België

Samantha Soriano

From BMX to freeride and beyond:
Meet our new face of EOFT 2024!

A small girl on a bmx bike at a race

It all starts on a 20-inch children's bike.

With her big brother as a role model and her father as a coach, Samantha gains her first racing experience before she even starts school.

She races BMX until she is 14. Then she picks up cross country mountain biking, starts to race downhill for five years.

By 17, she is the youngest participant in the National Championships for downhill mountain biking.

Samantha races downhill
Peter Jamison ©

I raced world cups, nationals, everything under the sun.

Two bikers on a bike trail

Yet, the races start to lose their appeal.

She reaches a point where she is "in a bad racing rut." She believes that pursuing a career in freeriding could be a significant step in the right direction.

I knew I wasn't meant to be a racer anymore.

As a freerider, Samantha discovers a completely new world. In racing she used to focus on the best time, now creativity is at the forefront.

Samantha is holding a coconut with a straw and smiles
Peter Jamison ©

Utah is her main playground where she finds her own lines—but now there's also more time for traveling and other questions.

So far, Samantha has paid little attention to her Filipino roots. But now it’s time for a change.

Together with her father, she travels to Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines, to see what the country has to offer in terms of mountain biking. But most importantly, to visit her family.

Sam meets her family
Peter Jamison ©
Two women wearing mountain bike equipment
Peter Jamison ©
Two women hug each other
Peter Jamison ©
Samantha on her bike
Peter Jamison ©
Samantha sits with a young girl on a bench in the forest
Peter Jamison ©
Samantha bikes on a bridge in a colorful village
Peter Jamison ©
Samantha is sitting on the ground, her bike is lying next zu her and she looks out to sea in the distance

This trip is almost like figuring out this lost part of myself.

In the EOFT 2024 program (film Cycle of Bayanihan) you can see what Samantha experiences there, the new friendships she makes, and how she renews her family bonds.

Watch clip of Samantha

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