Meet Kitty Joseph, 14 years old from Cambridgeshire, UK, the youngest girl to do a complete double backflip on a proper box. The internet exploded for this unknown rider, so let’s get to know her.
How did you get into BMX? I’ve always enjoyed pretty much anything with wheels. When I was 10, I was selected to be a part of Skateboard GB pipeline project. When I was 12, I tried mountain biking for the first time. I instantly fell in love with it, but at the same time fell out of love with skateboarding. In December 2023, I got my first park BMX bike. Mountain bikes definitely gave me a bit of a head start in BMX.
What languages do you speak? I speak English, however, I’m learning Spanish in school!
Your top three parks? My top 3 would have to be: Adrenaline Alley, Junction 4 and The Olympic replica park (RAF)👌
Top three songs on your playlist? I couldn’t pick a top 3! But my favourite artists would have to be: Skepta, Ken Carson and Drake.
Three people who inspire you and why?
- My sister is my biggest inspiration. I’ve always looked up to her. She’s always there to help and support me when I need it. She competed for years at an international level, so she’s always there to give me advice when competing.
- Charlotte Worthington, as soon as I started BMX, I’ve always been inspired by Chaz! Her courage and determination are something I’ll always look up to.
- My coaches, I have 3 (Rob and Scott from British Cycling), but I couldn’t possibly pick between the two! The pair of them are very talented coaches and riders! As well as Kaine, he’s a British cycling athlete and gives up his own time to encourage me to be the best I can be. I’m very grateful to have them 🙏
What is a trend in BMX you want to stop seeing? I really dislike the fact that BMX is such a male-dominated sport. I’ve lost track of the amount of times people mistake me for a boy at the skatepark, and whenever I try to explain I’m actually a girl, they seem so shocked 😅😅
What do you do when you’re not riding? I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, and when I’m not riding, I’ll usually be on my trampoline bike.
Favourite person to ride or train with? That’s such a hard one! I enjoy riding with all my friends; we encourage and reassure each other to try new things. Every session with my friends is always great.
Favourite shoes to ride in? Vans BMX 114. Such a great shoe to ride in!!
Best advice given to you? At my last competition, my first run didn’t go very well because I was overthinking it. Greg (a British cycling coach) came up to me and just told me to focus on one trick at a time. On my second run, I did just that, and landed everything! 😆
Your biggest fear? Spiders or knocking my teeth out 😂
Your proudest accomplishment? Landing a double backflip to resi for sure!
Let’s talk about landing the double backflip, how did it happen?
I learned single backflips back in February. Once I’d mastered them on the resi, I pretty quickly took them to wood. Whenever I train, I dedicate an element of my session to play. I started messing around trying doubles into the foam pit and quickly realized I was pretty much doing the full two rotations. However, the transition from taking them from the foam pit to the resi was daunting.
The day I actually landed the double, Kaine happened to notice me practice them in the foam pit as he was leaving. He approached me and said that he felt I was capable of landing them on the resi and asked whether I wanted his help. Kaine Mitchell is a pro rider, and he gave me the confidence to take it from the foam pit to the resi. He explained how I had to respect the trick but reassured me that I was more than capable of landing it. There was a pretty big buzz about the place because everybody was saying that no girl had ever landed a double backflip to a resi box landing. Jose Cedano and Felipe Manerim were also there, and they played a big role reassuring and supporting me through it all.
It’s hard to put into words exactly how I felt when I landed the trick. As a BMX rider, you always push the boundaries and be the best that you can be. You have to be a little bit crazy to do the sport, I guess. I knew I had it in me to land it, but the people around me were the final part of the jigsaw to help me achieve my goal. I swear I was still high on adrenaline hours and hours later 🤣. I’d love to have that feeling again. I’m excited to work on bigger tricks in the future.
The support and messages I received after landing it was crazy! I had Olympic medalists, female and male, professional BMX riders and professional mountain bikers praising me. It was super cool to have some of the people I aspire to be like, comment and actually see me doing what I love 😆
If you could hire someone to help you in some aspect of your life, what would it be? Probably someone to remind me to do things. I’m a very forgetful person. 🙈
Your worst habit? Laughing in bad situations 😬
What is a memorable experience you had that couldn’t have happened without BMX? After landing a double backflip, I received hundreds of messages from people. It helped me to realize how important and special the BMX community is!
Your top three future goals you want to achieve?
- To go to the Olympics
- To represent Great Britain at an international competition
- To get another female world first
