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Joe Rich Props Interview from Least Most on Vimeo.

I try not to be overly nostalgic about BMX, but there a number of things that need to be ironed out considering how close BMX seems to be penetrating into the mainstream. Hollywood brings a very one dimensional depiction in garbage such as Transporter 3 and Mall Cop, using "death defying stunts" to dramatically differentiate their movie's chase scene from another's. LAME! While getting a little bit closer to the "core" of the sport, MTV has made a few BMX related broadcasts that are still whack overall. We should also keep in mind how MTV launched TJ Lavin's celeb-personality. I don't know about you, but BMX looks fucking lame when it's portrayed as a coming of age story centered around a group of friends who grow up and have fun riding BMX... on TV. Please, save it for Ryan Sheckler. And finally, our own media mogul, The Come Up, basically has an all you can eat buffet of retarded commentary that loosely revolves around how we should take sides based on the ways our bikes are set up, the way we dress, what tricks we do, and what we do our tricks on. If Orwell rode BMX and was your average TCU grom, he probably would say Freestyle is slavery.

This section was probably the first BMX video I saw that really had an impact on me as far as style, tricks, and overall mentality. Had I started riding now, I think I would've missed out on Joe Rich. Instead, I probably would've read a Mike Spinner interview and thought "Man, this guy really has his head on straight and his whips on lock." Probably a few years after this interview, my brother and I met Joe Rich. It was an amazing day filled with shredding all over SF. Literally, all over. We started at 3rd and Army, got lost in the Bayshore area, rode bikes all the way up to Keezer stadium, then rode back to downtown. At the legendary China grinds, we hear two riders shouting "Wait up! Yo!" and a variety of other expressions to get our attention.

We planned on staying at the spot anyways because Tim stepped up to plate at the recently capped ledge down the 16 or so stairs there, a pretty epic feat for being such grommets. Anyways, the two random BMXers hollering turned out to be Joe Rich and his brother Chris. After the initial shock, we remembered that we were trying to film my brother grind that ledge. I can't possibly imagine the pressure he must've felt while trying that. A few double pegs down weren't really making the cut, so Tim sent a perfect feeble down it first try, almost in tribute of when Joe Rich himself feebled that ledge in RF2.

What stands out the most is that Joe Rich flagged down a bunch of groms to ride. I think I was 15 at the time, my brother probably 16 or almost 17. We asked him a bunch of stupid questions like any helgie would, but he also told us crazy stories about the Gonz too. Nowadays, a lot of people pass up the opportunity to meet people through bike riding for trivial reasons like bike set-ups, clothes, or skill level. Joe Rich on the other hand was all for it. I was so stoked that night, I got off at our train stop and felt the need to bust something. 5 attempts, 3 pretty bad falls, and 1 of the soundest times I've ever slept afterwards, I grinded my first rail. Added bonus, Paul B T1 commercial