BMX Interviews

Through The Lens: Industry Talk with Ron Wilkerson

June 12, 2013

When an idea hits sometimes you just have to run with it. That’s exactly what happened when I was on a recent trip up to Santa Cruz, CA. I knew that Ron Wilkerson lives up that way and even though I was only there on a quick trip I had to make some moves and try my best to track him down for an interview. Ron is a straight up legend, he started and owns his own bike company, has incredibly deep roots in BMX. If you don’t have some serious respect for the guy, you might as well just forfeit your title as a BMX’er right now and stop reading this feature. Since the early days on his path in BMX Ron has always had an incredible passion for riding and his mindset is truly focused on bettering the industry. He grew up as one of the top pros in the industry, still rides and has crazy sessions to this day, and he continually works on developing innovative products. To say the dude is a lifer would be a serious understatement. I met up with him one morning for some good conversation and a fresh Acai bowl at Samba Rock Acai Café, which is an amazing place that Ron and his wife own right in Santa Cruz. This one took some work to make come to life so needless to say I’m proud to present the first edition of “Industry Talk” so sit back and enjoy.

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Mark Burnett Interview

June 10, 2013

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Photo: Tristan Afre

Mark is one of those young guns who has been popping up for the past year or so in the Daily Section. We’ve seen a handful of edits out of him and in that time his riding has really progressed a substantial amount… So much that he was able to get the attention of Sunday and Shadow, who he was recently added to the flow team for both brands. We figured by now there’s gotta be a few people out there wondering just who this kid is, so we caught up with him to find out all about him! Get familiar because I have a feeling we will be seeing plenty more of Mark in the future!

Name: Mark Burnett
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Quicky: Alex Raban

June 6, 2013

Alex Raban is one of those guys who I’ve been a big fan of for years from all of his DVDs and videos he has put out to the crazy costumes he’s always popping up in. Alex has always been one of the people I thought deserved the chance to be a pro rider and as of lately, that’s definitely been happening. With his signature colorway on the Volume Bermuda frame and new signature Iron Chachi bars being out, two video parts he’s stacking clips for and a bunch of miles being clocked on the road, we figured it would be a good time to catch up with the guy to find out what’s new. Let’s see what he had to say!

Name: Alex Raban
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Through The Lens: Freedom of Speech with Jamie Bestwick

June 5, 2013

Jamie Bestwick BMX
I have to be honest with you here, there are times when I sit around and think for hours, days and sometimes a full week until an idea for a new column pops into my head. Week after week I have been searching for ways to keep things fresh and ways to keep people interested. I simply try to give a reason to check back every Wednesday to see what the new TTL will be about. For those that don’t know, I have officially started my East Coast summer at Woodward and for this week’s column I am very stoked to present an interview with vert legend Jamie Bestwick. Jamie is arguably the best vert rider on the planet and although he doesn’t like to admit that, I doubt there are any riders out there that would argue that fact. He is the type of rider that has an incredible drive to be the best at what he does. He has had a wild journey in BMX so far and has set the bar to an almost unreachable height. Jamie has won eight X Games gold medals in a row and shows zero signs of slowing down anytime soon. He is at the peak of his career and somehow remains level headed, modest and as down to earth as it gets. We recently spent some time hanging out on a quiet afternoon in the middle of nowhere Pennsylvania and while we were hanging out I fired some questions his way, and this was the result. Enjoy.

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Cool Story, Bro with Rich Forne

May 30, 2013

Cool Story, Bro Mutiny Bikes Rich Forne

Over the last two or so months, Mutiny Bikes have been releasing a series of videos going by the title of “Cool Story, Bro”. These videos that are being produced by the one and only Richard Forne are a unique approach to a sea of web edits that are focused less on the riding, but more on the personalities of the team riders, giving you a look into what runs through their minds.
After watching a couple of these videos, I started wondering what got this series going, what kind of time and work is actually going into making them happen and what the future of the concept holds. I knew the only way to find out more was to track down Rich and get him to fill us in while he waited on one of the many flights he had to take between Israel, the U.K and the U.S. to make these videos happen. Luckily for us, we were able to get ahold of him and he was more than down to give us the answers we were looking for. Let’s see what he had to say!

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Brandon Van Dulken Interview

May 27, 2013

Brandon Van Dulken BMX
Click to see it big!

Over the past year or so, there’s been a couple riders from Canada that have been really catching my eye. One of those guys would be Colony‘s connect up there, Brandon Van Dulken. Brandon’s one of those riders that you can’t really classify into one thing since he’s proven that he can kill it at a park, send it down a handrail and roast a set of trails. With a steady stream of footage coming from him lately, we figured it would be a good time to get to know this guy a little better. Let’s see what he had to say!

Name: Brandon Van Dulken
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Through The Lens – Catching Up with Miles Rogoish

May 22, 2013

Miles Rogoish BMX

For this week’s TTL I wanted to take some time out to catch up with someone who knows what it means to put in work. Miles is the type of person to always have a ton of projects going on at one time. He not only is a professional rider but he is also a very well respected filmer in the BMX industry. He offers a unique perspective on riding, does his own goddamn thing and lives a lifestyle most people only talk about doing. Miles takes each day as it comes, and has that unique passion that it takes to succeed as a creative person. All of that together will be what helps bring Miles to the point he wants to be at in life one way or another. I’ve known him since 2007 and since that time I’ve seen him risk it all to move out west and pursue his dreams, I’ve seen him progress as a rider, and I’ve seen him put out some quality, original edits that make him stand out among the sea of filmers these days within the industry. It’s nice to know that there are other people out there working towards a goal and just simply trying to leave their mark. Check out what Miles had to say about the current state of the industry, what BMX needs and more right here.

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Insight: Eclat – Nathan Peg

May 21, 2013

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Product design is one of the most interesting things in BMX to me. Just the whole process of coming up with an idea and turning it into an actual product is so fascinating. Over the past two or three years, plastic pegs have really been becoming a hugely popular part for BMX. In that time, it seems like every brand has released their own version of the plastic peg these days and the heated debate over plastic versus metal pegs continues.
There might have been a lot of options added to the table, but they’re all pretty similar in design. That was up until a few weeks ago when Eclat released Nathan Williams’ signature peg that features a steel core that’s bonded with a plastic creating a one piece design.
After seeing a lot of mixed reactions about the peg, we figured it would be a good idea to catch up with one of the guys behind the design, Richard Shaw, to talk about how the peg was made and what really went into creating this version of the plastic peg. Let’s see what he had to say!

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