Cory Pedroza's somewhat unknown BMX presence has been making a real mark in the past few months. Born and raised in Phoenix, Cory, 26, first started racing at one of the most popular BMX tracks in the country when he was 15. "I remember crashing going around a berm out at Black Mountain in front of my whole family," Cory said, adding, "I didn't race anymore after that."
In 2004, Cory worked for the now defunct action sports camp Point X for several summers.
"It was one of the best experiences of my life, filled with a ton of amazing people and amazing memories," Cory said. "I was a BMX coach, a cabin counselor for the youngest kids and ran a repair shop, well kind of ran a repair shop, I mainly just hustled kids in darts and cards out of there."
Living in Arizona his whole life has allowed Cory to ride a lot of crazy spots, pools and parks, but it has also built longtime friendships with other amazing riders in the area. Constantly feeding off each other and looking at spots from opposite spectrums, Cory and Drew Hosselton have been riding together for years.
"Drew has been one of my best friends for a long time now," Cory said. "From running with the bulls in Spain to being the best man at my wedding, we've had some awesome times."
"Drew has been such a heavy influence on my riding and has always motivated me to take a different approach to spots," Cory explains. "I feel like we both love pools mainly for the excitement that comes with them and the fact that everyone looks at them differently. Lurking the rich neighborhoods in search of a new one, the sweat and sometimes blood that goes into cleaning them out, not even knowing how well the pool is actually going to ride, and finally the satisfaction that comes with finding the perfect lines that lead into pool bangers."
In a recent edit by Bobby Kanode (embedded below), Cory packs banger after banger into the short two minute video. Several clips within Arizona ditches definitely standout: there's a feeble to wallride 180 above a tunnel, and a gigantic drop in from a wall soaring above a steep bank to end the edit's madness. However, the opening sequence starts with Cory back flipping 600 feet into the Grand Canyon with a bungee cord attached.
"I am a huge adrenaline junkie," Cory said. "The Grand Canyon jump was a spur of the moment kind of thing."
Although Cory had the safety of a bungee cord while falling into the Grand Canyon and a helmet on in his giant drop in, these are only a few instances of his thrill seeking.
"I don't like to gloat but to just name a few accomplishments: I dove for sunken treasure in the Bahamas, tubed behind a jet boat at Lake Mead, climbed and repelled some gnarly routes in Nevada, drove a 185 mph in a Lamborghini, went sky diving with Senator John McCain and there's plenty more but most are stories I'll take to my grave," Cory said grinning.
Although Cory has experienced more at 26 than most will ever witness in a lifetime, one of his biggest thrills was the birth of his son, Dustin, a year and half ago.
"Being a dad is quite the adventure in itself," Cory said, adding, "Luckily I have an awesome wife, Stephanie, and a really awesome nanny, Carrie, who allow me to continue to travel and ride! I'm super excited to be able to relive my childhood through my son and share with him all my experiences."
Cory's most recent traveling experience was a trip to Peru with close friends on his birthday.
"It was definitely one of my best birthdays of all time," Cory said. "I actually got invited to help out my buddy Zach who set up a bike exchange with an orphanage in Arequipa. Zach and others purchased a bunch of bikes to give to the kids, and we spent the first day teaching them how to ride and maintain their bikes. It was an amazing experience!
"We then made our way to Machu Picchu and hiked 2300 stairs to an ancient Incan city in the clouds," Cory explained. "And of course we got to ride all the local skateparks along the way and made a ton of awesome new Peruvian friends!"
Cory is currently riding and filming for a new edit after some time off his bike due to an ankle injury. Late this year he will have a part in Bobby Kanode's full-length DVD "Recycled in Arizona."
