Sport
30 April, 2022
FNQ MX Legend Todd Waters is back
ATHERTON-BORN MX legend and Oakley athlete Todd Waters has returned to MX with recharged energies.
Two years of pandemic brought many challenges for his career but also a whole new range of experiences that he could not imagine he would live.
Navigating parenthood, being almost unemployed and making a massive comeback with new projects like his own brand of MX gear TDUB, his MX garage, coaching and running a small junior motocross team. He also discovered a new passion: Off- Road.
A seasoned competitor of over 15 years, Waters said the pandemic had been the hardest and yet the best thing that has happened to his career.
“When COVID first hit, I probably had a month of phone calls from sponsors pulling out of our program due to not being able to fulfil my contracts of racing,” he said.
“So in an instant, I was unemployed.
“That was not the way I wanted things to go, but looking back on it now, it was one of the best things that have ever happened to me.”
The pandemic opened for Waters a world of opportunities to be explored and new passions to be discovered, and he made the most of this time.
The first step was developing his own MX equipment, which he is deeply passionate about.
“I ride in my own gear; I sponsor myself,” he said.
“I started up a bunch of businesses, and they all started rolling.”
The Oakley athlete also decided to try a new discipline: Off-Road. Off-road requires very different training from MX, different bikes and different gear.
“Off-road is very different from MX,” Waters said. “In the Australian
Off-Road Championship, you race in a dirt bike through a long course in the bush, while with MX, you have semi trails.
“You ride a road registered motorbike which is heavier, another gear, softer suspension so you have to adapt to two different types of bikes.
“I’m double-dipping at the time; I decided to participate in the Australian Off-Road Championship (AORC); I’m new at that; we’re currently second in the championship.
“It’s really cool that we’ve adapted to a new discipline so quickly.”
“And in the Australian Pro MX Championship, we’re currently running third.
“I’m really proud, we’re working hard, and our program is solid.”
Waters finished third in both competitions, an excellent achievement for the first time competing in two disciplines simultaneously.
Competing is one of Waters’ greatest thrills and being able to return to the track feels like a breath of fresh air.
“I’ve raced all around the world; I spent three years in Europe living and racing,” Waters said.
“It becomes what you do and what you know, and it’s what I’m good at.
“You forget how passionate you are about what you do, and when COVID hit, it made us sit back and re-evaluate what we enjoy doing, and for me, that’s racing dirt bike.”
Developing his brand was a big step for Waters, and from it, many projects followed, which have, in turn, made him a much more versatile rider.
“TDUB is the name of my brand, T for Todd, Dub for double U,” he said.
“It started by creating fan shirts, so once I started my gear brand, I went with that.
“I have a junior program where I help out many kids that aspire to be racers like us.
“We have a coaching clinic where we do up North tours, and we come up to Cairns, we get to see the local kids and help them.
“It’s great to do all of this because you’re able to reach out to your fans, and more than anything, the kids get to see that you’re just a normal person and spend some time with you, but at the end of the day I’m a racer, and I enjoy the competition side of things.”
Todd Waters said he is proud to represent FNQ not only with MX and Off-Road but also with his brand.
“I’m really proud to put FNQ on the map for a sport that comes from the cities,” he said.
“I’m the leader of that group, and now we’ve got Wilson Todd and a few younger riders following my footsteps.
“And it’s really cool that I paved that way that it’s possible to be a farm kid and make it in the big league.”
When it comes to his goals for 2022 and the future, Waters wants to become a representative of both disciplines.
“My number one goal is to win both (Off-Road and MX championships) and do what no one’s done before,” he said.
“That’s motivating, so my ultimate goal is to win the AORC and the MX championship in the same year.”
Although Waters finished third in the 2022 AORC and Australian Pro MX Championship, his hunger for competing is bigger than ever.
It is set in stone that fans can expect Todd Waters to bring home a title for MX and Off-Road and many more projects for the future.
Waters is back, and he has no intentions of stopping.
