REWIND – Josh Bryceland – Ratboy to Man, the Story So Far

February 14, 2021

Downtime is 4 years old today, and I wanted to mark that in some way. My most popular episode ever, with the one and only Josh Bryceland, was about to drop off the end of the podcast’s RSS feed. That means that the only place you’d be able to find it is on my website, and it’s still so popular that I wanted to make sure people can access it easily. So I’ve remastered it, and re-released it for everyone to continue to enjoy. So if you’ve listened before, hopefully you’ll enjoy listening again, and if you’ve never heard this episode, then you’re in for a good hour and a half.

If you were hoping for a new interview with Josh then I’m sorry to disappoint. If you’re keen to hear from Josh again, then maybe comment on my instagram post for this episode and tag him in and we’ll see if we can make it happen!

Here’s what I said before last time around…

There’s something special about Josh Bryceland. Ever since he arrived on the mountain bike scene he has brought something unique to the party. His laid-back attitude, incredible style, huge grin and unmistakable looks have proved infectious, and as a result, he’s earned a place in the heart of many of us.

In the off-season of 2016, Josh announced that he would be leaving the downhill world cup behind, much to the shock and dismay of his fans. However, Josh wasn’t going away, in fact, anything but! 2017 saw a more enlightened Josh making forays into the Enduro World Series, Crankworx, and Fest Series, as well as being involved in multiple filming projects, and creating more fresh content with the 50to01crew. All this meant we got to see more of that infectious grin than ever before.

But how did we get here? Where did it all start? What really drove the decision to leave downhill, what’s next, and what does Josh think about the state of mountain biking today? These questions have been on my mind for some time, so when I got the opportunity to visit Josh on his houseboat, moored in a quiet marina on the outskirts of Manchester, I jumped at the chance.

Josh popped on the kettle and we sat down with a cup of tea (with hemp milk, of course) for a good old-fashioned chinwag. In a wide-ranging conversation and the most in-depth interview with Josh so far, we cover his childhood, riding with Peaty, sports psychology, winning the world cup overall title, why he decided to quit downhill and plenty more. So grab a drink, sit back, relax and listen to the story of Ratboy’s journey so far.

You can also find Gamble over on RedBullTV here.

Podcast Stuff

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Photo – Sven Martin