History

Carbon-monkey first started life as a student pipe dream while studying Outdoor and Environmental Education at Liverpool John Moores University, but to really understand the passion that underpins everything carbon-monkey is about we need to rewind a little further.

It’s probably fair to say it all started one summers morning in 1987 when i woke up, opened my curtains and found a brand new Raleigh BMX stood in the middle of the lawn.  From those first wobbly days learning to ride my new bike up and down the lane outside much of my life was spent on two wheels.

In the summer of 1994 the addiction set in well and truly.  That was the first of many summers to be spent as good as living in the woods, digging trails, racing bikes and breaking parts and helmets.  In the coming years I took my one trusty bike (an aluminium hard tail with v brakes, 60mm travel forks and 21gears) to cross country, downhill and dual slalom races and then rode the same bike for trials, street and early freeride competitions.

That first bike was eventually upgraded by working weekends and holidays in the local bike shop and then the collection of bikes started to slowly grow.

In 2003 the progression from addiction to career started when I became a professionally qualified mountain bike instructor.  In the following years I studied Outdoor and Environmental Education at college and then went on the Liverpool John Moores University to study the same subject at degree level.  Along side academia the professional qualifications in a range of outdoor pursuits activities grew (and continues to do so).  Whilst studying at JMU the carbon-monkey dream really took off.  After working for a number of activity providers I knew mountain biking could be done better but knew to really succeed I had to go it alone.

In 2009 carbon-monkey officially took off.  After six years of running courses for other people I could now run courses the way I believed they should be run – with passion, energy and dedication to always being better.

I hope to never be financially reliant upon carbon-monkey, that way the bank will never dictate where, when and why I ride my bike, and ultimately that’s what it all comes down to – a lifelong passion for riding bikes, any bikes, anywhere coupled with a desire to help others improve, ride faster, harder, bigger or simply more.

Carbon-monkey has always, and always will be, just about riding our bikes and enjoying it.  The day this job feels like a job will be the day carbon-monkey lost its soul.

Tom

(a self confessed lifelong bike addict, and now director, instructor and tea maker extraordinaire)