend go for you? The weekend went terrible.  I broke my foot in 2 places the Sunday before, but I went anyway. Who’s going to pass up 10 days in the south in April?

What is the next race you plan on attending? I was going to race Egg Harbor, but I can’t even pedal in a clip shoe right now. It looks like about 4 more weeks before I can get back to racing.

Are you planning on running the rest of the Elite schedule this year? No. Maybe the Grands. I don’t plan on being Elite then.

What does the word "Elite" mean to you? That’s a loaded question.
To me it’s not AA pro. Elite is the name the NBL or whoever gave the pro class so they wouldn’t have pro in the title come Olympic time.
But AA to me used to be the top of the BMX food chain as far as I knew.
Now days guys who hold records or have set solid marks in BMX racing History are nothing to the new age pro or elite racer.
If a rider does well in elite someone says it because he does some form of drugs or steroids. There is always some supposed reason the top riders are on top. It’s never because that rider puts in the work but because he is on something.  The older elite riders are trying to renew themselves with the latest slang or internet web sites, clothing styles or just by acting like Joe cool.  There are some real stand up and hard working guys still in the elite class but they are over shadowed by the loud, trendy and arrogant new school riders looking for the love they don’t deserve.

There has been some recent controversy regarding you jump into the Elite Men's class. Give us your take on the situation. So many people are biting, but mostly its DB and a few others looking for a moment in some sort of spot light.  I will be reclassified for my next race to the single a ranks where I need to be.  I'll do the work and earn a spot in "elite" if I have what it takes to do it. If not I will stay in A Pro till I can turn Vet and take my well earned elbows in that class.

Do you think there needs to be more people turning up into the pro ranks? There are so many people who need to turn up its not even worth it to list names.  The level that Amateur racing is at right now is unreal.  Seriously, how can any hard working adult be satisfied winning an am class race after race when they are young enough and talented enough to give the pro class what it takes?

Care to name any names?

JEFFERY UPSHAW
JOSEPH SZUREK
VANCE WIESENDANGER
STEVEN CISAR
JOE SOWERS
JOEY BRADFORD
NIC LONG
KRISTOPHER FOX
DAVID HERMAN
RANDALL LEWIS
CHRIS HALE
JAMARCUS WHITE
WARREN MCDOW
These guys would all be great to watch in the pro ranks in my opinion.

Many of the sports pros have mentioned that you have not paid your dues or earned a spot in Elite. What do you think about that? I haven’t paid any dues? What dues are there to pay though?  The rules are open for anyone to race A-Pro or elite in NBL as long as your 16. And this was supposed to be our window to the Olympics?  Should I win some sort of A-Pro Title quit for a few months and come back and win it again? (Superclass title)  Sure DB earned both those titles, but he should have taken his hands out of his pants and raced elite and stuck with it after he won the first title.

If you could justify your move in one sentence what would you say? When the cheese platter went by all the biters were trying to nibble at the cheese.

What do you have to say to all the haters out there?
What haters? DB are you the president of my fan club? If so you need to drop my name a few more times in some videos. I don’t think everyone knows how far your nose is up my butt yet.  DB didn’t have one negative word to say to my face about my riding in Florida. Although he did tell me he was riding like an F-ing IDIOT when I said what’s up in FLA.

Anything else you would like people to know about Tony Spencer? I’ve been through a lot in my life outside BMX. I know hard work and what it takes to make it in life. I wasn’t spoiled in life and born racing BMX like some lucky kids. I do this sport for my own enjoyment.
I was lucky enough to find a sponsor outside of our sport with the money to spend to help me do what I always wanted to in BMX.
There is nothing DB could ever say or do that would hurt my feelings. IM sure he’s just having fun like anyone else who loves BMX.
I feel kind of special that he has devoted so much of his thoughts and time to me.
I don’t know yet what is the norm when it comes to paying the dues in BMX, but I am sure that I have paid my dues in my life outside BMX. DB or anyone else that tries to have fun at my expense is just wasting their time.
Maybe if they could look outside themselves, they could see I am just another person riding a bike, that’s all.

Thanks for the interview Tony. Is there anybody you would like to thank? First off I would like to thank RS and his family for being the great people they are and standing behind me.
Bmx Underground for the interview.
Jim Amory at the Leraysville cheese factory for letting me have 18 months to be just a BMXer.
Andrea Finn and her two Boys Chris and Hayes for the fun times in North Carolina last week.
Kim and Shannon Baker, Thao Tran, Lee Sadler, Jack Mabe, Randy Spoor, The Purse Family, The late John Reeder, Robert Donaldson and Everyone else along the way who has given me something to look forward to and a positive look on life.
This ones for all the underdogs out there. Keep your chin up and move forward.