Carlin Dunne Biography
Carlin Dunne was born in 1983 in Santa Barbara, CA. Starting out on two wheels at the tender age of two, he wasn’t too much unlike the average American youth, however, his first bike not only had training wheels but also a 50cc motor. Carlin’s father, Trevor Dunne, owns and operates Pro Italia, a Ducati motorcycle dealer. Born into the motorcycle lifestyle, Carlin was competing at the pro level by age fifteen. Racing both on and off-road, Carlin was well on his way to becoming a household name when an unexpected 120mph high-side crash at Daytona International Motor Speedway left him with a severely compound fractured femur. During the year-long recovery process a dear friend and fellow racer lost his life in a racing accident similar to the one in which Carlin was involved. Carlin made use of the downtime to reevaluate his plans for the future. In light of the recent traumatic events he chose to retire at the young age of 18. It was an extremely tough decision to make, but ultimately it was for the best.
Returning to the simple life, Carlin began working for Mammoth Moving, a local moving company owned by a close family friend. Mammoth Moving participates in the Baja 1000 with a three-man racing team. Carlin occasionally races on their team, most recently in 2004 when their team finished a very respectable 6th place in the unlimited-pro division. The Baja 1000 is considered by many the most grueling event in motorsports.
Introduced to mountain biking in late 2002 by his close friend Andrew Morin, his passion was resurrected as soon as his feet landed on the pedals. People began to take notice and word spread fast of Carlin’s immense talents.
With an innate need for speed, it was only a matter of time before Carlin found himself back in the saddle. However, this time his cycle of choice was of the motor-less variety. Introduced to mountain biking in late 2002 by his close friend Andrew Morin, his passion was resurrected as soon as his feet landed on the pedals. People began to take notice and word spread fast of Carlin’s immense talents. In 2003 he traveled up and down the west coast and into Canada in order to gather footage for a short video which he submitted into Race Face’s Ultimate Freeride Challenge III. The video took him all the way to the final round where he missed first place by only a few percentage points. The big moves and technical lines featured in Carlin’s video earned him a great deal of international recognition. With support from Santa Barbara local mountain bike industry veteran and ex-pro racer Kelly Steelman, Carlin was able to secure a sponsorship deal with Kona Bicycles. Within only a few months of pedal-powered cycling, Carlin found himself on his way to the top once again.
Carlin made his feature film debut with a short segment in Disorderly Conduct released in fall of 2004. He made a lengthier return appearance in this year’s film Unchained. Both films were produced by Freeride Entertainment as part of the “New World Disorder” series directed by Derek Westerlund. Carlin is currently riding for Kona Bicycles, Fox Racing, Marzocchi Suspension, Smith Eyewear, Giro Helmets, e.13 components, Velo Pro Cyclery and others. He is recognized as one of the most progressive and daring freeriders, known for his ability to stick large vertical drops and gaps. In the spring of 2006 Carlin will resume filming with Freeride Entertainment as well as appearing throughout the year at select freeride events across North America and Europe.
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