Over the years we’ve seen a lot of Grant Castelluzzo who has been blowing minds with his technical street riding that is pretty much un-duplicateable. With the start of 2014, it seemed like everything good that Grant had been working towards fell into place. Grant was added to the pro team roster for Mutiny and shortly after named the Team Manager for the brand as well. We figured with everything he has going on with Mutiny, his constant involvement with Profile Racing and his steady flow of videos where he’s either in front of the camera or behind the lens, it would be a good time to catch up and find out what’s new! Let’s see what he had to say!
Name: Grant Castelluzzo
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Sponsors: Mutiny Bikes, Profile Racing, 4 Seasons skatepark, Allis Bike and Fitness
Years riding: 12 or 13. Holy shit that is a long time.
How’s it going Grant? Feels like it’s been forever since I’ve caught up with you or even been to Milwaukee, haha!
I am doing very very well. Tons of stuff is all coming together and I couldn’t be more excited about all of it. Midwest winters suck but aside from that all is well.
So it was announced just last week that you have been given the bump up to the Mutiny Bikes pro team after a number of years on their flow / am team. How did they break the news to you?
One day in late 2013 I came home to an email asking if I would want to be a part of the pro team for 2014. Of course I said yes. It is something I never expected to have happen. Feels great to be appreciated in this way. I can’t thank Gaz enough for that.
You were also named the team manager for Mutiny shortly after! Was this something that has been cooking for a while or did it just kind of come up and you jumped on the opportunity?
The team manger gig came as a complete surprise. Gaz has always run the brand 100 percent on his own which is amazing. Gaz and myself had been bouncing some ideas off of each other and one day he gave me a call and asked if I would be interested in helping out with team stuff and planning trips. I love being a part of the brands that I ride for in more than just a rider so it seemed natural for me to say yes. Me being the team manager will give Gaz more time to deal with running the rest of the brand and will hopefully allow him to do an even better job than he already is doing.
It looks like you guys already have a bunch of projects like a signature frame coming for 2014. Care to talk a little bit about your frame and what you guys have figured out so far with it?
Let me start out by saying being asked to design a frame is the highest honor imaginable. The frame is in the early stages of planning to be honest. Originally the plan was for me to have a colorway of the current “Rune” frame but we decided to start from scratch and design a new frame. The frame will have similar geometry to the Rune frame since I have been running that frame for a few years now and it feels amazing. We are going to do somethings to try and keep the retail cost down so that it will be more affordable. You can expect it to be responsive, ascetically pleasing and strong. Those are the most important things I look for in a frame and I am happy that I get to design one that fits all of the categories.
What are your plans as far as team things go? Do you have any trips or anything in the works yet?
We are working on adding a new rider or two to the team as well as some trips and videos that you have come to expect from Mutiny. Roey and Robbo are meeting up with Richard Forne in a couple months to film a project. With that combo of riders along with Richard’s filming, you know it is something to look forward to. On the US side of things we are in the early stages of planning a trip to Philly that is to be filmed by Ryan Navazio. I could not be more psyched on these projects. Two of my favorite filmers. How could you go wrong?
How are things going with Profile Racing these days? What do you have cooking with Matt Coplon for 2014? Any signature parts, trips, or anything you can tell us about?
Things are going great with Profile. Matt Coplon is an absolute treat to work with and we have a bunch of stuff going on for 2014. I am heading to Florida in Feb to head to a few parks and shops with Mulville and Degroot I believe. We are just trying to meet as many people as possible and keep it very core. We are thankful for everyone’s support and we want to show it by hanging out with as many people as possible. I believe I will be working on a new colorway for hubs this year. Limited edition to 100 like last years. I am really looking forward to it. I am sure that there is a lot more going on that I am missing. Sorry! Hit up profileracing.com for the newest happenings there.
Do you have any other sponsor news you can tell us about? How’s Our Wax doing?
I’ve had to change my number because I have so many energy drink companies calling me about riding for them… haha but really no new sponsors or anything like that. I am incredibly lucky that I am able to get through the start of 2014 with out losing and sponsors and somehow managing to get a “promotion” if you want to call it that. Our Wax is doing well. Slow but steady. We aren’t trying to take over the world. Just trying to keep the serious grinders out there sliding well. Hit up ourwax.com to order or check out what we have going on.
So it’s been a pretty wild start to 2014 for you. Did you ever see yourself where you are today with BMX? I feel like you always were preparing for a real world job?
It has been the wildest year of my life so far and it has only just begun. I NEVER thought that I would end up where I am today. I never thought I would be sponsored, let alone be a pro rider with signature products on the way. I feel like the luckiest person alive some days. I always anticipated on having to get a “real” job so I went to school and all of that. I am so incredibly stoked that I can delay having to get a real job. I am truly living a dream.
Speaking of that… You have your masters degree in Criminal Justice. How important do you feel college was to get you to where you are today?
Despite what I am doing having nothing to do with my schooling I believe that college has helped me a great deal. It has made me a much more organized person who is ready to put in the time and effort to make sure that whatever I am working on is something that I can be proud of. A 20 page paper and filming and editing a BMX video aren’t very much alike in practice but the mental state it takes to make both is very similar. I am also happy that I went to college because if I ever can’t ride BMX anymore I have something to fall back on.
You have always been very into the filming and editing side of BMX as well. Are you working on any projects now, or are you working with a pretty full plate with the pro rider and team manager roles?
I am totally still into filming and editing, probably now more than ever. Aside from actually riding BMX filming is my next favorite thing in life. I am definitely working on a bunch of different video stuff.
Can we expect any videos of you in front or behind the camera?
As for in front of the camera. I am working on a split edit with Mike Hinkens that will be for TCU. That should be done soon. Mike has been doing some awesome stuff so I am excited to finish that up.
Behind the camera I have a ton of stuff going on. I will be making some promotional/instructional videos for Profile on a bunch of their different products. I know Hinkens has some Madera stuff planned that I will be filming and editing later on this year. As always I will be contributing content to Justin Kosman over at Crooked World. On top of that I will be helping Gaz with some video stuff here and there for Mutiny. I am also tossing around the idea of maybe starting an independent DVD of my friends … Holy shit that is a lot on my plate.
What are your travel plans looking like for the year? Any change of getting out of the cold, sloppy snow for a little while?
As I said I am going to Florida in Feb. That is my least favorite month up here so I couldn’t be any more happy to get away. I am going to be taking every opportunity to travel this year that I can. We have started planning some Mutiny trips that I will be a part of but nothing is set in stone yet. But I can guarantee that I won’t be home a whole lot.
With it being the new year and everything… Do you have any goals or big things you want to accomplish in 2014?
My main goal is to just help Gaz with whatever he needs me to do with Muitny. Other than that just keep my sponsors happy. Most importantly I just want to stay healthy and keep doing what I love, riding and filming BMX. I am a pretty simple guy and as long as I can do those things I will be happy with whatever happens.
What have you been up to when you haven’t been riding or working these days? Any new hobbies?
Just the normal stuff. Movies and video games from time to time. I am really busy these days and most of my hobbies have become part of my lifestyle so I am happy being busy.
What’s something about yourself that might surprise people?
I imagine that most younger kids probably didn’t know that I had a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice and that I was a good student. Not surprising to the people to know me well but if you didn’t I could see that being surprising.
What’s the last song you heard and movie you watched?
The last song was A$AP Rocky- Palace because it was Dan Lacey’s section of the DUB dvd. I actually watched threes movies and they were BMX DVDs . “The Michigan Video”, “Mediocre at Best”, and Dub “HomeGrown” Support scene DVD’s!
How can people keep up with you these days? Are you on Instagram, Twitter and all that Social Media stuff?
Follow me on instagram @grantcbmx and on Facebook just my name. Make sure you also follow @ourwax on instagram/ twitter as well as @mutinybikes and @profile_racing
Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
I would like to thank Gaz for asking me to be a bigger part of Mutiny Bikes, Matt Coplon at Profile Racing for all of the opportunities that he gives me and for helping me with everything. Neil at 4 Seasons Skatepark for making the winters bearable, Brett, Pete, and Steve at Allis Bike and Fitness for always letting me work on my bike. Adam and everyone over at The Come Up for always posting my stuff and being super cool guys. Kurt for taking interest in what I have to say. Mike Hinkens, Dan Kruk, Jeff K, Jeff Dowhen, and everyone else I ride with for being an inspiration. Also anyone who has let me point at camera at them. I can’t forget my parents and Gina for their constant support and just generally putting up with my crap. Lastly I want to thank anyone who has watched anything I have ever been in or made, liked anything on any of my social networks, or let me know you were stoked on something I have done. That stuff means the world to me and with out your support I wouldn’t be where I am today.
Anything else you want to say?
Just thank you for reading this!
