Remy Metailler knows his stuff. He studied marketing back in France and is putting the knowledge to good use, fuelling his MTB career. YouTube, drone shots, epic edits and the odd race here and there, Remy is a busy boy!

When it comes to high quality YouTube content, there are only a few riders taking it to the next level. Frenchie living in Canada Remy Metailler is one of them. Not only does he have great tutorials and a sexy French accent, he continues to amaze people with his sick POV and drone edits. He loves showing you his local trails around Squamish and we were lucky enough to sit down with him and have a chat. 

Remy! For those that have been living under a rock, who are you, where are you from and where are you going?

I was born in France, and started riding there till I moved to Canada in 2013. My career started there after making a few Bike Park edits, and I then focused on Red Bull Rampage, Urban Downhill event and now more trail/freeriding and creating cool content.

2022 is coming to an end, how are you looking back at the past 12 months?

It's been a great season for me with some amazing trips such as the one in Interlaken, Switzerland with my friends from GoPro. I also checked out Sedona, Moab and of course a lot of riding around home, Squamish, BC.

You've been riding bikes for a while, can you tell us who got you into mountain biking in the first place and when?

The scene in France was pretty big in the end of the 1990's with Nicolas Vouilloz and Fabien Barel. Ever since watching WC on TV I have wanted to do it! 

Growing up in the Nice area, there is a great climate for riding all year round and a solid group of talented people too. Did you ever ride with the likes of Barel, Vouillioz, Bruni, Vergier?

Yes, actually I did some little local races against all these guys, even when Loris and Loic were a bit younger, before they got these successful. 

You did a few races in your life but never were big into the racing scene itself. How do you look into competition and are you a competitive person?

I'm quite competitive, but I never enjoyed it. I did a few WC but it was not for me. I raced a few Urban DOwnhill events and actually won a few big events but to be honest what I enjoyed the most was just riding the course during trainings. 

Although you grew up in a pretty nice place for biking, when finishing your studies you decided to go to Canada. What was your plan?

My plan was to ride and ski in Whistler while settling around Vancouver to find a job in Marketing in the bike industry. 

What was it like arriving in Whistler the first year and finding your way? Any funny stories from that era?

The first year I had the perfect set up. Great housing, great friends to show me around, and I ended up working much less than I had planned so I got to ride more than I anticipated. 111 days I believe! 

Who gave you the idea to start a YouTube channel and ride as a pro?

As I was no longer going to head to Rampage, I needed to find ways to keep being relevant. Racing Urban Downhill was slowing down, especially with travelling and I tried to think of the best way to give great value for my sponsors. The longer format of video allows people to connect more with me and get to know me better as well as the products I use. It's been awesome as well to share riding tips and seeing the people stoked about it made me keep on going. 

Riding a bike is one thing, but filming, editing and creating content is a whole different game. Who taught you that skillset?

I learnt as I went. Editing, filming and telling a story is definitely not my strength though! It's not easy!

Your current productions are getting more and more professional with camera men, drones and scripts. How many people were involved in the biggest production you've done to date? (and which video was it?)

I like to keep it very tight in terms of crew number. I usually am out alone with one filmer and that's it. Budgets for a 3min video can be absolutely huge, and it's not my style. I'll rather let the riding talk and have a more RAW type of filming. 

You have GoPro as a sponsor, but they make a lot of cool different cameras. If you had to choose one, which would you get?

GoPro has been amazing. I have been a fan of their products and exclusively used GoPro as a helmet cam since I bought my first one in 2010. It also helped my career in a big way! Working with them since 2020 has been a dream come true. I love the 11 mini for YouTube headcams, the 11 Black for everything Youtube, and the Max for social media.

For all the starting YouTubers out there, what are your top tips?

Get ready to work much harder than you anticipated it... 

You recently started a second YouTube channel; Remy Metailler RAW. Why is that?

I wanted to use a second channel to put out less polished types of content. More RAW style POV so my main channel stayed professional. 

Besides your sponsors, you also work a lot with affiliate links and discount codes for your viewers. How important is that for you as a pro?

The discounts are really to help my fans save some money here and there since bikes are really expensive. I do not really benefit from it directly but obviously it's nice showing sponsors the traffic it brings them. Same idea for the affiliate, most of the time it's really to track the number of clicks my work generates, and it's also a nice little bonus, but money is not the primary reason why I do it. 

Life in BC is pretty good, but there must be some things that can get better. What are they in your opinion?

Oh well, BC is a great place to live for sure. Like everywhere a few things could be improved such as lodging, support for health care, day care.

We hear a lot about the housing crisis in the Sea to Sky corridor, how hard was it for you to find a decent place to live?

I was lucky to find a nice place to buy, but yes prices are wild, so is rent... It is tough out there regardless of your budget. I'm just grateful I don't have to keep looking for a place to rent or buy because that's a lot of stress and struggle. 

If you had to move away from Squamish, where would you go?

Whistler, Brittania, North Vancouver, maybe Vancouver Island.

I'm sure a lot of readers want to visit BC, can you give them 5 tips on where to ride, eat, drink and have a good time?

You can't really go wrong in the Sea to Sky area, from Vancouver to Pemberton. For food, there is a lot of variety. I like to try new places all the time, same as for drinks. And for good times, Sushi Village in Whistler never disappoints! 

I saw a post of yours recently that said you want to ride some new destinations for 2023. What's on your bucket list so far?

Still working on it! Sounds like I will head to Quebec and back to Utah as well as Sedona for now. 

Last but not least, who supports you in 2023, and where can people follow you and find your content?

For 2023 as far as sponsors... You will have to wait a little, but some good companies for sure:) People can keep finding some cool clips on my Instagram, also Facebook and even Tiktok... since apparently it's important... and obviously Youtube! 

Thanks for reading!

By IMB

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