Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

win again and again. If I'm gonna be there, I want to win. As long as I'm racing, I plan on winning. Next year I want . to win some supercrosses and get a good contract for 1997. And after that season, I'll take a real good look at stuff,. y'know? Until now, it seemed as if you had nothing to lose. You won the title as a rookie, and no one expected you to win it again. Then no one thought you could win a National Championship. Now you've done it all and you're expected to win. Does that put any new pressure on you? Well, I'm still young, so there's no reason that I can't win. It's not like my age or lack of ability is gonna hinder me. Only an injury could take me out, knock on wood. Since I won my first title, people have been saying, "Well, can he do it again?" There's always been pressure. I think I deal with it pretty good. Sometimes it gets to me, like when the camera gets to me. I think I have everyone else flustered so bad that they don't know what to do. I think they come to the races and see if they can get second. I know everyone is aiming at me. What edge do you have over everyone else that makes them mentally weak? I think it frustrates them because they know that as soon as they step up a notch and push me, I can go up another notch. So how many supercross races did you ride this year at 100 percent? Hmmm... Probably one. (Laughs) At Indianapolis I got out in first and LaRocco started second. I rode hard the whole time then. And then there was Charlotte. 0, I guess I would have to say I rode hard at probably about four of the 15 races. I think guys know that if they pick up the pace, I can pick up the pace even more. I'm not even close to riding over my head. Why are you so good at supercross? You know, I don't know. I'm pretty open to all ideas. I'm never closedminded to any ideas about the track. Some guys think that there's only one way to do certain sections. I know there's always a better way, and I'll go out and find it. My fine line between being in and out of control is pretty high. I'm lucky. I can go out and ride at a faster pace than all of these guys and still not be over my head. It's pretty amazing to me. I don't understand it. Is it the same for you outdoors? No. Not at all. Outdoors I'm pretty much riding 100 percent the whole time. I think it's easier for those guys to haul ass outdoors. It's not such a technical thing, it's hang on and go for it. I used to be so technical, that I couldn't do that hang-on stuff. Now I know how to, but I know that I'm going to have to go for it the whole moto. rt's a good feeling, though. I think that's why it was so rewarding when I won. I knew that I had worked my ass off. I got to the point outdoors that I wanted nothing but to win. I was strong and confident - when you have those two things you're hard to beat. Would you consider this past season to be the best season of your career? Oh yeah, the best season of my life. I think the '93 season was the easiest of my career. I think I surprised everyone. But now I think everyone has improved their bikes and watched enough videos of me - it's harder now. Your riding style is different than those of other riders. Did you mimic someone else, or did you just develop it on your own? . It's just a style of my own - I guess that's how I've ridden my whole career. I've got a couple of little tricks that no one else knows. You can see them if you pay real dose attention to pictures and stuff, but I'm not telling. Is riding still your favorite thing to do? Yeah, I still love to ride. I think the racing part .is sometimes not my favorite thing, but riding the motorcycle still is. Away from the races, you seem to occupy every spare minute of your days with fun... Yeah, pretty much. It's pretty boring staying home, especially in my time off. I have to take advantage of it. I'm usually out doing something fun - wake boarding, golfing, mountain biking. Have you always been pretty athletic? Yeah, I've got some talent. I'm pretty lucky. I usually pick up everything pretty quick. [f you weren't a racer, what would-you be doing? I'd probably be in school. I'm good at a lot of other stuff, but I'm not good enough to be a pro at any of it. I do want to car race eventually, though. I'm considering it seriously. I'd like to get something lined up while I'm still racing motorcycles, so that no one forgets who I am. Indy would be bad, but it's a hard sport to get into. You recently bought a new house... Yeah, it's in Canyon Lake in a private, gated community. It's pretty rad compared to myoId house in Murietta, but I still haven't busted out. When I someday, down the road, have a wife, is when I'll really have a nice house. I'll have it buill The new place has 187 feet of waterfront, it's 3600 square feet, has four bedrooms and a four-car garage. So would you say that the new house is your reward for the '95 season? Yeah, I guess so. I earned it, didn't I? Playl_ist_ hether it's at home or on the road, Jeremy M Grath is usually listening to music. His tastes range from one end of the spectrum to the other, as we spotted artists like Garth Brooks, Vanilla Ice, White Zombie and TLC in his huge collection of compact discs. Here's Jeremy's top five favorites: 1. Snoop Doggy Dogg "Doggystyle" 2. Offspring "Smash" 3. Beastie Boys "Ill Communication" 4. Bush "16 Stone" 5. Nirvana "Unplugged" W The chameleon T hroughout the 1995 season, Jeremy McGrath underwent several changes in appearance. Obviously, style - especially his own is quite important to McGrath. "I like people to know that I'm nout:..._----::r~ the same old run-of-the-mill kind of guy," says McGrath. "A lot of riders nowadays are into this pretty-boy image, but I guess you have to be like that if you want to get a sponsor. But now I'm winning, and I can look how I want to, I can do what I want. I like to be different. I think the fans like to see attitude, they like to see style. People don't wanna see the same stuff all of the time. Especially when I'm winning all of the time. If they have to see me, at least they can see me looking different." So, what are McGrath' ideas of style? Earrings: I think earrings have some style, but my idea of having them is being different. I started out with one hoop, then I got two. Now I have two barbells that screw on. Nipple ring: I did that just to be different. It hurt like hell. I'm.gonna do the other one because when I did that one, my nipple got big. I'm gonna do the other one so that they can get back to being the same. And then I'll take 'em out. I have to run a piece of tape over it when I ride because I've caught that sucker on the handlebars before. And that hurts. Tattoo: I got a tattoo in 1991, but it was this gay little skeleton on my ankle. I just got it redone. Troy Lee drew this cartoon of me, and I had it tattooed over the skeleton. It's pretty cool, there's smoke and knobby marks coming off the boot. Hair: I get tired of having the same old hair, so I like to throw a little variety in. Honda freaked out when I dyed it orange. It was Peg Bundy red. My hair is naturally brown, then it was a little blonde. Then I dyed it black, then orange. And now it's brown again, but I might make it blonde again. That looked pretty rad. My hair used to be really long, but I cut it short for Skip's (Norfolk - his mechanic) wedding. Now I'm trying to grow it all long again. I kind of want to shave it all off, but I'm afraid - you can't pull chicks like that. Goatee: I change that the m~t. The night that I clinched the championship, I had a goatee with chops going down to it. Skip hated it. Then at Mount Morris I shaved the middle out of it - that was bad. I try to make it different. I made it blonde when I went to Europe once. That was wild. Clothes: Away from the track when I'm going out on the weekend, I'll USU':--:..._ _~ ally wear baggy jeans, usually Levis. I don't wear underwear. Then I put on Doc Martens and a cool dress shirt. I like the retro shirts that have stripes down the front where the buttons are. No Fear totally dials me in on that kind of stuff. 7

• Cover