Luke Meier-Smith: From Avocado Farm to World Cup Winner

Downtime - The Mountain Bike Podcast

Downtime MTB

Sports, Leisure, Fitness, Health & Fitness, Hobbies, Wilderness

4.9 • 628 Ratings

🗓️ 7 October 2025

⏱️ 71 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, we’re joined by Luke Meier-Smith, who took his first World Cup win this weekend in Lake Placid. We caught up with Luke just a few weeks ago in Les Gets to talk about his journey from growing up on an avocado farm in Australia, through BMX and injuries, to finding his place in downhill World Cups. This one’s about grit, growth, and what it really takes to make it at the top. So sit back, hit play, and enjoy this episode with Luke Meier-Smith.

You can also watch this episode on YouTube here.

You can follow Luke on Instagram @luke_ms1 and on YouTube here.

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Loam Pass

Loam Pass are currently offering their 2026 pass, which enables you to access over 70 destination in North America for the bargain price of $250. This is the cheapest you’ll ever be able to buy the pass and you can get yours at this price from 1-14th Octcober right here – loampass.com.

Fox Racing

This episode is supported by Fox Racing and they recently launched their game changing full face helmet, the Rampage RS. Lighter, more comfortable and meeting more safety standards than ever before, the Rampage RS is a leap forward in helmet design. Check it out here.

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Photo – Sven Martin

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Yeah, I'd say I'm a bit of a bulldozer when I'm riding downhill.
0:03.5	So trying to like loosen up a bit more when I ride.
0:06.6	Even though it was, yeah, very, very tough time.
0:09.5	I think it definitely shaped me as a person.
0:11.4	So yeah, that was pretty brutal.
0:13.2	To be honest, like pretty dark time for me.
0:15.4	I almost sort of quit after that.
0:20.9	Hey, everyone. I'm Chris Hall and this is the downtime podcast, the podcast for the true fans
0:25.7	of gravity mountain biking, taking you deeper into the sport than anywhere else.
0:29.8	This episode is supported by Loam Pass and Fox Racing. Fox have recently launched their new
0:35.0	full-face helmet, the Rampage Race Spec or RS for short.
0:38.7	The Rampage RS is a leap forward in helmet design, bringing you a helmet that's lighter,
0:42.9	more comfortable and meets more safety standards than the previous Fox Rampage Pro Carbon.
0:47.8	With MIPS split Integra, a two-piece visor with GoPro compatibility, a removable, washable,
0:53.3	ionic plus liner and cheek pads,
0:55.3	and a clip on mud visor, Fox have really sweated the details. I've been lucky enough to wear one
1:00.6	this summer on big downhill days in the apps and I can safely say that this is the most comfortable
1:05.2	full face helmet I've ever worn, helping me feel safer while I'm pushing my own limits.
1:10.2	You can check it out over at
1:11.3	foxracing.com. Lone Pass is your ticket to ride some of the best trails across North America.
1:16.9	With Lone Pass, you get two days riding at each of 70 amazing riding destinations, and right now
1:22.1	they have an incredible offer for you. Exclusively from the 1st to the 14th of October,
	...

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