Bobcat Takes USA BMX Freestyle Team to New Heights

The dads in your neighborhood might get together for drinks on the deck. Or have a monthly poker night. But when one of the neighborhood dads is a BMX athlete who has won 16 X-Games and appeared in more Dew Tour finals than anyone else on the planet, guy time goes to a whole new level. 

“Our group is called the Low Cs because we all have these low-CC engine dirt bikes,” says Ryan Nyquist. “We meet up on Sundays and ride a few different areas around the neighborhood.” 

Ryan takes great pride and joy watching his rad dads ride on their homemade dirt berms and jumps. “I love seeing the neighborhood dads get stoked,” he says. “We just do low-level tricks, like no-handers. I don’t want them to get hurt, I just want to push them outside of their comfort zone.” 

Getting riders to push their limits comes naturally for Ryan. Besides hyping up neighborhood dads, he’s now putting his talent and experience to work for an even bigger cause — training Team USA’s women’s BMX freestyle team. And one Bobcat® machine gives him the tool needed to build the best proving grounds. 

Bobcat Compact Tractor Moves Dirt So Ryan’s Team Can Get Air

Two of “Coach Quist’s” star pupils, Hannah Roberts and Perris Benegas, train with him in Wilmington, North Carolina, and represent Team USA at competitions around the world. 

“He always tells us to go faster, go higher,” says 2018 World Champion, Perris. “He’s very understanding. He goes above and beyond. Making us try new things but doing it in a fun way.” 

Ryan uses one tough machine to push his team to achieve new heights — a Bobcat CT1025 compact tractor. 

“The second you get access to Bobcat machines it makes quick work of piling up a dirt jump,” says Ryan, who always used shovels to build jumps in the past. “Having one of those buckets makes really, really fast work of something that’s usually very tedious.” 

Ryan adds that his Bobcat machine is like an extension of his hand. “When you have a good tool, you produce good stuff. Having good tools to help us reach that next level is so important.” 

“The Bobcat equipment is going to help us be more versatile in our riding and open a lot more doors for us,” says Hannah, a two-time World Champion and Olympic silver medalist. And while Perris and Hannah compete on synthetic composite tracks across the globe, they train on courses of all terrain. “It gives us the opportunity to ride more dirt, and that’s exciting.” 

Ryan’s team and his Bobcat compact tractor share an important trait — versatility. “There’s always going to be a new course we’ll have to adapt to,” says Ryan. “Having Bobcat equipment helps us move quickly and pivot to create a course that lets us go out there and dominate.” 

“Ryan is so creative,” says Perris. “We’ll show up one day and he’ll have a random jump built. It’ll help our progression by giving us more obstacles to train on. The variety with the help of Bobcat is next-level.”  

Epic Plans for the Neighborhood Dads

Besides training his athletes, Ryan has some big plans for his compact tractor. 

“I want to make a really awesome pit bike track,” says Ryan. “I want to make the neighborhood dads something that’s epic. Let’s get the size of the jump up a little bit and get that taste of flying through the air. I’m 11 excited right now.” 

For a legendary BMX athlete who’s made a career getting air on the world’s toughest courses, having the chance to compete – whether it’s in his own backyard or on a global stage – gets Ryan stoked. 

“I love competing. It’s something that makes you rise to the occasion. With these tough, reliable machines supporting our vision to be the best in the world, I could not be more excited to have Bobcat on our team.”