Brandon Clarke
There is a phrase that goes something like, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, coach.” Truthfully, when it comes to dirt bikes, I am neither.
I do not have the credentials to sit here and tell a rider what to fix, where to improve, or how to be better. I never raced professionally. I never lined up behind a gate with the lights on. In fact I only ride my dirtbike for fun. However, I did spend nearly two decades as a freeski coach, working with big mountain riders. Somewhere along the way, I learned how to see performance a little differently.
And oddly enough, that perspective explains a lot about Haiden Deegan.
The Art of Freeride
If you are not familiar with big mountain or freeride skiing, it is pretty simple. You start at the top. You finish at the bottom. And everything in between is up to you.
Within set boundaries, you choose your own line. Your own rhythm. Your own way down the mountain. Judges score you on five things: line choice, control, fluidity, technique, and style.
Sound familiar? It should. Because that is motocross and supercross in a nutshell.
The “Fix This… Fix That…”
For the last couple of years, the noise around Haiden has been constant.
“He needs better whoops.”
“He needs to clean it up.”
“Is he consistent?”
“Can he really be the guy in Supercross?”
And yeah, some of that is fair. That is part of growing up in this sport. He’s literally done everything the critiques have asked for. Outside of A1, this season, he has been on a tear. Dominant, confidant, and loose. Maybe most importantly, he appears to be having more fun than anyone else out there.
Yeah, ok… Winning is fun, I get that! But Haiden genuinely looks like he is having more fun than anyone else. In Seattle this last weekend, I studied him throughout qualifying. Playing around in different lines, moving from one side of the track to the other. Manualling across tables or nose bonking his front tire in rhythm sections during a slow lap.
All those playful bike skills matter more than people realize.
The Racer vs. The Freerider
At my local mountain, freeskiers and ski racers always had beef.
Different worlds.
Different styles.
Different mindsets.
But here is the truth. The ski racers usually made the best freeskiers. Why? Because they knew how to properly edge a ski. They knew how to hold a line. They knew how to stay committed when conditions got ugly. They learned how to take the fastest path no matter what.
During a competition you would often see kids who only grew up freeskiing bail off their line when things got sketchy. Safer, sure. But their scores dropped. Their flow disappeared.
Haiden rides like a racer who learned how to freestyle. After all, he flipped a 65 when he was 10 years old, so he’s got a little clout in both worlds. He attacks his line no matter the conditions. But he is also constantly searching for lines nobody else sees. Smooth, efficient, fast, he’s shaving tenths and hundredths everywhere. That is championship stuff.
Back to the beef, freeskiers hated the gate chasers for their skinny skis, tight race suits, and curvy poles. Meanwhile ski racers used to clown park kids and urban skiers.
“No talent.”
“Just sliding rails.”
Completely false. Do you know how much balance it takes to slide a ski down a two-inch handrail? It is insane. One mistake and you are picking your teeth up off of the frozen concrete. That kind of precision transfers. And Haiden has it. He can put that bike anywhere. And that control becomes even more important on the rare occasion he makes a mistake.
We saw it recently when he tried to make an inside move on Levi Kitchen, just before the sand section in Seattle. He spun out and lost traction. Within a millisecond, he caught himself, pivoted, and was back on Kitchen. Most riders would have been on the ground. He was not. Because control like that is not luck. It is learned.
The Precision Over Power
Watch Haiden ride. Really watch him. His upper body is calm. Quiet. Centered. The bike dances underneath him. His legs act like suspension. He doesn’t make a lot of unnecessary movements. He’s quiet. He keeps his core tight and lets the motorcycle work.
His control is so evident that he looks as if he’s bunny hopping a 240-pound bike over single in or out of a corner. He stays low in rhythms, even when the bike is vertical. He clears jumps just high enough to keep momentum driving forward. He is not scrubbing everything.
Compare his lines to Kitchen’s in the rhythm before the finish and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Haiden is lower in the air allowing him to get the wheels back on the ground milliseconds quicker. He is optimizing everything. Just like the Seahawks mantra this year he’s Chasing Edges. That is the difference.
The Art of Control
Watching Haiden ride, especially up close in person, is pure poetry. You don’t have to be a “Deegs superfan” to see it.
It is smooth.
It is calculated.
It is expressive.
And it is rare.
His riding has smoothed out dramatically over the last year. Where he used to power through everything with force, he now has the patience of Superbowl MVP, running back, Kenneth Walker Jr, complete with timing, and intention. There is so much more to his arsenal this year.
The All-Around Athlete
In freeskiing, the best riders were never one-dimensional.
They raced.
They skied park.
They filmed street.
They charged big mountains.
The most complete guys had all of it. Guys like Sammy Carlson and Tanner Hall. They grew up racing. Thrived in the park. Then became big mountain assassins. Flow. Style. Technique. Confidence. All wrapped into one.
That is Haiden, he’s versatile, he’s not one dimensional. From the high speed tracks of Houston and Glendale to the deep ruts and technical rhythms of Seattle. He’s won them all. Haiden isn’t just fast and smooth on a dirt bike. His skillset is the sum of all his hobbies off the motorcycle.
He is pretty good on a BMX bike.
He is butter smooth on pit bikes.
The scooter skills he had as a kid translated.
And even his air and body awareness is next level.
Look at Hangtown 2024, getting bucked and still spotting his landing. Daytona 2024, cross-rutted in qualifying, launched, and somehow saved himself. Then that Daytona main, losing the rear and fast-planting a 360 like it is nothing. That stuff does not happen by accident. That is body control, spatial awareness, and athletic instinct. That is crossover talent.
Make no mistake. Haiden puts in the work.On the bike. In the gym. In testing. In preparation. But he also lives. It’s not just moto 24/7. It’s BMX in the skatepark and on dirt jumps. He’s out wake surfing, jumping off bridges. Just doing all the fun things us old guys used to do before our knees left the chat. He keeps the joy alive. Not just pounding lap after lap against a stop watch.
Of course winning is fun! But it’s genuine, Haiden just loves riding. You may not like him, you may not be a fan, and of some of his antics, like his cat-and-mouse games, you may even say some of it has no place. But what I see is someone making it fun, while competing, playing, and pushing the game.
The Line Choice
Back in freeskiing, the best runs were never just about speed. They were about commitment, creativity, flow, and confidence. It was about choosing a line and believing in it. Haiden Deegan is choosing his line. It is not always perfect. It is not always clean. But it is bold and it is evolving. Call me cheesy but it is dangerous in the best way.
He is not just learning how to win, he is learning how to master the whole mountain. And that is why I believe the future looks exactly like him. Rumors are already flying that none of it will fly in the 450 class. Maybe. I guess we will have to wait and see.
One thing I believe more than anything else about the Deegs, it is this: I do not see him changing. And when he does it his way he continually finds a way to win.
I’m sure the paychecks and bonuses are really nice. But regardless if you cheer for him or boo him, I think Haiden is here to remind us of why we started riding in the first place, because riding is fun.
Photos: octopi.media
