A few years ago Staats Bicycles sent Robert to New Zealand on a promotional junket & to assist me in raising awareness of the Staats brand. He was back again the following year to holiday & conduct some coaching clinics. Since that time I have come to know Robert pretty well & in my opinion he is the most professional BMX racer I have met. He is also completely nuts & when I first thought up the idea of interviewing riders for this website, Afro Bob was my obvious first choice. I won't list all of Robert's titles here suffice to say he has accomplished just about everything anyone could on a BMX bike!
Are Robert de Wilde & Afro Bob the same person?
Definitely, Robert and Afro Bob is the same person.
Why No. 77?
It all started a couple of years ago. The team manager of the Giant team came up with the idea of picking our personal numbers. The NBL and the ABA will always give you the number that you ended up with the year before. So I needed a high 2-digit number. If I took a low number it probably would have conflicted with somebody else. And it also couldn't take up too much space because I need the room for my sponsors on my number plate. That's how I ended up with 77. About a year later I figured out that it was the same number as the year I was born! It only took you a year huh Bob? - AC
So many promising young riders give up before reaching their full potential. What kept you going?
Most of the time young riders lose interest in BMX. It often has to do with partying and having fun in the weekends. I just loved BMX too much to give it up for partying.
BMX is your job, does it feel like work?
Yes and no. You have to approach it as your job. In the end you're getting paid to perform. If you don't perform you don't get paid and you don't win races by just sitting on your butt! I love being a professional athlete. You get to see a lot of the world and you get to meet a lot of cool people.
Did you always want to race professionally?
I started dreaming of being a pro in the early 90's. I never thought it would happen but GT gave me that opportunity in '99. I thought it would be easy to quit my job and start racing full time, but it wasn't. But I quit my job and I still don't regret it.
What are some of your responsibilities as a professional athlete?
The biggest responsibility that you have is that you are representing your sponsor. If you do something bad it will reflect on your sponsor(s) as well and sponsors don't like that. So you have to behave and race hard.
What do you do to prepare for BMX?
Train as hard and as smart as I can.
What advise would you give someone wanting to move to the USA to make a career of racing BMX?
Stop seeing BMX as just a fun thing to do, see it as your job as well. Don't forget to get a Visa, as that can be pain in the butt.
You excel in the Supercross type events. Why is that?
I don't know. I don't think I do anything different compared to a normal race. Maybe a lot of riders are a bit scared of the track.
You seem to be improving from year to year. Is there room for more improvement?
I'm like a fine wine, the older I get the better I get, ha-ha. I'm just kidding. I just have to figure out when to train and when to rest. Everybody can train hard but training hard and resting at the right time is more important. - What Robert is talking about here is periodisation and this principle of training is very important for all athletes to adhere to. Because the season is so long you must pick & choose the events you need to peak for & adjust your training accordingly, as attempting to peak and/or train hard all season long may result in total burn-out (fatigue) or worse still, injury. - AC
Can you win another world title?
Of course I can. Everybody can. It's BMX after all and anything can happen. We will see what happens in the next couple of years.
Tell us something about Robert de Wilde we don't already know?
Let's see. I used to be a full time electrician. I won my first trophy in '83. That's over 20 year ago. I don't have any other shocking things to tell you.
What will you be doing 10 years from now?
I'll be fat and lazy. I told you that before Adam. To be honest, I don't know what I will be doing in 10 years. I learned one thing from being a professional athlete. You can't predict and plan what's going to happen tomorrow. Right now my focus is on the Olympics in 2008. But first I have to qualify to be able to go.
Robert is sponsored by; Maxxis, Troy Lee Designs, Oakley, Shimano, Sun Ringle Rims, Ogio Bags, G3 Supplements and Sponsorhouse.com.
