Delve into the world of Marc Marquez as the eight-time World Champion opens up about the changes he has embraced as he matures on and off the track. The Repsol Honda rider recently sat down for a Q&A and acknowledged the need for a greater focus on his physical well-being, particularly after a string of injuries in the past three years, while he also discusses his new documentary, Marc Marquez: All In.
From sharing his love of gaming and pets to his motivations to return to the pinnacle of the sport, check out the best bits from Marquez’ GQ interview below!
Maturing with age
"When I started racing I was really young and it was just all about riding the bikes and that was it. Now I’m 30 and I've realised I need to take more and more care of my body: controlling everything, doing more physical therapy sessions and all those things. Everything feels bigger.
"When we made the documentary, it was not only about racing, they were following me every day with cameras. And when you open up your personal life, people can really say anything about you. I hope it's a documentary that people can take something from, and I hope they like it."
Driving ambition
"My biggest goal is to come back. Not many athletes in the past have spent three years injured and were able to come back. I want to come back and be competitive again and fight for Championships."
Marc Marquez: All In
"What I will say is that this is the other side of an athlete. Normally when athletes have success and good results, that's when you open your house and have the cameras showing that you are happy. But then when you have a difficult moment, normally you go into more of a protective period and the cameras don’t go in with you.
"So for this, I said: why not? I've had many people filming me in the past when I was winning, but not in a difficult moment. We are humans, and we have difficult moments, and many people who have problems in their personal life I think can maybe approach theirs in the same mode. I hope it can help."
The importance of routine
"For me, the key (to get through the injuries) was a positive mentality and having a routine. That was very important. Motivation changes every day because some days you are very down, but if you keep the routine, and people around you, it helps. I had the correct people around me, family and friends and my team and that was a big help.
A love of pets
"We have two dogs. Officially, I have one, but one is my brother’s and we are living together so we have two dogs to take care of.
"I love animals and of course, I love dogs. It’s a special relationship with the dogs, like when you go out shopping for a few minutes and when you come back they act like they’ve been waiting for you for four or five days. That's nice. It helps me relax to walk around the city with the dogs. They're like friends to share those moments with."
Sleeping issues
"One of the most important things for an athlete — or anyone, really — is good sleep. But sometimes you can’t control that and you might have physical issues, or on the mental side if you’re worried about something it can be a bit more difficult. Sometimes I take melatonin, but not in big quantities, just very small quantities. If I do that, I can go ten hours and have no problem there. When you have a difficult moment, why not?"
PHOTO CREDIT: GQ Magazine