Hans Rey: Give me five! The superstar & his top 5

Hans Rey - this guy doesn't really need any explanation, no foreword, no "who is Hans" drivel. At least - and hence the "actually" - for the older bikers among us. Because Hansjörg "No Way" Rey (* 4 June 1966 in Kenzingen/Baden) was there right from the start, the first extreme biker in the sport of mountain biking.

His riding techniques in BIKE in the early 1990s were and still are legendary and unforgotten. At the time, nobody would have guessed that such stunts, tricks and moves (nobody said "moves" back then) were even possible on a mountain bike. Hans probably wouldn't have known it himself, but Hans already had all the skills, albeit on a small trial bike.

Transferring them to mountain biking was easy for him as a multiple world champion. Trials was a niche sport at the time, but mountain biking exploded into the mainstream. At the beginning of the 1990s, the sports world was hot on the sudden wave of fun sports. Snowboarding, paragliding, bungee jumping, mountain biking, windsurfing - that was what young people wanted instead of dusty club sports.

Hans Rey: Always on trend - for 30 years

And that was what the advertising industry craved. The more colourful, the shriller, the weirder, the better - and Hans was one of the very "colourful birds". Crazy: While athletes came and went over the years, sports stars flared up and died out again - Hans was always there in the sport of mountain biking.

Back then, 30 years ago, just like today. Hans Rey has just celebrated his 30th anniversary with his sponsor GT Bikes - an absolute rarity in the sports business. The reason for this: Hans kept reinventing himself. The extreme biker became an extreme adventurer: Hans sought out trails in all corners of the world. Hans became a flow ambassador. The Californian by choice realised early on that fun biking is best achieved on fun, flowing trails and took on consultancy work for bike parks and bike destinations.

And Hans wanted to give back and created charity missions such as Wheels4Life, where he donated thousands of bikes to the Third World. No wonder Hans was elected to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. At the age of 58, Hans is still as active as ever. Here are his top 5 answers to the most important questions.

Waste of time

1. Hate
2. Wanting to discuss with my wife
3. Complaining about the weather
4. Lift queue in the bike park
5. Wanting to reinvent the wheel

Dreams

1. Health
2. Wisdom
3. Ride a Scottish 6-day moto trial
4. Climb the Matterhorn
5. Never have a real job

Cinema films

1. Poor Things
2. The Gods Must Be Crazy
3. Wild Life
4. Fire, Ice & Dynamite
5. Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

Not possible!

1. Biking without a helmet
2. Throw away rubbish
3. Not being true to your word
4. Social doping
5. Have the bike towed by the carrier

Sports

1. Moto-Trial
2. Golf
3. Football
4. Ski
5. Ride a road bike

Heroes

1. Erich von Däniken
2. John Tomac
3. Andreu Codina (Moto-Trial)
4. Robin Williams (Actor)
5. Firefighters

Temptations

1. Leberkäs roll
2. Sleep in
3. Beer
4. E-bikes
5. Buy another RV camper

Good Times

1. Ride new trails
2. Laugh with friends
3. Setting off for new destinations
4. Hole in One
5. Being outdoors in nature

Influences

1. Hermann Hesse
2. Yuval Noa Harari
3. Good general education
4. Scott Schmidt/Glen Plake (skier)
5. BMX and moto trial stars of the 1980s and 90s

Music

1. Genesis
2. Foo Fighters
3. Beastie Boys
4. Cage The Elephant
5. Rage Against The Machine

Must Dos

1. Tidy up my garage
2. Manu Biosphere Nati Park Peru
3. Treating our planet better
4. Opening of the Laguna Bikepark 2056
5. Feel the flow

Findings

1. History repeats itself
2. There is no such thing as luck, only hard work
3. If you do what you love, you never work a day in your life
4. Don't die wondering
5. It's good to pay in advance

>> Flashback 1997: Hans Rey meets George Bush Senior

>> Video: Home visit with Hans Rey in Laguna Beach

>> Profile Hans Rey - Indiana Jones of mountain biking