Scott Hart, co-founder of decline Magazine - The Inside Line Podcast - a podcast by Vital MTB

Scott Hart, fanatic mountain biker, fierce competitor and one to always follow his instincts, shares how he went from humble Indiana roots to becoming one of the premier editorial voices of American mountain biking. While many of you may not know who Scott is, he and Ralf Hauser created decline Magazine in the early 2000's. I had the privilege of working as a staffer at decline with Scott, Ralf and Mark Jordan after freelancing for them. decline has since come and gone, but the impact that magazine had on our community, specifically the gravity side of our family, is still evident today and that's largely because of Scott's voice and vision. His upbringing and experience as a struggling professional downhill and slalom racer, including highlights like competing in the first Red Bull Rampage, gave Scott the foundation and desire to make mountain biking look as appealing and rad to the masses as it really is. In addition to his racing history, we discuss the beginnings of Flow Magazine which eventually turned into decline under their newly-found publishing house. The ups, downs and ultimate end of Hart's run with decline is explored in addition to the founding and demise of the U.S. downhill initiative, Team America. We end up discussing his role at RockShox for a few years after leaving decline and where he thinks the future of mountain bike media is headed.

This is a re-issue of both parts 1 and 2 combined from July 2018. Scott asked that it be removed due to personal reasons, but we're stoked to have his permission to re-launch the interview.  I hope this episode will inspire you to work hard, enjoy riding bikes and persevere in the face of risk. -gordo

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