Diaries Of A Professional Trail Fairy

Well hello, my name is Baxter and welcome to the first edition of my brand- new regular column right here in [R]evo Mag. Each issue I will be aiming to tell stories that give insight into the world of trail building as I see it.

- Baxter Maiwald

I’LL COVER PROJECTS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT AND AIM TO GIVE OUT A FEW TIPS ALONG THE WAY. STRAP IN AND GRAB A DRINK FOR THE ROAD, BECAUSE RIGHT HERE IN MY FIRST ARTICLE MY BRAIN IS ABOUT TO UNLEASH THE STORY OF HOW IT ALL STARTED FOR ME. THIS ONE WILL COVER THE RECENTLY COMPLETED MAYDENA DIRT JUMP PARK, AS THAT’S ALL RELEVANT TO THE WHY AND HOW I GOT INTO TRAIL BUILDING TO BEGIN WITH. IT MIGHT EVEN GIVE INSIGHT INTO THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS OF “HOW DO I GET A JOB AS A TRAIL BUILDER”

I grew up in a quiet little town in Victoria called Emerald, with no local skate-park, or anything much else to ride in town and a couple of acres of bush on our property. My dad rode moto, so as any kid does, I followed in his footsteps. I was on 2 wheels from 3 years old and had “jumps” littered around the backyard for as long as I can remember. Dad and I gradually built them bigger as I begged for progression. Our backyard became somewhat of a sandpit, allowing me and my cousins and friends to spend hours pushing wheelbarrows, stacking logs and experimenting with different ways to build jumps. Often finding out the hard way that things don’t work.