MATHIEU REBEAUD'S CONFERENCES in DUBAI and ABU DHABI

Mat (Mathieu) Rebeaud was born in Payerne in Western Switzerland in 1982. Son of motocross rider Antoine Rebeaud and grandson of Frédéric Rebeaud, Mat was destined to follow in their footsteps, representing the family’s third generation of off-road enthusiasts.

Mat was given his first bike at the tender age of four, when he immediately took to the track, and was soon to compete in races at both, regional and national level in the 80cc and 125cc categories. He would undoubtedly have pursued this clearly marked path, had a major event not sown a seed in his mind: the FFX or, more precisely, freestyle motocross, a spectacular discipline that made its first official appearance at the Summer X Games in 1999.

Mat then spent some time alternating between motocross events and freestyle shows orcompetitions, his father insisting that he continue to practise an « acceptable » sport in the form of motocross racing.

Having worked on his jumps and tricks from a very young age, Mat’s airborne featsproved to be his greatest talent, and he finally abandoned the track for freestyle motocross in 2005 after winning the « Night of the jumps »competition.

The only time Mat now touches the ground is to pick up speed before flying into the air.And although his backflip combos and underflips (all inventions of his own imagination) are the best in the world of freestyle motocross, he is constantly rehearsing new, never-seen-before moves in his own back yard.

No other sport has pushed Mat to his limits as quickly as freestyle motocross. His contribution to the discipline has been tremendous and he is still going all out to drive it forward. « Playing with bikes is all I want to do, » he says.