BMX UNION

I spend entirely too much time on the internet. It’s pretty aparent, I know that. There is one thing I do on the internet too much, and that is sit on The Come Up Board. There are a lot of real unique people on there, and one kid in particular who blows my mind. Eli, also known as EAT, has an insane progression level with a real good personality. I knew I wanted to get him some coverage. I had some help from some of the guys on the board, so there are some interesting questions and some stock. Check it out, and let him know what you think in the comments.

Name:
Eli Taylor

Location:
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Sponsors:
Nadda

Years riding:
About 2.

What was it that first got you into BMX anyways?
I had this specialized mountain bike, and had wanted to try bmx for a while. My cousin had wanted a mountain bike, so I traded him for his OG S&M dirtbike.

I usually don’t ask how old people are, but I have always been curious?
I am 15 years of age.

You are pretty well known on the forums from your edits that you have made as the kid who progresses super fast. What do you think it is that makes you progress so fast?
I am not sure really, I guess it could be because I have never really worried about the consequences, if there is something I want to try, I usually don’t give my self time to think about it, I just go for it.

What are some things you have been working on trick wise lately? Anything that has been killing you that you want to get dialed in?
I don’t remember the last time I learned a new trick, haha. At the moment I am not really trying any new tricks. Maybe once winter is over so I can get out to the streets.

You have a real unique style. Was there anything that really played as an influence on how you ride, like a certain pro, or was it just something that you naturally figured out?
Thanks, And it has really just came natural because I have never focused on trying to copy a pro o ride like them. I also think that riding a coaster has made my style much more diffrent than it would be if I rode one of those hubs you have to pedal backwards on.

What is the scene like from where you are from? It seems like all the ramps you ride are home made and there is like one other guy you ride with?
Haha, I dont even think I have a scene where I live. I live in a hick town of like 4000 people, most of them being farmers. There isnt many riders here, I really only ride with 2 of my good friends. And yeah, I do ride alot of homemade ramps, the reason being is because if I didnt have my mini ramp in my yard I doubt I would ever ride when I am at home. My town doesnt have a skatepark, and the only street we have is curbs. And dont get me wrong, curbs are fun, but after riding the same curbs for 2 years they get really boring.

Have you had the chance to travel much yet? Do you have any trips you would really like to do soon?
I havent had the chance to really travel that much at all. Right now I just want spring to hit, so I can get out to some more cities around me and get some street steeze happenin.

You are one of the few riders who rides with a helmet on the majority of the time. Why do you wear your helmet all the time and how do you ignore the pressures of not wearing one “like everyone else”?
I would have had so many concussions If I didnt wear one regurlarly, because I do not think I have met a rider that hits there head as much as me. aha. It has saved me quite a few times, and I honestly don’t care to be like everyone else so the pressures don’t get to me.

If you had to pick riding park or street, which one are you a bigger fan of and why?
Street all day. I just love riding stairsets and exploring new places, finding new ways to use setups I overlook any other day. Its just way awesome.

You will be riding in Notro this year. How stoked are you to be going to a contest like that and how do you feel about contests in general?
I am pretty stoked on it, I am not sure what it will be like but I hope it deece. Contests really aren’t my thing, all that Dew Tour quad tailwhip 900 to barspins stuff isn’t for me at all. I am riding in Notro because I have heard it is not really like a contest, well it is, but I heard most people are there to chill, ride and have fun.

I heard you were originally riding a flatland frame. Was that intentional or something where you just rode what you have? What are you riding these days?
Yes I was. It was a WeThePeople Div frame, Travis Colliers signature one. And it was intentional, when I bought it I was 5 feet tall, I dont think any taller. I was a wee little guy so it fit me really well, Allso at the size I was I thought it wouldnt hold me back like a bigger frame would. I am currently riding a Sunday wave. I love the frame, its amazing.

What is it that inspires you to ride? Do you ever get sick of riding at all?
Riding is fun, and I don’t know there is just something about it that makes me do it, haha. And I may not get sick of it, but sometimes I would way rather hangout with my friends and watch TV and play video games.

Are your parents pretty supportive of what you do? How did you convince them to let you have a mini ramp in the back yard?
Tracey and Randy are great, they are real supportive. I always had some type of ramp in my yard which was fine with my parents. My rents always wanted me to keep them as small and out of the way as possible, but they eventually got bigger and bigger.

If you could change anything about BMX would you? If yes, what and why?
Most people would probably say there is too much hate in bmx. But theres always gonna be haterz, so people need to just stop caring. More creativity would be good, Chase D for example, the dude is insane on a bike, but there is like 1000 riders out there that could be mistaken for him.

What do you think you would be up to if you never got into BMX?
Aye, most likely skateboarding.

You have been putting together some pretty solid edits lately, what got you into filming and editing?
Thanks dude. I think bmx does that to you, most likely if your a bmxer you have taken a photo or made a video before, I found it fun at first, so I kept doing it.

What kind fo a camera do you use? What about editing equiptment? What is your dream set up for a camera?
I have some canon camcorder, and what I have used recently a kodak digi cam. Not amazing by any means, but it gets the job done. I edit my stuff with sony vegas, its awesome. I would want one with real good quality and was pretty resistant to being dropped and such, something like a GL-2 maybe.

I know you check The Come Up, so what other websites are you into?
I do go on TCU I also check bikeguide, ride bmx sometimes, youtube, stuff like that.

How do you feel about school? Do you see yourself going to college after high school?
School is alright, It can be fun somtimes and suck other times. And I have absolutly no idea what I want to do when I am older.

If you found a bag full of money, what are the first 5 things you would buy and why?
Depends how much skrill was in the bag, but most likely a whole lot of candy, a large freezer full of various Dairy Queen products, maybe some electronics, things with motors, and probably buy a house in a warm place if there was some left.

If you could spend the day with anybody in the whole world, who would you pick and why?
Way to many people to choose from.

What are some of the biggest influences on your life?
The parents and my friends.

If you could change anything about the world, what would you change and why?
People need to be way less caring of what other people think of them.

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
You, Kurt for this interview, Randy and Tracey for being dope, Pickard for being cool, Dallas for being legit, probably lots more, Jared, Zach, probably lots more, you know who you are.

Anything else you want to say?
Canadian winters suck. Once spring hits I hope to have some new non-indoor riding videos and pictures.

It’s very apparent Miles has been on his game of ass kicking lately. He has had countless web videos of himself, sponsor changes, and even his own video series on BNQT. I saw it being the perfect time for an interview. It seems like there was so much that could be talked about it was hard to send the interview knowing I had to of left something out. This is what Miles had to say. Check it out, and let him know what’s up in the comments.

Name:
Miles Rogoish

Location:
Tulsa, OK

Sponsors:
Mongoose, and Sun Ringle

Years riding:
10

What was it that first got you into BMX in the first place? Any real early memories?
Yea yea I remember seeing a neighborhood kid always poppin wheelies around my block on a diamond back with a sweet number plate. Then in 4th grade i actually won my first bicycle raising money for the American Heart Association in school. I remember it was a Schwinn with blue bent rainbow tubing and flames, anyways it was sweet. I got to go home early with this bike and I actually had my mom swing by the local shop and they traded for a schwinn superstock 1! I was stoked! A few years later i was riding around the neighborhood and found a house, number 4130, a little more then a block away with a 12ft long rolled landing box jump and trails in the backyard. I’d say from there it was pretty much on….haha

Photo: Jake Giesel

So you recently got picked up by Mongoose? How did that all come about? It seems like they made the big team changes then got quiet again?
Uhhm My TM for Sun Ringle, Jon Wells called me one day and asked what I’d think about riding for Mongoose and I said it wouldn’t hurt to give them my number.

So do you have any big trips, filming projects, signature parts or anything in the works with Mongoose that you can tell us about?
There’s definitly some trips JJ and I have been planning ourselves, It’s really dope though because we have quite a bit of freedom. I think there might have been something jumping around about Australia but I guess you’ll have to wait and see. As for signature parts I only ride a Mongoose frame so maybe something will happen with that next year.

Do you have any other sponsor related things going on at all?
No but much thanks to my local shop LEE’s for always helping me out with the ride.

You have been traveling a lot lately it seems like. Where all have you been in the last year or so?
Last year was definitly a little loose. Lots of working and lots of traveling haha some of my favorite stops last year were Moline, LA, Cinncinati, Florida, Interbike, and I always have a good time in Chicago. This year is going to be nuts…. plenty of jet lag in my near future.

Photo: Jeff Allen

Do you have any trips to film or ride planned at all right now? Where are some places you would like to go?
Right now Tony Malouf and I are going to working on two major projects this year, one is a DVD that will pop out late this year, and one idea that kind of just popped off like a day ago is the PLUSH TaTour and were gonna load up our two vehicles with 8 dudes go get tatoos and hit the road for a little longer then a week and put it out on DVD. I’m probably going to do quite a bit of traveling by myself this year as well so Canada, Europe, and gettin shitty in Mississippi!

If you could go on a road trip and you could only bring 5 people, who would you bring and why?
Drew York, Tony Malouf, Jake Geisel, Lil Jon, and Jeff K because were all pretty young except for grandpa klug…haha. There would be nothing but laughter and good times. Sweet loose dudes pretty much down for whatever. Much love

You have been doing a lot of edits for BNQT lately with your “Tuesdays with Miles” edits. How did you land that job and what can we expect to see of that as time goes on?
Full thanks to Kosman for getting me set up with this… Cody at BNQT is a really sweet dude and hit me with an email asking what I thought about a vid a week and I was down. Next one to pop will be a small trip to Muskogee, OK with my roommates Justin Coble and Tony Malouf. And by the next one i should have made it somewhere else out of town for some new goods…RIDAZ

How long have you been filming and editing anyways? What kind of cameras and editing programs are you using?
Been filming with school friends since middle school but didn’t start filming BMX until about 10th grade year when I bought a Sony VX2100, Century Optics Mark II “death lens” and I downloaded Final cut studio for free, which everyone can do on limewire.

Photo: Jake Geisel

What’s the scene like down in Tulsa these days? Any up and coming guys you think people should be looking out for?
Tulsa is where it’s at these days man haha. The scene has frequent travelers from surrounding areas and mad street spots with plenty of opportunity. As for a look out, peep Justin Coble’s street “Tuesday Edit” droppin in about a month.

You are killing it on street these days, but I heard you grew up riding trails. Do you ever hit up trails ever or are you pretty much all street these days?
I ride street everyday pretty much, but if I’m ever around some trails I’m usually not hesitant to drop in. I was recently in Austin riding 9th st and I think I progressively got sketchier each day..haha..but dirt is awesome.

It seems like BMX is getting more mainstream these days, how do you feel about it possibly being in the 2012 olympics? Would you be into going if you were picked for it?
I think it’s pretty gnarly… olympians are intense athletes. If I was invited i would definitely go (wouldn’t happen)

What is BMX to you? Would you change anything about it if you could?
FUN. The level of seriousness people take it to.

What do you think you would be up to if you never got into BMX?
No good… ha

Photo: Jake Giesel

What are you usually up to if you aren’t riding, filming, or editing?
Mexican food is badass, I cook a lot with a bartender named Saint.

If you could be sponsored by any company that has nothing to do with BMX, who would you want and why?
Apple for I-phones and American Apperal

You were the guy behind the camera when Drew York pounded that dude for stealing the keg from the party… So, what other crazy stories do you have from messed up stuff like that happening?
Mad stories haha and that was only messed up on that kids part, DREWYORK is the truth. I’ll briefly mention some but if you catch me somewhere I’ll give you the real low down on some goodies haha.
–
In Hollywood we were staying at a pretty nice apartment and we were having fun,it was getting a little late and the security guard showed up the twins that own the apartment were worried and I invited him in and he kicked it with us all night and did a bunch of filming with us for the Plush Pictures DVD – his name was corey and he was dope.

What makes for a good night of partying?
Good friends.

About how many girls have you taken care of business with? Has BMX ever got you laid?
Haahaha. Yea well in Hollywood Tony filmed his Daily Habit with FuelTV and Jeff K and I used that line on a few broads and… well the rest is history haha ended up getting mad free Red Bull.

What kind of money would it take to get you in the ring with a UFC fighter?
Bare Knuckle Box haha yeah right! No way!

Actually, if you got in a fight who is the first person you would want to back you up?
Prob Drew… fighting is stupid tho.

Would you ever consider a job in porn or stripping? What would it take?
I was offered some film work from meeting a David Lee Roth’s daughter in Cali haha and didnt even realize what she offered me at the time.

When it comes to editing a new video every week, do you ever get stuck trying to figure out a song to use or what? What do you do when you can’t come up with something?
I have about 35GB of music on my hard drive from my friends computers so I put it on shuffle hear a newbee and work with it.

Photo: Jake Giesel

If you could change anything about the world, what would you change and why?
Free Health Care

What’s the best advice you have ever been given, or able to give?
Be a man of your word, or be smarter then the thing your dealing with.

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
Everyone’s couch I’ve stayed on, my parents, Jon Wells at Sun, Chuck and Brian at Mongoose, Saint, Mason, Vazquezian, Big A, Malouf, Coble, Thomas, Kosman, Cody at BNQT, Christoph at Mk, Catfish, Bk, Stew J at Props, Jeff K, LIl A, SWAB, McFellme, and there’s a ton more…

Anything else you want to say?
RIDAZ.

For those of you who were unaware, today Kyle Carlson was officially named the Team Manager of Osiris‘s re-instated BMX team. I shot over Kyle some questions about how he got the job, who is on the team, what they got planned so far for the team, and company as a whole. Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

Name:
Kyle Carlson

As of this week you were officially named Osiris BMX team manager. How did this all come about? How long have you been working on getting the details dialed in and everything?
I’ve been working pretty closely with Osiris for the past six or seven months, but everything just recently became set in stone. I met William Prokop, one of the marketing dudes at Osiris, through my gig at VitalBMX. We bounced ideas back and forth for a while, I made a few trips out to the office in San Diego, and eventually we got the entire BMX program built. William isn’t a BMXer, but he’s an awesome guy and this whole thing wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for him. He’s been down for it since long before I was ever involved and I can’t say enough good things about him.

Who all is on the team? How did you go about picking each person?
The team consists of Sean Burns, Darryl Tocco, Josh Betley, Rob Darden, Anthony “Boy” Flores, and Marcus Tooker. We’re also hooking up Steve Croteau, Ben Hucke, Osiris OG Tom Haugen, and a few other dudes. Basically, in my eyes, BMX is packed full of amazing riders. You can go to any skatepark in any city in the world and find three or four guys riding at a pro level. What I was looking for in a team was a group of self-motivated, down to Earth riders that handle business, but don’t take it too seriously. I think we’ve got a pretty sweet line up and I’m really looking forward to the rest of the year.

I know there had been talk of Sean Burns being on Orchid and everything. How did you manage to get the guys from other companies to come over to Osiris? Is there any bad blood with them making the switch at all?
Sean Burns was never on Orchid. I think they gave him a pair of shoes when he parted ways with Duffs and then posted some stuff about him on their site, but he was never a part of the team. I think he’s actually been riding in Osiris shoes since Interbike. I’m pretty sure there’s no bad blood between Orchid and Osiris/Burns/me because no sort of shady business ever went down; I think it was all just kind of based on a lack of communication. Long story short, Burns is awesome and I’m stoked to have him on our team. He’s a perfect fit.

What are all the guys up to now? When will you be getting everyone together to do a trip?
I think this is the first time in a long time all of the guys are actually at home for a few days. Darden is off to California in a week or so for the St. Patrick’s Day dirt jam, Burns is helping run Metal Bikes and finishing up the Bonedeth video in Seattle, Betley is between Las Vegas and Phoenix filming some stuff for Felt and working on a couple of magazine interviews, Tocco has been trying to keep warm and is always super busy with Kink stuff, Tooker is a fulltime college student and a fulltime landlord, and Boy is wrapping up his section for the new Primo video and working on the launch of a new bike company, which everyone will know a lot more about soon enough.

I’d love to get everyone together for a trip. I’m sure it’ll happen sooner than later, but for the time being all of the guys are so busy with other stuff. I’m stoked to have all of them out there doing their own things.

Will there be any videos or anything like that in the works? I would imagine since you already do so much filming you would be in charge of that?
There are no official plans as of yet, but you’ll see a few clips popping up on the Osiris site really soon.

What shoes has the team been riding in?
A few of the guys are really into mid tops; the Chino Mid and South Bronx are getting a lot of good feedback. Burns and Darryl are more into lower shoes, like the Brockman, the Duffel, and the Corpse. The shoe lines is really big so there is pretty much an option to fit anyone.

Will any of the guys have some signature goods coming out anytime soon?
Once again, it’s a bit too soon to say, but it’s definitely been talked about and I’m pretty sure you’ll be hearing more details soon enough.

As team manager what kinds of things will you be taking on with this role? Aren’t you already busy with your Ride UK and Vital BMX stuff as is?
I’m a busy dude, but it kind of keeps me sane. Along with Vital and Ride UK, I’ve always done my fair share of freelance work. That will probably get cut down a bit. With Osiris, I’ll be running the blog on the site, dealing with all of the riders with anything they need, and pretty much handling anything that has to do with both Osiris and BMX. There’s going to be some photo and video work up in there as well.

Does this mean you will be taking a break from school again or are you almost done?
I’m still in school full time, but I’d be lying if I said it was going good. I’m so busy traveling and living the good life that I don’t get to put nearly as much time and effort into it as I really should. You only live once though, right? Let the good times roll!

So what’s the deal about gay bars? What’s the story behind that one?
Haha, let me preface this by clarifying that I like women. A couple of friends from Vegas talked me into going to a gay bar with them the other night and I figured I might as well check it out, have a few drinks, and just see what that whole scene is all about. I’m not going to lie; it was a really good time. It was me, two other guys, and three good looking girls, so no one got the wrong idea. We ended up getting kicked out for spilling drinks on the dance floor. NO HOMO!

I heard Josh Betley was getting flow from a karoke bar in Las Vegas… is this true?
He wishes. We hit up a karaoke bar every Thursday night we’re in town called Kelley’s Pub. It’s an awesome spot. The karaoke lady is nuts, the crowd is awesome, and the times are great. Betley definitely impressed everyone the other night by knowing every single word to Nickleback’s song “How You Remind me.”

I know for a fact that you are a beard connoisseur, how do you not grow a mustache?
I try really hard and I get nothing. It’s a damn shame. My dad can grow a proper mustache, so I’m hoping one day he’ll pass the power on.

Other than the typical kicking ass blogging, filming, editing, and team managing, what are you up to these days?
School, traveling, partying, chilling, trying to get as many riding sessions in as possible, hanging out with a woman, paying taxes, eating burritos, hanging out with my dog, and answering questions for BMXunion.com. Action packed!

Spring Break?
Pretty sure I’m either going to Cancun or Australia. Vacations are beautiful. Every day is spring break when life is great, though.

What kind of advice do you have for people looking into becoming a team manager like myself?
I feel like I have a bit of an upper hand going into the team management game because I’ve worked in the BMX media for as long as I have. Through the media, I think I have a good grasp on what people are into and what is selling. Combine that knowledge with a bit of money and a supportive company, and the result is a successful BMX program. I guess I’d just recommend that you get to know and understand the industry the best you possibly can, make friends, and stand by your opinions and decisions regardless of what anyone else says or does. Gotta keep hustlin’!

Anything else you want to say about anything?
I’d like to give a big shout out to William Prokop and everyone else at Osiris for making this BMX program happen. I’m really excited for the next year and I don’t think anyone is going to be disappointed. Also, thanks to my family and all of my friends for always being so supportive and making my life awesome. Cheers!