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Team Dregs Interview

 

Posted by THP on Sunday, March 27, 2005 @ 12:00 AM (GMT+0800)

 

 

 

Rat, Furlong, and Jono at the Ohio World Cup, Bainbridge, Ohio, USA (October 15-17, 2004)

 

In October 2004, Team Hardcore Pavement founder / racer Abdil "Furlong" Mahdzan had raced in the 2004 IGSA Ohio World Cup #2. It was there that he met up with Team Dregs riders Rat Sult and Jono Moore. They have been influential figures in the sport of street luge during the years it appeared on the ESPN X-Games. Now, they are considered old-school riders. During the downhill skateboard race heats, Furlong managed to interview both riders.

 

Team Hardcore Pavement interviews Team Dregs!

 

THE INTERVIEW

 

 

Furlong

:

Please introduce yourselves and provide a little bit of background.
Rat

:

 My name is Gary "Rat" Sult. Rat was a nickname given to me by my dad. I am 33 years old as of 2004. Currently residing in Temecula, California. It's been 7 years now since I've lived there.
Jono

:

 And I'm Jono Moore. I'm 48 years old. Call me an old fart, but I'm also known as the "King of Fun"! I was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida but now reside in Point Arena, California.
Furlong

:

 When did you guys start riding and ultimately, racing?
Rat

:

 My first ride was actually a race. I've been a downhill mountain bike racer, so racing street luge came naturally to me. It was way back in 1996, at an FIGR race in Los Angeles (Bonelli).
Jono

:

 I first got into the sport when Biker Sherlock dared me to do it on my 40th birthday. I was working with the sport organizers as a course worker and starter at the 1996 and 1997 X-Games and that's where I met him for the first time.
Furlong

:

 I know this next question is weird, since it's like asking myself the same question, but what do you like most about the sport of street luge?
Rat

:

 Oh, I love the racing aspect of it all bro. It's fast, gives me an adrenaline rush, traveling to races and seeing new faces and places. It's epic.
Jono

:

 It's a whole load of fun! Take it from me, I am the King of Fun.
Furlong

:

 Besides street luge, what other gravity sports do you practice?

 

 

 

Rat Sult at the 2004 Gorge Games in Oregon, USA

 
Rat

:

 Downhill skateboard. I started getting into it around the same time I got into street luge. I still prefer street luge though.
Jono

:

 I've also been a downhill skateboarder since 1996. But I no longer practice this discipline after my accident that was well-known among the gravity sports community.
Furlong

:

 Could you please elaborate on your accident?
Jono

:

 It happened at the 2001 X-Games Last Chance Qualifier at Saint George, Utah. I clipped a hay bale at over 60 mph at the final chicane. I severed my right ankle, tibia, and fibula. It took me 2 years to fully recover.
Furlong

:

 But your accident was a street luge accident, not a downhill skateboard accident, wasn't it?
Jono

:

 Well yes it was a street luge accident, but downhill skateboarding takes so much more out of you. You're standing up on a board on 2 feet and your center of gravity is much higher than it is on a street luge, so you're that much more likely to fall off the board. And when you do, it's gonna hurt a lot more. Personally, I wouldn't want to break my leg again, especially after what I've been thru. It's not worth it.
Furlong

:

 So when did you make a comeback into the sport after having fully recovered from your injury?
Jono

:

 I started racing street luge again by showing up to the San Francisco Gravity Festival in May 2003. It was my first race after the injury.

 

 

Furlong

:

 It's good to see you guys come back to the sport and race every now and then. Now, could you please go into a little bit of history of Team Dregs?
Rat

:

 Team Dregs was founded by Biker Sherlock way back in 1997. He had gathered a very successful team of street lugers and downhill skateboarders that competed in both the ESPN X-Games and NBC Gravity Games. Our team came up on the podium quite often.
Furlong

:

 So who are the Team Dregs riders?
Jono

:

 Biker Sherlock, Rat Sult, myself (Jono Moore), Todd Lehr, Dane van Bommel, John Dread, Waldo Autry, Kurt Hurley, Jarret Ewanek, and Pamela Zoolalian (she came into the team much later).
Furlong

:

 I saw that video of you (Rat) and Biker getting tangled up in the hay at the 2000 X-Games in San Francisco, causing both of you to fail to advance to the next round. ESPN made it sound as though Biker was pissed off at you coz you're his teammate. Was that true?
Rat

:

 Oh no, that wasn't true at all. You know how ESPN likes to hype shit up. In fact, Biker was apologizing to me for that mistake! It was all cool, no worries.

 

Team Dregs riders (L-R: Dane van Bommel, Rat Sult, Jarret Ewanek, Biker Sherlock, Todd Lehr)

 

 

 

 

Rat Sult's shiny Dregs Street Luge with Line-X upholstery that match his leather suit

 

 

Jono Moore's Dregs Street Luge

 

 

Abdil "Furlong" Mahdzan's retired Dregs Street Luge

 
Furlong

:

 I read that Jarret Ewanek designed the street luge that you guys ride.
Jono

:

 Yeah, he's an Aerospace Engineer. He had designed the luge for the team. It was initially known as the Dr GoFast design. It later came to be simply known as the Dregs Street Luge (go figure).
Furlong

:

 When I first got started in the sport in Malaysia way back in 1998, the first street luge that I ever wanted to get my hands on was a Dregs. The website that I was looking at most of the time was Dr GoFast's website (it had a beautiful CAD rendered image of the luge). I've always dreamed of owning one, and now I have. However, I ride a Rogers Bros Street Luge now. But once in a while, I ride my Dregs. It's still fast!
Rat

:

 For sure bro, it's a Dregs!
Furlong

:

 Street luge and other gravity sports have come a long way since the 1970's. What's your opinion of the current situation of gravity sports today?
Rat

:

 It was a total bummer when the X-Games and Gravity Games dropped street luge. We lost most of our funding and sponsorship from our sponsors as a consequence.
Jono

:

 But the scene today is a lot different from that of the time when the sport was still included in the X-Games and Gravity Games. There seems to be a lot of new and young riders entering the sport. They are still motivated to keep on riding even though the X-Games and Gravity Games dropped the sport. There is a good turnout today at the Ohio World Cup, with plenty of international racers. I like it.

 

 

Furlong

:

 Do you consider yourselves retired?
Rat

:

 Naa, I don't think we're retired, heh. As for me, I'm currently racing sandboards in the Nevada desert. It's totally wicked.
Furlong

:

 So what would you like to see going for gravity sports in the future?
Jono

:

 A regular series of races, more events being televised, new racers getting sponsored, as well as old racers getting BACK their sponsors.
Furlong

:

 What do you think is your most significant contribution to the sport?
Rat

:

 In 1999, I managed to pull in Mike McIntyre into the sport. He was also one of the guys I was racing mountain bikes with, and he got hooked. Look at him now, he's a successful racer.
Furlong

:

 Well, we have to wrap this up as it looks like the downhill skateboard race heats are almost over, and it's time for the street luge race heats. Any last words?
Rat

:

 We may be old-school, but we hope to be pushing the sport further. We also have to thank our new sponsors, Toleto Skateboards and Fall Mountain Productions for making our trip to the Ohio World Cup possible.
Furlong

:

 Thanks a lot guys for this interview!
Jono

:

 No problem Furlong. Now let's go race!

 

Team Dregs riders on the podium at the 2000 NBC Gravity Games in Providence, Rhode Island, USA

(1st - Rat Sult, 2nd - Biker Sherlock, 3rd - John Fryer)

 

 

 

RAT SULT'S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

JONO MOORE'S CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

 

X-GAMES

  • 1997 bronze medal (4-man)
  • 1998 gold medal (4-man)
  • 1998 gold medal (6-man)

GRAVITY GAMES

  • 2000 gold medal (4-man)
  • 2001 gold medal (4-man)
  • 2001 gold medal (6-man)

 

 

  • 1998 Sony Playstation Xtreme Games, Brisbane, AUSTRALIA (10th)
  • 4-man, 1999 Gravity Games (6th)
  • 6-man, 1999 Gravity Games (12th)
  • Big Air, 1999 Red Bull Streets of San Francisco (3rd)
  • 2004 Gorge Games (2nd)

 

 

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Fri, Jul 27, 2007 @ 10:39 PM

Diego Ribeiro wrote:

 

hey brother, my name is Diego, would like some photos it team dregs if he will not be very... my e-mail dieguitomaluquito@hotmail.com big hug trank you friend