BMX Interviews

Through The Lens: The Come Up. Past, Present and Future

November 28, 2012

As always, TTL just kind of happens and this week was no different. I normally wouldn’t want to do two weeks of straight interviews but I randomly tweeted at Adam Grandmaison a.k.a Adam22 on Twitter and said that I would like to interview him for a future TTL column on the site. Well, long story short he came back with an “I dare you” and now a few days later here we are. Needless to say the reason Adam and I get along so well is because we have had a mutual respect for one another from the beginning and whether or not you want to admit it, The Come Up is a site that nearly every single BMX rider in the world checks on a daily basis so you can’t really say that he isn’t doing it right. He also has been laying low working hard on a bunch of new projects, he hired a staff of bloggers and has been working on a brand new iPhone app that will be out soon. I cruised down to Long Beach on Monday to sit down with him, chill for a bit and find out exactly what TCU has in store for the future. I also interviewed his personal bodyguard Chris Long and his new money guy Alfredo Mancuso. Love it or hate it, TCU has been a staple in the BMX scene and will be for years and years to come. Let’s get to it.
[Read more…]

Firsts: James Cox

November 27, 2012

Interview by Mark Noble

James Cox is flat-out one of the best filmers in the game – but don’t just take my word for it, he’s in possession of one of the few highly-coveted NORA Cups for Video Of The Year resting on a shelf at 4Down HQ to prove it, for his production work on the United video. Whether it’s his filming skills or production and editing techniques, James has it down – and has done so for a pretty long time; “I’ve been filming since I was about 17 years old, so over a decade ago now. I’ve been filming professionally since about 2008 after leaving my job as a Senior Creative at a graphic design agency to pursue a BMX videography career and never looked back. I started off freelance, and made videos for all sorts of different companies, but eventually I ended up on the United / 4Down payroll as their staff full-time filmer. On top of that, I now produce videos for Etnies Europe and undertake the odd personal project…” Whether it’s travelling worldwide for United, or 4Down, or for Etnies, James Cox has it well covered. We caught up with him between projects to figure out his FIRSTS.

[Read more…]

Quicky: Tony Malouf

November 26, 2012

There’s no doubt that Tony Malouf is one of those guys who is always on the move. Some how even getting hit by a car doesn’t slow him down. I figured between doing hood slides, all of the trips, his signature frame that’s due out this week, all of the edits he has been pushing out lately and everything that it would be a good time to catch up with the dude and find out what’s going on in his life. Check out what he had to say!

Name: Tony Malouf
[Read more…]

On The Horizon: Crux Division

November 22, 2012

Over the years there have been different grassroots programs that have allowed riders to gain connections and get hook ups from different brands. These programs were all good opportunities, but they really lacked giving riders a sense of being a part of an actual team or the tools to help get their name out.

Then about a year ago, Jeremie Infelise worked with Sidewall Distribution to create a program that I think is one of the closest programs to being on a flow program for a bike or parts company called the Crux Division. In that time, there have been a number of riders that have been given the opportunity to get their name out and even get bumped up to sponsor deals.

With a new year just around the corner, I figured it would be a good time to get ahold of Jeremie to talk about the program and to see what he has cooking with the Crux Division in the future. Let’s see what he had to say.

[Read more…]

Through The Lens: Catching Up with Ryan Metro

November 21, 2012

This week’s column came about in an interesting way. My good friend Jesse Bower, aka Fisher from back in New York who is part of the FBM Hall of Fame crew hit me up to come down and visit for a few days. While we were talking he happened to mention Ryan’s name saying that he lives out in So Cal and he was going to try and hang with him as well. As soon as I heard that I got the idea to interview Ryan and get him a chance to fill everyone in on the latest with his life and riding. It’s been quite a bit since most people have heard Ryan’s name so it was my goal to spend the day with him and just see what comes of it. The quick version goes a little something like this…We linked up at his house in the morning, hopped on the subway and headed to downtown Los Angeles to cruise around with him and a few friends from back in Louisville where Ryan is from. There was no real plan and no real destination. We simply set out to have some fun on our bikes and leave the bullshit behind. Although it was raining all day we still managed to find a few spots to ride and it was a nice reminder to slow down a bit and take it all in. BMX is an amazing thing and sometimes it’s days like that which put things into perspective and make you really appreciate something so simple as cruising through city streets with no plan but to have fun. Check out the interview below and then hit up the photogallery to see more photos from the day.

Name: Ryan Metro
[Read more…]

Bruce Crisman Interview

November 20, 2012

Photos by Jason Finn

Some of my earliest memories of Bruce Crisman are from around 10 years ago when I first started seeing him in magazines, videos and at big contests like the X-Games. In fact, I’ve got an old Diamondback poster of him doing a 360 one-handed X-up at Woodward still hanging on the wall of the room I grew up in. Over all those years I’ve been a big fan of Bruce and it was always awesome seeing him progress from this killer contest rider into a freecoasting street machine.

Then a few years ago he kind of disappeared with rumors about his back keeping him off his bike. It was weird thinking that there’s a good chance I wouldn’t see fresh footage from him again.

That was until a few months ago when he started popping up in edits. Then it was announced that he had joined the 2Hip team and I knew he was really back on it. Last week his welcome edit dropped and people were blown away including myself. Shortly after I posted up the edit, I got an email from the legend himself thanking me for posting up the video. I was honestly blown away. I also knew there was no way I wasn’t getting an interview out of him to see what he was up to and what he has planned now that things are back on track for him. This is one interview I never thought I’d get to do. Let’s check it out!

Name: Bruce Crisman
[Read more…]

Firsts: Will Stroud

November 1, 2012

Interview by Mark Noble

Unless you’ve been hiding in a cave somewhere, you will have seen and loved Will Stroud’s video work – creating some of the most popular BMX videos over the past ten years, Will always puts a focus and creative edge into his video parts, be it with Nathan Williams, Corey Martinez, Chris Doyle, Garrett Reynolds, Van Homan, Jamie Bestwick… the list goes on and on. Don’t forget he also balances his video work with running three stacked BMX teams under the Greenhouse umbrella; it helps having the likes of Cinema, Duo, and Verde on tap to film with, that’s for sure. So we caught up with Will in between filming duties currently with Monster and working on the upcoming full-length DVD for Cinema…

[Read more…]

Quicky: Ryan Nyquist

October 30, 2012

After all these years, you would think Ryan Nyquist would be slowing down, but it just seems like things are going faster than ever. Between all the contests, dad life, filming for edits and now his new series “Getting Awesome” on Network A, there’s no doubt that he’s got himself a full plate. We figured it would be a good time to distract him for a little bit with a few questions to see what’s new with the guy! Check out what he had to say…

Name: Ryan Nyquist
[Read more…]