BMX UNION

This interview would have been up a while ago… However with some confusion it finally got figured out! Here is a long awaited interview…

Name:
Ron “sometimes dirt”

Sponsors:
Give D Clothing, Homies, change droppers.

Ron isn’t a typical name, how did that come about?
Well I’m named after my great grandfather who died in world war II in the Guadal Canal. It’s Ron on the birth certificate and not Ronald so I guess that’s kinda different.

I hear your a pretty artistic dude, can you give us an abstract view on what Give D is?
Give D is like the dirty feather that everyone steps on until one day someone picks it up and realizes how beautiful it is.. but actually Give D is just the dirty feather that no one likes. To straightforward?

Your into drawing some pretty crazy stuff, where do you come up with that stuff?
I’ve been drawing since I was a kid and I would always just draw things that would make me laugh. I usually don’t think about what I’m going to draw and something pretty wierd comes out of it. Some times controversial. If you come to my house you can look into my drawings and I gaurentee you’ll laugh atleast once.

How long have you been riding?
Since I was 12 and I’m 22 now so about 10years. My knees are 40yrs old.

What was your first bmx bike?
Oooh. A chrome gt/robinson. I miss shining the chrome.

What kind of stuff do you like to ride the most?
Cement parks, tight tranny, any weird tranny. I’ll ride whatever. Especially tranny.

According to Alex your pants are pretty…snug. What kind of jeans do you prefer and why so tight?
They don’t seem that tight to me but I usually wear some krews or these cheaper hot topic pants that don’t rip as easy. I just like the way they look and they’re pretty comfy.
Snazzy.

Spinning sounds to be your thing, why are you so into them, and how far have you gotten?
I don’t know. I guess I just like me a spin. I did a 720 on dennis’s bike once. Usually I just like a good ole’ 540.

5 things you don’t leave your house without:
1. Bottle opener
2. Shuffle
3. Yes “greatest hits” CD
4. Slip ons
5. Maybe a jacket

What is the funniest moment in riding you have had?
One time in oceanside most of the D krew and I were riding by the pier and this guy was talking S*$# on our SNUG pants. I had a brew earlier in the day so I was feeling frisky. I felt that he had no reason to judge me and my friends. I was aggrivated so I kept questioning the guy and aggrivating him. At some point I was on my knees because the guys girlfriend told me to suck her c#*%. The guy punched me in the side of the head. By the time my head sprung up the guy was falling back because he had felt the rath of kyles Lightning bolt fist. The guy called his friends who would apparently be kicking our asses. His friends were a bunch of pot heads sitting in the bleachers right above where we were laughing at there friend who kyle had just dealt with. We rode for a little bit longer then left. There was a lot of testosterone in the air.

Where are some of the places you have traveled?
Hawaii (birthplace), Colorado, TJ, All those desert states. I haven’t gone to that many places.

What are some of your favorite movies? (riding and non riding)
Nowhere fast, Label Live, Forrest Gump, Amelie, Indiana Jones trilogy, lots and lots more.

Outside of riding do you go to school or work at all?
I went to community college for a few semesters but it became costly and I lost intrest. I like to read books on my own and learn through the experience of life. I’ve learned a lot that way. If I am ever able to afford it I wouldn’t mind going back to school just cause. Also I’m a bmx and skatecamp instructor at the clairemont YMCA. I also work in the office.

What are some of the things you would like to accomplish in the next 5 years?
I would like to travel more ofcourse, Learn to play the piano on a very primitive level, I’d like to have a van/house, be able to skate the mini ramp at clairemont park, and.. be in a legit art show.

What kind of music are you into?
I like a lot. Classical, Punk, New wave, Experimental, Classic rock, a little hip hop. I didn’t have much exposure to music until I was almost 20 so I have a much greater urge to look for and listen to music constantly.

If you couldnt live where you do now, where would you go and why?
Probablly oregon for all the cement or san fran for all the ladies.

What is one thing you wish would change in BMX?
More kids wanting to have fun and less shit talk. Less clones. Less media tempting me to notice what I don’t want to notice.

Anything I missed you would like to add?
“Failure is the mother of success.”

When I started riding 7 years ago or so if you told me that I would interview Chris Doyle someday I would have probably laughed and brushed it off. However I decided to give it a shot and when Chris said he was all for it I was super excited since hes seriously has been one of my favorite riders since I started and still is today. I think you guys will enjoy this one.

Name:
Chris Doyle

Sponsors:
Kink, Rockstar Games, DC, Demolition, Duo, Pro-tec, Square One, Bicycle Union

Location:
Pittsburgh, PA

This will make for how many interviews now?
haha. Haha, I don’t know. This same sort of thing happend to me when I was 17/18 years old. I had a ton of interviews come at me all at once and then there wasn’t too much until… well, last month. If history repeats itself, I can look forward to another onslaught of interviews when I’m 36, hahaha.

How is the winter treating you so far?
Not too bad, we haven’t had too much snow but the temp. is definitely too cold to ride outside right now. I went to Arizona for about a week to get a head start on filming for the Kink video, on the second to last day I ended up smashing my face and getting eight stitches in my chin and spraining my thumb. Now, I’m just chillin’ and letting my body rest up a little bit… It’s been a long year.

Your recent Props interview was a hit, how cool was it to be able to look at an interview when you were 17, and then do one for now looking back on it all, was it weird at all?
I definitely had some good laughs after looking back at that old interview, I can’t believe how young and naive I was back then, I guess most 17 year olds are. When that first interview came out I remember being really bummed and a little bit embarrassed – I was 17, I’d only been around for a year, and I didn’t really have anything to say, I think I was just stoked to be in Props. I’m really happy that they let me have a do-over on that one.

How did you feel about contests this year?
I had my fair share of ups and downs but overall I’m pretty stoked on how I did.

What contest are you looking forward to the most next year?
Man, I don’t know. I don’t think there’s an “Elevation” contest this year and that’s usually my favorite comp. Oh wait! I think they’re doing that “Empire Of Dirt” contest in England next year, I’ll be looking forward to that one for sure!

Where have you been riding since the winter has hit? Is there many indoor spots nearby?
There’s two indoor parks in our area, both of which are about 45 minutes away from my house – not too bad. They’re good parks but I’m trying to pace myself, the winter is long and I don’t want to burn myself out on ’em too quick. Other than those two parks, every tuesday a crew of guys usually goes up to Rays MTB park which is about 2.5 hours away. That place is hella good.

Now that the holidays are over for the most part what do you have going on?
Not too much. I’m pretty much chillin’ for a month or so before I start taking some trips (which are below). I’m gonna start filming for a new Demolition online vid soon and I’d like to film half here (in Pittsburgh) and half out in Cali.

Are you planning any big trips anytime in the next few months?
Nothing too big. I’m going out to Cali in early February to film for Kink and Demolition and then in late Feb/early March I’m going to Austin to start filming for Anthem 2.

If I remember right, a few years ago in an interview when 401 trails got plowed, you had talked about buying some land and starting a new set that you owned. Did that already happen or am I just imagining things?
It was actually the 22 trails here in Pittsburgh that got plowed… 401 is still there but it’s beat. And, no I haven’t bought any land… yet. I’d still really like to but there’s a lot of ins and outs to it and it’s obviously gonna cost some serious money… However, I’ve been trying to come up with a better plan, I’d like to rent out my current house and buy a new house that has some land where I could put my own trails on, that’d be ideal. It’s just a matter of committing to making large purchases… it’s hard for me to do, I’m very conservative.

You have been on Kink for a while now, how have things been going with that? Your frame is out now, do you have any more plans for signature parts coming out this year?
Kink has been awesome, so stress free and laid back. I think my favorite thing about riding for Kink is taking trips with the team. Everyone shreds and everyone gets along, we’ve done a couple trips so far and they’ve been awesome. So far the frame is awesome and I’m getting a lot of positive feedback, as far as other signature parts go, I might start working on a signature fork with Demolition.

How are things at Duo? Any new additions to the team or new products coming anytime soon?
There’s one rider that may or may not start riding for us soon but I don’t feel I’m at liberty to talk about it just yet… I wouldn’t want him to get in trouble with his other sponsors. As far as new products go, the Van Homan grip just came out and we just released a limited edition seat in which we collaborated with Rogue Status. Also, I’d like to get Bohan’s grip moving along. We’d also like to start doing some cool apparel and bags.

After being pro for so long now, I would imagine you have been just about everywhere. Is there anywhere you have not been that you would like to go to?
I’ve never been to New Zealand before, I’ve been close, I went to Australia back in ’02. Everyone of my friends that’s been to New Zealand says it’s an amazing place.

I figure this was probably asked in your video interview but didn’t make the cut. Is there any set dates for a wedding anytime soon?
Haha, no, no set plans as of yet. Believe it or not, my girl is as busy or busier than myself. We’re happy together and It’ll happen someday but we’re in no rush.

Then and now, 1997 Vs. 2007
Frame
Then: S&M Challenger that I later traded for a Holmes.
Now: Kink “Farside” 21.25 top tube (blue).

Weight of bike
Then: Who knows? Probably pretty light though, my bikes were always pretty “raced out”.
Now: I’ve actually never checked, nor do I care. Light enough, I guess.

Riders you looked up to most
Then: K. Bennett, Joey Garcia, Brian Foster, Joe Rich, and Brandon Pundai
Now: Brian Foster, Chase Hawk, Jason Enns, Joe Rich, and Corey Bohan

Time you have to wake up
Then: I think I had to be at school by 8:00, so probably around 7:00.
Now: Around 9:00 on most days.

Favorite Food
Then: Bojangles chicken, biscuits, and fries.
Now: Peanut butter and banana sandwiches

What you wanted for Christmas or Birthday the most
Then: Bike Parts
Now: Apple gadgets

Biggest Fear:
Then: Not getting into a good college
Now: Arthritis

What advice do you have for keeping those 200 LBS+ girls away from a guy?
Haha, my problem was always that I was too nice, don’t get me wrong, I’m not telling you to be a dick, just be careful.

Your a pretty influencial rider, do you have any crazy stories of stalkers or obsessed fans?
Haha, this may be one of my favorite stories to tell, I’ll give you the short side of it. I think it was 2001 and I was down in Orlando for the Roots Jam. There was an after party / video premier – it was packed but it was your normal BMX gathering, you know, a ton of dudes and about three girls, all of which had boyfriends. So anyways, this girl starts talking to me and being really flirty and touchy – she was showering me with compliments left and right. Needless to say, I was stoked – she was HOT. All of the sudden this dude taps me on the shoulder and says, “yo Doyle, that’s my girlfriend”. I didn’t know the guy and he was a bit bigger than me but he was being pretty cool, he told me that myself and Aitken were him and his girlfriend’s favorite riders, he then followed it up by saying that it would be his honor if I hooked up with his girlfriend. He’d said that she was TOTALLY DOWN and that she’d been looking forward to meeting me and Aitken for weeks. I ended up turning her down, I said that I was flattered but I had a girl at home (even though I didn’t at the time). The guy was a little bummed and then asked me, “where’s Aitken”?

If you were forced to only be able to ride contests to one song (Like Nyquist and “Jump Around”) what song would it be and why?
“Back before you go” by Dinosaur Jr.

By now you have had the opportunity to meet so many riders, who are some people you haven’t had the chance to meet that you would like to?
I’d like to meet Jerry Galley someday. He’s from England and was way ahead of his time. He’s been known to do things like HUGE 540’s and inverts on vert wearing nothing but a pro-tec, shorts (no pads), and a T-shirt.

How mad do your friends get when you have all the stories about what actually happend the nights they were drinking?
I wouldn’t say that any of them ever get mad. It seems though that they always think they had the wildest time ever, even when it was mellow. I think the alcohol just makes them exaggerate their stories more.

What do you think you would be doing if you didn’t start riding BMX, and the meteorologist thing didn’t pan out?
I honestly have no idea.

What kind of TV show are you into?
Seinfeld, Scrubs, Chappelles Show

What about some of your favorite bands?
My Current favorites are Dinosaur Jr. and Band Of Horses. Some of my all time favorites are Blankface, The Get Up Kids and The Farside; all of which are now broken up.

And to keep going with these, favorite movies?
My favorite riding videos have always been the early FBM videos (Ring of Fire, The Bar Is Closed, Live Fast Die), 1201, Lights Out, and Anthem “Home of the brave”. Non riding… There are too many to mention.

Outside of the riding world, what are your biggest influences in your life?
Probably my mom, bro, and sis. We’ve been through a lot together and they’re some of the strongest, most driven people that I’ve ever known.

If you could spend the day with anybody to ever exist, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Elvis. I don’t know why, that’d dude just seemed cool.

What would you like to accomplish in the next 5 years?
I’d like to film a couple more video parts with each one being better than the last, travel to some new spots, stay healthy, and move to a house with enough space for trails or a ramp (both!).

What is something that you feel needs to be changed in BMX?
Less talk, more rock!

What kind of advice do you have for people getting into BMX?
Pace yourself and have fun, you don’t need to turn pro your second year riding.

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
In my Props interview I said thanks to my sponsors but I should’ve thanked them individually, so here goes. Zack, Jay, Chris, and Matt at Kink – you guys are the best! Ken, Damon, Bree, Sean, and Eric at DC, Brian Castillo and La at Demolition, The Bad Boy (Badders) at Pro-Tec, John Dye, Cory Muth, Steve Buddendeck, Kris Bennett, Todd Walk, Pittsburgh locals, NC locals, Wild Will, Barrett snake, and my friends and family everywhere.

Anything else I missed that you would like to add?
I think we’re all set.

Trying to find a video of Chris is not hard to go with this, finding one that isn’t a recent video part is. Here are some random clips and a recent one just posted up on the Square One website.

Square One Clip

Ryan is one of the bigger names in the production of BMX videos now days, I know I am a fan of his work. We had a request from somebody to do an interview with Ryan so I got in touch with him and this is what came from it. After you check out the interview head over to Ride BMX to get some more info on his newest DVD project.

Name:
Ryan Navazio

Location:
Long Beach, Ca…typing these responses in Ridley, Pa

Years Riding BMX?
14

Years Filming BMX?
6

You have been working for Ride for a while now, how are things going? Are you strictly working for them or are you doing free lance stuff?
I started at Ride mid-february of last year so it’s almost a year now and in that time I haven’t really had time to do much freelance just because I kept myself pretty busy filming for the upcoming Ride video, Insight. I filmed a few things for DQYDJ2 and Animal but thats about it. Its cool to be working at Ride because I grew up watching Ride videos and now I’ve been given an opportunity to make one so its pretty awesome.

The new video you have been working out is supposed to drop, or already has been released, how do you feel about it?
It’s just been finished and I’m pretty happy with it. A few people have came by and checked it out and they seem to be feeling it so thats good. Everyone put a lot of effort into their parts so thats the most I could ask for.

Do you think it can compare to Left/Right or do you think you cannot compare the two?
I think it can be compared for sure, it was all filmed by me or the same contributors as Left/Right so you’re getting the same filming style. A few of the guys that have parts in this video had clips in Left/Right and the majority of the video is street. All aspects of the production were real similar to the way Left/Right was done.

Did you go to school for film or editing at all?
Yeah I have a bachelors degree and part of my degree is in film and video.

Now that Insight is complete, what is your next big project or are you going to chill for a bit?
I’d like to take a little vacation but I’ll probably get right back to work on something. Definitely want to do some kind of Paul Horan comeback video part. The only problem is I don’t even own a video camera right now so….

You had to travel a lot of film this year, where are some of the places you have gone?
A lot of back and forth between East and West. Specific cities include, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Fran, Phoenix, Boston, Philadelphia, Portland, Seattle/Tacoma, and Northern NJ. I tried to limit a lot of the filming to areas where we knew the spots and the people.

Out of those where are the best places you got to go to and advise people to visit?
I’ve been to all of these places before so it wasn’t anything too new or exciting but Boston is one of my favorite cities to visit for sure. San Fran. is up there as well.

Being on the road a lot, you must have some good stories, do you have any that come to mind you want to share?
One night we (dean dickinson, chester blacksmith, kurt rasmusson and I) were driving up to San Francisco and we stopped in the ghetto of oakland to get a motel. I’d say half the rooms on the bottom floor were completely full of prostitutes and gangster pimps running around everywhere. It was just a crazy scene, we had no idea what was going on. We saw a domino’s delivery driver pull up and Dean jokingly asked him something funny like “where can we get some pussy?” the next thing you know the delivery guy knocks on the door to this one room and all these girls come out offering us pretty much anything. But none of them were having it so we just chilled outside and watched people come and go picking up different girls, dropping them off. Just sleazy dudes coming and going basically. Meanwhile there were tons of crazy crack-heads living in the hotel. I was skateboarding in the parking lot and this one crack-head lady who called herself “Nightwolf” came out of nowhere and jumped at me and was inches away from getting my skateboard truck to her face. She kept trying to get in our room and would repeatedly tell us how tough she was and tried to fight us. The next morning we chilled outside and met a bunch of the girls from the night before who thought we were some kind of celebrities when they saw us filming in the parking lot, I’m pretty sure some of them were offering there services to Dean for free. We all hung out and took pictures and shit, so it was pretty funny.

Where are some places you haven’t had the opportunity to do “work” at yet but would really like to visit?
Europe in general, England, France, Spain (Barcelona) and Australia.

You have had the chance to film with a lot of people, who are your favorite people to work with and why? least favorite and why if you want?
Most of the people I work with are friends before we “work” together so I can’t really say I have a least favorite. But some of my favorite people to film with right now are Mark Gralla aka Ratkid, Tom White, Dakota Roche, Kurt Rasmusson, and most of the Animal team. I guess you could say I really don’t film with people I don’t know ahead of time.

Have you been getting into the HD camera stuff yet?
Yeah Transworld bought a Panasonic HVX about halfway through the filming of Insight. It’s cool because I was able to use some HD shots in place of 16mm film shots and save a little money but overall I’d have to say I wouldn’t want to shoot a whole project in HD just yet. The camera is bulky, not good in low light, expensive, you pretty much have to have some kind of computer with you at all times to store the footage, multiple backup drives (no tape). It just seems so impractical right now for so many reasons, the biggest one being why shoot an entire video with an HD camera if it’s not going to be released in HD? I don’t subscribe to the theory that HD is suddenly going to make BMX videos look good, there’s a lot more to it than just shooting on HD.

What kind of advice do you have for people looking into the film industry?
If you’re planning on shooting BMX you have to do it because you love it. Don’t work for free but don’t plan on getting rich either. Take any work thats gonna help you learn more about what you want to do.

Outside of work and riding what are some things you are into?
Music, Skateboarding and Snowboarding when I get the chance. Just skating around is so much fun right now.

If you never got into riding or film, what do you think you would be doing?
I’d probably be a bum living in Ridley maybe shooting heroin or something. HAHAHAHA Honestly though I do feel like I was lucky to find riding/filming because it gave me something to focus on and not get involved with a lot of stuff many of the people I grew up with got involved in.

What kind of music are you into?
I guess I’m pretty picky about music but I wouldn’t say there is one specific type of music I like most. Punk, Garage Rock, 60’s psychedelic, Indie, Hardcore, the list goes on.
A lot of the stuff I’ve been into lately ended up on the Insight soundtrack.

How do you go about picking music for your videos?
I seriously think I spend more time selecting soundtracks for videos than anything else, especially now that all my music has to be cleared. But most of the time I will talk to the rider and see what they are into, hopefully they have some idea and we can agree on something that will work. If not I just try and find something that fits. With Insight, I think I most of the soundtrack was picked by me with the exception of Mike Brennan. Everyone else I came up with stuff for and we agreed on it. Literally spending hundreds of hours and tons of money on itunes just getting ideas together. It’s not that bad though cause I love music and it exposes me to a lot of cool stuff I wouldn’t otherwise get to hear and it works out because I always find something for one video that doesn’t get used and ends up in another video.

What are some of your favorite movies(riding or non riding)?
My all time favorite movies include, Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver, The Big Lebowski, Back to the Future, Indiana jones trilogy (can’t wait for the new one). I’m real into skate videos as well, Habitat and Alien Workshop videos and the Static and Eastern Exposure videos. For BMX I grew up watching videos like 1201 and Anthem, plus the Little Devil videos played a huge part in my interest in filming. “No country for Old Men” is one of the best newer movies I’ve seen in the past couple of years.

Do you ever catch yourself critiquing movies or anything like that(outside of riding videos)?
Definitely, but I can still get completely immersed in a really good movie. I usually can’t handle bad acting and bad CG’s though.
With a BMX video, If the riding is good enough than I can pretty much ignore everything else.

If you could spend the day with anybody (alive or dead) who would it be and why?
Right now I wouldn’t mind hanging out with Spike Jonze. It’s just cool to see someone who grew up doing the same things we do make it big into Hollywood and still be respected by so many different people. He’s directing the “Where the Wild Things Are” movie adaptation and a Ripleys Believe it or Not movie and both those projects sound pretty awesome.

What are some things you would like to accomplish in the next 5 years?
I’d like to put all the money I’ve been spending on rent towards a house. Aside from that I just want to be happy doing whatever it is that I’m doing.

If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?
Buy back all my shit that got stolen. Buy a house. Do something real nice for my family/friends. Make a BMX video with a huge budget and just get everyone I’m friends with involved and have a great time making it.

Who are some of your biggest influences on your life?
My parents for sure, they have always been pretty supportive of what I do even if they don’t really understand it. Everything and anything can be an influence it’s just whoever or whatever I happened to be surrounded by at the time. Pretty broad I guess…

5 things you can’t live without?
My Girl
My Family
A Car
Camera shit (coincidentally I don’t have any right now)
A Home…(not as in a house) but just somewhere to come back to and feel normal

Any bad habits?
I guess I tend to procrastinate from time to time.

What is a story or interesting thing about yourself nobody will believe?
I seriously hate editing. I don’t mind it as much when I’ve shot all the footage but editing other peoples stuff is the worst. I feel like I’d be a lot better at what I do if I could just get over it.

Anybody you would like to give a shout out or thanks to?
Everyone in the new Ride video for putting the time and effort to make it good. Whiteboy for making the video look good and keeping me from going insane. The Ride Staff for giving me the opportunity, and all my friends and family. Thanks.