Category: Bike Park

Featured Image: Kohut in the Whistler Bike Park, in 2000. Whistler Museum/Insight Photography Collection.

May 15 marks Opening Day of the Whistler Bike Park. For Kohut, the day marks the start of his 26th season riding the park.

“In ‘92, I originally saw a picture of someone riding a four-wheel bike.” Kohut wanted one. Badly.

“I had to wait until 1999 to get my first four-wheel bike. Seven years it took. Seven years of winning gold medals. Seven years of being in the paper. Seven years of being on the TV. Seven years of pouring my heart into just being a real, true, integrated individual.”

Those seven years followed a life-changing accident. At age 21, Kohut broke his back attempting a “super-loop” on a swing set. Within a year, he was back skiing. By 23, he had become “Canada’s first-ever gold medalist in sit-skiing”. In 1996, he won the World Championship of Disabled Skiing in Austria, followed by three silver medals at the 1998 Paralympic Winter Games in Nagano.

“It’s all about being quick. And looking good. Being good.” Following that, Kohut came to Whistler and spent almost a month just shredding the snowboard park and half pipe. “You gotta pay your dues with pain, blood, tears, and a tremendous amount of determination to attempt the trick, fall, get up. Attempt the trick, fall, to get up. That method is exactly why I’m successful.”

In 1999, Kohut also quit the National Ski Team. He did return for one last Paralympics in 2002 in Salt Lake, but has not been on snow since 2003. His focus since then has been solely on biking. In 2017, Red Bull called him “the world’s fastest mountain biker on four wheels.” The year following the acquisition of his bike, he was competing in an American national downhill race. Without question, an able-bodied one.

 In 2000, he was competing in Whistler.  “ it’s announced that starting next year, the bike park is going to be open for five and a half months. … Well, all the dudes that were sitting with me were like, holy @#$%. We can do it. We can become the world’s first bike bums.” And that’s exactly what Kohut proceeded to become when he moved full-time to Whistler.

“That’s what I am. I’m a bonafide park rat. I was a skate park rat. I was a BMX track park rat. I’m a downhill park rat.” He continues, “We don’t adaptive bike. We don’t handicap bike. We have bikes that are four wheels. You can call it a four-wheel bike or a four-cross and that’s that.”

Kohut is a pioneer. Not by choice, but by default, he is also an advocate. “I’m anti adaptive. I can’t do any of it. … I’m a big proponent of having no more Paralympics. I just think the Paralympics should be blended into the Olympics. … Same day. Same discussion.” Locally, “the people that I owe so much to is people like Phil Chu and Linda Chizik,” prominent Whistler athletes.

The 55-year-old Kohut was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. “My heroes are like dirtbags… They’re rock and roll musicians. They’re punk rockers.” Kohut fondly reflects,  “Daddy was a Top Fuel drag racer, Mama was bleach blonde. My whole life has never been normal, everything was cool, I didn’t miss out on anything.”

With 25 previous seasons in the bike park, Kohut knows a thing or two about preparation and approach. “I do 100 B-Lines every year before I go on any other trail.” He rides a minimum of three-and-a-half days a week – sometimes seven – and aims for 10 runs a day.

“it’s so fun to race yourself,” he claims. “I don’t work on my weak skills. I cash in on my strengths.”

Kohut is both motivated and a motivator. “I’m pulling the rope that everyone else should be pulling and that’s to make this town as best as it can, as inclusive as it can, as friendly as you can, and let’s just get people from all over the world to come here to shred and be stoked.” 

40 years from now, “I’m going to be the 95-year-old guy that’s doing one run a day.” He will likely also be the first in line.