![Hans Rey Rio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Hans_Rey_Rio.JPG)
Hansjörg Rey, aka Hans "No Way" Rey (born 4 June 1966) is a pioneer in mountain bike
trials
In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...
and extreme
mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
also known as
Freeride /"Freeriding". Rey began riding in the late 70's, since 1987, he has ridden exclusively on GT bikes. In 1999, he was inducted to the
Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame (MBHOF) was founded in 1988 to chronicle the history of mountain biking. Formerly located in Crested Butte, Colorado, it relocated to Fairfax, California in 2014 and became part of the Marin Museum of Bicycling.
Si ...
.
Hans Rey, born and raised in
Emmendingen
Emmendingen (; Low Alemannic: ''Emmedinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, capital of the district Emmendingen of Germany. It is located at the Elz River, north of Freiburg im Breisgau. The town contains more than 26,000 residents, which ...
, Germany; is a citizen of Switzerland and, since 2008, he is also a USA citizen. He lives in
Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
with his wife Carmen.
Career
Over the years he has won a large number of
bike trials riding
Mountain bike trials, also known as observed trials, is a discipline of mountain biking in which the rider attempts to pass through an obstacle course without setting foot to ground. Derived from motorcycle trials, it originated in Catalonia, ...
championships, including German, Swiss and USA National Champion, NORBA World Champ, Winner of the UCI World Champs, and Bike Trial Union Vice World Champ, Bronze Medal MTB Slalom Worlds, and
X Games
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...
Silver Medal winner in the Trials in 1995 when the
X Games
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...
were known as the
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
Extreme Games
The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ESPN on ABC, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence, Rhode Island, ...
; but since 1997, has retired from competitive sports to explore the world on his mountain bike adventures.
He is the only permanent member of the "Hans Rey Adventure Team", a quest to explore the world using his mountain bike talent always in search of something historical or mysterious. These trips are often filmed for television and the stories have been published in magazines all over the world. He has traveled to over 70 countries and has been featured on approx. 400 magazine covers. He has done a first descent on bikes of
Mount Kenya
Mount Kenya (Kikuyu: ''Kĩrĩnyaga'', Kamba, ''Ki Nyaa'') is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (), Nelion () and Point Lenana (). Mount Kenya is locat ...
, traversed the Sinai Desert in the footsteps of Moses, created the No Way
Transalp route, searched for headhunters in Borneo, ridden the
Inca
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
Trail to
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain range.UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is located in the Machupicchu District within Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley, which ...
, ridden the Roop Kund trek in the Indian
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
, Bike Safari in Botswana, circumnavigation of
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It has three volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world: above sea level and ab ...
,
Rubicon Trail in California, searched for the mysterious
Dropa
The Dropa stones, otherwise known as the Dzopa stones, Dropas stones or Drop-ka stones, are claimed by some ufologists and pseudoarchaeologists to be a series of at least 716 circular stone discs, that are supposedly 12,000 years old, on which tin ...
tribe in China, Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan, Cuba's Sierra Maestra Mountains, Annapurna Trek in Nepal, Copper Canyon Mexico, 5 volcanos in 5 days in Ecuador,
Haute Route
The Haute Route (or the High Route or Mountaineers' Route) is the name given to a route (with several variations) undertaken on foot or by ski touring between the Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France, and the Matterhorn, in Zermatt, Switzerland.
Fir ...
in France/Switzerland and many more glaciers, volcanos and treks. In 2016 Rey climbed and rode Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro back to back.
In 2017 Rey started his "Urban Adventure" series with his "TransAngeles" project, a 5-day ride across Los Angeles. Followed by TransNapoli, TransHongKong and in Oct.21 w 'Slay The Bay' in San Francisco. Most of his adventure documentaries are featured on his YouTube Channel.
![ADIDAS INDIA 2011 mesumverma 186](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/ADIDAS_INDIA_2011_mesumverma_186.jpeg)
Rey made a name for himself with a number of publicity stunts on this bike, like a photoshoot in gridlock traffic on the 405 Freeway near Los Angeles on top of car, bungy jumps with his bike, his wild ride on ropes down a 14-story skyscraper in New Zealand, his legendary ride along the 600 ft. high ledge at the
Cliffs of Moher
The Cliffs of Moher (; ) are sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland. They run for about . At their southern end, they rise above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag's Head, and, to the north, they ...
and his bike dance on the volcano in Hawaii surrounded by hot lava on the edge of a boiling ocean.
Hans was one of the first to produce action videos of his trials biking and extreme biking skills, including his own VHS series from 1992 to 1996: "Hans No Way Rey", "Level Vibes", Monkey See - Monkey Do" and "Big Five". He has also starred in movies like ''Tread'' (1994), and made guest appearances and stunt work on the TV series ''
Pacific Blue'' (1995-1998). He was also part of the closing ceremony of the
1996 Olympic Games, appeared in
Willy Bogner Fire, Ice and Dynamite
''Fire, Ice and Dynamite'' (German original title ''Feuer, Eis und Dynamit'') is a German feature-length sports film directed by Willy Bogner in 1990. It a sequel to '' Fire and Ice''. The screenplay was written by Tony Williamson, based on an ...
and
White Magic
White magic has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for selfless purposes. Practitioners of white magic have been given titles such as wise men or women, healers, white witches or wizards. Many of these people claim ...
films.
In 2005 Hans Rey founded Wheels4Life, a non-profit charity that provides bicycles to people in Developing Countries in need of transportation. More info can be foun
wheels4life.org By 2021 over 15,000 bicycles have been given to students, healthcare workers and farmers in 32 different countries. Hans and his wife Carmen run the charity as volunteers along with supporters from around the world.
![Wheels4Life Project Tanzania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Wheels4Life_Project_Tanzania.jpg)
Hans Rey is also an honorary board member and long time supporter of IMBA, the
International Mountain Bicycling Association
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide.
IMBA was formed in 1988, when five California-based ...
, he has been a big supporter of purpose-built biking trails, especially
Flow Trails. In 2008, he coined the term Flow Country Trail together with trail guru
Diddie Schneider and Flow Country Trails is a certain kind of flow trail that is never steep, extreme or dangerous. It can be ridden by all skill levels and on any kind of mountain bike.
Flow Country Link![Flow Country Trail Livigno, Italy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Flow_Country_Trail_Livigno%2C_Italy.jpg)
Hans consults and promotes tourism destinations from around the world, he was also a founding member and consultant of the first ever mountain bike touring compan
ALPStoursin Germany in 1990 - long before travel w an MTB became popular.
Rey is doing more and more talks and motivational keynote speeches at all kinds of events.
Sponsors: Hans Rey's sponsors include
GT Bicycles
GT Bicycles is an American company that designs and manufactures BMX, mountain, and road bicycles. GT is a division of the Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings, which also markets Cannondale, Schwinn, Mongoose, IronHorse, DYNO, and RoadMaster bicyc ...
- their partnership (since 1987) is one of the longest standing sponsorship relationships in the entire cycling, action sports and outdoor industry,
Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...
FiveTen TERREX since 1993, Shimano since 1988, since 2017, Rey is a Shimano eBike ambassador, LUK Automotive Systems since 1992, Crank Brothers components, SR Suntour suspension, Carosello 3000,
Livigno
Livigno (; local lmo, Livígn ; german: Luwin) is a town, ''comune'' and a special-administered territory in the province of Sondrio, in the region of Lombardy, Italy, located in the Italian Alps, near the Swiss border.
History
Livigno's firs ...
Bike Resort, Clif Bar, SQ-Lab saddles, Stans No Tubes wheels, iXS protection, Adidas Eyewear, Deuter backpacks. He was also sponsored by
Swatch
Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The Swatch product line was developed as a response to the "quartz crisis" of the 1970s and 1980s, in which i ...
as part of the
SwatchProTeam for 19 years.
External links
Hans Rey Official SiteWheels4Life Charity
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rey, Hans
1966 births
Living people
People from Emmendingen (district)
Sportspeople from Freiburg (region)
German male cyclists
Mountain bike trials riders
Mountain bike innovators
Cyclists from Baden-Württemberg
Freeride mountain bikers
German emigrants to the United States