CONOR MACFARLANE SHARES WHAT LIFE AS A “PRO” REALLY MEANS IN HIS LATEST FILM ‘A WEEK IN THE LIFE’

Presented By Goodyear Bike Tires and in partnership FSA

“People just see what you put online and your life looks great, they don’t necessarily realise what goes into getting that photo” – Conor MacFarlane

Life for Conor MacFarlane is a far cry from the MTB world we often imagine a professional riding career to be. Yes, there are a huge number of perks that come with the ‘Job’ but it is not the fulltime dream job any believe it to be. For Conor there is the day job to contend with before he often even gets to hit the trails.

‘A DAY IN THE LIFE OF’ edits have been a regular feature across the action sports industry, sharing life from competition through to filming a dream segment. Conor wanted to look at this differently, “how can you possibly share the reality of life in one day?” In his latest project he steps up the game to show what a week in his shoes looks like.

This might not be the Rockstar lifestyle many imagined, but Conor is grateful for everything it brings him and the opportunities he would have never had without it.

Check in with Conor MacFarlane in his latest film from Goodyear Bike Tires and FSA and get a glimpse of what a week looks like for him!

Conor MacFarlane– A Week In The Life Q & A

1) From the outside you seem like you have a pretty idyllic MTB-orientated life and everything has fallen in place for you. Now you just get to ride bikes all the time? But were there any sacrifices you had to make and still do have to make regularly to get to where you are today and to maintain the lifestyle you want?

Yeah I cant lie, life is pretty darn good but yes there have been a lot of sacrifices to get to where I am. My body, lack of spare time and time apart from my partner have probably been the biggest sacrifices I have made, and continue to make, to keep the biking dream alive but then it has opened up the doors to so many other things that I would have never have had the chance to experience in life, so I can’t really complain.

2) What part of your life as a professional athlete do you dislike/struggle with the most?

Juggling having a day job along with trying to be a professional athlete is probably the biggest struggle along with contract negotiations/ hustling to get paid, which I am terrible at.

3) Is there anything that you would change about the direction your career has taken?

Not really, I am very happy with my decision to give up XC racing and just have fun on a bike. It has led to where I am now. So no, I wouldn’t change the direction my career has taken.

4) Is this film an accurate representation of what you get up to in a week, or did you just schedule in a lot of stuff to make the film more interesting?

It is reasonably accurate for a mid summer week, there is the odd thing that I wouldn’t do every week, such as a bike before work. I don’t shoot photos/film every week either, but mid-summer it is every second week or so. Weekends change a lot though; I kept it to a biking weekend for the filming, but I also spend a lot of weekends in the hills or at the coast.

5) What do you think is the difference between your life riding bikes and the average Queenstown bike rider who has moved here for bike riding but doesn’t ride professionally?

I get a lot more opportunities to travel and ride places a lot of people don’t get the chance to, but then during a normal work week, I have a lot of friends that end up biking for fun more often than I do; as I often end up ‘working’ after I finish my day job. ‘Working’ as a professional biker is usually pretty sweet though, apart from all the admin.

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Conor MacFarlane: @conor_macfarlane
Goodyear Bike: @goodyearbike
FSA: @fsa_mtb