BMX UNION

I remember a few years back when I first heard of Dan. It was on bikeguide, from a video he posted. The kid was riding Ben Hittle’s ramp and was just sick. As time went on he developed into this even more amazing rider and apparently it has started paying off. Check out what Dan has to say.

Name:
Dan Foley

Photo: Andrew Dubicki

Location:
Greenville, NC/Annapolis, MD

Sponsors:
Simple, Avalon Bike Shop, Team Jeff Dupaul

Years riding:
Started off racing about 10 years ago and then got into freestyle I guess you could say about 6 years ago.

What was it that originally got you into BMX?
I learned to ride a bike at a pretty late age of 7, but then once I did, I couldn’t stop riding. I would go ride around everyday and would jump off little bumps everywhere. It just sort of evolved from there. Also started racing and that helped out a lot.

How are things going with Simple these days? Anything big going on you are excited about like trips, videos, or some new products you can tell us about?
Things are going really well. Just went overseas this past summer and met Niels Thanild and a lot of the team and I am really happy to be a part of it. There’s not too much going on right now, but they just released 3 new frames that are all really nice. Go to sidewalldistro.com and scroll down a little bit to check those out.

Photo:Jake Dyke

Maybe it is just me but it seems like it has been a little while since you have put out a web video. Are you working on anything that people can expect to see these days?
I made a little skatepark edit a few weeks ago. As for other videos, I’ll probably make another edit sometime soon and also a random sort of video with a bunch of different people in it. I’m also filming some clips for an upcoming Team Jeff Dupaul web video, which should be done in several months.

Have you been doing much traveling lately? I know you said you were in Denmark recently?
Over the past several months I’ve traveled a good bit. Did some travel around the east coast going to Connecticut, Ohio, Philly, Woodward, and New York which was really fun. Then I went to Denmark for 3 weeks at the end of June for Simple and it was amazing. Got to just hang out and ride the whole time with a bunch of awesome people and experience being in a new and different place. Thanks again Niels!

Do you have any big trips planned or places you would like to go anytime soon?
I don’t have any trips planned right now, but I’d like to go to Austin, California, Australia, and back to Europe sometime.

What is the scene like these days from where you are? Any dudes you think are coming up? I know Ben Hittle and you are pretty tight right?
Well I just moved to Greenville for school and the scene here is pretty crazy as most know. As for back in Maryland, the scene is getting better. It seems like there’s more and more kids riding and progressing, which is awesome to see. As for people coming up, definitely watch out for Garrett Reeves and Ben Hittle. Ben and I rode pretty often when I was back in Maryland so I guess you could say we are pretty tight.

Ben’s ramp is pretty epic. How much do you get to ride that these days? Do you feel like you have had an advantage with your riding because of it?
When I’m home I ride it around once a week. It’s one of my favorite ramps for sure. I used to ride it like 4 times a week a couple years ago, and I still haven’t got bored with it at all. I do feel that it has helped my riding out a lot. It pretty much taught me how to air.

How have you been injury wise from riding? Or are you pretty lucky.. knock on wood?
Last year around this time, I got stuck in a turndown and landed on my face pretty hard, breaking my nose, fracturing some bones in my face, messing up a rib, and knocking a few teeth back. Then, a few weeks after healing up from that, I fell doing an icepick on a 6 ft. quarter and broke my collarbone. I’m pretty sure I’m the only person that could manage to hurt myself doing that. Since then though, I’ve been pretty lucky (knock on wood).

How are you feeling about contests these days? Any you plan on hitting up?
It depends on the contest. If it’s a smaller contest, they’re usually really fun. I went to the FBM Belmar contest last month and it was so awesome since everyone was having a good time and there was such a good vibe. I do want to hit up other contests like that whenever there are any within not too far of a distance. Bigger contests like the Dew Tour stops I’m not too crazy about though. It would be fun to ride in one, but a lot of people take them too seriously. Also, some of the tricks being done these days in those contests are just getting ridiculous. I do respect them, however, it seems like “progression” has turned into just doing one more rotation of some sort, rather than coming up with a unique variation or something new and different. It seems like originality barely exists in these big contests anymore. For example, I watched this past dew tour stop and noticed that someone made top 3 in park who only did spins and tailwhips in his run. The tricks were crazy and hard, but I find it a bit strange how someone can do so well in a contest by only doing 2 tricks. I also remember watching a dirt video from the Portland dew tour stop and was in awe at how many people did almost the same run, all including 360 double whips on the last jump. It’s like turning into diving where everyone does the same exact thing, but just tries to point their toes a little more. It was really nice watching Mike Aitken win dirt this last stop though. Shows that there’s still some hope.

Photo: Tyler Northrup

If you could go on a trip with any 5 people, who would you pick, where would you go, and why?
I don’t think I could narrow it down to 5 people. It would definitely be 5 of my friends that enjoy riding with though. I do know that one of them would have to be Denny Pascasio. Funniest person I’ve ever met and an awesome guy. I’m not sure exactly where I’d want to go though.

You have a pretty solid reputation on the internet from forums and stuff. Did you ever expect people to be as into your riding as they are?
Are they? I guess I didn’t expect it then.

Who or what are some of the biggest influences on your riding?
Sergio Layos had a big influence on my riding. I saw him ride at Woodward the first time I went when I was 12 and it was the first time I had seen someone with really good style ride. I was blown away at how he made everything look so good and how high he went. That was right when I started riding ramps so I wanted to learn to do things like he was doing. Haha.

Do you have any good stories form riding involving cops/security/midgets/hookers/pissed off pedestrians?
One time we were out riding street at this little spot at a bank that we always ride, and this crazy old man walks out of a restaurant and comes up to us. The first thing he says is, “why the hell are you riding at the bank!!?!?” Then says, “Why don’t you just ride in your own yards… I bet it’s so no one will see how much you all suck!” We were all baffled at how this guy came out of nowhere and just started saying all this to us when we weren’t doing anything to bother him at all. He then started walking away while we were still riding. He probably made it about 30 feet away from us, when my friend flipped over on a nose wheelie and had to hop over his bars. The old man decided this was a prime opportunity to stop the fun and take my friends bike, so he took a hobbling sprint toward my friend’s bike (keep in mind that this guy was at least 80 years old). My friend got there right before the old man could though and got his bike. I could not believe I just saw an old man hobble that fast and try to steal a bike.

What is one trick you will never get sick of doing?
360s.

If you could change anything about BMX, what would it be and why?
For it to be a bit more accepted by people who don’t ride. It’s annoying getting kicked out of a spot or something just because you’re on a BMX bike and people assume you’re either damaging something, causing some sort of trouble, or will sue them if you fall.

Photo: Tyler Northrup

Where do you think you would be if you never got into BMX?
Probably skateboarding. I stopped racing when I was about 10 and 11 to skate and I barely rode, but then I realized that riding was more fun so I thankfully stopped skating and went back to riding all the time.

What are you up to when your not on your bike?
Just hanging out, wasting time on the computer, going to class, editing or filming something, or shooting photos.

If I remember right you are in school. What are you going for? How much do you have left?
I am going for media production. I just started about a month ago so I pretty much have 4 years left.

Do you do much filming and editing yourself these days? What kind of gear are you working with?
Not a ton of it, but I do like to do it pretty often. I recently just bought a Sony vx2100 and Century mkII fisheye from my friend which is awesome.

What is a dream sponsor of yours? BMX related or not.
Any decent shoe company would be awesome since I go through shoes pretty quick.

If you could only eat at one restaurant/place for a month, what would you pick and why?
Probably some sort of Italian place where I could eat a lot of pizza and pasta.

Have you ever been in a fight? and did you win?
No I haven’t.

What are some things you would like to accomplish in the next few years?
Just keep riding and progressing and also doing well in school.

If you could be a professional at any other sport, what would you choose and why?
Probably snowboarding since it’s probably the most fun sport other than riding.

Any favorite bands that come to mind?
The Mars Volta, Circa Survive, Irepress, Explosions in the Sky, Minus the Bear

What is the last movie you saw?
I saw most of The Butterfly Effect on tv the other day.

Any favorite websites?
Simplebmx.com, Myspace, TCU, Ridebmx.com, Vital

You win the lottery, what is the first thing you buy?
Pizza.

Photo: Tyler Northrup

Are you voting at all for anyone this year?
Not sure yet. I probably will though since I just turned 18 and now can, even though I’m not into politics at all.

What has made the biggest impact on your life and why?
Probably my parents since they raised me and taught me so much.

If you could change anything about the world, what would it be and why?
Just for everyone to get along and stop fighting wars over power and what not. I don’t understand why everyone has to deal with middle aged to old men who just want to control everything. They are no different than anyone else so why should they be able to cause so much trouble for the rest of the world just because they want to be powerful and have money? That probably sounded really dumb. Also, as random as this may sound, it would be awesome if cars were replaced with tubes that took you everywhere. Like you could get into a little capsule that would have the same amount of space as a car so you could take your bike, then just launch through a tube to get wherever you want to go.

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
Thanks to God, my parents for supporting me so much, Niels at Simple, all of my friends and everyone I ride with, Ben Hittle and his parents for letting me ride his ramp all the time, Donald at Avalon, Rod at Pedal Pushers, Sidewall Distribution, anyone who’s ever helped me out or supported me in some way, and Kurt for this interview!

Anything else you would like to say?
Have fun!

Sorry about the lack of updates this last week, life gets crazy sometimes. That is beside the point of this post. What the point is, is Chase DeHart.
What can I say about Chase that nobody knows already? The guy is all over, people love him! Tons of fresh signature parts, even fresher video parts, and just the best intensions of what BMX is all about. I finally got the courage to ask him if he would be in for an interview and obviously it all worked out. Maybe you will learn something about him you never knew before?

Name:
Chase DeHart

Photo: Van Homan

Location:
west deptford, south jersey

Sponsors:
Fit, Lotek, Fremont, Shadow Conspiracy, Two by four store

Years riding:
I think close to 8?

What was it that originally got you into BMX and did you ever dream that you would be in the position you are in today?
I grew up skateboarding, but all my friends rode pretty much, for a while i would just skate with them while they rode, and just always picked up their bikes and had fun with it, than eventually my buddy randy convinced me to get a bike, and i’ve been riding everyday since. and fuuck no did i ever think i’d be in this position, back then being recognized for bike riding or skateboarding wasn’t realistic, it’s not like how things are now with the internet and everything, you rode with your friends and that was it, there was nothing to keep you in touch with it besides videos and magazines, and to you that was un-touchable.

How are things going over at Fit? Will there be any changes to your frame come 09′? Any other signature goods, big trips, or filming in the works?
Things are perfect at fit, I have been involved with them for a long time now, and it’s exactly what i want to be involved with, it isn’t all buisness over there, it’s much more than a sponsor, much love for everyone over there. and i will be changing my frame up a bit for 09, not geomoetry wise, but a few new features to get the frame exactly how we want. no big trips planned yet, but next year the new video will be coming out, and i know the team is really excited to film for it.

You have been on Shadow for a while now. How have things been going with them? Anything cool going on with you and them you can tell us about?
Things with shadow have been awesome, everyone involved are real good people, the team trip was a lot of fun, it’s been busy lately, but there is some plans for some things to happen i think, i know they like to keep what they have in the works on the low haha, so i don’t want to ruin anything for them.

Anything cool going on at Lotek or just the usual stuff?
yea rich always has ideas so i’m sure there is alot going on, but we are finishing up a signature shoe right now, really excited about that, and always staying busy with fremont.

You just got back from Mega Tour, how did it go?
yea i went with the come up and i actually just got back a few days ago, i expected a good time and definetly had a good time, the crew was real fun and the places we went had real good riding, but we got into some trouble later in the trip, i have been away for the last few months so after that i needed to head home early, good advice would be to never be around a drunk 18 year old girl, fess up or you’re getting body slammed.

Do you have any other big trips planned anytime soon other than that?
i feel like i’ve been pretty non-stop with trips lately, so after that one i just am going to be chillen at home for a bit since the weather is perfect around this time of year and wait for something to pop up, but i will be filming for a props section while i’m home, so i’m real excited to get that going.

Where are some places you would really like to check out at some point?
australia and barcelona haha, typical answer, but i’m sure it’s because they are both so good to go to, i just got back from colombia last week, that was seriously the best place i have been, i would like to go back there as much as i could, shout out to the colombia riders!

If you could go on a trip with 5 dudes and an unlimited budget, who would you take and where would you go?
I’m having the hardest time narrowing it down to 5 dudes, i’d take randy brown, eddie cleveland, chase hawk, van homan, rich hirsch, mike aitken, robbie morales, all my close local friends and anyone who wanted to go haha, we could go no where for all I care, anywhere is fun with a crew you can choose.

It seems like your riding gets a lot of attention. A lot of love and a lot of hate, how do you feel about all the attention? Any words for the lovers and haters?
I honestly am not good with the attention, the good attention or the bad attention, and alot of people who don’t know me are doing there best to judge me, why waste your time, come hang out with me for a while, than say what you think. as for my riding, it’s just my riding, i don’t think anything of it, i enjoy every type of riding, so it’s annoying to hear everyone try to tell you what they’re doing is better and why, do what you like, let others do what they like, don’t waste your time hating.

Who or what are some of the biggest influences on your riding or at least were growing up?
When I started riding, I was always watching garrett byrnes, van homan, brian wizmerski, these guys were all local, so i would always hear about them and see them around, so i’d definetly say they had a huge influence, besides all my friends growing up. also mike aitken, i remember seeing the first square one video, and just watching his part over and over, him and garrett make riding look so fun. now a days i’m influenced by everything i see, there are so many good riders and good people i look up to, it would take forever to list them all and explain why.

What is something that you don’t ever plan on doing on a BMX?
i’ll do whatever on a BMX, the only thing i wouldn’t do is take what i do seriously, see way too much shit talking on what other people like to do but praise themselves on what they are doing, i’ll have fun doing anything on my bike.

People seem to like this question… What is your best story involving you, cops/security/homeless people/hookers/midgets/pissed off pedestrians?
we were on megatour a few days ago, having a good time, we decide to stay at this girls house (i won’t say her name because she would like that too much) so we could be closer to the brooklyn area to ride the next day, the girl of the house gets drunk, decides to throw beer bottles and whatever she could find out of her own 15th story window, doesn’t realize she almost hits a cop car driving by, the cop stops the car, and has beer bottles being thrown down past him still, he calls for back up, they figure out which appartment it was and come in and arrest all of us, they were so pissed because they thought we were all purposely throwing bottles at him, when really none of us threw any, they find a few more things to get us in trouble for, and take us in, we all got put in central booking for 22 hours or something like that, and now have to go back to court next month to figure the rest out, it sucked, but hopefully it gets cleared up, i wish i could remember another story since most just heard this one, but it’s the only one i can think of right now.

Obviously you are brakeless, but what are your views on it as a whole? I know a lot of the brakeless dudes hate on riders with brakes. Could you ever see yourself with brakes again?
I have no view on brakeless or brakes, and especially no hate towards brakes, they are both just preference, brakes used to be fun for me, now brakeless is fun for me, one day a bike might not be fun for me at all you know? it doesn’t matter in the end, ride what you like, 6 years ago i would have said i would never ride brakeless, so i’m not going to say i would never ride brakes again, i will ride what i am interested in at the time, right now, brakeless is the best feeling to me and i can’t see myself riding brakes, if that will change i don’t know or care, it’s no big deal.

If you could change anything about BMX, what would you change and why?
There is nothing to change, bmx to me is just riding my bike, everything else is what i choose to pay attention to, if i wanted anything to change, i just would stop paying attention to it, everything that is going on is always going to exist, it just depends if you want it to effect you or not.

Where do you think you would be if you never got into BMX?
hopefully i’d be alright and be doing something else i enjoy doing, but it’s wild around my area, heavy drugs have been taking over my area for a while now, and have been taking over my friends, i’d be scared to ever fall into that and i hope they get out of it, shit is too much.

What are you up to when your not riding your bike?
Just whatever, hanging out with my girlfriend and my dogs and my friends pretty much, I ride a whole lot so i don’t do much else, i don’t own one anymore but riding a quad or dirtbike is always so much fun, i want to get one of those small pitbikes real soon haha.

I remember that old road fools when you got invited on half way, you seemed like a really shy dude. Are you actually pretty shy or am I just imagining things?
yea, i’m seriously really shy, i’ve been getting better with it, but when i first meet people, i have a hard time being open when talking to them, but i warm up eventually, not with a camera though, talking on camera is impossible for me.

You have had the opportunity to experience so much because of BMX, what are a few things you think anyone should experience at some point in their life?
Just being happy, i’d say traveling because traveling is great, and it would be nice if everyone got a chance to do it, but those experiences don’t last forever, be happy with what you have, go ride your town or your local park and be happy with it, make some life long friends, i have had great experiences, but nothing has been better than that, everything else goes away after a while.

What are some of your favorite bands or songs?
i listen to alot of hardcore and alot of slow and heavy stuff, the melvins, kylesa, have heart, tragedy, i’m stopping already sorry haha, i would have made a huge list, i’m always listening to music.

Seen any good movies lately?
i have seen movies lately but i can’t think of them right now, just some comedy ones, anything funny is all i’m into really, movies like super bad and all the fridays, ricky bobby haha, taledega nights.

I doubt you are working or anything now, but what kind of work did you do before the sponsors came in? Did you ever go to college or anything like that?
I haven’t done much with my life haha, i started traveling when i was pretty young, i didn’t finish high school, i never had a consistent job, everything kind of went fast, i’m sure i’ll pay the price later on though, but until than i have been doing and will be doing what i want so i would never complain.

Photo: Justin (KTS)

If you could change anything about the world, what would you change and why?
just obvious political shit.

If you could be sponsored by any company that has nothing to do with BMX, who would you pick and why?
vanilla dutch masters, seriously, i wish dutch masters would read this and get in touch with me haha, i have a collection of boxes from the last 8 months or so, i want to try and take a picture of it for the interview, i’m up to like 200 or more of the 4 packs and 4 boxes of the 55 packs haha, having them as a sponsor would be so good and save me so much money, they are the best, vanilla only though.

Spend much time on the computer? Any favorite sites?
yea when i’m at home i usually check the computer once a day probably, but when i’m away it’s good to get away from it and not look at it, i check
www.fitbikeco.com
www.lotekbrand.com
www.theshadowconspiracy.com
www.twobyfourstore.com
www.thecomeupbmx.net
sorry i played that professional haha.

What is your keys to success with the ladies? Have you ever used “I am a pro BMX rider” as a pick up line?
i never have used the “i’am a pro bmx rider” line, i have a girlfriend, so i don’t pick up girls, but the key is to play it cool haha, act in control and handle yourself, say what’s up and keep it simple, let them come to you, haha i feel gay answering that, shit will work though haha.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
i really don’t know, hopefully doing what i’m doing now, little older, little smarter i hope haha, that’s about it i guess.

Any embarrassing stories about Adam22? It’s cool the come up kids will love it.
haha, i think i really do, but it could be him fucking around, so i won’t do that.

If you could commit any crime and get away with it, what would you do and why?
i guess technically i commit a crime everyday and get away with it, it’s a weak crime, but i’d hate to get in trouble for it every time i did it.

What is the best advice you could give anyone?
haha, i’m not mr. rogers, best advice would be to listen to your own advice.

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
definetly, thank you to my family, my girlfriend, robbie morales, rich hirsch, ronnie bonner, van homan, chris moeler, all of my close friends, randy brown, eddie cleveland, sweeney, victor, tocco, adam grandmaison, shout out to blackman, south jersey and north jersey, philly, nyc, biggest influences on me i love watching anything come from those areas, sorry i have east coast pride, thank you for asking to do an interview also, i’m sure i forgot people i’m sorry.

Anything else you would like to say?
no, you just asked me 50 questions haha!