George Ntavoutian

If you are familiar with BMX, then you are most likely familiar with George Ntavoutian. If you aren’t, we suggest you get acquainted. Starting with his world record full loop, watch it. Right. Now. Hailing from Kalamata in Greece and now based in Athens, George is spearheading a new wave, pushing BMX beyond boundaries and into the stratosphere. Starting with his early days on a bike with his father, discovering BMX through a borrowed ride and a first bunny hop, George was struck with the two wheeled virus from a young age. And the rest, is quite literally history. Now you’ll find George immersed in most two wheeled sports, but with BMX as his north star. He’s taken it to art level, seeing cities as a canvas of endless possibilities - architecture becomes opportunity. With no Plan B at hand, we gave George a call to see what makes the man tick.
 

For those of us that don’t know you, can you introduce yourself?
 My name is George Ntavoutian, I’m 27 years old from Greece. I’ve been riding BMX since 2011. I’m actually obsessed with all sports that have two or four wheels; motorcross, karts, skating and all kinds of bicycles. I’m from Kalamata, I recently moved to Athens to ride more with the community here, meet the crew and explore new places and opportunities. Kalamata is a small city and Athens has a little more to offer. If I’m not in Athens or Kalamata; I’m travelling the world riding my bike which is what I love to do.

Talk us through your journey in BMX?
So, I’ve been cycling my whole life as my dad used to road bike and do downhill as well. He got me into mountain biking and road cycling when I was two years old, then I found myself becoming really into skating when I was 9 or 10. I remember around that time seeing a guy on a BMX bike on the plaza where I learnt to skate and thinking “this is so cool”. I asked him to borrow the bike and the first thing I did was bunny hop over the skateboard and that was when the virus stuck…

And how did things progress from there to where you are now?
 I just never stopped riding. I never thought of anything else. I just wanted to ride my bike. I never wanted to work, just ride all day every day. I never really had a Plan B, I just wanted to ride. Just have fun and live my dream.

Describe the scene in Athens?
 A few years ago, the scene was massive, back in 2015/2016. BMX was massive then, we had more shops and you could hang out anywhere and see riders anywhere. Unfortunately, when Covid hit we lost a lot of bike shops and it seems people were less interested in BMX. The people I started riding with when I first came to Athens ride a lot less and the scene seems to be fading but at the same time, I can see a younger generation of young blood and energy coming through and I can see the scene coming back…

How does an average day look for you in Athens?
I wake up, I’m trying to be consistent at waking up at a good time. I’ll take the dog out for a quick walk, I’ll have breakfast – I love to cook at home so I am always cooking for myself. I’ll have a solid breakfast before working out and doing some stretching. Then I’ll grab my motorbike and get a coffee somewhere in the city. From there, home for lunch and then get my BMX and ride with the homies around the city whether the vibe takes us; park, street, dirt or whatever. I’m pretty social so I’ll usually have people at home in the evening and we will BBQ, or make pizza or whatever. Later, I might grab a beer somewhere or just chill at home, although on the weekends you might find me in the club partying till the early hours… I’m enjoying my vibe, I don’t want to miss out on anything.

That’s a typical day in Athens, have fun and stay active.

You are pretty multifaceted when it comes to BMX across park, dirt, street amongst others – is there one part of BMX you love the most?
 I would say combining everything. I like to combine all the different disciplines of BMX into one, to do some park tricks in street for example or vice versa. Or to create something new and get a cool clip that’s different and stoke people out.

You are pretty renowned for your full loops, where did this love of full loops come about?
 Funny story. When Covid hit Red Bull and I wanted to build a full backyard set up next to my house, it’s a small area and not really a straight block, it’s quite uneven. There was this tiny corner and we didn’t know what to put there. I remember watching Swampfest in the US and they had an open loop there so a friend and I thought about putting one in there. That’s where it all began, having the fortune to have one in my back yard I managed to get pretty good at it, I loved the feeling. I rode a few loops in a Vans contest and I guess got the nickname of the full loop guy…
 

A few years later, there was a contest in France where they had built a big full pipe in a skate park and the people that built the park thought that no one was ever going to do the full pipe, so the premise of the contest was - who is going to do it? A homie from France called me and said, you have to come and try it. It was pretty funny as people were betting on me, I showed up at the park and I did the loop thirty minutes later. The really funny thing was the contest was on the Sunday and I did it first time on the Friday. We had to keep it a secret for two days, and I probably did it about 20 times before the contest had started – but had to really keep it on the down-low. When the contest came, I was sworn to say nothing, I was told to act like I have never tried it. Weirdly I won the contest. Since then, I guess I have been the loop guy, and from there I wanted to try the biggest one in the world…

Talk us through your world record full loop?
 Well a Red Bull guy tried that exact same loop and failed, which sparked a lot of debate if it was doable or not so I really wanted to give it a shot. I got it in my head, that I could do it and I just went there and did it…

How do you approach something like that?
 It’s really a question of mentality, that head space of “I am the one that is going to do it” so there’s really no coming back from that. You have to do it. Luckily we had an airbag there so I could train for that, speed, line, run etc but I was freaking out when the airbag went away as that’s the moment where panic can set in and you just bail on it. I was getting towed in by a car to get speed and right before I did it, I just asked my friend who was driving to put on some good music and he blasted this music that psyched me up.

Actually on the trial run, I did it by accident, did the full pipe and dodged the airbag on the run out so I knew the next run – it was on. “Take the airbag out, I’m going to do it right now”. Even now when I think about it, it raises my heartbeat.

What’s the difference between being confident and being reckless in BMX?
 I would say being reckless, creates confidence. You crash, because you are reckless and then the more you crash, the more experience you get and the more confidence you get. It’s all interlinked. It’s better to be reckless without giving up.

You’ve taken BMX out of the park and even streets and integrated more in architecture - do you see BMX more as art than a performance sport
 Definitely, I see BMX more as art than sport. Ever since I was struck by the BMX virus I can’t see the world the same way, it’s all spots to ride, I really think that’s art. I can’t see a stair set as just stairs, I want to ride it. Normal people see a ledge and sit down on it, I want to grind it.

You skate as well, how does that transition to BMX?
 I think BMX and skating have a lot of similarities when it comes to tricks and movements, we share the same ramps, we share the same spots. Opposite sides, normal sides. I enjoy riding skateboards, I played a lot of Tony Hawk growing up and was into skating before I was into BMX. A lot of the time I find myself riding a skateboard to warm up before BMX. I have a deep appreciation of all board sports really, whoever is out there riding and sending it, has my respect.

How would you say your style of riding has evolved over the years?
 I hate talking about myself riding so I really don’t know how to answer that question. But I would say I’m just trying to ride my bike, but more dialled in general; more consistent with tricks and more relaxed on the bike. Try not to look at sketchy as I used to…

And outside of riding? What gets you fired up? What are your interests?
 Oh yeah. My favourite thing to do is ride my motorcycles all the time, I have a Harley and I love riding it around the city or do trips on it. I love riding dirt bikes and pit bikes as well. I love cooking as well, making my own pizza, grilling meats. I enjoy drawing as well, I like to skydive as well – that’s a new passion for me. I do a lot of gymnastics too, cliff jumping and trampoline – I just got a new trampoline which I’m really stoked on, that’s been a childhood dream of mine. I just love extreme sports, period.

Who do you look up to in BMX?
 In BMX my biggest influence is Pat Casey. I had the luck to have met him and call him a friend before he passed away.

And outside?
 Brendon Semenuk is also a role model for me, he’s a mountain biker. Axel Hodges the motorcross rider as well is a big inspiration for me, one of my favourite dudes and a good friend of mine. I love watching Greyson Fletcher skate, as well as Arthur Longo snowboard.

How would you describe the vibe within the Vans BMX team?
 I’ve always had the family vibe. It’s one family, a close circle. One vibe. The vibes are always amazing, both in and out of BMX – it’s one family.

Any last words? A message for the internet? A message to your former self?
 I’m stoked to be here and I’m super happy that I never gave up. I’m lucky to be living my passion, meeting people, having fun and sharing my passion and enjoying life.

Follow your dreams, don’t stop.