BMX Interviews

Firsts: Stewart Johnson

April 16, 2013

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Interview by Mark Noble
Portrait photo by Wes McGrath

Few people in the game have a NORA Cup on their mantelpiece at home stating that yes indeed, they made the best video of the time. Stew Johnson has such a trophy, and for good reason – Anthem2 was long awaited and hotly anticipated, and the hype built and built all through the filming and production process. The resulting video definitely not only lived up to but far exceeded the hype. And the just rewards came – it sold well (bearing in mind the age we live in and how people consume videos these days), the riders involved enjoyed truly landmark video parts, and then it was unquestionably awarded a NORA Cup. Anthem2 is timeless, an instant classic, and if you don’t own a copy of it in your video collection then you need to examine your status in life. Having spent the best part of 18 years working on BMX videos, Stew now juggles various projects for brands and companies – “I’m currently working on full length DVDs for Dan’s Comp and Fit Bike Co.” – and is going from strength to strength: we caught up with him just after a Dans Comp trip and here are his FIRSTS.

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Videos: Adam Blyth

April 4, 2013

Adam Blyth BMX
Photo: Nick West

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of different names pop up in the “Filmed and edited by” line. There’s a lot of names that come and go, and then there’s names of guys who as soon as I see it’s by them, I know it’s going to be good. Adam Blyth is one guy who I became familiar with after seeing his work that he produced for some of the U.K’s finest riders including his brother, Tom. Although his name isn’t popping up every week, whenever something new comes from him, it’s one you’re going to want to hit that play button on more than once. I’ve become a big fan of Adam’s work, so I figured it was time to get ahold of him to find out what he’s all about. This is what he had to say! Check it!

Name: Adam Blyth
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Firsts: Tom Arkus

April 1, 2013

Interview by Mark Noble
Photos by Brian Yeagle

Over the years, camera and editing technology has advanced at an insane rate. With all of this new technology, filming and editing web edits and DVD’s has become something that just about anyone could pull off if they set their mind to it for a little while. It wasn’t always as easy as it is today where you can film a clip on your iPhone and have people from the other side of the world checking it out 30 seconds later. Tom Arkus is one of the guys in BMX who has been producing edits online and DVD’s way back before you had things so easy. With the release of his new Vinyl “LP” DVD, we figured it would be a great time to get ahold of Tom to find out how he got into the film side of BMX. Check out what he had to say in this fresh round of Firsts!

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Firsts: Dylan Pfohl

March 18, 2013

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Interview by Mark Noble
Photos by Matt Lingo

One of the most prolific filmers in the industry, Dylan Pfohl’s video output is clearly on a level that is higher than most – he has an eye for detail, a creative edge that makes his work stand out from the crowd, and a portfolio of work that most people who kill for – riders know that if they do something with Dylan, it’s going to be done RIGHT. Dylan’s on top of his game.
Like most riders who have been around for a long time, Dylan’s early days were quite different to how most kids see BMX these days – “Looking back on it, BMX was so simple growing up. We liked jumping our bikes so we built jumps. That was it for years, no magazines, no videos, no internet. I didn’t ride a skatepark until I was 18 years old. I’m pretty thankful I always had the camera out, even when we were just learning to ride. It’s so awesome now to go back and see where we started.”
2012 was a very busy year for Dylan and it seemed not a week went by without something popping up out of his hard-drive and venturing online, but what about right now? “For the first time in months I don’t have any major projects going on, so I’m taking the time to finally work on my Best Of 2012. I probably won’t call it that though, since it’s pretty late. As for what’s next, I’m moving to Huntington in a few days so I plan on learning how to surf. Other than that, just keep doing my own thing.”
Let’s get stuck into finding out a new FIRSTS with Dylan.

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Through The Lens: Growing Up in East L.A. with Anthony “Boy” Flores

March 13, 2013

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Boy cruisin’ the streets with an opposite smith.

This week I got the chance to interview Anthony Flores a.k.a “Boy” about what it was like growing up as a BMX rider in East Los Angeles. A lot of riders share a similar upbringing of cruising the neighborhood with their buddies to the ice cream store but Boy’s upbringing was a little more raw than that. Sure, he fell in love with riding just like most of us did but he also spent his childhood in the projects. By no means am I saying that it’s a bad thing, I am simply pointing out the fact that Boy avoided all of the typical shit that comes along with growing up in a rough part of a big city and decided to focus his energy into riding and I think that’s awesome. I have known Boy for a long time now and have been shooting with him ever since I moved out West. There has never been a dull moment hanging out with him, he’s always got some stories to tell, and a smile on his face. He also holds down a job, and does what it takes to make sure his son Jordan a.k.a “Mr. Young BOYrack87” is taken care of along with his girl. Needless to say, he has been there for BMX since day one and his passion remains. Enjoy.

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Tanner Easterla Interview

March 11, 2013

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Every now and then you’ll see a riders name popping up from time to time in different edits. If you pay attention you will notice most of those guys progressing. Tanner is one of those riders who I’ve been seeing pop up for a few years now, and then this past week out of no where he had not just one, but two damn good edits that dropped. Needless to say, Tanner was all over my radar, so thanks to Matt Freiheit, I was able to get ahold of this dude to find out a little more about him. Let’s check out what he had to say!

Name: Tanner Easterla
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Photos: Jason Finn

February 19, 2013

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It’s amazing how many talented riders and people come from the Portland, Oregon area. I recently came across Jason’s work when he shot the photos for Bruce Crisman’s interview a while back. I was really stoked on the photos so I decided to hit up Jason to see if he would be interested in doing a fresh photo gallery for us. When I saw the photos, I knew we had to do an interview to go with them because they were so good. Luckily, Jason was up for it all and here we have it! Check out Jason’s interview below, then hit up the PHOTOGALLERY to check out a bunch of his photos! Let’s get into it.

Name: Jason Finn
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Reed Stark Interview

February 18, 2013

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Click here to see it BIGGER
Photos by Cody York
Interview by Kurt Hohberger and Cody York

Over the years I’ve watched Reed grow up from a little guy doing turndowns on a bike that’s too big for him to this excessively tall street beast that can absolutely destroy rails and spots. It seems like since he got picked up by BSD two or so years ago already, his riding has progressed an insane amount. The crazy part is that he balances going to college full-time between all of the rail destruction, trips and responsibilities being a pro rider entails these days. With Reed’s new Sun Ringle edit due to drop tomorrow and Cody York sitting on some rad photos, we figured it would be a good time to catch up with Reed to find out what’s new with him. Let’s check out what he had to say in this new Quicky!

Name: Reed Stark
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