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Spicy hard candy that'll light your ass up!
Spicy hard candy that'll light your ass up!
Billy Griggs, what fires you up?

Billy Griggs, what fires you up?

We recently connected with BMX Hall Of Famer Billy Griggs, who shared some of his secret sauce as to how he stays passionate and motivated, pushing himself to make everything he does count.

Tell us who you are, Mr. Bill. Billy Griggs, 50, Anaheim CA. Design Engineer (VP of Making Cool Shit) at Factory Razor. I'm a former Professional BMX racer (1987-2000), currently entering the 6th season of my "second" Amateur BMX career after returning in 2014.

BMX has been the biggest interest of my life, although during my retirement I found many other hobbies to keep busy. I played guitar in two different bands playing many So Cal music venues including the House of Blues at Down Town Disney and the Coachouse in San Juan Capistrano.

I also returned to a pre BMX childhood love of riding dirtbikes... Camping with my YZ450F in the local deserts of So Cal is one of my all-time favorite things to do.

Billy Griggs doing his thing working at factory Razor.

How did you get started racing BMX? I started racing BMX in 1981 at 12.  Initially, it was a group of neighborhood buddies that went to the Orange Y BMX track while I was away on a family vacation for the Holidays.  When I got back, they all told me how cool it was and that I needed to come to give it a try. At this point, I had not really played any sports I really liked...I rode motorcycles...and when I wasn't able to ride my motorcycle,  I would ride my bicycle like it was a motorcycle!  

What do you think it takes to be a winner? To be it winner takes a lot of things. It takes preparation, commitment, skill, luck... but most of all confidence. You have to believe in your ability, if you believe you are good enough to win, you can win!  

Do you have a ritual to get yourself fired up? SLAYER

Billy Griggs dead lifting over 400lbs!

Dude! you are killing it with the training, will you share some tips? Nutrition can be a touchy subject. It often falls into the category of religion and politics. Mostly I find people resistant to the advice I give because it goes against so many beliefs they have had ingrained into them the majority of their lives. This said, I am still always happy to share what has worked for me… and what REALLY didn’t work for me. Ideally, if you were to want to make a permanent change in your weight and health (these are not synonymous) you would be able to disconnect your emotional connection with food and deal strictly with the facts of food. Once you can do that, you no longer have to be at the mercy of “but I don’t like vegetables” or “I can’t live without my pasta”. This is all bullshit that will prevent you from getting strong, lean and healthy.

Here are a couple of facts that you have to accept about nutrition.

You can’t out train a shitty diet: This one cracks me up. “I ran on the treadmill for 30 min last night to work off that bagel” Bullshit. If it were simply burn more calories than you ingest, I suppose this would make sense. Truth is, that Bagel triggered a host of other things in your body that lead to fat storage beyond just being a calorie dense, nutritionally void gut bomb.

It’s not just counting calories and the number on the scale: It’s the type of calories more so than how many. Typical “diet scenario” is someone cuts their calories and cuts out foods that are nutritionally very necessary because they have fat and higher calorie counts. “ all I’ve had today was a rice cake, a salad and a healthy choice frozen entrée” I LOL at this because it’s usually said to me with such a sense of accomplishment and bravado… ”my will power is incredible” Yeah, well… omitting fats and nutritionally dense foods from your menu cause your body to go into famine mode.

Yes, your goal is to lose weight, BUT you need to lose fat, not muscle. If you are in a famine mode your body will burn fat last (precisely why your body stores fat) so what actually is going on here is that as your body burns muscle to replace the calories and nutrition you are not eating, yeah you are losing weight… A lot of weight, because muscle weighs more than fat. The soul-crushing fact about this though is that while the number on the scale got lower, you are actually now fatter due to the majority of that weight being muscle. Bottom line is lowering body fat has more to do with what you eat than how much you eat.

Billy Griggs before and after shot

Basics I live by: Eat vegetables at every meal. I eat eggs, avocado and red meat every day. Choose foods as close to their original state as possible. The least amount of manufacturing and the shortest shelf life are always best for you. Choose nutritionally dense foods that will keep insulin response low. Hunger is caused not because your stomach is empty, but because your blood sugar is low. Foods that raise blood sugar ultimately make you more hungry because of the insulin response of which typically your body overestimates, therefore lowering blood sugar too much making your brain tell you that you need to eat again!

Don’t drink your calories or zero calorie chemical potions marketed as healthy. It’s bullshit. Drink water, and then more water.

Fitness: Lift heavy and low rep. Keep it with compound lifts that work the most muscles per exercise possible. Never ever under any circumstances skip leg day. If you can bench press more than you can deadlift or squat than you have it all wrong. Stay away from mirrors and weight machines. Those are for bodybuilders.

Ride your BMX bike! On the track, on the street, on rollers, and in your dreams.

What goals have you set for the coming year? I was hoping to get a 450 deadlift by my 50th Birthday last September. A July Shoulder injury ruined that. I've hit 415 for two reps recently....so maybe shoot for that 450 pull before I turn 51... Otherwise, it will have to be 451lbs. hahaha!

What advice would you share? There's a reason you have two ears and one mouth. Do more listening than talking.

Billy Griggs personal autograph session.

What's your favorite hot sauce? Growing up in West Anaheim near Stanton, I developed a taste for the standards Tapatio and Cholula.

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👊 Thanks Billy. See you at the races, we'll be rooting for you.
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Check out our interview with AZ's: Brendan O'Brien
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Comments

TP - June 2, 2019

That’s was great information! Thanks for the motivation Mr.Bill
And thanks to Danger snacks as well, keep up the good work👍👍

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