Backyard Builds: Reece Wallace, Vancouver Island, BC

Backyard Build is a series featuring some of your favorite riders and the creative, often unbelievable, builds they have on their personal properties. We chatted with Reece Wallace, pro mountain biker and - because that wasn't enough - private pilot from Vancouver Island, BC, about the home compound he's created that reflects his creativity and Rampage-level freeride prowess.

Athlete name, property location, property nickname?

Reece Wallace, Nanaimo, British Columbia, The Yard

How did you find your property? Were you looking for land that you could build on or did that idea come later?

I was living in a little A-frame here on Vancouver Island for a couple years, and it was always a dream of mine to own a property to build jumps. Up until this point, I’d spent a lot of time, energy and money building free ride courses for video parts which had to be torn down after because they weren’t on land I owned. I was getting tired of this routine, and when Covid hit, I used the time to find a piece of land where I could live and build jumps. There was a dilapidated property (literally a crack house) listed for a couple years which no one wanted. When my realtor showed me it, I brought a shovel and dug up a dirt sample, and I knew it was game on.

Who came up with the design for your property’s build and/or did you have help with the construction?

I came up with the design for the course, but I had a ton of help from a few local buddies I hired throughout the process. There aren’t many freeriders where I live, nor people who want to build or ride the features I like to, so the design was pretty solo, with lots of trial and error. A couple of my forestry homies taught me their ways with a chainsaw and sawmill and assisted lots in the process.

What was the most challenging part of the build?

Before I could even start thinking about building jumps in the yard, I had to clean the property and entirely renovate and rebuild the house. It took me six months to clean the property of twelve-plus garbage filled barns and out buildings, broken down cars, metal, plastic, diapers, car tires, fridges, glass... you name it. I rented a friend’s mini-excavator and began loading, sorting, and burning garbage, recycling and wood throughout the entire winter of 2021. While I was doing this, the house wasn’t livable so I was squatting at filmmaker Calvin Huth’s house (thanks Cal!) as well as my friends Sam & Oz (also thanks!). Once the yard was a bit more cleaned up, I began falling dead trees, which I then milled with a buddy’s portable sawmill to frame my house and stock pile wood for the yard build.

Any stories from construction that you want to share?

There’s a few stories when you build jumps on a cracked out acreage. Once I dug up a dead horse and dog which really sucked. Unleashed some evil spirits.

Do you have a favorite feature or section?

The whale tail line is my favorite because it has the most amount of big hits.

Are there any other questions you wish I’d asked / anything else you want to add?

Thank you to Jeremy McDowell and Dawson Labbe for your help building!

Anything you’re looking forward to with regards to your property build (jams, films, expansions, etc.)?

I did about twenty Rampages in a row worth of building this year, so I’m taking a little break on course expansions. But I’ll be filming another yard video next year and hosting the third Reece Wallace Invitational.

Related: Backyard Builds: Cam Zink