The Gnar Couch Podcast

11-year-old freeride phenom Wes Lukens is the youngest person to ride Freeride Fiesta, the Cam Zink invitational, the Reece Wallace Invitational, Swatch Nines, and the Backyard Battle.

This week on Gnar Couch, we're joined by Wes and his dad, Shawn. Wes has been sending ridiculous lines, throwing massive tricks, and generally riding like he forgot to download the fear update for a couple years now.

From Whistler to the Virgin, this kid is doing things that most mountain bikers will never do in their entire lives.

And behind every kid launching himself into orbit is a dad who's somehow keeping the whole operation rolling.

This kid has serious mountain bike talent and a father who knows how to develop and manage it perfectly.

Guest: Wes Lukens

SHRED TIL BED!

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

Save 20% on Vee Tires, and Tannus Inserts!!! Use the code GNAR to save on tires that are already the best value in MTB and the best inserts in the industry!

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

Seven years after Rampage tried to kill the dream, Johny Salido is back for unfinished business.

@johnysalido joins Gnar Couch from the Utah desert as he prepares for his return to Red Bull Rampage in 2026. The last time Johny earned his way to Rampage, he was a 19-year-old Mexican kid trying to figure out big-mountain freeride. A massive crash, a ruptured spleen, and one extremely shitty hospital visit later, the dream got put on hold.

Now he's back.

Since 2019, Johny has spent seven years riding some of the biggest shit on Earth, traveling the world, building Freeride Fiesta into one of freeride's sickest events, and becoming an entirely different rider.

We get into the comeback, fear, risk, the mental game of Rampage, what he's learned since his first shot, growing freeride in Mexico, Freeride Fiesta, and why apparently almost dying once wasn't enough to make him pick a safer hobby.

It's Johny Salido. It's Rampage week. And we're sitting on a couch talking about riding bicycles off cliffs.

Real Talk. Raw Takes. No Filter.

SHRED TIL BED.

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

Save 20% on Vee Tires, and Tannus Inserts!!! Use the code GNAR to save on tires that are already the best value in MTB and the best inserts in the industry!

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

Five freeriders. One podcast. Absolutely no responsible adults.

We're loading up the Gnar Couch with Bienvenido Aguado-Alba, Chelsea Kimball, Connor Gallart, Tylor James, and CJ Selig for a Red Bull Rampage roundtable featuring more talent than our podcast hosts have accumulated on their bikes in six years.

We're talking big-mountain freeride, Rampage, digging in the Utah desert, pushing boundaries, throwing yourself off enormous cliffs, and the questionable decision-making required to call any of this a career.

These people have dedicated their lives to doing things on mountain bikes that most people wouldn't attempt with a parachute. Naturally, we thought we'd invite them onto a podcast hosted by four idiots who can barely manage a group conversation.

Come for the Rampage talk. Stay for the inevitable derailment. 

**FOLLOW THE GUESTS:**
Bienvenido Aguado-Alba: @bienvenidoaguado
Chelsea Kimball: @chelseasendsit
Connor Gallart: @connorgallart99
Tylor James: @_tylor_james
CJ Selig: @cj.selig
Gnar Couch: @gnarcouch www.gnarcouch.com

👉 Like the podcast
👉 Subscribe to Gnar Couch
👉 Comment 

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension Vee Tires, and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

The Mallen Twins are back on the Gnar Couch, and somehow Luke and Alex have gone from terrifyingly fast Utah groms to terrifyingly fast World Cup downhill racers while the rest of us have gotten older, angrier, and developed health and attitude problems.

We get into life racing the UCI World Cup, traveling the world chasing tenths of a second, representing Outlaw INTENSE Racing, the reality of trying to make it as a young American downhill racer, and what happens when some of your biggest competition also happens to share your DNA.

The boys talk racing, crashes, progression, growing up in the Utah bike scene, the FOX US Open at Deer Valley, and what it takes to keep pushing when your “normal teenage experience” involves throwing yourself down mountains at a verifiably dangerous speed.

Meanwhile, the Gnar Couch crew contributes its usual collection of highly (mis)informed questions, questionable observations, unnecessary interruptions, and absolutely no useful guidance whatsoever.

Two twins. Two downhill bikes. One couch full of rapidly declining chopped uncs.

This is professional mountain bike journalism at its finest.

👉 Like the podcast
👉 Subscribe to Gnar Couch
👉 Comment which Mallen twin is faster so they can fight about it at Thanksgiving.

Follow these three rad dudes.

Luke Mallen

Alex Mallen

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension Vee Tires, and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

The Deer Valley Dig Crew joins Gnar Couch to break down what it took to build the 2026 Fox US Open Downhill course, a track riders were calling the steepest, loosest, and most savage downhill track in the country.

We get into the whole process, from the original design and build complications to changes requested by Clay Harper and the Monster Energy Pro Downhill Series, the infamous moon dust, wild off-cambers, and the challenge of constructing a world-class race track during one of the hottest Utah summers on record.

Oh, and when they needed wood features, they didn’t just order lumber. They bought a damn sawmill and started milling trees directly from the property.

All of that while somehow keeping the rest of Deer Valley’s bike park running.

If you’ve ever wondered how a major downhill track goes from an idea on a hillside to something that makes professional racers initially question why the hell they're racing, this one’s for you.

Follow these three rad dudes.
Deacan

Ben

Joe

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

We caught up with @nekomulally at the @usopenmtb to talk about the track, life as a World Cup racer, and what happens when you decide racing bikes isn't enough work, so you start @rideframeworks and manage @frameworksracing too.

Neko gives us the rundown on building Frameworks, running a race team, and somehow keeping tabs on an absolutely ridiculous roster featuring @aarongwin1, @asavermette and @annanewkirk_.

We also talk race lines, team management, bike development and how Neko manages to do approximately 47 jobs while the Gnar Couch crew struggles to organize four microphones.

Actual mountain bike knowledge was exchanged. We're as surprised as you are.

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

We're getting TAKEN. Taken Cycles' Jeremy McGlathery, Matt Mundy and Chris Canfield join us to talk about the Boise-built Taken Encounter, CBF + i-Track suspension, and how to make a bike climb well without ruining all the fun on the way back down.

This week, we've also included the second hour for free, which is usually reserved for Patreon. Thanks to Chris Canfield for sticking around. Hear his takes unfiltered for free this week!

Guest:
Taken Cycles
Instagram: @takencyles

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

Connor Gallart joins Gnar Couch today. Connor grew up riding the legendary Aptos Post Office Jumps, stepped away from bikes for six years to serve in the US Coast Guard, then apparently decided normal life was overrated and came back to freeride. Now the Evil Bikes rider is headed to Red Bull Rampage as a rookie rider after going absolutely enormous in his Fair Winds submission.

This week, we've included the second hour for free. Usually, this is a Patreon-exclusive show. Hope you like it. Check out our Patreon at patreon.com/gnarcouch for as low as $4.20/month!

Guest:
Connor Gallart
Instagram: @connorgallart99

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

Welcome back to the Gnar Couch Podshow, where mountain bike conversation, industry insight, and complete adult supervision failure all collide like a guy casing a jump he definitely told everyone he had.

This week, we’ve got Jason Moeschler on the couch. Jason is the CEO of Evil Bikes, a former pro rider, and one of those rare bike-industry people who actually knows what he’s talking about, which immediately makes him suspicious around here. We get into Evil Bikes, what it’s like running a small but legendary mountain bike brand, the weird state of the bike industry, racing, product development, Bellingham bike culture, and how a real brand survives when the market is acting like a drunk guy trying to explain suspension kinematics at 1:00 a.m.

Of course, because this is Gnar Couch, we also wander through several completely unnecessary side quests, laugh at things responsible adults probably shouldn’t laugh at, and prove once again that “bike podcast” is a very loose term. Jason manages to bring actual experience, knowledge, and perspective, while the rest of us do our best to drag the show back into the gutter where it belongs.

Topics include:

Evil Bikes and what makes the brand different

Jason’s racing and bike-industry background

The business side of mountain biking

Product development, bike design, and what riders actually care about

The current state of the bike industry

Bellingham, bike culture, and building a real mountain bike company

Gnar Couch derailments, dumb questions, and enough laughing to damage an office chair

If you came here for a clean, professional mountain bike interview, that was adorable. If you came here for real bike talk mixed with bad decisions, low standards, and a guest who somehow survived the whole thing, welcome home.

Subscribe, like, leave a comment, and tell us which Evil bike would make you a better rider even though we both know the bike isn’t the problem.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro chaos, show setup, and early Gnar Couch nonsense

04:00 The show gets rolling and immediately starts going sideways

06:50 Jason Moeschler joins the couch

09:25 Jason’s background, racing, and life in the bike industry

17:15 Racing stories, mountain bike culture, and the long road to becoming an industry lifer

26:45 Evil Bikes, product development, and what makes a bike actually matter

29:45 Geometry, bike setup, industry opinions, and rider preferences

37:15 The bike industry, tough markets, small-brand survival, and keeping Evil alive

43:45 Bellingham, trail culture, company identity, and the realities behind the brand

48:05 Gnar Couch tangent zone, because obviously

56:35 Listener-style questions, big laughs, and the wheels coming off

58:40 More bike talk, more bad ideas, and more questionable analysis

01:04:00 Late-show chaos and industry rabbit holes

01:06:15 Jason keeps bringing actual insight while everyone else tries to ruin it

01:10:30 The boys continue pretending this is a structured interview

01:14:40 Final-hour laughs, side quests, and classic couch behavior

01:17:30 Wrap-up derailments, plugs, and the end of what we’re legally calling a podcast

Guest:
Jason Moeschler
Instagram: @evil.bikes.smooth.operator
Evil Bikes: @evilbicycles

Gnar Couch:
www.gnarcouch.com
@gnarcouch

Go to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".

We tried to be professional, but it turns out we're all smooth brain idiots who will never get their shit together. That said, we had Peter Salido on with us and he was damned entertaining and fun. Definitely one of the coolest guys in professional mountain biking!

Guest info: Peter Salido

Got to our Patreon and give us money. We've added old episodes, downloadable songs, and give you early access to raw, uncut shows for only $4.20/month.

We all ride TRP brakes. They're the best. Buy some.

Thanks to crankbrothers and Hyland Cyclery and EXT Suspension and Tannus for always keeping the bikes running.

Get 30% off BLIZ sunglasses and more with the code "sponchesmom".