“Big mountain biking is the pinnacle of cycling for me,” he says. “It’s about returning to the raw mountains, where there are no paths unless you make them.” Richard compares himself to a painter using the landscape as his canvas and his bike as the brush. “Some people see cycling as moving from start to finish on a set course. I’ve always been more interested in where I ride, why I ride, and who I ride with than in performance or results. For me, the bike is a tool for self-expression,” says the biker whose great-grandfather, a painter from Rovereto, Italy, once decorated church interiors across the Trentino region.
Generations later, Gaspi’s designs would appear on cycling backpacks, sunglasses, components, and even splitboards. He always sought to stand apart. When tattoos exploded in the ‘90s, he jumped right in. For five years, he worked as a tattoo artist, bringing his personal style into the world of cycling. His design work is about blending function with personal meaning. “I always loved giving things an extra twist – humor, a message, some energy,” says Gaspi, who grew up in late-’70s Czechoslovakia in Jirkov, a gritty mining town on the edge of the Ore Mountains.
He still remembers school closures due to toxic air, forests dying from acid rain, miners drinking away their wages, and the sharp sulfur stench of winter fogs. Perhaps that’s why he developed a fascination with volcanoes – a passion that has taken him to the summits of Stromboli, Etna, Pacaya, Acatenango, and the unpredictable Fuego in Guatemala.
“Fuego erupts every 28 minutes,” he says. “As I reached the highest rideable point, it suddenly blew. The ground shook, and rocks the size of horse heads began to fall. I didn’t wait – I jumped on my bike and rode like my life depended on it.” The local guide said it was the strongest eruption he’d witnessed in years.
Richard took home a small bag of volcanic ash – a fragment of the experience. He later collaborated with South African-Australian artist Werner Bronkhorst to create a painting. Werner, known for placing finely detailed figures in textured landscapes, painted Richard descending the volcano, mixing ash from Fuego into the background. The painting was auctioned to a buyer in Singapore, and the proceeds went to support disadvantaged children in Guatemala – a project symbolically linking five continents.
Another key figure in Richard’s creative world is Prague-based graffiti pioneer Martin Hirth, aka Kafes. “He has a distinct style – his lines and brushstrokes create a whole different world,” says Richard. Kafes has designed for NBA player Vít Krejčí and hockey star David Pastrňák. In this year’s project echoing the Guatemala artwork, Kafes used ash from Gaspi’s volcano ride on Pico do Fogo in Cape Verde to create a colorful abstract piece. “We’re auctioning it off again and donating the proceeds to children in need from Cape Verde,” says Gaspi, whose vision of cycling goes far beyond handlebars and trails.
Last year, Richard hit a personal low. “I lost my dad – my role model, coach, and closest friend. It was such a blow that my back seized up, and I thought I’d quit biking altogether.” But painting, especially with his daughter Eleonora, helped him rediscover the color in his world.
“Life is a constant learning process,” he reflects. “Each year, you start over. Sometimes you fail, but you keep going. Never give up – not in life, and not when you’re climbing a steep slope to a volcanic summit. Because once you reach the top, the ride down will be the best of your life.”
