Global Marketing Director by day, and Matt's personal mechanic also by day, and night!

Back in the early days of John's bike industry life, he was the man on the tools in a workshop. Whilst his job title may have changed over the years, he's still a solid race mechanic when needs must and at an event like Hardline, needs very much are a must.

John built Matt a completely fresh Quake just before the event meaning all components have zero fatigue or wear on them - gnarly tracks require this level of attention to detail, the best for the best!

See below for a bike check of Matt's elite build spec.

Matt's fresh Quake is no standard off-the-production line spec. Dripping in Swedish gold, Ohlins bouncers at each end take care of suspension duties and soak up the massive hits Matt will need to absorb to even just make it down this Tasmanian mountain-side.

Shimano Saint stoppers take care of the speed adjustments and are mounted to big rotors to maximize stopping force and minimize brake fade. Likewise, a custom Shimano Saint drivetrain ensures the chain is always attached to correct gear when Matt needs to get on the power.

Finally, a fresh set of Halo Gravitas wheels shod in stick-af Goodyear rubber keep things rolling forward and, hopefully, rubber side down. Matt has a more-than-usual amount of air and sealant inside his tires, partly because of the huge g-forces sustained on a track like this but mostly because Matt loves a cheeky inside line and a naughty schralp for the camera!

A day of paradoxical emotions, athletes are pulled between excitement and nervousness as they walk the track that they will later shred down and attempt to go as fast as humanly possible. The dirt is hard, the dust is deep in places and the gargantuan features loom large in the Tasmanian jungle.

The atmosphere clings to the skin as much as the humidity and tension can be felt far and wide - this is where the job at hand starts to feel real. Many lines are discussed, some are not, this is a race at the end of the day and whilst everyone shares a common goal - send and survive - race craft is still important and these guys and girls are competitive to the core.

Matt and John walk and talk, pick out the key sections, places to push, places to relax and other places where downright survival is the only consideration. Despite the inherent fear that comes with the task at hand, Matt is classically humble and calm, ready to push his new Quake and himself to the absolute limit, and most likely John's stress levels, too - there'll be a few ten-coffee days and some sharp intakes of breath, we think!

Day one saw athletes put rubber to dirt and start to tick off features. Matt wheeled out his two day old dream build and with his always-humble approach, did what Matt does - sent the Quake to the moon with his effortless style and easy speed.

Watching his new Quake soak up the gnar and big hits got us all stoked, this is what it was built for and to see it ripping in real-time is properly exciting.

Big props to all of the athletes that cut the tape today and whipped up the dust!