“Adrenaline rush.”

That was how junior Damien Gong — president of Livin’ the Dream, a club focused on extreme outdoor sports — described the excitement of mountain biking.

There’s no denying that the sport’s speed and difficulty can be dangerous, but the intensity is what attracts many athletes, including Gong. Some of Gong’s favorite memories involve executing his most extreme stunts.

“My favorite memories are probably sending my first big jump and landing it, as well as landing my first backflip,” Gong said.

While Gong now mountain bikes at a high level, his interest started during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he began going on trail rides with his dad to pass the time. Gradually, he took on more challenging trails and events. By the time he started high school, Gong said he was fully invested in the sport but noticed a lack of a mountain bike community at school. That inspired him to create the Livin’ the Dream club, where students can bond over extreme sports.

“I wanted to create a club for people who are into smaller activities. Mountain biking obviously isn’t a super popular activity. When I started, I only had two friends who mountain biked, and I wanted to make that community bigger,” Gong said.

The club has garnered attention from not only mountain bikers but also skiers, surfers, and snowboarders, covering a range of extreme sports and skill levels. In addition to sports, members also focus on community service.

“We’ve done a beach clean up and it’s really rewarding to get to pick up trash and beautify the beaches that we all share,” junior Hannah Osinski, the club’s vice president, said. “The club encompasses a lot of outdoor adventures.”

Gong hopes the club will continue to grow and eventually resemble sports clubs at other schools.

“I know Carlmont has a big [mountain bike club] because there’s a trail right there,” Gong said. “I hope Burlingame can become something like that: a lot of people riding in a big group.”

Gong’s passion for the sport is shared with freshmen Stephen Matthews and Caetano Calogne, both longtime cyclists. They started out riding casually but eventually began competing in local events, such as the Sea Otter Classic, a yearly race in Monterey, and biking on more extreme trails in their free time. The two now compete in multiple events, including enduro, cross country, and free-riding, and both hope to continue the sport as they get older.

“Some of my favorite memories are big rides with friends and jumps,” Matthews said, “I think the sport is going to grow because there’s a bunch of people starting the sport, you see the videos on social media, and it sort of just spreads from there.”

According to Calogne, as the community grows, proper trail maintenance also becomes more important, since building and maintaining trails is a collaborative effort that often yields more elusive trails.

“There’s always secret trails that you can find, and they’re always really good,” Calogne said.

For Matthews and Calogne, mountain biking will always have a special place in their heart, going beyond the competitive aspect.

“It’s not the competition that draws me to the sport,” Matthews said. “It’s the fun.”

One of Matthew’s biggest hopes is to see the sport grow, and he encourages other students to try mountain biking.

“At least try it once, and see how it’ll go,” Matthews said. “Send it.”