When and how did you start riding?
I started racing when I was 9, so 13 years ago. I have always loved riding my bike ever since I first learnt to ride, I used to pack a backpack and ride the whole day, making my own little jumps wherever I could. I didn’t even know BMX racing was a thing until my family moved to an area where there was a BMX track, so as soon as I seen that I was hooked.
How were you “discovered” for this part?
Luke Madill, BMX Olympian who is sponsored by Redbull told me one day at his BMX track what Redbull were doing, and that they were after a girl to play the part, and asked if I was interested, which of course I was!
Was acting something you always wanted to do, and did you ever thought you’d be able to incorporate BMX?
There is actually not really any acting in this short clip, the main thing I only had to do was smile the whole time, which is easy! It didn’t really require me to become a “character”, I was just riding and acting like myself.
How did they get the name “Swifty”?
I got that name because on a pretty funny little road trip back from one of the scenes. Corey Bohan was playing Taylor Swift and I told him I don’t really like her music, he continued to play her music and began calling me ‘swifty’
Was there a scene that you were in, that you had to do over and over?
The scene that we probably did over and over most was the construction site scene, where we were being chased by the robbers. We had to do it over and over to get all the different angles, and there was also some stunt guys that did all the fire stuff and getting hit by the car. That scene took a whole day!
Have you notice anything different with your online life since the teaser?
I have gained a few extra followers on instagram! haha https://instagram.com/leannacurtis172/
I personally think it’s super rad that Redbull incorporated a female character, what does this mean to you and how does she compare to Christian from Rad?
I am so excited and grateful that Redbull hired me to be the female in this clip, its really huge for me and the exposure that this clip will get will be massive! To be honest I’ve never seen Rad! I’ve only seen BMX Bandits and that’s where the idea for ‘bicycle motocross’ was inspired from, so I play Nicole Kidmans character.
Was it intimidating to work with Bohan and Hucker?
Not at all intimidating, those guys are really cool, and always making jokes so they made it much easier to be in front of the camera
Where is most of the filming done, and are there any major landmarks we might recognize?
Most of the filming was around Sydney and Manly and a little bit in QLD. There is a scene with a really good backdrop of the Sydney harbour
How long was the filming process?
We filmed for 7 days, most days were around 6-8 hours
Can you tell us anything about the bike you rode?
As far as I know the frame and everything was all modern, just the wheels were pretty old school. The bike was heavier than I’m used too, and the handle bars were so big, but I was able to adjust to it pretty quickly. It took longer to get used to the old school tyres! I had a crash on the first day of filming because I hit a corner like I normally would, but the wheels felt like they just folded underneath me and I went down straight away haha. That’s why in some of the scenes you can see sores on both my elbows! haha
Have you seen the entire movie yet? Is there a scene you think we may not appreciate watching on our computers, that in real life was nuts?
I haven’t seen the whole thing yet, I’ve only seen what everyone else has so I’m really excited for it!
Best memory that you’ve taken away from this experience
I cant pick just one memory, the whole thing was so amazing! I had the best week with everyone involved and I couldn’t take the smile off my face the whole time!
