Ranked fifth in the world at Street Bike Freestyle Riding in 2008 and 2009, Mattie’s presence at events such as the Annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, Motorcycle Live Show at the NEC Birmingham and countless bike shop open day’s throughout the UK and Ireland have been warmly welcomed by his growing fan base.
The 32-year-old from Galway works hard to entertain his audiences, training for two hours a day, six days a week, and for four hours on Sundays ( when not away performing ) to practice his routine and develop his signature tricks. It’s a dream job for Mattie, whose motorcycling career began at an early age – thanks to an enthusiasm for trials riding and talent for mechanics.
Building the bike in his workshop was almost as enjoyable as honing his stunt-riding skills and gave the young motorcyclist greater confidence in his abilities. “I’v been doing mechanic work since I was very young and I have always enjoyed working on motorcycles in particular. It can take months to complete a stunt bike, a lot of parts have to be made especially for it, and it can take a some time to get over any teething problems, and before you feel totally comfortable on it.”
Soon after he decided to start stunt riding, he was spotted by BMW Motorrad Manager Conor McRory at the Irish Motorbike Show in Dublin in 2004. “Conor saw me perform and was pretty impressed by my riding skills. From there, I carried out some demonstrations at numerous BMW events on different BMW motorcycles and was introduced to the BMW Motorrad team.”
Happily, stunt riding is now a full-time profession for Mattie. Most of his week is spent training, practising, preparing his BMW F 800 R for shows and working in his home office in Galway.
In the Beginning…
Mattie has been riding bikes since a very young age, in particular trial bikes and motocross bikes. In 2004 Mattie decided to try his hand at motorcycle stunt riding. He built his first stunt bike from a 98 Honda CBR Fire Blade.
Mattie showed great ability by wining the first competition he entered in Ireland. From there he decided to enter the World Stunt Riding Championships in the Czech Republic in June 2004, he came in 14th place out of the World’s top 50 riders. After this competition Mattie built a new stunt bike from a 01 Honda CBR 929 Fire Blade.
Mattie went on to perform at numerous shows such as The Entertainment on the Prom at the famous Isle of Man TT in 2005-2007. The RDS Motorcycle Show in Dublin 2005,2007,2009. The Ulster Grand Prix 2005- 2009, and many more car/ truck/motorcycle etc. events throughout Europe.
In December of 2006 Mattie finished building his KAWASAKI ZX636, Mattie then went on to compete in the European street bike motorcycle freestyle championships in Amsterdam Holland in late 2007 where he came in 7th place out of 59 entry’s.
In the spring of 2008 Mattie travelled to Zurich to better his ranking where he secured 5th place World ranking.
Mattie returned to Zurich on a Suzuki in the Spring of 2009 and retained his 5th place World ranking. His strong and loyal fan base continues to grow on a daily basis. Why not subscribe to Mattie’s news letter now to keep you up to date on all his events…
Name: Mattie Griffin
D.O.B: 12/11/1979
Resides: Galway, Ireland
Nationality: Irish
Hobbies:Water Sports / Trials Riding
Bike’s Used: BMW F800R / Trials bike
More information at Mattie Griffin Website