It’s been a while, so we figured it was time to catch up with Wethepeople and Madera’s newest Pro team addition, Dan Kruk!
One of the raddest parts about running BMX Union is the opportunity to watch riders progress and make their way from completely unheard of to a Professional. That’s exactly how things have progressed over the years watching Dan Kruk go from some random kid at the 4Seasons Skatepark in Milwaukee to a complete savage on the streets. Over the past couple months, things have definitely kicked up into high gear for Dan with the bump up to the Madera pro team, then the Wethepeople pro team, having a full section in the new Wethepeople “Foundation” video, getting added to the Dan’s Comp team and more, so we figured it was probably more than a good time to catch up with Dan and talk about what’s new! If you aren’t keeping up with Dan yet, you’ll definitely want to start… Let’s do this.
Current Location: Long Beach, California
Sponsors: Wethepeople, Madera, Dans Comp, MPEG, 4Seasons skatepark, Cement Face.
Hey Dan! Long time no talk. I take it you just got back from your trip over to Estonia for Simple Session. How was it for you?
Yes, I just got back to California the other day. Simple Session has always been a huge dream of mine to attend and this year, Madera and Wethepeople made that a reality for me. I couldn’t be happier about how the trip went. It was one of the funnest weeks of my life!
The end of 2016 and the start of 2017 have been huge for you with some sponsor changes. It was just officially announced that you were given the bump up to the Wethepeople Pro team after spending a little bit of time on the AM team. How did they tell you that you were getting moved up?
Yeah, I was just bumped up to the WTP pro team and they made it official during Simple Session week. We were having a big team dinner at Vapianos when they made the announcement. Still can’t believe it! It made the trip out there even more memorable!
It was announced back at Interbike that you would be getting your own signature colorway on the Wethepeople Battleship frame. Can you tell us a little bit about what the process was like working on that, and when people will be able to pick it up?
First of all I’d like to thank WTP for the opportunity. There is a lot more work that goes into a colorway than I had originally thought.
Picking the colors for the graphics and frame are harder than you might think, but thankfully everything turned out super awesome and I am hyped on the finished product. The Battleship frame with my Konfetti colorway should be available any day now!!
Wethepeople have just released their new “Foundation” DVD this past week. Do you have a full section in the video? How do you feel your part came out, and whose section was your favorite?
Foundation is my first DVD section as a pro rider and I’m stoked on how it came together so quickly! I ended up getting a lot of stuff I was super hyped on with the help of my homie Grant Castelluzzo behind the lens. My favorite section had to be Mike Curley. He is a tech wizard.
Do you have any trips or projects in the works for Wethepeople that you can tell us about? We would imagine there will be a welcome to the pro team video coming sooner than later, right?
Nothing super official for them right now. Just working on a few side projects for them here and there but you can definitely expect some new footage soon!
Photo: Felix Prangenberg
You were also bumped up to the Madera Pro team toward the end of last year, and you were also given your own signature Party Paint colorway. Was there any tie between the color you picked for your Battleship frame and the Madera parts, or are you just really into colors?
Madera and WTP actually approached me around the same time to do a colorway and I thought it would be a cool idea to have them both match in some way. I was really going for a 90’s style theme for both with the splatter for Madera and the wild graphics for wethepeople. Eben Fischer did a great job on the graphics as well as everyone at Madera on the Party Paint wrap.
How did Mike Hinkens and Matt Coplon let you know you were finally getting the bump up to the Madera pro team after riding for the flow team for a couple years?
I don’t remember exactly how it went but I’m sure it was along the lines of “Hey would you want to be on the pro team”. Matt and Mike are really good friends of mine so when the opportunity came about I was more than stoked. I’ve been apart of Madera in some way since my early teenage years, started out on grassroots, then flow, and now pro. Can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me.
Any trips or projects coming up with Madera you’re looking forward to?
We will be doing a Madera shop stop at Stacked BMX in Riverside, CA at the beginning of March, then hopefully after that we are trying to head down to Ecuador!
If that wasn’t enough good news, you were also added to the Dan’s Comp team recently. What are you most stoked about with the opportunity to ride for them? Do they have anything going on that you can tell us about like a new full-length or anything? We heard Grant Castelluzzo will be handling some filming projects…
Riding for Dans Comp is a dream come true. My friends and I have been getting their catalogs sent to our house for as long as I can remember. Never did I think I’d be actually riding for them! Kinda funny to wear shirts and stickers on my bike with my first name on them. Grant and I are working on a welcome to Dan’s Comp edit for Vital BMX that I believe should be out by the beginning of March!
Alright, any other sponsor news you can tell us about?
Hmm you’ll have to wait and see!
Photo: Sean Morr
A little while ago you decided to make the move out to California after growing up in Milwaukee. What are some of the best parts about living out there versus the midwest?
I made the official move out here right before thanksgiving, but I had spent the whole last winter here. The best parts about living in California have to be the weather and spots. Even though I think the Midwest still has the best spots for sure!
What do you miss about Milwaukee the most? Do you think you will ever call Milwaukee home again?
I miss my friends and family the most, life was pretty dialed out there. It was easy to do the things I wanted, and not paying rent was a huge bonus. The winters really sucked but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I learned everything I know from countless indoor 4Seasons skatepark sessions and I don’t know where I’d be without that. Someday, when this BMX life is over, I may call it home again, but for now I’m just living life whereever it takes me.
Now that you have some heavy sponsor support, are you working at all, or is it just full-time riding and traveling for you?
I actually just got a job delivering for a restaurant here in Long Beach. It would be pretty tough for me to survive with out a job out here honestly.
Speaking of traveling. Where are a few of the places you’re really hoping to get to in 2017?
I’d love to get out to Germany this summer. Getting to visit the Wethepeople headquarters in Cologne is high on my list. I’d also like to get down to Ecuador and visit some friends/ride down there as well,
Who are some of the guys that have been really motivating you to push your riding lately? Any reasons why in particular? I’d imagine having so many riders around for Simple Session was kind of a big motivator this past week.
A few riders who have been motivating me recently have been Garrett Reynolds, Alex Donnachie, Felix Prangenberg and Courage Adams. Why? Well because they are all really cool dudes who do amazing things on a bike.
What have you been getting into when you aren’t riding these days? Any new hobbies or anything that have been filling your time?
Right now I haven’t had much time for anything besides riding and working. Once things get more routine out here I’d love to check out more of the natural beauty that California has to offer.
How can people keep up with you these days?
Follow me on Instagram @dankrukbmx and “Like” my athlete page on Facebook (Dan Kruk BMX)
Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
First of all Shout out to Kurt for this interview, all my friends from around the world, my sponsors, my family, my girlfriend and to anyone taking time out of their day to read what I’m up to!
Anything else you want to say?
Dream your life then live your dreams.
