I have to say the best part about my job is getting to know and meet so many inspiring riders. It seems every pro has their own story on how they came to be but I've never heard one as impressive as Coco Zurita's. Emailing back and forth for this top 5's, I was astonished to learn his back story. Born and raised in Chile, he learned English to get to America, worked dozens of odd end jobs, (like selling water filters door to door to Spanish people in Texas), put on shows with the GT crew for 4 years, (including working the Dew Tour action tent- padding up little kids), until he finally got the nerve and guts to enter the Dew Tour series himself. All while living off a temporary tourist visa and traveling back and forth to Chile every 6 months. The rest as they would say is history. Now, Coco Zurita travels the world riding his bike, lives at Woodward West and is able to live his dream as a professional BMX rider. Now go read his Top 5's...

Top 5 things you love about America:
1. Freeways when there's no traffic
2. Mexican food
3. Cars
4. Riding spots
5. Bike shops

Top 5 things you miss about Chile:
1. Home made food
2. My family
3. My girl friend
4. My church
5. Short distances

Top 5 jobs you don't miss working:
1. Selling water filters door to door
2. Changing ads at the banks
3. Working at the grocery store
4. Being a sales man at a skateshop
5. Doing 40 bmx shows a year

Top 5 reasons you love riding contests:
1. It pushes you to ride harder
2. You learn from other riders
3. You get payed
4. You gain exposure for your sponsors
5. It's awesome to hang out with all the riders

Top 5 things you do outside of riding:
1. Travel with friends
2. Drink smoothies
3. Shoot pictures
4. Paint
5. Drive

Top 5 places you've traveled to:
1. Berlin
2. Chile
3. Brazil
4. Italy
5. Japan

Top 5 things you love about living at Woodward West:
1. The mellow environment
2. Nice people
3. It's the perfect place to ride.
4. Perfect ramps
5. The good summer weather

Top 5 photographers in BMX:
1. Jeremy Pavia
2. Christian Vanhanja
3. Ben Crockett
4. Keith Mulligan
5. Ariel Cruz

Top 5 pieces of camera equipment you'd like to own:
1. Photogenic light kit
2. Canon 1Ds Mark III body
3. 100-400mm telephoto lens
4. Extra Pocket Wizards
5. An extra 580EX Canon flash

Top 5 things you don't travel without:
1. Tooth brush
2. Hangout shoes and riding shoes
3. Music
4. My bike
5. My helmet

Top 5 riders to ride with:
1. Mono Illanes
2. Mark Webb
3. Kevin Kiraly
4. Simon Tabron
5. Jamie Bestwick

Top 5 favorite bands:
1. Mstrkrft
2. Ratatat
3. Redial
4. Gostland Observatory
5. The Faint

Top 5 things you'd like to accomplish this year:
1. New tricks
2. Higher airs
3. Rep Jesus Christ harder
4. Get better comp results
5. Get more new sponsors

Top 5 movies:
1. Donnie Darko
2. Big Fish
3. Taladega Nights
4. Step Brothers
5. Anchorman

Top 5 things you can't live without:
1. A new bike
2. Avocado
3. My iPhone
4. Chocolates
5. Church

Top 5 people you'd like to meet:
1. Jesus Christ
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Kevin Schwantz
4. Saul Hudson/Slash
5. Adrian y los dados negros

Top 5 people you'd like to thank:
1. Jerry Badders
2. Eddy Buckly
3. Sean Tarrant
4. Bo Wade
5. My parents