We were happy to do this interview recently with an old friend in America, Dan Lamb as he wanted to ask some questions about how I got into the sport and what makes it possible to last so long. You can read it below.

One of the leading media in the World of motocross is our good friend, Geoff Meyer, who owns the longest running and one of the leading motocross websites in Europe, www.mxlarge.com.

In the tough World of media in the sport, Meyer has been able to run his successful website now for more than 25 years and his passion for the sport and knowledge of the history of the sport is as impressive as his longevity. Having covered the sport in Europe since the 1980s, he moved to The Netherlands in 1993 and began to build his career.

We have known Geoff now for around 30 years, and he has worked for nearly every single major publication in the sport since the 1980s. We are fortunate enough to have a quick chat with Geoff and ask him something about his career in the sport and what makes him still interested.

MXaddicts: Geoff, we met way back in the early 1990’s, when you used to visit America on a regular basis, covering the AMA supercross and AMA motocross championships. I know you have been in the sport a long time, but when did you actually get involved in motocross?

Meyer: Well, I am fortunate enough to have met guys like yourself, Eric Johnson and some of the leading media in the sport back in the 1990s, but due to my father being a photographer back in Australia during the 1960s and 1970s, I got to visit motocross as a 10 year old, and fell in love with it straight away. I remember it was an Australian motocross championship in 1971, and we sat next to a creek crossing (which they had back in the day), and I just looked at these athletes in amazement. With their Jofo mouth guards and those old school Hallman chest protectors. It was like roman soldiers going to battle in the coliseum in Rome. I then went to an international event on the outskirts of Sydney in 1972, which included Roger De Coster, Joel Robert, Bengt Aberg and a bunch of other Grand Prix heroes. The fact they were from places like Belgium and Sweden, places I figured were on another planet, I just found that so fascinating. I have loved the sport ever since.

Supercross: When did you start working in the sport?

Meyer: In the mid-1980s, a position was open for the leading Australian magazines, REVS Motorcycle News and my father had worked for them in the 60s and 70s and he put in a good word for me. I got the job and covered the sport in Australia until I started my own (failed) magazine in 1990. During the time I had that magazine, I met a Dutch woman, got married and moved to Europe. So, around 1993, I started covering the sport in Europe. Full time at the GPs from 1995 until around 2010. I now do around half the rounds and that suits me a lot better as I get older.

MXaddicts: I remember when we met, you travelled a lot, went to just about all the major events, around the World?

Meyer: When my kids were little, I was working pretty hard, went to all the pre-season races in Europe, maybe 10 rounds of AMA supercross or the Nationals a year, even GNCC races, plus all the post season races. I probably did 50 races a year back then. My kids started getting older and I wanted to be around them more, so cut my schedule when they started to miss me too much. Once I did that, even with my kids now out of the house, I don’t want to work full time, I enjoy my free weekends with friends and family too much.

MXaddicts: What era did you enjoy the most?

Meyer: 100% the 1990s. McGrath, Everts, A1, the Fastcross, Bercy supercross, just so many really enjoyable races. Not to mention the era of the MXdN, when America was not winning every year and the Belgians fought back to take a few Chamberlain trophies home with them. Of course, the last 15 years has also been sensational, with the Cairoli, Herlings, Gajser, Febvre, Prado era in Europe and the Tomac, Webb, Lawrence, Sexton era in America.

MXaddicts: How is the sport in Europe as far as media goes?

Meyer: I mean, we are lucky that Infront give us a really good environment to work, usually great conditions, but with magazines now slowing in sales in Europe and many of the magazines gone, getting work isn’t like it was in the past. Most of the media now work for teams, either photographers, or writing the press releases. We have very good English-speaking websites like MXLarge, Gatedrop, MXVice, Livemotocross, MX1onboard, Dirthub, Motohead and many more. We are not lacking English speaking websites, but also of course many throughout Europe, in Italy, or France, or Germany. We are lucky at mxlarge that we have always had good support from the industry, good advertisers and also great support from Infront.

MXaddicts: Do you have any favourite media through the years?

Meyer: Eric Johnson for me is the best from my era. Of course, in America, Davey Coombs, his knowledge of the history of the sport is always impressive and you passion for the sport. When you speak of motocross journalism in Europe, Jack Burnicles stands out for English speakers. He knew a lot about the sport, it’s history and could write a story that really made you feel like you were there, which is also what Eric can do in America. We have people like Ray Archer a legend of a photographer, Massimo Zanzani, Pascal Haudiquert, I think the only three guys who have been there longer than me and have always done professional work. Many have come and gone in the MXGP media room, many failed to be able to contain a living from it, and it didn’t matter your education, you needed to know what the readers wanted, and many missed the boat in that area. Fortunately, despite my terrible schooling, I was able to build a business that the motocross fans understood and wanted to support. It isn’t easy, and for an uneducated Aussie, I am pretty proud of my time in the sport as many others dropped by the wayside, or couldn't sustain a living from doing it full-time.

MXaddicts: You do some work for Infront (promoters of the MXGP series) right?

Meyer: Yes, I write some stories for the official website, www.mxgp.com and they also advertise with us. I am very fortunate that Giuseppe Luongo has always believed in my positive attitude to the sport, and I don’t write BS about it. I don’t see the point in doing that. I remember why I got into the sport, and it was because of the riders, these amazing athletes that give everything for their goals, risk injury and career or even life ending accidents. My mind will never change on that. I don’t want to really write if the toilets don’t work at a GP, or the track is too muddy, or any of the politics of the sport. Corzar for instance, it wasn’t the best run GP I have been to, but to see the riders struggle around the circuit, that is what makes motocross so great, not if the toilets are clean, or you have to walk a little to get to the track (due to the mud in the media parking, many media had to walk a distance to get to the track). I loved Cozar and while I am glad, we are not going back, it was an experience in how tough our sport is.

MXaddicts: Does an event stand out for you in your career in the sport?

Meyer: It is hard to pick one, but I always loved the Fastcross in Italy, when the best Americans would take on the best Euro’s, McGrath vs Everts, or Emig vs Tortelli. That was without doubt for me, the most exciting event of the year, huge crowd support. Also, a handful of the MXdN events, 1988 in France, 1996 in Spain, 2006 at Matterley Basin, 2016 at Maggiora, or even last year at Matterley Basin, which saw some of the best racing the event has ever seen. Of course, Chad Reed arriving in America in the early 2000s, winning at A1 and then stopping on the track to give me a big Aussie hug on his victory lap. Bercy in the 1990s was also special for me, such a rich event in one of the most beautiful cities in the World. That was always a great weekend. So many great memories.

Ray Archer and Gary Freeman images