I have known Jason for a long time now but it wasn’t until I moved to California in 2007 that I got to meet up with him and begin shooting with him. We have become friends over the years and any time I suggest meeting up to working on a project like this or just shoot photos in general he is always down for the cause, which is amazing. He is one of the most well respected riders in the game right now and seems to have a way about him that people are stoked on. His riding has progressed so much over the years and he has really found himself as a rider. He doesn’t follow trends, he doesn’t worry about who’s doing what, he just simply does what he does best and that is kill it on a bike. He puts in some serious effort into searching out new spots to stay fresh and original, he always reps the companies that support him and he always seems to be genuinely stoked to be riding. He’s the type of person that doesn’t take what he has for granted and understands that it could all end tomorrow. I had the chance recently to hang with Jason and as always, it was nothing but good times. You know what to do by now… grab a drink, sit back and read on.
So, to start why don’t you fill everyone in on your name, age hometown, and current residence?
My name is Jason Jeremy Enns, I’m 36 years old and I was born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba but currently reside in Horse Town USA a.k.a Norco, California.
You have spanned a few generations of BMX in your time on a bike so if you had to describe your history in BMX to someone that might not be familiar with your roots what would you say?
Yeah, I have definitely seen things change several times over my years. I grew up mostly riding indoor ramps since half the year the ground was covered in snow. When I moved to Vancouver around ’98 I started riding outdoor cement parks for the first time and that slowly led to mostly riding street for the last few years.
That transition of your style has definitely been noticeable over the years and I actually remember being there the first time you started riding brakeless years ago. At the time it seemed crazy but I can’t picture you riding a bike with brakes again. What do you think has changed the most with your bike set up from back in the day to now?
Ha-Ha, yeah I remember that day. One of the biggest changes would just be the weight factor, I feel like my bike is pretty average weight, I dont go out of my way to do anything special, but back in the day I literally rode a bike that was 40 pounds. Bar size as well comes into play. When I had my signature Volume bars they had a rise of 6 inches. I don’t know how I did anything with those bars!
That is kind of crazy about the bars. I rode S&M Dive bars a while back and somehow made it work with those too. And of course weight plays a huge factor when comparing bikes from say 98 to now. It’s crazy to think that a bike from 2013 could be a full 20lbs less than what you used to ride. What has been going on with you lately? If anyone knows about BMX they know that you and Biz just dropped a banger of an edit recently so lets hear it.
Yeah, the edit just dropped and I was really happy with how that turned out. Mastroni did an awesome job on that. Other than that, just pretty the same ole shit. Been out a lot with Mike Escamilla spot searching and riding almost everyday which has lead to finding a bunch of sick spots that haven’t been seen yet. Just trying to get fresh spots logged to start filming for the new full-length Volume DVD.
It seems like you and Biz always get pretty positive feedback on your edits from all types of riders, industry heads and pretty much everyone. What do you think the secret is to keeping the fans happy?
I don’t really know. I definitely appreciate it though. I always just to try to push myself and my riding for each part and try and let that steer the direction of what I film rather that what everybody else is doing out there.
Sounds like a good formula for success to me. I also notice that you take your time in between projects and I think that helps too. Some riders out there get web-hungry and put too much shit out too close together. Do you feel like you intentionally space things out?
I like to space things out for sure. If I had parts coming out all the time it would just be the same thing over and over and nobody likes to watch that, you get lost in the shuffle real quick. I’ll definitely take quality over quantity any day, and I’m lucky to have support from brands that realize that.
I love to hear that about certain companies. There are definitely some out there that do it right, and of course there are some companies out there that will straight up just never get it. Since you have been sponsored for so long, what is it that makes you want to support certain companies?
Companies that really love BMX and support riders and give back to the sport is where it’s at. That also includes companies that see the value in all types of riders and riding and aren’t worried about supporting the just kids that are doing the craziest stuff right at the moment.
Hell yes, I agree 100% Speaking of kids doing the craziest stuff what is your take on modern day riding compared to when you first were coming up in the BMX world?
I feel like it’s all relative to some degree and the new generation of riders will always be pushing and progressing the sport. Think about the fact that just being able to do a tailwhip would have meant you were pro in the late 80’s. The things that are happening now on a regular basis, people laughed at and said they were impossible just a few years ago and I feel like that’s just the way things keep going.
Well put. I definitely see things always being that way though. I just can’t wait to see what goes down in the next twenty years in BMX. What are some things that motivate you to stay on your bike and keep doing what you’re doing?
Ha! I don’t even wanna’ think about what will be normal in twenty years from now. As corny as it sounds I think most of my motivation lies in the fact that I still just love bike riding. Finding new spots also keeps me motivated and watching kids doing there own thing motivates me to keep going too.
I know we talked a bit about it the other day but what’s your take on the current state of the Volume team? You have seen riders come and go over the past ten years but things seem pretty dialed at the moment and the whole crew killed it in the new California team edit so what’s the secret?
This is the start of my 14th year on Volume. I’m so stoked on the team right now. There is such a good vibe with all these dudes, and everybody has a very different and unique style. It seems like everybody on the team is just having fun, which is contagious and always makes for good times. You can definitely see everybody feeding off each other’s styles and motivation.
You mentioned working on a full-length video for Volume in the future so with that said what would your ideal video part consist of?
Just give me lots of new spots with a couple of new tricks and I’m happy. I also need to flip and flair something in my Volume section.
Hell yeah, that would be awesome. Speaking of spots what motivates you to always be on the search?
I always say it’s easier to find new spots than learn new tricks! I get almost the same enjoyment out of searching and finding new spots than I do from riding. I love getting myself lost in any random neighborhood in California; it’s too fun.
Since I know you are all about your selection of spots you have quite the taste in set-ups. What is your dream set-up that you haven’t found yet?
It seems to be constantly changing, but pretty much any kind of unique ledge/rail set up and I always enjoying a cool wall ride setup. I guess my ultimate spot would be a combination of all this things in one, Ha-Ha.
Canada vs. California…Go
Ah man, I’m gonna’ get shit from both sides no matter how I answer this. I’m happy I got to grow up in Canada instead of California and I’m happy to grow old in California rather than Canada. The people are a lot friendlier in Canada though and I definitely miss that.
What was it about growing up in Canada that shaped the rider that you are today?
I think the winter plays a big part of it. You take the fullest advantage of any day that there isn’t snow on the ground. You don’t wanna’ waste any day that you can go out and ride, and still try to hold myself to that mindset even though its tough sometimes with the Cali weather being perfect almost everyday.
Can’t deny the fact that Cali weather is the best. So, what’s the story with the mini-horse? How do you go about getting one of those?
We were looking for a companion for the full size horse that we have. She was getting a bit stir crazy in the yard with out another horse back there. So we needed something but didn’t want another full size horse. We looked into a few things like goats and what not, but decided a mini would be ideal. We put a wanted ad on craigslist for a mini horse and a lady from Norco contacted us in the first half hour. She said he was free to a good home so we went and met Oscar and she let us take him for free. He’s amazing little creature, and is dirt cheap to keep so it is ideal and it was just what our other horse needed.
Nice! Well you are definitely the only person I know with a mini horse. I think we covered a lot of ground here so far. Why don’t we start to wrap it up with some thanks?
Awesome. Shout-outs to Volume, Demolition, and Lotek for being the best and all the support for so many years and also thanks to you and Kurt for getting this together. Oh yeah and follow me on Instagram @jasonenns.”
Jason will always be a bad ass and we will always have the respect of his peers in BMX simply because he does things on his own terms. I can respect that and appreciate his hustle over the years and I hope you enjoyed learning a thing or two about the man himself. On that note, be sure to check back next Wednesday for the forty-ninth edition of Through the Lens and as always feel free to leave any questions in the comments section or email me at [email protected] and I will hit you back as soon as I can. Feel free to follow me on Twitter and Instagram @jeremypavia.
Check out past editions of Through The Lens below!
