BMX freestyle Olympic bronze medallist Declan Brooks is no stranger to travelling around the world to compete, but once upon a time he was jetting from place to place as a Cirque du Soleil stunt performer.
The 27-year-old toured around the US in 2017 with the company and only returned to competing the following year ahead of Tokyo 2020 for the sport’s Games debut.
His daring advert and performance exploits were a far cry from life working towards a spot on the Olympic podium and Brooks would now not swap competing for the world.
“It’s completely different, ads are so much easier,” he said. “You don’t get the competition stress that you would at a contest but that’s why we compete, that’s why we want to turn up and be the best every time.
“I’ve done shows for Cirque du Soleil and it’s not the same feeling as competing, you’re doing the same thing every night - for us it gets a little bit boring.
“That’s why I eventually came back to competitions and when the Olympics came around, I knew that was something that I wanted to do straight away.
“Before the Olympics there were so many different avenues to BMX and back then we did do a lot of appearances in films and adverts.
“Cadbury was an online promotion and then we did Mary Poppins for a few months, which was pretty cool, and a couple of Bollywood films, so you could say we’ve been about a bit.
“Now I just want to ride for as long as possible.”
After claiming bronze on day two of the European Games, alongside teammate Kieran Reilly who struck gold, Brooks is firmly focused on Paris 2024 qualification.
Brooks and Reilly are both targeting one of the NOC qualifying spots up for grabs at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow next month with more quota spots available at the Olympic qualifier series next year.
Roommates while competing, they may be rivals when it comes to competition day, but the pair remain consistent in their support for each other.
“Being part of Team GB is such a different beast altogether and it’s so cool to be in with lots of different athletes at a multi-games event,” he said.
“To get us both to Paris next year is the ultimate goal.
“Kieran and I train together every day, so we always see each other riding and see what we’re doing tricks wise.
“We ride very differently, Kieran does a lot of the bigger tricks, a lot more tail whips, bar spins and the bigger combination tricks whereas I tend to do bigger double flips and spins and try and get a bit more creative on the course.
“It’s always hard to judge that and put a score to a line on a course but that’s the way I like to ride and that’s what I enjoy.
“For the next year it’s more about supporting each other to get to where we want to go to and then we’ll both end up at the Olympics if all goes well.”
Rising star Reilly put on Team GB kit for the first time last month at the European Games and is hungry for more after a taste of what Paris 2024 could feel like in Krakow.
Their European Games celebrations included 18 holes of mini golf with ten euros at stake as rivalry rarely ceases for the pair.
Reilly said: “Our psychologist smoked us both at the mini golf, he got in our heads on that one.
“It was a bit different to usual and a second competition after the competition, but it was a good little night out.
“Wearing the Team GB jersey was like a stepping stone for me towards the next Olympics.
“Dec has experienced it and unfortunately for him it was Covid so going to a multisport game where everything was accessible opened my eyes to what it would be like if we qualify.
“Me and Dec are riding the best we’ve ever ridden, we’re getting the best result we’ve ever had.
“Going into Worlds with the opportunity to get a spot so far from Paris would just be a lot of weight off our shoulders and that opens up an opportunity to get both of us at the Olympics.”
Sportsbeat