‘Indian stunt riders are more professional than Europeans’

We spoke to Rok Bagoros, the brilliant Slovenian champion stunt rider, about his time with KTM and his trip to India

Thank you so much for sitting down with us. I think we are going to start off by asking you about Slovenia and you starting on a scooter which you worked hard to get yourself. What was the spark that gave you the passion?

I started back in 2007. Since I was a kid, I always wanted to ride a bike. I was always looking through the window and watching the bikes. We had just one motorcycle dealer in the city and he also had a scooter. I wanted the scooter, but we could not afford it. When I was 17 years old, though, I was old enough to earn money after school to buy it. Soon I discovered stunt riding on YouTube with riders like Chris Pfeiffer and, at the same time, I discovered that some riders were doing the same tricks on the scooter. I bought the scooter, a broken scooter, and spent time repairing it. Later, I bought some spare parts and started stunt riding. Then after four to five years, after a lot of shows locally and in Germany, it just exploded. I started to do some much bigger shows, still with the scooter, because scooter stunt riding was quite special and I was the only professional stunt rider on a scooter in Europe. That was important and helped me a lot to be different. If I was to be successful, I knew that I had to be different with how I presented myself, not only riding but everything: how I dress, how I look, how I do the tricks, and how my bike looks, etc. It was very important for me to have a clean bike and a clean look.

After four years, I went to the biggest motorcycle exhibition, called INTERMOT. Here I was sleeping in a van for two to three days as I did not have money for a hotel. It was here that I wanted to meet Peugeot, but nobody was there and I did not know what to do as I travelled so far and this happened. Then I remembered what Chris Pfeiffer had said to me when I had travelled with him one week before as his student for a Red Bull event. He told me to look at KTM who were presenting the Duke 125. Chris said why don’t I go to KTM and ask them to sponsor me. I thought of doing that but I was scared to go. KTM are one of the best and biggest and coolest brands in Europe. So, how do I go there? But I did and presented myself and they really liked it because they said that they actually needed somebody to promote the Duke 125 — the right place at the right time.

A week later, I went to test the prototype and, after two weeks, had a contract in my hand. I was crying while signing it as I knew this would change my life, but I did not know how much my life would really change. I had never flown in an aeroplane and, one week after the contract, I was on a plane to Barcelona for the photoshoot. I needed two T-shirts and did not know how to ask them for those. When I did ask, they said, ‘Rok, take 20 T-shirts if you want!’ (laughs).

So, yes, it totally changed my life. Also, you don’t need to come from a rich family. Everybody says, ‘Oh, you are from Europe.’ But, actually, I’m not from a developed country in Europe. I come from the poorest region in Europe. It is hard work, but everyone can do it. Today it’s easier. You have a phone with a 4k camera and all these social media. Ten years ago, it was there, but not the way it is now. You can do your own clips with a phone, do your own marketing, and be your own boss. You can actually make it; you just have to find a way to do it.

Speaking of social media, you are one of the most prolific riders on social media with those fantastic locations. How do you find such locations?

Mainly from local KTM teams. As when we went to the Philippines, we told them we had these ideas and could they help us with locations? However, usually the biggest help are the fans really. They always wait for me at the workshop and say, ‘Rok, I hear you are filming. What do you film?’ Then, when I explain, they say, ‘Oh, we have some locations that you cannot find on Google Maps.’ (laughs) The work ethic is usually about 30 per cent working and 70 per cent freestyle, you have to be flexible. Work starts at 5.00 am and ends at 10.00 pm, so you imagine that it is a very tough job to create a 10-minute video.

Stunting in India isn’t very big, but from what you saw while judging the stunt competition, do you see the potential of the talent here?

I would say that Indian stunt riding — how it has developed and how popular it is — is much higher than Europe. This is because stunting in Europe is not respected. People do not know what stunting is over there. It is much more professional in India. Yes, the format is more professional in Europe, for which there are some rules in Europe which I shall try to introduce in India. But, yes, we have some 20 good stunt riders and, maybe, 500 more in Europe. India, on the other hand, is much larger and the riders are more professional. The talent level in India is unbelievable. I saw some tricks that I cannot do and which I have been trying to learn for a long time. Now I finally see those live! I always compare myself with the European riders, but now I see the Indian riders on social media and I can see it is actually possible with the same bike.

You are one of the few riders who use a single-cylinder motorcycle. How does it help you to execute your moves?

As I said before, you need to be different to be successful. So, with the one-cylinder engine and the image of KTM it was a big shock to the game. Honda and Kawasaki are the ones that are used a lot. So, watching KTM in the competitions was a big shock. After a while, they saw I started to win some European competitions and everything exploded. Besides, the advantage of KTM Duke 125, 250 or 390 is that they have very good power delivery and are really quite light — quite light and quite good even as stock bikes. You don’t need to change a lot. Just put the basic stunt-riding parts on the bike and you’re ready to go.

Are you happy that you came to India?

Yes, definitely. I would love to come to India again. I would love to come back. I am also a huge fan of the Himalayas ever since I went to Nepal last year. I would love to visit the Himalayas in India at some point.

‘The advantage of KTM Duke 125, 250 or 390 is that they have very good power delivery and are really quite light’