Name:
Mark Filipowicz …most know me as Flip @ Albe’s

Location:
DETROIT MI!

You are one of the men in charge of Albes, A dad, and a few other rolls, how do you manage to still kick so much ass?
Ha….i have NO extra time. not sure how I find the time to do the things I do. being an owner at Albe’s I put in a shit ton of hours at the shop and work almost as many hours from home. the hardest thing to find time to do is travel so when I do make it work I make sure the trips are VERY fun.

I will always find time to be a dad. i have 2 boys and they are everything to me.

Catfish once upon a time reported you were “born in 1400 B.C” how was the sessions back then?
ha…fucking catfish…i think he’s like 6 months older than me.

It seems like the Albes team has been taking a lot of top spots at the big contests, how did that happen?
most of our team was picked more on them being fun people to be around. just turns out that all of them seem to kick ass on a bike as well. notice we have some of the biggest name pros on our team as well as people you probably never heard of. our team is pretty diverse. get them all together on or off their bikes and it’s a good time for sure.

Albes has been doing a lot of promo contests lately, even getting in trouble for a few of them, do you have any new ones coming up?
we don’t plan shit like that too far ahead. in most cases we get the ideas while drinking way too much beer and then the next day we set it up.

You recently met Rick Flair at the Orlando Dew Tour, how did that go down?
haha…i had no idea it was even him. he’s sweet and all but I’m more of a Hulk Hogan fan. Brooke is kinda cute too.

Now that you got the bus running again, what trips do you have planned?
we try to hit as many jams / comps as we can. its just fun to ride and hang out with everybody. the Albe’s bus just makes it that much sweeter.

Are there any big changes happening at Albes for 08′?
not that I can really tell you about. a video maybe??? guess you’ll have to find out.

What is the secret to doing no foot cans so well?
haha…thanks. doing them longer than most of the people reading this have been alive.

Last time I saw, Kase photos he was doing rails and all sorts of stuff, what is he doing now days?
he’s been working on more tech stuff. yesterday he did a 540 tailwhip tailtap to tailwhip in. not bad for a 2 year old on a 12″ bike.

Where are some places you would like to travel to that you haven’t been to yet?
we have been thinking of heading overseas but it cost big bucks. I’d need to find a place with a bunch of cool riders i trust could show us around and show us a good time. we may do another Florida trip in early 2008. we seem to go there every year but it’s always fun. lots of stuff to ride, good night life, beaches, and weather that isn’t shitty like in Michigan.

What would you like to accomplish in the next 5 years?
just want to keep albe’s running well. keep the team stoked. travel some more and a few things i can’t talk about yet.

If you could pick one band to listen to for the rest of your life, who would it be and why?
wow…i have no idea. my tastes in music is all over the map.

What is the craziest riding story you have?
one time i was riding flatland in a parking lot and this old lady pulls up across the lot to a mail box and gets out of her car to drop in a letter. she forgot to put her car in park and her car took off. i rode over to the car as fast as i could, did a dukes of hazzard slide across the hood, jump in and stopped the car right before i drove out into a busy road. i rove the car back over to the old lady and when i got out of the car she hit me with her purse and yelled at me. that’s the only PG story i could think of.

When you aren’t riding or working, what do you do?
hang with my family. that is my life. Work / ride and my family. sometimes you may find me snowboarding.

If you could spend the day with any person in the world, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
I can’t answer that. i have such a cool family and so many great friends that i could never pick just one. however if you were to pick one for me what would HER name be?
Barbara Walters..

What is one question you wish I would have asked, and what would the answer be?
I got nothing. i think you should ask other people that know me what they think of me and post their comments. ask some others you have interviewed. that may be fun to see.
Alright guys here’s what we will do, to the right, or in the comments, post your best story about flip, or what you think of him, any comments as anonymous=your a pussy

Any shout outs or thanks?
family and friends, my bike, anybody that helps support albe’s

Anything else you would like to say?
no sir. thanks again

(My favorite picture due to the fact that there are 100 stories from that night alone haha)

Name:
Ryan Douglas Fudger

(I had Walter Pieringer snap a photo of me the day after I got beat up in Paris. I look like a disaster. Good times, for sure.)

Location:
Oceanside, California…as far north I can go and still be a “San Diegan.”

You work at Ride BMX magazine, What do you do there and how long have you been there?
Running on almost five years now. Official title comes in at Associate Editor…there’s no quick answer, but pretty much Jeff, Keith, and I all do the same: shoot photos, write, generate content for the website, respond to way too many e-mails, do all the behind-the-scenes time-consuming stuff, and squeeze some riding sessions in between.

What is the best parts of your job? What is the worst parts?
The best part of my job is that I’m sitting in an airport on my way home from hanging out with a bunch of funny as fuck Australians, going to Baco Jam in Florida, riding Mirra and Nyquist’s personal warehouses, and going to a wild Halloween party with a bunch of people that I looked (and still do) up to as a kid. The worst part is that no matter how awesome things are, it is still work. There are always things that you have to do that you don’t want to, dates with your girl that you have to cancel because someone wants to shoot a photo, and the combination of landing flat for 12 years and spending way too much time on my laptop is taking it’s toll on my wrists.

What kind of gear do you shoot photos with?
I have a Cannon 1V 35mm body, a Cannon 1D Mark II digi body, a Hasselblad 500 c/m, two Quantum Q-pack flashes, and a bunch of lenses that attach to all of them. To any photographers out there: feel free to learn on digi, but you’ll enjoy film in the end.

Where are some of the places you have been able to go to this year?
I’ve actually been more wild places this year than years past. I was riding in a car with Gary Young one day and I said, “Lets go to China.” Two months later we were in Shanghai and Beijing for two weeks, got a bunch of culture shock, and rode in between. It was my first time out of North America and it’s made every trip since then seem mild in comparison—every time we left the hotel it was a certified adventure. I recently went on Megatour with the DK team in Europe; we spent time in France, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Germany. The story from that will be in the January issue of Ride, so I don’t want to get into it too much, but I will say that I experienced what it’s like to get punched in the face multiple times by a Paris thief.

(I told a few people before I went to China that I all I wanted to come back with was a photo of me standing in a sea of people. Photo: Gary Young)

I remember reading in the magazine part of the job is being able to run from the cops or people trying to steal your camera stuff, what’s your best story of having to run from the man?
I don’t know if it’s a combination of getting old or what, but I haven’t had anything incredibly wild at my time at Ride…at least nothing worth really typing. It’s funny how much your motivation to run from the cops changes when you imagine how much it’ll hurt to get tackled with 50 pounds of camera gear on your back. I have had plenty of close calls, sirens over my shoulder as I duck around a corner, and guns pointed at me throughout the years, though.

Your pretty big into cars, what’s your car putting out now days? Did you and Morgan Wade ever race? Who is the next person your calling out?
I was pretty into my VW, but one day while I was cruising to work a connecting rod decided to let go and the engine popped. I was sort of expecting it…doubling the horsepower of a car will do that. To fix it, I made the decision build a new engine myself…having never pulled an engine before. A solid year later, the Volkswagen is all built up, sitting the garage, and ready to run around with about 500hp, but I’ve sort of lost all will power to spend anymore time or money on it. Morgan and I never raced, but my car was always faster (sorry buddy); it had a little more done to it. I was actually the one who helped Morgan get his car together after he drove mine. I’m calling out anyone who thinks they can take my automatic 1996 Nissan Sentra.

(I was bored and pulling the engine from my car was worth remembering. Figured I should act like I was stressed out instead of stareing at the camera like a moron. If you look close at the engine block I’m sitting on, you can see the hole.)

Back in the day, sandiegobmx.com was the best site around along with the Dirt Bros. What ever happened to the site, and what ever happened to Dirt Bros?
The site was something that I wish I could have kept running, but I just didn’t have enough time to do on the side. I tried to pass it off to a couple of people, but it never really happened. Dirt Bros is slightly complicated… basically, Dirt Bros was always more of an idea or a way of life than an actual company. In the end it really came down to too many hands in the pot and no one could support themselves off of DBI. Those days will go down as my “golden years” of sorts—hanging out with all my friends, being ratty as all hell and doing whatever, but still having the time of my life. I’ll run a sticker til the day I die…

Rick Thorne or Mountain Bikes riding street, does it ever get old?
It sort of does. I actually think Rick Thorne is a really nice guy—even with all the stuff he has going on, he still does his best to share the wealth and hook up his friends. But, unfortunately, there’s always a martyr. He puts himself out there and people respond to it one way or another, and I admire him for that. With that said, it doesn’t mean that I won’t take a pot shot every so often…and that doesn’t mean that I don’t like him, either. I actually heard a rumor that he wanted to fight me up for my comment in Gary Young’s Props interview, which is pretty wild. That question wasn’t planned and it really just went down like that, so hopefully that’s just stuff getting put through people’s shit-talking filters.
As far as mountain bikes, I still think that shit is lame. A BMX bike has been engineered (I use that word loosely) over two decades to serve a purpose…and it does a really good job of that. Just because you can jump a spine on a floppy, spongy mountain bike doesn’t make it cool or progressive. It’s like me showing up to a skate park on a long board and thinking I’m hot shit because I can do a boardslide. I never had the intention to cause a “mountain bike jihad” or whatever I saw someone on Defgrip say, but I’m allowed to have opinions and I have a venue to get them out there, to some people’s dismay, I suppose. People can have as much fun as they want riding mountain bikes at a park or wherever—they’re entitled to do what they want, just as I’m entitled to think it’s lame. I don’t think it was ever really a big deal to me, just another subject to have in the letters section. And, for all the shit I talk in the letters section of the magazine, I’m actually an all right guy. Promise.

(After riding the giant park in China for a while, I made Gary[Young] shoot a photo of me carving the fullpipe. I’m obviously no Joe Rich, but the pipe is something like 22 feet, so I was pretty psyched.)

5 influential people in your life?
Gary Young and my granddad. Not sure if there is five.

4 things you cant live without?
Friends, fun, food, water.

3 places you have never been you want to go to?
South Africa, Russia, and Japan. Anywhere I can go, walk right outside, and instantly know that there will be something worth remembering.

2 places you have been and never want to go back to? And why?
My go-to answer for this has always been Florida, but there’s something worth the trip, now. I’d say that Paris sort of sucked, and Cleveland, Ohio. Not a fan.

(I don’t shoot photos ever, but I think I needed one for a staff bike check for the Ride site or something. This school is right down the street from my place. You have to creep at this hop since the bank is about a bike length and a half before the drop. Photo: Brandon Turner)

1 Car you dream about having?
There’s really too many. I’m willing to go in on a third of an Ariel Atom if anyone wants to join in.

What is the most awkward request you have gotten from a person emailing you or letters for Ride?
For a little while there was always little girls wanting my phone number and shit, which I found weird on multiple levels. There was a kid that said, “If I can’t have you no one can” once. Then there was a guy that wrote in multiple letters about a robot that was in love with its creator, from the robots perspective…in poem form. Those we’re probably the oddest ones, especially since they were hand-written and came in over the course of months. I never did anything with them since they were so abstract, so I think the guy finally gave up.

The magazine is undergoing changes over the last few issues and the next few to come, can you give us some info about what’s being changed and what’s to come?
I like to call it Ride reinvestment. People have had their gripes with the magazine, and I can see why at times. But there were a lot of things going on behind the scenes that people weren’t aware of—those obstructions are gone. We have our new Art Director, Dwayne Carter, who worked for Transworld Skate and most recently Slap, and he has been working on a full redesign that’ll be in the January issue. We’re going to a larger size, better paper stock both on the cover and in the magazine, and switching up a lot of things content-wise. More lifestyle, bigger photos, more spreads, full-feature interviews are back, and all the stuff that can go online, are going online (how-to’s, product tests, etc…). We want to make a magazine filled with entirely exclusive content and the best photography possible.

What are some things you would like to accomplish in the next few years?
I don’t make plans, I don’t set goals, and I’ve never had a “career” in mind. I went to college for graphic design before I dropped out to work at Ride, and I was only there because I got financial aid to go to school. I used to break down the hours I had to spend at school and how much money I got from financial aid so I could use it as motivation to show up. I consider myself very lucky to be in the position I am, and I’m reminded of that everyday I wake up without the aid of an alarm clock.

Who are some people you haven’t had the opportunity to meet but you would really like to?
I’ll say Dave Mirra, because I’ve met him probably four times and I’m pretty sure that if I walked up to him tomorrow he would have no idea who I am. I don’t mean that in a bad way by any means; he probably meets five new people every time he stops for gas.

(Favorite pool ever, RIP. Brakeless tire-jammer thing in the love seat. Photo: Brandon Turner)

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
I thank all my friends, family, acquaintances, people on the Internet that talk shit everyday and then are really cool in person, and anyone and everyone in between.

Anything I may have forgot you would like to add?
I think we’re golden. Or maybe bronze.

And in good sense, I searched youtube for San Diego BMX in hopes of finding an old edit from there, and I came accross this, I remember being stoked on this when I was like 13!

Name:
Michael Spinner

Location:
Miami FL,Greenville NC, Woodward PA

Sponsors:
Mirraco bikes,Monster Energy,Ballpark franks,Nike shoes,Bell helmets,Woodward camp,Albes mailorder

A few years ago, did you ever imagine being where you are now?
No wayyy its just crazy its like a dream, I still dont believe it I pitch my self all the time ha ha ha.

How are things with MirraCo, do you have any signature parts coming out?
As of right now I am not sure of any signature parts but other then that I am super stoked to be apart of an awesome team !!!

How about Nike, any shoes coming out?
HA HA HA I dont think so.

You recently got yourself a new car, what did you get and why?
I got a 2007 sxt Dodge magnum its awesome it was pretty high in price but I am giving it to myself as a present because I am soo stoked on how I did this year, I think it is a perfect car Throw my bike in it no problem easy for long road trips and I heard Corey bohan has one too.

Now that the 1080 is out there, its been done quite a few times, what are you working on now that will amaze everyone?
I have some Ideas in my head but I am going to keep it under wraps but trust me I will be messing with some stuff during the winter.

How did you get some good at footjam whip variations!?
Thanks for noticing thats one of my favorite tricks and there are soo many varitions to do with them. My favs are 540nosepick tailwhip,Double whip nosepick and the whip to whip back nosepick I think it is just awesome to balance on your front tire so I always try them.

Do you ever ask yourself, what if I never entered the free flow contest?
HA HA HA yes I do all the time I think I would be in my second year of school right now.

Since you did so much this year, what do you got planned for ’08?
Man I am so stoked on how I did this year I am just going to ride all winter super hard and See what happens in 08 !!!

Who are some of the people you ride with mostly now days?
Austin coleman, Dave Mirra, Dan sieg, Mike Laird, Daniel Dhers, Chad Kagy, Jamie bestwick it changes all the time mattering where I am at.

Who are some of the bigger influences in life?
My Mom who passed away about 3 years ago from Smoking she was super smart I had the most respect for my mom and everything she taught me I just try to bring it to my everyday life.

How was working with MTV for there show that followed you around on the Dew Tour? Man it was awesome those guys were stoked too, they said this was way better then what they normally do ha ha ha. But it was unreal they also flew my dad out to Portland Oregon.

What do you think the best part of being a pro is?
Man I would say traveling the world for sure.

What is the worst part about being a pro?
The stress with Sponcors now I just say to myself that they are supporting me I want to support back and the way I can do that is by just doing the best I can do, Sometimes it gets to me or actually gets to my stomach lol.

Where all did you get to travel to this year? and where do you want to go to that you haven’t been to yet?
I went everywhere in the US but out of the states, New Zealand, Estonia, China, France and Germany I am open to go anywhere ha ha ha.

First word or words that come to mind when you hear:
Albes? best dam mailorder ever

Tricks? 1080 !!!

Girls? No time

Money? save

Woodward? Best place to ride

Friends? Are everything

Family? just my dad

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
Live life, IF you have a dream follow it.

Anything I might have missed you would like to add?
I was kinda in a rush when I did this so make sure I spelled everything right thanks a ton bro

Name:

Glenn Patrick Peter Milligan



Location:

Long Beach CA (snoopville)

Job:

Freelance Video Producer

You do a lot with vitalbmx.com do you actually work for them or are you a freelance filmer/editor?

I work for Vital. The guy who started/created Ridebmx (Brad McDonald) started Vital. When they offered me a position I was psyched to take it. I’m not full time at Vital, because I do freelance for a bunch of other companies.

See More BMX Videos at VitalBMX.com

What kind of camera equipment do you own?

Canon Gl1, Sony VX2100, Panasonic DVX100b, Arri-S, Bolex, and a Canon XH-A1

What are your most cherished pieces?

I used to be real sentimental about cameras, now I just look at them as the tools they are. But I don’t think I’d ever sell the Gl1. I made like 9 videos with that camera, it has too many memories.

Have you been getting into the HD filming stuff nowdays?

Yeah I finally made the jump a few months ago. I also bought a 100 gig fire drive so I can shoot straight to disk. That piece was so worth the investment. As far as HD is concerned, so far a spent a shitload of money on HD stuff to make web videos.

What are some projects you have going on right now?

Vital always has something going on. I fly out in the morning to go film the redbull down and dirty comp in NJ. SO there will be edits for Vital and Redbull. Primo is talking about a full length video, and Nike 6.0 will be putting out tons of stuff this year. I’m also finishing up a wet suit instructional video I’ve been working on.



Who are some of your favorite people to work with?

Nate Moroshan, Enns, Nigel, Edwin, Vinnie, Tom, any of the 909 dudes, Bohan, Dillewaard, Pinter, Biz and Tinez, Nathan, Boy and E-man. I kinda like everyone.

Your job requires a lot of traveling to meet up with people to film, do you do more driving or flying?

More flying these days, the first few years I was doing this it was way more driving, If someone got me a flight I’d kiss the ground they walked on. Now, time is such an issue flying is pretty much the only way to make things efficient. There are a lot of times now I want to drive just so I have some time to chill.

What is the most stressful part of your job?

Deadlines, I try not to miss em, so two or three days before one I tend not to sleep much between work and just having the project on my mind, and then usually because I work for so many people, someone else needs something during someone else’s deadline, so I’ll spend quite a bit of time just juggling stuff. But, the worst is the lack of sleep, nothing sucks more trying to finish something while you feel like you are bleeding out of your eyes.

See More BMX Videos at VitalBMX.com

Do you like filming, or editing more?

It changes from project to project, but over all editing is way more challenging and you can be more creative, so I’d say editing.

What are some videos coming out that you are pumped on?

End search, and I saw some trailer online where there was some grimmey gangster storyline. Those are two videos I’d buy.

Do you find much time to ride?

Normally, no, but I’m mad sore right now because I rode everyday for the past 6 days, so I’m super happy about that. Even if I didn’t have a job in the industry I’d still ride, actually I’d probably ride more. It’s weird cause I know a lot of industry people that if they lost there gig, they wouldn’t even look at a bike again, that’s sad, it’s like they are trapped in something they don’t want to be involved in.

What is the best story you have from a road trip or filming with someone?

Seriously I can’t think of one, every road trip has at least 2, I feel so lucky on every trip I’ve ever been on, there is always at least one moment where I look around and say…WOW, this is my job!

Where are some of your favorite places you have been?

South Africa and Australia, those places are just so different then how we grew up in the US. It’s so cool to see places so different.

I also gotta shout out Vancouver, I’d move there in a heart beat, in general Canada rules!

See More BMX Videos at VitalBMX.com

Where are some places you have yet to go to that you really want to go to?

Japan, New Zealand, and JAPAN!!!

On the long trips, what do you do to pass time?

I’m pretty busy on long trips so there’s not a whole lot of need to pass time. Although I’m not sure what I did before and ipod.

What are some of the artists or songs you are into right now?

Thanks for asking this. I’m gotten internet flack in the past for having shitty taste in music, mostly because of the ride videos I did. Clearing music sucks!

As far as what I’m into, well since tower records went out of business, I stopped buying cds altogether. Now I make mix cds for my car and keep the ipod on random. So right now I was listening to The CURE, Clutch, Kanye, 50, Def leopard, the Bravery, Say anything, with a lil prince.

See More BMX Videos at VitalBMX.com

Who are some people you have had the chance to meet that you think are going to be or deserve to get coverage that don’t?

That is a loaded question. I won’t single anyone out that doesn’t have a chance to answer right back, but I will say there’s a few riders and industry people I feel that way about, and one magazine. I don’t think I’m the ultimate authority on who deserves what, and I’m sure there are some people who think I don’t deserve shit. I’d just have to say anyone who doesn’t appreciate what they got should get it stripped away. And anyone with arrogance, like their shit don’t stink, shouldn’t be involved in bmx, there is no room for egos like that.

You have 24 hours to live, what do you do?

Have sex with a midget then dress up like Batman and kill a few sleazy fucks that need to go. Worst case scenario: I live through my vigilante attack and people believe there Is a real batman, if I do get killed at least it was on my terms trying to do some good.

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?

I thank everybody! So Thank you!!!