Funk Brothers are tops down under in SMX

From left, Capron and Corey Funk get air on their high tech scooters. Corey took 1st and Capron took 2nd at a three-stop championship of extreme scooter riding (SMX) in Melbourne, Australia.

From left, Capron and Corey Funk get air on their high tech scooters. Corey took 1st and Capron took 2nd at a three-stop championship of extreme scooter riding (SMX) in Melbourne, Australia.

Canyon Lake seems to be a mecca for extreme sports athletes with “Funk Brothers SMX” a new name to keep on the radar.

According to RodKingz creator and Canyon Lake resident AJ Loft, the Canyon Lake brothers, Capron and Corey Funk, will be to the sport of professional scooters what Tony Hawk’s name is to the skateboard industry.

Last weekend, Corey, 19, and Capron, 22, returned from ‘down under’ after winning 1st and 2nd place respectively in the three-stop Scooter Hut Pro Series held in Melbourne, Australia from September 24 to October 1 (proscooterseries.com). Between them, they brought home $20,000 in prize money.

This was the brothers’ second year to be invited to the prestigious Australia event. Corey was unable to attend last year, but Capron took 3rd place. They also have competed at world championships in England and Spain, and at professional events in California, New York, Texas and Washington.

A5-PIC-4-Funk-BrosReaders may recall seeing the Funk name on other occasions in The Friday Flyer. In January 2009, the brothers were featured after their podium finishes at the 3rd annual San Diego Freestyle Competition. At that time, Capron, 15, placed 1st in Pro division, and Corey, 12, placed 2nd in the Intermediate class.

Both are sponsored by Lucky Scooters, and Corey has a shop sponsor in LA called The Vault. They’ve enjoyed other successes along the way; but it wasn’t until AJ Loft saw them practicing at the Audie Murphy Skate Park last fall that the vision of turning them into a brand name was born.

AJ says, “I started asking questions and found out that riding scooters is fast becoming a major sport, not only in this country, but around the world. At the pro level it’s called ‘riding SMX,’ kind of like extreme bicycle riding is called BMX, and there are a significant number of pro riders right in our backyard.”

AJ met with the young men’s parents, Robert and Kimberly Funk, and discussed building the Funk Brothers name into a significant, mainstream action sports brand.

The Funk Brothers were photographed by Canyon Lake sports photographer Mike Clary at Audie Murphy Skate Park in Menifee early this week. View more pictures at FridayFlyer.com or MikeClaryPhotography.com. Photos by Mike Clary

The Funk Brothers were photographed by Canyon Lake sports photographer Mike Clary at Audie Murphy Skate Park in Menifee early this week. View more pictures at FridayFlyer.com or MikeClaryPhotography.com. Photos by Mike Clary

“We planned to launch the brand in Spring 2016, but due to their fantastic performance in last month’s worldwide competition, we are moving faster and you will find some Funk Brothers SMX apparel in local specialty stores for the holidays,” AJ says.

Robert Funk, a nationally ranked amateur golfer with quite a list of his own accomplishments, says he bought skateboards for the boys when they were young but they quickly switched to scooters.

He notes, “Once they got into the skate parks, they found that they were pretty good. Then some competitions started and Kimberly took them to all that she could find.. They started off in beginners’ division and moved up from there.”

The brothers grew up in Canyon Lake and attended local schools. They attended Temescal Canyon High School before switching to home schooling so they could pursue their sport. AJ describes them as “super nice guys, very well brought up, humble and very well mannered.”

But he knows what many people are thinking. Scooters. Really?

Noting that the scooters the pros ride are “high tech and lightning fast,” AJ says, “SMX is an unbelievably challenging and cool sport that is far more fun to watch than skateboarding. You can’t do flips on a skateboard. These guys do flips forward or backward while spinning their scooters. I mean, they are serious athletes, and the tricks they can do are amazing! SMX is insane, and the two best riders in the world live right here in our backyard!”




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