The latest round of the Space Brothers Podcast has arrived! This time around Steve Crandall sits down to talk about FBM, riding bikes, traveling, announcing contests, his friendship with Mike Tag, artwork and much, much more! Steve is always doing something cool and has a ton of great stories and experiences to share. This is well worth a listen!
“Back in January of 1994 I had just flunked out of college and I felt like a complete failure, but I didn’t want to return home just yet. I knew of a house with bmx riders that had just come together a couple of months previous and they were looking to take over the upstairs apt but needed a few tenants. So I moved from school directly into what became known as the Fat House.
The original cast was an eclectic group of riders, mostly dirt jumpers and street riders which originally included Jody Donnelly, Mike Tag, Jeremy Reiss, Crazy Joe Daugirda, and last but not least, Steve Crandall. Crandall and the boys had just moved from Ithaca NY to move into a local skatepark that ended up going under before it got off the ground. They decided to stick it out and see what the Hoosier land could provide.
Over the next couple of years Steve became more focused as a rider and a company owner, while creating some of his early videos which would become instant classics. At the time FBM was just a clothing company with a few t-shirt designs, in which Steve made every one of them by hand on a printing press located on the back porch of our house. The FBM brand continued to grow in recognition as the crew traveled to events including NBL nationals, Hoffman BS comps, local trail jams, and even the first X Games. Some of the guys Steve sponsored were starting to receive notoriety including Mike Tag, which helped the name grow even more quickly. Not only that but some of the best dirt jumps in the entire country ended up being built by Steve, Jeremy, and Mike bringing people from all over the US to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Seemingly overnight the FBM name was everywhere and the Fat House became a bmx tourist destination.
We sat down at the Master Blaster Planet studios with Steve and talked about early life and growing up in Ithaca NY, getting on the public access channel, moving to Fort Wayne IN and into the Fat House, videos he released, turning FBM into a bike company, creating popular DIY events like the Ghetto Jam, announcing major bmx comps around the world, his relationship with Mike Tag, current projects with FBM, and creating a new book with Matt Coplon.
So get comfortable, crank up your speakers, and get to know one of the most popular bmx riders on and off the bike…. Steve Crandall!“
