Swatch Proteam profile: Matthias Dandois

Born in 1989 in Épinay-sur-Orge, France, nine-time world champion Matthias Dandois is known as the BMX saddle dancer. At age 12, he received his first bike from his parents and began life riding street, but in 2002 he saw someone riding flatland in his local skatepark, and the rest is history.

Living between New York and Paris, Matthias has been at the top of his game for two decades and counting. He’s shaken up the sport by pushing both progression and style in flatland and pioneered a street style of riding that blends wallrides and half- cabs with insanely technical flatland links. Matthias first made his mark in the world’s BMX flatlander stage at 19 when he was crowned World Champion for the first time in 2008. Ever since, he’s dominated flatland competitions across the planet, taking an incredible ninth title at the 2021 BMX Flatland World Cham- pionship in France. Matthias has also clocked up over one hun- dred tournaments, including the International Festival of Extreme Sports and the NORA Cup.

What sets Matthias apart is his creativity and imagination. He performs tricks that no one has thought of before and continues to blur the line between flatland, street riding, and content cre- ation, his other passion.

Matthias is always on the lookout for new places to ride and con- tinues to push the boundaries of different riding styles–a pro- gressive Proteam athlete that is a perfect fit for Swatch.