Riding with the crew: masculinities and informal care support in BMX

This study examines BMX (Bicycle Motocross) culture as an alternative site in which men negotiate wellbeing, identity, and social connection. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 24 male riders aged 20 to 55, five interconnected themes emerged: resilience and self-efficacy developed through embodied, trial-and-error learning; strong social support and male bonding grounded in horizontal homosociality; collective resistance to external stressors and the DIY governance of riding spaces; the role of BMX in enhancing life satisfaction and sustaining personal meaning; and the emotional risks that arise when identity becomes overly entwined with subcultural immersion. Findings position BMX as an informal therapeutic landscape: a counter-space where autonomy, competence, and relatedness are collectively nurtured, yet where exclusions and vulnerabilities persist. The study contributes to emerging scholarship on men’s wellbeing, lifestyle sports, and informal care by illustrating how alternative sporting cultures can both challenge and reproduce dominant masculine norms.