20.09.23 in ambassadeurs
matthias dandois
could you tell us who you are in a few words?
I am Matthias Dandois, I was born in the Parisian suburbs, and I am 32 years old. I am 9 times world champion in flat bmx which is a bmx discipline which consists of doing tricks on flat ground. in addition to bmx I love photography, I do a little modeling and I even acted in a film and I love life!
I am Matthias Dandois, I was born in the Parisian suburbs, and I am 32 years old. I am 9 times world champion in flat bmx which is a bmx discipline which consists of doing tricks on flat ground. in addition to bmx I love photography, I do a little modeling and I even acted in a film and I love life!
how did you get into this sporting discipline?
this sporting discipline is very specific and very niche. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a professional footballer. I played for 7 years at the Epinay-sur-Orge sporting club but the problem was that I wasn't very good at football and the coach never made me play... at 12 years old, I had want to try something else. Something more free and with my friends. And I discovered bmx a bit by chance while watching the show it's my choice by Evelyne Thomas where a guy was giving a demonstration. The freedom he had to do his thing immediately fascinated me! and I found the object, the bmx, really very beautiful. So I asked my parents for a bmx for Christmas which I got the following year, and I remember spending hours looking at it in my room. more than the sport at the limit, I was really in love with the object, the handlebars, the harmony between the pegs and the wheels.
and how did it start for you?
we started a little crew of riders in my town and we called ourselves “riders and the shit”. we were really influenced by mtv, jackass and xgames so we tried to do improvised tricks. I realized pretty quickly that I was pretty good at it and I think it was the first time I was really good at a sport. I started doing small local competitions, and the first one I did as an amateur I won. It was the first time I won something in my life, I loved the feeling of winning. the feeling of having fought and having succeeded was something I had never had before and I loved it. for 20 years it's a feeling that I seek every week at competitions.
“I discovered bmx a bit by chance while watching the show it’s my choice by Evelyne Thomas where a guy was giving a demonstration. The freedom he had to do his thing immediately fascinated me! and I found the object, the bmx, really very beautiful. »
How did you experience being world champion?
The first time I got the world champion prize, I was such an outsider that I asked myself “what am I doing here?” ". it was also the year of my baccalaureate, I had made a deal with my parents to be able to ride professionally once I had obtained my baccalaureate. it was in 2007, this round of the World Cup took place in New Orleans in the United States and the results of the baccalaureate were the Monday after the competition. I was 17 years old, I had just passed my baccalaureate and I was flying to this competition where I was going to face the best riders in the world.
In the end, I found myself facing the American Terry Adams, I don't know how I did it but, touched by grace, I managed to land tricks that I had never managed to land before and I beat him. I find myself on the podium and I think about my baccalaureate results, telling myself that if I didn't get it, I was going to have to repeat a year of high school... I prayed to get it!
on Monday morning, my father came to pick me up from Charles de Gaulle with his scooter, I had the bike on my back, and he took me directly to see the results of the baccalaureate. I remember being in the hall where they presented all the baccalaureate results, looking for my name on the lists, and there I saw my name. I had just won a World Cup round, I had just passed my baccalaureate, it was really that weekend that my life changed, it was the switch from amateur to professional. The sequence of these three days was crazy.
what were the beginnings of this new professional career?
a sponsor quickly followed me after this first victory. These were small amounts at the time so the beginnings were not easy financially but soon bigger sponsors arrived, right on cue. There was Red Bull who arrived in France in 2008 with whom I signed. this contract with them triggered others... that's how it worked at the time anyway when you wanted to be a pro rider. I think my whole career I've kind of been in the right place at the right time.
So yes, there was that first year in Paris where I was in a bit of trouble, where I couldn't manage my finances because on top of that I was 18-19 years old, I went out a lot, I was a little freewheeling. I was making crazy demos to make a living, I really wondered if this was the life I had always dreamed of.
It was very strange for me to assimilate the idea of my passion becoming my profession, my livelihood! it was a pretty complex time personally. Fortunately I had friends who were there to put my feet back on the ground and bring me back to humility during a period where I was becoming a little known as my victories progressed.
The first time I got the world champion prize, I was such an outsider that I asked myself “what am I doing here?” ". it was also the year of my baccalaureate, I had made a deal with my parents to be able to ride professionally once I had obtained my baccalaureate. it was in 2007, this round of the World Cup took place in New Orleans in the United States and the results of the baccalaureate were the Monday after the competition. I was 17 years old, I had just passed my baccalaureate and I was flying to this competition where I was going to face the best riders in the world.
In the end, I found myself facing the American Terry Adams, I don't know how I did it but, touched by grace, I managed to land tricks that I had never managed to land before and I beat him. I find myself on the podium and I think about my baccalaureate results, telling myself that if I didn't get it, I was going to have to repeat a year of high school... I prayed to get it!
on Monday morning, my father came to pick me up from Charles de Gaulle with his scooter, I had the bike on my back, and he took me directly to see the results of the baccalaureate. I remember being in the hall where they presented all the baccalaureate results, looking for my name on the lists, and there I saw my name. I had just won a World Cup round, I had just passed my baccalaureate, it was really that weekend that my life changed, it was the switch from amateur to professional. The sequence of these three days was crazy.
what were the beginnings of this new professional career?
a sponsor quickly followed me after this first victory. These were small amounts at the time so the beginnings were not easy financially but soon bigger sponsors arrived, right on cue. There was Red Bull who arrived in France in 2008 with whom I signed. this contract with them triggered others... that's how it worked at the time anyway when you wanted to be a pro rider. I think my whole career I've kind of been in the right place at the right time.
So yes, there was that first year in Paris where I was in a bit of trouble, where I couldn't manage my finances because on top of that I was 18-19 years old, I went out a lot, I was a little freewheeling. I was making crazy demos to make a living, I really wondered if this was the life I had always dreamed of.
It was very strange for me to assimilate the idea of my passion becoming my profession, my livelihood! it was a pretty complex time personally. Fortunately I had friends who were there to put my feet back on the ground and bring me back to humility during a period where I was becoming a little known as my victories progressed.
Who are the people who constitute references for you in your profession or in life?
There is already the guy who took me under his wing when I was 15, Alex Jumelin. he was a pro then, and still is today. we continue to compete together. he really helped me, and above all it was the link with my parents to be able to travel abroad. I very quickly found myself at 16-17 years old competing on weekends in the United States or even all over the world. he reassured my parents a lot because he was a guy who was already 26-27 years old at the time and who was serious, so they had no problem leaving me with him to go to Russia to do demos. without him I clearly wouldn't be here today.
I also have lots of different models but not in BMX, Roger Federer in tennis for example. I think it really represents style and masculinity. there are also photographers and artists. I think it's the fact of being interested in several things outside of bmx that means that I still manage to win bmx competitions today, because my sport is above all a very creative sport. if you want to win competitions you have to invent your own figures like a painter or a writer could do. and creativity you don't acquire by spending 10 hours a day on your BMX, you have to do other things around the BMX to be creative.
How do you find your inspirations?
my inspirations come a lot from the trips I have taken. It's very important for me to discover new things and new cultures. I have always been in love with different cultures. For us, our sport is done in the street, we film outside all the time so you really meet the people of the countries, the locals.
Today I also draw inspiration from other things like photography or video production, I like finding new video concepts. I need to stimulate my brain, that's what allows me to be creative when I'm on my bike. I'm sure you don't become creative by just cycling a lot, I think it's the same for a painter or a writer, they have to do other things to succeed in their field.
There is already the guy who took me under his wing when I was 15, Alex Jumelin. he was a pro then, and still is today. we continue to compete together. he really helped me, and above all it was the link with my parents to be able to travel abroad. I very quickly found myself at 16-17 years old competing on weekends in the United States or even all over the world. he reassured my parents a lot because he was a guy who was already 26-27 years old at the time and who was serious, so they had no problem leaving me with him to go to Russia to do demos. without him I clearly wouldn't be here today.
I also have lots of different models but not in BMX, Roger Federer in tennis for example. I think it really represents style and masculinity. there are also photographers and artists. I think it's the fact of being interested in several things outside of bmx that means that I still manage to win bmx competitions today, because my sport is above all a very creative sport. if you want to win competitions you have to invent your own figures like a painter or a writer could do. and creativity you don't acquire by spending 10 hours a day on your BMX, you have to do other things around the BMX to be creative.
How do you find your inspirations?
my inspirations come a lot from the trips I have taken. It's very important for me to discover new things and new cultures. I have always been in love with different cultures. For us, our sport is done in the street, we film outside all the time so you really meet the people of the countries, the locals.
Today I also draw inspiration from other things like photography or video production, I like finding new video concepts. I need to stimulate my brain, that's what allows me to be creative when I'm on my bike. I'm sure you don't become creative by just cycling a lot, I think it's the same for a painter or a writer, they have to do other things to succeed in their field.
“I had just won my first World Cup and I had just graduated, it was really that weekend that my life changed! it was the switch from amateur to professional. »
and how do you see the years to come?
I will ride all my life I think because I love it! going riding clears my head and it's something I can do alone and I love that feeling of solitude.
at a high level, I still have 2 or 3 years to perhaps win a 10th world title, but it's so many physical sacrifices and it's so time-consuming to stay at the top that I'm reaching the end a little morally and physically. but I would really like to win a 10th title: the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris would be a great time to end my career.
what compliment would you like to hear or hear again in your profession?
when people tell me it looks easy! I love it because I really want what I do to be pretty above all, I don't care about being technical. there are Japanese riders who cycle 15 hours a day and who are much more technical than me, but I don't find that particularly beautiful. for me aesthetics are very important.
when I go to train I film the whole session, if I see on the screen that it is not beautiful enough for my taste, I don't even realize it even if I know that this figure can earn me points in competition. whereas if there is an easier one but I find it too stylish then I will only do that one. I think it's this aesthetic search that gives this impression of ease, when it looks hard it means it's forced and I don't like it.
how do you prepare for your competitions?
when I was a kid I didn't prepare at all, I could go party before a final. At 25 I broke almost everything in the same year: my ankles, my heels, my nose, my fingers... it was my body telling me to make a decision: either I continued to party 5 times a year. week be I had a long career. I chose to have a long career and then I started to really mess up. when I prepare for a competition I am very careful about what I eat 3 months before, very little animal protein before sleeping because you sleep less well, no more alcohol at all... I have a great team who follows, a nutritionist, and a mental coach.
it's lots of little things that make a big difference. For example, we set up a routine for pre-competition stress, 1 minute or 30 seconds before my competition, which allows my brain to be completely available. As for cycling, I'm going to work on my routine (3 minutes) at home for three months until I know how to do it in all kinds of situations. I often try to do it when I'm very tired, on slippery floors or I train with weighted t-shirts so that when it comes time for the competition I have a better chance of succeeding...
It's so stressful a competition because you play three months or years of work in 3 minutes. you definitely shouldn't think about that. in these three minutes you just have to concentrate on what you have to do and it's super hard, because your legs are shaking, you see the others who have succeeded and that's why it's you have to be as ready as possible. even if you know how to do your run, you do it 15 times in a row at home, it's really not sure that you do it well during the competition, it's like that in all high-level sports. no one can explain it and no one has managed to really solve this stress problem, but in any case there are ways to minimize it.
I will ride all my life I think because I love it! going riding clears my head and it's something I can do alone and I love that feeling of solitude.
at a high level, I still have 2 or 3 years to perhaps win a 10th world title, but it's so many physical sacrifices and it's so time-consuming to stay at the top that I'm reaching the end a little morally and physically. but I would really like to win a 10th title: the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris would be a great time to end my career.
what compliment would you like to hear or hear again in your profession?
when people tell me it looks easy! I love it because I really want what I do to be pretty above all, I don't care about being technical. there are Japanese riders who cycle 15 hours a day and who are much more technical than me, but I don't find that particularly beautiful. for me aesthetics are very important.
when I go to train I film the whole session, if I see on the screen that it is not beautiful enough for my taste, I don't even realize it even if I know that this figure can earn me points in competition. whereas if there is an easier one but I find it too stylish then I will only do that one. I think it's this aesthetic search that gives this impression of ease, when it looks hard it means it's forced and I don't like it.
how do you prepare for your competitions?
when I was a kid I didn't prepare at all, I could go party before a final. At 25 I broke almost everything in the same year: my ankles, my heels, my nose, my fingers... it was my body telling me to make a decision: either I continued to party 5 times a year. week be I had a long career. I chose to have a long career and then I started to really mess up. when I prepare for a competition I am very careful about what I eat 3 months before, very little animal protein before sleeping because you sleep less well, no more alcohol at all... I have a great team who follows, a nutritionist, and a mental coach.
it's lots of little things that make a big difference. For example, we set up a routine for pre-competition stress, 1 minute or 30 seconds before my competition, which allows my brain to be completely available. As for cycling, I'm going to work on my routine (3 minutes) at home for three months until I know how to do it in all kinds of situations. I often try to do it when I'm very tired, on slippery floors or I train with weighted t-shirts so that when it comes time for the competition I have a better chance of succeeding...
It's so stressful a competition because you play three months or years of work in 3 minutes. you definitely shouldn't think about that. in these three minutes you just have to concentrate on what you have to do and it's super hard, because your legs are shaking, you see the others who have succeeded and that's why it's you have to be as ready as possible. even if you know how to do your run, you do it 15 times in a row at home, it's really not sure that you do it well during the competition, it's like that in all high-level sports. no one can explain it and no one has managed to really solve this stress problem, but in any case there are ways to minimize it.
“I draw inspiration from other things like photography or video production. I need to stimulate my brain, that's what allows me to be creative when I'm on my bike. »
what was your biggest challenge?
my biggest challenge was to find the same energy, the same passion, after my fall on my head in San Diego in 2017. I suffered serious injuries throughout my career, like fractures, and after 4 or 5 months you're back on the bike and you wait a bit. it's restrictive to be injured but ultimately these are times when it's cool to take breaks too, to be creative.
but when I fell on my head it was different because brain injuries can be irreversible, I had memory loss for six months afterwards. I arrived at my door code and I couldn't remember it and I asked myself if it was really worth continuing my career if I put myself in this kind of situation. It's something that I managed to overcome 98% of, today I tell myself that I have to be really careful...
you were talking about photography, can you tell us more?
I actually do a bit of film photography. As I have the chance to go to many different places, film photography allows me to record memories of my travels. I happened to find rolls of film that were 2-3 years old, for me it's like a treasure box, you have all these memories that you have with people or landscapes printed and I love them so much. I don't necessarily like photography with phones where we take too many photos, film really allows me to have this more analog side and as you only have 24 or 36 exposures on a roll of film this allows to limit yourself to the essentials. when I have them on paper afterwards it's Christmas every time!
It's something that I really do for myself, I'm not necessarily super talented, I really want it to remain a hobby. I remain sensitive to the image in a more general way. I set up my video production company 2-3 years ago now and I love the idea of creating stories with brands or finding projects, this really helps me today to be more than just a athlete, more than an influencer and to go further, to be someone more complete.
my biggest challenge was to find the same energy, the same passion, after my fall on my head in San Diego in 2017. I suffered serious injuries throughout my career, like fractures, and after 4 or 5 months you're back on the bike and you wait a bit. it's restrictive to be injured but ultimately these are times when it's cool to take breaks too, to be creative.
but when I fell on my head it was different because brain injuries can be irreversible, I had memory loss for six months afterwards. I arrived at my door code and I couldn't remember it and I asked myself if it was really worth continuing my career if I put myself in this kind of situation. It's something that I managed to overcome 98% of, today I tell myself that I have to be really careful...
you were talking about photography, can you tell us more?
I actually do a bit of film photography. As I have the chance to go to many different places, film photography allows me to record memories of my travels. I happened to find rolls of film that were 2-3 years old, for me it's like a treasure box, you have all these memories that you have with people or landscapes printed and I love them so much. I don't necessarily like photography with phones where we take too many photos, film really allows me to have this more analog side and as you only have 24 or 36 exposures on a roll of film this allows to limit yourself to the essentials. when I have them on paper afterwards it's Christmas every time!
It's something that I really do for myself, I'm not necessarily super talented, I really want it to remain a hobby. I remain sensitive to the image in a more general way. I set up my video production company 2-3 years ago now and I love the idea of creating stories with brands or finding projects, this really helps me today to be more than just a athlete, more than an influencer and to go further, to be someone more complete.
“my biggest challenge was to find the same energy, the same passion, after my fall on my head in San Diego in 2017. it's something that I managed to overcome 98%, today I I say you have to be really careful..."
do you have rituals in your life, your job?
the sport really suits me. in the morning I go to the gym with my coach, that's it and you start the day well. it's really part of my day, doing something physical before anything else and then I can start my day off right. Afterwards I do 2-3 emails, I have lunch and I go riding in the afternoon, in the evening I go to see my friends or I am with my girlfriend. the morning ritual is either I go to the gym or I do yoga before even touching my phone.
do you have a favorite object?
the relationship I have with my bike, I think it's still the same as when I was 12 years old. I still love the object and looking at it, I find that a bike is still just as beautiful.
what is important in your life?
my private life, I am very communicative on social networks and I love doing it but it is not my real life and I love having my life outside of social networks with my friends, my family, my girlfriend, my dog and my little secret garden. it has a lot of weight for me to keep this part independent of the rest.
your jewelry on le gramme, what are they? how do you wear them?
I am lucky to have several creations from the brand, such as the guilloché cable bracelet or the silver bangle, but I must admit that I really like my perforated silver ribbon bracelet. I like to mix them all together with a ribbon ring too. In summer I wear a gold interlacing pendant.
what I like about le gramme is the attraction I have with objects, whether it's with my camera body or as soon as I look at it I want to take a photo. as soon as I see my bike, I really want to go cycling and when I see beautiful objects it really inspires me and that's what I feel with le gramme. when I see the bracelets I want to wear them and I find it inspiring.
what if le gramme was a sporting discipline?
it would be flat bmx, because there is a very pragmatic side where you need a material but there is also a very artistic side where you can ultimately do what you want with this material. exactly like with flat bmx where there is a side where there are basic figures, a physical movement which is inherent to the discipline but you can really do what you want with this bike and I find that it is a good comparison between the two.
the sport really suits me. in the morning I go to the gym with my coach, that's it and you start the day well. it's really part of my day, doing something physical before anything else and then I can start my day off right. Afterwards I do 2-3 emails, I have lunch and I go riding in the afternoon, in the evening I go to see my friends or I am with my girlfriend. the morning ritual is either I go to the gym or I do yoga before even touching my phone.
do you have a favorite object?
the relationship I have with my bike, I think it's still the same as when I was 12 years old. I still love the object and looking at it, I find that a bike is still just as beautiful.
what is important in your life?
my private life, I am very communicative on social networks and I love doing it but it is not my real life and I love having my life outside of social networks with my friends, my family, my girlfriend, my dog and my little secret garden. it has a lot of weight for me to keep this part independent of the rest.
your jewelry on le gramme, what are they? how do you wear them?
I am lucky to have several creations from the brand, such as the guilloché cable bracelet or the silver bangle, but I must admit that I really like my perforated silver ribbon bracelet. I like to mix them all together with a ribbon ring too. In summer I wear a gold interlacing pendant.
what I like about le gramme is the attraction I have with objects, whether it's with my camera body or as soon as I look at it I want to take a photo. as soon as I see my bike, I really want to go cycling and when I see beautiful objects it really inspires me and that's what I feel with le gramme. when I see the bracelets I want to wear them and I find it inspiring.
what if le gramme was a sporting discipline?
it would be flat bmx, because there is a very pragmatic side where you need a material but there is also a very artistic side where you can ultimately do what you want with this material. exactly like with flat bmx where there is a side where there are basic figures, a physical movement which is inherent to the discipline but you can really do what you want with this bike and I find that it is a good comparison between the two.
“what I like about le gramme is the attraction I have with objects, whether it's with my camera body or as soon as I look at it I want to take a photo. as soon as I see my bike, I really want to go cycling and when I see beautiful objects it really inspires me and that's what I feel with le gramme. when I see the bracelets I want to wear them and I find it inspiring. »
---accumulation---
bracelet_9g_silver-925_polished_guilloche-pyramid_cable;necklace_3g_silver-925_yellow-gold-750_polished_smooth_entrelacs;bracelet_19g_silver-925_polished_perforated_ribbon;ring_9g_silver-925_brushed_smooth_ribbon
