Quarantine Time with Team Mongoose: Greg Illingworth

Greg Illingworth was probably one of the last Mongoose riders to come home before the pandemic was in full swing! He was in his homeland of South Africa filming a video for Our BMX and they cut it short when things got serious. Now Greg is safe and sound in Hastings, England, and adapting to life without being able to make videos, go on trips, and coach at Source Park. While times are challenging, Greg keeps a positive mindset and stays creative. We caught up with him to see what he's been up during the quarantine.

So, what have you been doing with yourself to keep busy at home?

Greg: I’ve been spending some time on physiotherapy, home workouts, working on my bikes, helping my lady with her university work, catching up on sleep, planning future projects, cooking, baking and playing with my cats.

What do you miss most about BMX right now?

Greg: I miss riding with friends! Mostly missing trails sessions in the woods!

What are you looking forward to most when everything returns back to normal?

Greg: Trails sessions in the woods with the boys!

Tell us about that bike build time-lapse you posted? Was that just two cameras?

Greg: Yeah that was two cameras only. One GoPro on the time laps and my phone recording real time. I actually had a third camera set up with the best angle but I forgot to clear the memory card and so it stopped recording a few seconds in hahaha!

Any advice for people trying to find something to do to pass the time?

Greg: Of course, staying active, but speaking to people over phone or video and having some kind of routine have helped me a lot. I shower and get dressed every morning, I drink a coffee and think about what things I can or need to do that day. It’s easy to fall into too much chill and laziness right now, so we need to kick our own asses a little bit sometimes. The extra time we have right now is a great chance to speak to people over the phone. I try have at least one phone call every day that lasts more than 30 minutes with a family member or friend. That has quite possibly been my favourite thing about this all, the calls are barely ever cut short, we speak about things we actually want to speak about, not only the things we have to speak about. As for exercise, if you are allowed to then take the opportunities and make it happen, be smart about it, don’t get close to people or put yourself at any unnecessary risk of injury. Try do one thing each day that you’ve been putting off.