Cannon Ball Racing

MATT WILLIAM JOHNSTON BIO

Matt was raised in Woodbridge, VA and moved to Salt Lake City in the winter of 1996 to snowboard. In the summer of '97 he was introduced to Downhill mountain biking and became hooked instantly. The following summer Matt was given a job at a local bike shop (Bingham Cyclery). Matt worked hard at the shop to get his first downhill bike and entered his first contest that same summer. He was promised a paid entry fee if he finished in the top 5 by his boss Kevin Palmer. Matt went on to a 2nd place finish in that race only losing to one of his best friends Keith Mott. From that point on Matt had found his true passion in life and everything was all downhill form that point on, no pun intended.

Since this time Matt has gone onto racing and traveling throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has been a professional ranked rider for the past 8 years. In 2006 Matt took under his wing a young rider and teammate by the name of Andrew Pierce. Andrew became Matt's prot'eg'e and was given the opportunity to learn the technical aspects of racing and competing at the highest level. Matt was excited to hand down his experience and found that coaching/teaching was fulfilling and a way to give back to a sport that had given him so much. In that summer of 2006 Matt and Andrew were 2 of 10 Americans to qualify at the Mounte Sainte Anne - World Cup in Quebec, Canada. Andrew was the youngest rider to compete in the race that day, finishing the race and making Matt extremely proud. Andrew also went onto a 10th place finish at the 2006 World Championships of Mountain Biking in Rotrou, New Zealand. Andrew has since moved onto his own promising professional career in downhill racing. He and Matt still travel to races and compete together to this day and are have developed a very close kinship. Matt would now like to pass this knowledge down to others and develop future riders both physically and mentally. "It's a great way to get kids together in the outdoors and have fun with one another developing relationships and getting into shape." Matt spent last summer coaching four youths in racing and took them to the Sundance Showdown where they all competed and had a blast. Matt is looking forward to working a larger group of kids this coming summer.

Matt's Race Career Statistics

2004

2005

2006

2008

Cannon Ball Racing Photo