The first photographer I reached out to for the book was Frank Hoppen (@assihoppen), one of the most influential photographers in MX, SX and FMX with a unique, unmatched photography style (here on the first image casually shooting Jeremy McGrath at a Yamaha Photoshooting Session in the early 2000s). I always admired his work in the german motocross magazine called motoX that I loved and consumed day in day out in my childhood.

Never have I ever thought about the opportunity to meet this man — even though it was just a video call — and talk to him about his story. In fact, he did more than just share his absolutely inspiring story. He sent me 18.000 selected pictures from his archives from the 90s up to the mid 2010s for the book, all labeled in top notch quality in 50+ WeTransfer-Links. And let me tell you there are some hidden gems in there, I can’t wait to show them in the printed book.

This guy is both genuine and hilarious. Not even serious health issues keep him back from staying positive. He surely deserves a big, in-depth biography section in the book about FMX.

Thank you, Kamikaze Hoppen!