Nathanial Bosum - [ windspeaker confidential ]

Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Nathaniel Bosum: One quality that I really admire is the fact that my friend can sense when I am not feeling normal and when there is a problem I'm experiencing.
W: What is it that really makes you mad?
N.B.: One thing that makes me really mad is when I know I did not try my best and when I could have done more.
W: When are you at your happiest?
N.B.: I'm the happiest when I am with my family and we're in the bush.
W: What one word best describes you when you are at your worst?
N.B.: Anger
W: What one person do you most admire and why?
N.B.: There are two. The two people I admire the most are my parents because they were the ones who pushed me into being the best in this sport. They made many sacrifices to help me get to where I am today.
W: What is the most difficult thing you've ever had to do?
N.B.: It was when I had to bury my grandmother because we were close and she loved the fact that I was doing this sport and encouraged me to be the best.
W: What is your greatest accomplishment?
N.B.: My greatest accomplishment would be when I turned pro for the first year. I raced at the Montreal Olympic Stadium in 2004 and placed 12th in the pros when I was only 15 years of age.
W: What one goal remains out of reach?
N.B.: To be the best Canadian motocross racer. I'm still training hard to get there.
W: If you couldn't do what you're doing today, what would you be doing?
N.B.: I would be finishing college and probably be working for my dad.
W: What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?
N.B.: To never give up and to always move on and try harder; to give it all I've got at every race and never regret anything.
W: Did you take it?
N.B.: Yes, I did, and it works every time.
W: How do you hope to be remembered?
N.B.: As long as I am remembered, that would be good enough for me, but I would like best of all to be remembered as a good role model.
Talk about commitment to his sport! This athlete rises at 5:30 a.m. every morning with a long distance run or biking, followed by weight training at the gym, and then he goes back to the gym after supper for another hour ­ three hours a day, three days a week.
Nathaniel Bosum mirrors the determination of his father Abel. Chief Abel pushed, cajoled and shamed the government into giving his village a permanent home after years of being moved as the mining industry continually found deposits under their settlement. The last eviction found them living on resource road shoulders and living in tarpaper shacks without electricity or running water.
Nathaniel is from the famous Ouje-Bougoumou in the James Bay region of northern Quebec. His people, who number about 800, now live in a brand new village built in the 1990s on virgin wilderness soil in their traditional hunting territory.
The new Ouje-Bougoumou was completed in 1994, the same year Nathaniel, five, was given his first motorbike, a Suzuki 50 cc. One year later, when he was only six, he won his first championship in the Quebec Provincial series when he placed first in the PeeWee class of 50 cc riders.
Nathaniel naturally knew how hard he would have to work to be the best, and he knew how to work, too. He spends at least nine hours each week practicing moves on his bike on the ground and in the air, and, along with his physical routine, works with a nutritionist in Montreal, and a mental trainer, since he realizes sport competition is often the ultimate head game.
As he began winning more and more, a highlight came when he was promoted to the professional category and finished in 14th place against the big boys with big names in motocross racing. He continues to dominate in his class.
Nathaniel also competes in snow-cross racing in the winter. In 2004, he registered in the Semi-Pro class in his first year of snow-cross. By the end of the season he was ranked second in the Open 800cc class and third in the Stock 440cc class. That year he won the "Rookie of the Year" award.
Nathaniel has signed a contract with Ski-Doo, FXR Industries and Spy Optics. He was also promoted to the Pro class level for 2006. The 2006 season was a big step from Semi Pro to Pro level in the Provincial series. Being the youngest in this category he demonstrated that he was fast enough to compete at this level by winning the first Stock race. Nathaniel ended his season finishing third in the Stock 440cc class and second in the Open 600cc, a remarkable accomplishment for the 16-year-old.
Now 20, Nathaniel wants to "reach the highest level of competition which the sport has to offer. That means competing at the CMRC Canadian Nationals in the 250 (MX1) class, in the AMA National classes in USA and in the WPSA National series across Canada and USA. I want to make a career of racing until I feel that I have reached my utmost potential. I obviously would want to win some championships or have important victories, and I also want to secure financial contracts with the motocross factories. As long as I am racing I want to be a role model for Aboriginal youth and an ambassador for the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and the U.S. And, of course, I want to continue my education through college and on to university."