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Home / Bay of Plenty Times / Sport

Racer creates business out of his passion

By by Colin Smith
Bay of Plenty Times·
11 Oct, 2011 07:19 PM6 mins to read

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As a fulltime coach and top level motocross racer it's life on two wheels for Peter Broxholme.

From Tauranga he takes Broxy Rider Coaching on the road throughout New Zealand, teaching dirt bike riding skills to absolute beginners, young riders and some rising stars.

Broxholme has created a business out of his passion and passes on his experience from 17 years of top-level, rough-and-tumble motocross to riders who want to go faster or ride a little better.

``Sometimes we're out in the ice and the rain and it can be a nightmare, but that's New Zealand and that's also the reality of motocross,'' says Broxholme. ``But when someone says `this is amazing, I just feel so much better on the bike' that's the real buzz for me.''

The rider universally known as ``Broxy'' in motocross circles was a late starter on two wheels.

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``I didn't start racing until I was 13. That's probably why I'm still doing it. I didn't get burnt out.''

At 29 he still can't get enough of the sport and is gearing up his training for major summer events and another shot at the MX2 national title in February.

``If I'm not out coaching then I'm training,'' says Broxy. ``It's hard to get it out of your mind. I'll be out mowing the lawn and thinking about my lines.''

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At one time an international racing career was looking promising. Broxy left Tauranga Boys' College with an A-bursary but chose a full-time motocross career ahead of university.

``2002 was my big year. I cleaned up in New Zealand and went to Australia and Japan. Then I went to Europe but I broke my collarbone. It was a bad break and I was pretty distraught for a while.''

But time off the bike saw Broxy jump into the deep end of the coaching scene eight years ago and he's been fulltime ever since.

``I was quite a shy person at school but Honda asked me to look after some riders in Indonesia one time and I really enjoyed it. When I got home I was offered the chance to do more coaching and it's grown from there.''

Today it means about 50,000km a year around the North Island plus visits to the South Island, where he has another van and a bike based so he can fly in and hit the road. He's done 230,000km in his van since 2007.

Coaching days includes skills sessions from basic to advanced, training camps ahead of major events, coaching for some pro riders and also specialised supercross and freestyle sessions.

Last year Broxy did over 1600 hours of solely one-on-one coaching.

``The techniques I teach are the same for a beginner as they are for a pro,'' says Broxy. ``I try to keep it as simple as I can. The less words you can say the better. I prefer to start with a beginner because you don't spend time having to unlearn things.

``The key to coaching is you have to try to get people to do something that feels quite strange to start with. Then they can identify why a technique is better.

``My goal is to know every rider's name and at the end of a session give them a written assessment with five things to go away and continue working on.

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``When I was a young rider all I wanted was for a pro rider to know my name and tell me something about my riding. Darryll King did that for me years ago and I've always remembered it.''

Broxy's classes for women riders have also proved popular.

``There are a lot more families and women now getting involved in riding. ``Women are a lot of fun to work with. ``They will always tell you when they don't like something where guys will often just look at you and decide they're not going to try it.''

The busy coaching schedule means some stretches of life on the road while his wife Sarah looking after much of the administration as well as their two young daughters.

``On average I'm coaching at least four days a week and that doesn't include travel. I try to go two weeks hard out when I'll see every sunrise and every sunset then try to have a week off.

``I'm either at the side of track or on the road, doing the bike maintenance or helping with the admin and our newsletter. Like most people who are self-employed when you work out the hourly rate it's not great.

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``The recession has made things harder and at some races the number of riders is down by a third. But we're still going and we've made some changes to the business that have helped.''

So does a fulltime life on two wheels ever get too much?

``There are sometimes when it feels like you can have too much of a good thing. But then when I get a day off it's not too long before I'm thinking I should go for a ride.''

Motocross is largely under the radar in New Zealand.

It may lack a high profile but thousands of riders are active at low key club events and trail rides while recent world champions such as Ben Townley are the pinnacle of the sport.

Broxy is working with a number of teenagers looking to get to the top of the sport. He says it's as much about work ethic as talent.

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``Talent can only get you so far. A really talented rider can get through the juniors without making a big effort but when it comes to seniors they'll only be top-10 if they're not prepared to really step it up.''

He says most people don't realise the fitness and strength needed to be a top motocross rider.

``You're on a 100kg machine with big g-forces and total concentration.

``When I'm building up for the nationals I will be training at peak heart rate for 30 minutes three times a day. You have to put in a lot of effort and put yourself some through a lot of pain.

``I want to be known as the family rider coach who helps mums and dads and kids to ride better with more confidence and to have techniques that make them safer as well.

``I'd actually like to be able to work with ACC because I could save them a lot of money. And I'd like to work with schools more. ``When I was at school if you weren't good enough at rugby or soccer you were made to feel useless. I turned out to be good at motocross but that was never really supported. Now there are some schools with motocross teams and I wish we had had them in my day.''

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Broxy intends to cntinues racing at the front for a few years more.

In 2009 he finished third in the MX2 (250cc) title and was fifth in the nationals earlier this year. He'll again race for Botany Honda when the 2011-12 season gets underway with the Taupo Labour weekend meeting.

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