The World Champion Who Quit for YouTube – Sam Pilgrim Story

From winning the FMB world tour to riding Walmart bikes for a living – Sam Pilgrim True Story.
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This is an original documentary-style video created by EliMTB Studios.
The script, editing, and storytelling are 100% made by me. The voiceover is AI-generated, but everything else is crafted through hours of research and transformative editing.

From winning the FMB World Tour to riding Walmart bikes for a living, Sam Pilgrim is one of the most recognized faces in mountain biking, counting over 2 million subscribers on YouTube. Many know him for his crazy and dumb stunts on weird bikes. Today is going to be epic. Look at this beast. But he’s not just that. He is way more than just a YouTuber. Sam was born in Colchester, England in 1990. Like many kids, he rode a cheap mountain bike around the neighborhood, hitting curbs and sketchy jumps. But there was something about Sam that made him stand out from his friends. A total disregard for fear. He would spend afternoons building sketchy wooden ramps in his backyard. And with every jump, he was getting better. [Music] Sam was sending back flips before most riders had even tried a tail whip. And also sending world firsts. That energy never left him. That was sick. So, if I can flip higher than that, I’ve beaten the world record. Yes. Another world record. Smashed. That’s the best. By the time he was 14, Sam was already entering dirt jump competitions all over the UK. He wasn’t the most polished rider, but he had style and he had guts. In 2007, Sam shocked the MTB scene by finishing second at the FMB World Tour event in Vienna after qualifying last. After the race, he said, “I didn’t expect to be on the podium. Welcome to my party. We’re just getting started. A life is a dream or a nightmare scarring. Hand me a drink cuz I think I’m going all in. Get me a streak who can catch me when I’m falling. Cover up my scores with the handlebars. At just 17, he was already competing with the best slope style riders in the world. One year later, he turned pro. Sponsors came calling and Sam signed with Monster Energy, a dream come true. Oh, it’s the Cracker Money one. Who put that card in there? I was wondering what the time was. It’s crack. That sponsorship would last 13 years all the way until 2024. As you saw by the title, I am now no longer riding for Monster Energy. And my helmet is looking quite different at the moment without the Monster Energy logos on there. But here’s the thing. Sam wasn’t just competing. Long before YouTube made him a global star, Sam was already vlogging. Monday? No. Uh here we are. It’s uh it’s Monday. Posting sketchy dirt jump clips and road trip diaries on Pink Bike with the same energy we know him for today. He didn’t just ride bikes. He told stories even before that was a thing. We got to ride it like once and then this happened. In 2013, Sam did the impossible. We are here in Whistler, Canada for Crank Works. This tension is building. Yeah, this is Joy Ride. [Music] After a perfect season, he won the entire FMB World Tour, becoming the first European rider to ever take the crown of slope style world champion. In the same year, he competed at Red Bull Rampage, but didn’t manage to get into the finals. For many, that would have been the end of the story. Not for Sam. After his championship year, Sam faced a choice. Keep chasing contest wins or go his own way. He picked the second option. Sam started focusing more on YouTube, regularly uploading his adventures, product tests, and sketchy experiments with weird bikes. People loved it. They didn’t want a perfect champion. They wanted Sam. His YouTube channel exploded. His audience spread worldwide. Sam is the kind of rider who puts a 30 C engine on a granny bike. It’s got a built-in engine here. The kind of guy who flips a trike. He takes a cheap Walmart bike to the bike park and absolutely sends it. That broke in a turn. That’s why millions of fans around the world connect with him because he never takes himself too seriously. Because he reminds us why we ride in the first place, for fun. Wow, that’s so fun. Today, Sam Pilgrim is more than just a rider. He’s a brand, a creator, an ambassador for having fun on two wheels. He may not have a wall covered in world titles, but what he’s built is even rarer. A community that stretches far beyond any finish line. Sam showed the world you don’t need to win five Red Bull joy rides to inspire millions. You just need a cheap bike, a big smile, and the courage to do things your own way. After all these years, Sam Pilgrim is still riding bikes and bringing smiles to people’s faces.