BMX UNION

Dustin is one of those guys who you always want on your side, no not because he can kick peoples ass’s.. but because he is by far one of the nicest guys around. He is an amazing rider and an even better friend, Everytime I get the chance to be around the guy it is a good time. He is also the guy who brought InterBMX which has been a good step in bringing riders together again!

Name:
Dustin Griess

Sponsors:
Drive BMX, InterBMX.com

You run interbmx, how is that going?
InterBMX is going great. It’s my baby. I love working on the code, adding new features, improving performance, and all that good stuff.

The coding for the website is pretty intense, how long did it take for you to get it going?
Ha. Oh man, to get it going, I’d say a couple hundred hours (about 6 weeks). To where it is now, I’d say a couple thousand hours (a good 1.5 years).

Outside of interbmx where else do you work and what do you do there?
I have worked for QBP in Bloomington, MN for nearly 4 years now. I have a full time job as an Application Developer. I work on our QBP.com dealer only e-commerce web site, as well as some of our internal applications. I love my job there, and the people.

You are a really good rider that is some what low key, do you try to do that or do you just let things come to you?
Well thank you! I really haven’t though about that too much, I just ride and see what happens.

Do you have any big tricks planned to go down that you have been doing recently?
I’d like to stick with most of my consistent tricks, possibly some fairly new ones. We’ll see what happens…

Are you working on any video parts, personal edits, or anything that will be up soon?
If I had time, I totally would. Honestly I haven’t shot or filmed anything in soooo long. I’d really like to though. I miss watching old video footage. I don’t have much from the past few years.

The winter will be here soon, what is your plan while the snow is falling?
Snow trails. I swear we can do it. Ha, j/k it will definitely go back to the indoor park sessions when the snow flies.

Has anyone told you that you are too nice?
No but it is nice to hear that someone would ask me that. I try to stay as positive as I can, and support people with what they do. But really, we can thank all the negative people out there, they make the nice ones stand out.

How does a typical day go for you?
Wake up at 7:30, motorcycle to QBP for work around 8am, write some code, eat lunch, write more code, go home around 4pm, then I either go the riding direction, or the more code writing/InterBMX.com direction. Sometimes both if I’m lucky.

Who do you like to ride with?
Anyone who is having a good time on their bike, having fun, learning new things, supporting each other, etc.

What are your favorite bands/songs right now?
I’ll Stand by You, The Pretenders.
Whiskey in the Jar, Metallica.
Wanna Be A Balla, Lil’ Troy.
How Far We’ve Come, Matchbox 20
There’s a nice variety of songs… lol

I have seen you take a few gnarly crashes, in person and in some videos of you, what kind of injuries have you gotten over the years?
I had a cast on my foot in 1997, a few stitches, and a few of those long term “over extended my knee” types of things that are really the worst.

Is there anyone you would like to thank or give a shout out to?
Yes sir! First of all, thank you Kurt, also my family for their support, Erik and Joey at Drive, Mike Corley at Eastern, Everyone at QBP… Todd, Tim, Jay, Andy, Dan, Bernie! And every single person who has ever typed “interbmx.com” into their web browser. All of you rock, thanks for everything.

Any last words, or things you would like to add?
“Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around, you could miss it.”

Name:
Michael Saavedra

Sponsors:
Profile, S&M flow

Do you have a job that isn’t BMX related?
No…. Just ride my bike.

A while ago your trails got plowed, do you have any new ones in the works?
It took me almost two years to pick up the shovel again but I have a new spot in the works. Should be better then the last set of trails. (: ))

Your part in the VULT 456 dvd a while back was really good, do you have any new parts coming up?
I’m working with Larry Alvarado on a edit for Profile. As far as a full video part goes if its not all street its not going to happen. Street is what’s hot. But who knows maybe one day someone might want to see some good old fashion trails!

Are you still doing demos?
Haha Im at a demo right now filling this out. Its so chill I get to travel and do what I love for a living without having to win the X games.

Who are the main people you ride with?
Jared Eberewin aka jearbear. He’s not only an amazing rider but a really good person. He keeps it real positive and fun. I love that kid.

Where are your favorite places to ride?
Enterprise at woodward west
Blue Bench
jurupa park
Chino park

Do you have any injuries from riding?
Not anything to bad. When I was a kid I broke my left ankle 3 times.

If you couldn’t ride anymore, what would you do?
Start real life.

Do you have any big trips or anything coming up?
Im working with profile on travel for 08. So I hope to travel to a few fun contest like the empire of dirt.

Any shout outs?
Bmxunion for hooking this up. Matt at profile for being on top of things all the time. Woody Itson for give me a job. All the homies for help me dig Lance Jared Boe. Moller over at S&M for hooking me up with the new LTF. Larry for working way harder then he needs to on my profile edit.

Any last words or anything I missed?
Ride your bike and stay positive!

Name:
Grant Castelluzzo

Location:
Milwaukee, Wi

Is that where you call home?
yeah for sure, my parents are in the process of moving away from illinois so im here until school is done for sure.

You are going to college, what is your major and how is that going for you?
Criminal Justice is my major and so far so good this is my junior year and im still on track for graduating in ’09

You seem to be into filming and editing, is it more of a hobby than something you would want to do as a career?
Definitely a hobby. I orginally just filmed but then i took up editing also. Its rewarding to see raw footage come together with music. I helped film for Lake Owen’s promotional camp dvd for the summer but outside of that i don’t really take it all that seriously.

You do a lot of tech riding, do you find those to be easier or do you just like the challenge of lnking a bunch of tricks into one?
Its a little bit of both normally the tech stuff just comes easier to me and i also find it fun to link stuff together that people might not think of. I like how open ended technical riding is and the creativity it can bring out.

When I had the chance to ride with you a while ago, you seemed to be a really dialed rider, is that normal or do you practice your stuff a lot?
haha well thank you. I definitely don’t “train” to do the types of tricks i do if thats what you mean. Some stuff comes more naturally than others for me but i kind of think that if i can’t do a trick consistanly then i don’t really have it so i try to get trick to the point where im not struggling to do it everytime.

The Ape dragon,what exactly is the trick, did you come up with the name for that trick or what is the story behind that, and do you have any tips on it?
An apedragon is pretty much just a word i use to describe anyone who is a man on a bike. Ape is what all the dudes at fbm use to for it and dragon is something i think justin simpson uses to descibe it so all i did was combine the two to make an ultimate word for it.

Millwaukee has a pretty big scene, whats it like being able to ride with all the guys like Jeff K, Dom, lil jon,Tony Malouf, and Mike Hinkens all the time?
Well Malouf is from Illinois but hes still out of hand. The scene here is amazing. Riding with all of those guys is unreal. They are all on their own level and at the same time they are all just normal ass dudes so its real good in that way. They are super motivating and always down for a good time.

Do you have any video parts or anything coming up soon?
well if Jeff K ever gets his shit together and works on his video I will have some clips in that. Other than that not a lot besides random web stuff.

Where is your favorite place to eat?
I frequent noodles and co, Wendy’s and Culvers often and when im with my girlfriend we end up going to Cheesecake factory and Olive Garden alot.

Favorite bands/songs?
I could go on for days but right now i’ve been into Kanye West’s new c/d. Also recently i’ve been listening to lots of poppy stuff that my g/f likes alot like Mayday Parade, Cartel, and All Time Low. Im also into some heavier stuff. I pretty much listen to everything.

Do you plan on sticking around the Millwaukee area after your done with college? Well after I finish undergad im planning on going to graduate school here so I will be here until I finish that but I would like to stay here for as long as I can.

What are your plans for the winter? Any trips or anything planned?
I don’t really have anything planned yet but I definitely would like to go somewhere. Hopefully it happens.

What is your set up on your bike like, super light or set up for whatever is comfortable to you?
Well it’s pretty light nowadays since I rode Jeff K’s and his shit is rediculously light and I became jealous but im not going crazy with it. I want it to be as light as I can get it without having to worry about dieing if a part fails.

5 things you would like to do in the next 5 years?
1. Get my bachelors degree.
2. Get my masters degree
3. Travel outside of the country.
4. ride alot with all of my friends.
5. maybe start a career

If you won the lottery what are some of the first things you would do with the money?
First thing I would buy a Porche 911 turbo since in my opinion it’s one of the sweetest cars ever created. Then I would probably buy a house so I didn’t have to worry about that later and I would do something boring like invest the rest of it so that I could live off it for the rest of my life. I would probably also work on a philosophy degree in addition to my criminal justice degree im already working on.

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
wow there’s so many. My parents for always supporting me and my riding. My girlfriend Libby for always being there for me. My best friend Chris Beers. Jeff Dowhen, Antonio Wothe, Jeremiah Hughes, Anthony Mingione, Matt Hess, Andy E, Kuntz, Lil Jon, Jeff K, and Mike Hinkens for making me have a good time when i ride. Matt Coplon at Profile for the product hook up for filming Jeff and Mike. Garey at Misled, and AJ at LNKF for everything. Anyone else who has ever made me have a good time on my bike thank you.

Any other last things I might have missed you would like to say?
Just have fun and keep riding.