BMX Union

25th Anniversary Fat Jam

August 2, 2013

FATJAM13posterweb

The 25th annual Fat Jam is going down in the Netherlands on August 10th! If you’re in the area of Aarle-Rixtel, I highly advise you make your way to this because it’s going to bike bikes, beer and bitches galore! Get on this.

“25th FATJAM, on August 10th 2013.

The FATJAM is an annual BMX jam that takes place in Aarle-Rixtel, birth place of Paul and Bart de Jong, in The Netherlands. The main reason when the FATJAM was started back in the eighties was to have a good time. That goal hasn’t changed 25 years later. On August 10th, BMX-ers and friends from all over will make the trek to the Sugar Hills spot once again for some riding on the dirt jumps. But this year, during the 25th edition, the idea is to have a reunion of riders, bands and friends who have contributed to the FATJAM in previous years.

It’s time to look back on what BMX has given us. It’s time to catch up to see where people have ended up. It’s time to get back on that BMX bike once again for one trick on “The Killer” jump. Many BMX legends have experienced a FATJAM in their lives, from Mad Jon, to Mat Hoffman, from Todd Lyons to James Shepherd, from Paul Osika to Jay Miron. Ian Morris to Stu Dawkins, Markus Wilke to Matthias Dandois, Leigh Ramsdell to Stuart King, from Bruno Hoffmann to Chase Gouin. The list is endless.

If you’ve ever been to one, it’s time to come back for more. If you’ve never been, this is your chance. It might be your last possibility as 25 years is a nice number to wrap it up. Red Bull will come over to give you wings all day long. We’ll have DJ’s playing good tunes at the Sugar Hills at the Valkendijk in Aarle-Rixtel from start (1pm) to finish (8pm). The trails will be in good shape for those who want to get their shred on. We’ll have some Vans goodies for those who give it their all.

After a fun day at the trails, it’s time to get the real party started. OJA has been the FATJAM after party place for all those years and this time we’re blowing the roof off. The place will finally receive a makeover but they’re waiting until this last FATJAM after party to get that project going. Live bands will play on stage until they can’t hold their guitars any longer. Then the DJ’s will come out to make sure the 25th edition of the FATJAM will end in style.

Does this sound like a BMX party to you? We’ll see you in Aarle-Rixtel, Netherlands on Saturday August 10th. Bring your bike, and your party friends.” – Bart De Jong

Red Bull – Illume Perspectives Teaser

August 2, 2013

Red Bull is always working on something rad. Take a peek at this teaser for the new Illume series coming. Looks like BMX is getting plenty of love this time around.

“Red Bull Illume presents Perspectives — a three part documentary series on adventure and action sports photography featuring  athlete Sam Lee, photographer SWKIT and judge TK. Each side of the Red Bull Illume story is narrated from these three key perspectives, and the viewer can step into each world and understand the full journey.“

Nibbles, Grinds, Fun Times and More

August 2, 2013

Dan Howlett dropped this fresh edit of him getting down on some street spots, his grind box and kicker setup and local park over in the U.K. Dan came across some real good spots and ended up with a bunch of real good clips in the process. Take a peek!

“This is basically a collection of odd clips filmed (by friends and myself) on my iPhone over the last few months.
Since having to sell my DVX (begrudgingly, in need of cash) any riding worthy of filming has had to be captured via the iPhone. Not ideal but meh! Trying to make the best of turd situation!
So yeah, this is all me! Mostly nibbles n fun
Rider – Dan Howlett (Me!)
Filmed By – Simon Springall (mostly) and various others (thanks guys)
Artist – The Beatnuts
Song – No Escapin’ This
Also, this edit was entirely filmed and edited on the Iphone 5 using the following apps…
iMovie
TiltShift Video
Video Swivel
and SloPro“

Updated Layout for The Union

August 1, 2013

Over the past few weeks I’ve been compiling a list of things we wanted to change with the site to make it run more efficiently and make it for you guys to get around the site to see all the latest and greatest. Thanks to Hamilton Boyce we were able to take those ideas and suggestions and do a little face lift to The Union. Tonight we released the new version of the site which for the most part doesn’t look much different than it did before, but there’s actually a lot of changes.

First off, when you came to the site there’s a good chance you noticed the new front page. We were a big fan of the slider on Can You Dig It so we utilized that so now you can see the five latest Original features we produce. Below is is our new MUST SEE section. For those of you who check the Daily Section on the regular, you know how fast videos can be pushed off to page two or three by the end of the day. Now you can find the best of the best videos mixed with our original features and the content the supporters of The Union are producing as well. That way you aren’t missing the important things if you step away from your computer for a day or two.

You can still find the original interviews, bike checks, photogalleries, Insights and more in the Features section and you can find all of the latest BMX videos, news, products and more over in the Daily Section like you could before as well! One thing you will notice different about those sections is that we’ve added some page numbers to the top of the page. That way it’s easier for you to get to the slightly older content you might have missed or want to check out again.

Next up, we’ve gone through and revamped our photogalleries to make them load faster and allow you to page through each of the photos much easier! Check out this Photogallery by Matt Bosco we dropped the other day to see how it works. There’s page numbers up top and below each photo along with arrows on the sides so you can page forward or backward as well!

Finally, we figured with the majority of videos being in HD these days, we needed to make it so our video player utilized that. All of our Original videos will now be available in wide screen by simply clicking into the posts from the front page or the Features or Videos sections. Take a look at what we mean by checking out this video featuring Paul Barnum from a little while back! Looks good, doesn’t it?

Other than that, we’ve just cleaned up the back end and made some tweaks to make the whole site load a little faster and have less errors or issues. We’re really stoked on how things came out, but we also know there might be some tweaks that still need to be made, so if you come across anything, feel free to let us know in the comments or just shoot Kurt an email!

We hope you’re as stoked on the changes as we are! Shout out to everyone who checks out the site on the regular! We couldn’t do it without your support!

Freed Bikes at Woodward West Edit

August 1, 2013

A few weeks back, Freed Bikes team riders Corey Foster, Demarcus Paul and Andy Smith all made their way out to Woodward West to spend a few days riding and hanging out with the campers. This video gives you a look at some of the riding they got in during their stay! There’s a ton of damn good riding in this one so make sure you hit that play button!

Filmed and edited by Adam Sims

DUB X Monster Street Series – Rotterdam

August 1, 2013

Freedom BMX dropped this dialed video from the DUB X Monster Street Series contest that went down in Rotterdam last weekend! Check it out as Dan Lacey, Pete Sawyer, Diego Santos, Roy Van Kempen and many, many more put down some damn good riding on the spots they were able to hit up!

Venture Further – South East Asia Trip – Part 3: Jakarta

August 1, 2013

I was wondering when this was going to drop. Check out part 3 from the Venture Further trip! This time around the crew made their way to Jakarta where they came across some untapped spots and crazy cultural experiences. Take a look!

“In the beginning of the year, Further flew Devon Smillie, Brad Simms, Jason Phelan, JB Peytavit and David Budko to South East Asia. 3 weeks, 3 countries (Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia) and 5 riders who have never been on a trip together…
After Singapore and Malaysia it was time for the guys to hit Indonesia. First stop: Jakarta. Crazy traffic, boiling heat, a meeting with the sports minister and lots of extraordinary street spots welcomed the guys at the hectic capital. Check it out! We hope you like it!
Filmed and edited by Philip Kölsch
Title design by Christoph Roos”

Blunted Athletics – Lahsaan Kobza Summer Fun

August 1, 2013

Although these are just scrap clips that Lahsaan Kobza had laying around while filming for the first Blunted Athletics DVD, they’re still damn good! Take a peek to get an idea of what’s to come from the DVD!

“Here is Lahsaan’s summer leftovers for Forever Rolling our upcoming DVD. From last summer to present filmed in Liverpool UK, San Diego CA, Detroit MI and Phoenix Arizona.
FIlming – Ryan Chadwick, Kyle Hart, Bobby Kanode, Greg M
Edit – Lahsaan Kobza
Song – GOLDYARD – Claps for your heartbeats
GOLDYARD @ soundcloud.com”