"I know a man who wears a $600 pair of shoes and carries two guns with him at all times; one for starting trouble, and one for ending trouble." - Vic the Most
BMX is such a monster mash that I had to post these three videos of these very different homies on the spookiest day of the year. Shred til your dead and happy Halloween!
Two loveable old farts, Ron Wilkerson and Steve Crandall, talking some industry in great and greater lengths, courtesy of BMX Union and Collateral BMX. Click stuff below:
If Jackson Allen was a WWII fighter plane, he'd be the JackAl (or maybe JacKill). Transitioning from FBM flow rider to full blown Youtube pro, Jackson hauls ass, jumps more fences than an episode of Cops, and gets rad to a song that is thankfully not the Black Keys. He even gets a tug boat to go fast! High fives will be in order, next time I see you bossman! Expertly paired with a LeastMost article with photos by Nate Delp. If you need more tabletops, I suggest you pick an IKEA catalog.
Also, a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Thomas Re out in Santa Rosa, who's turning 30 today. Thomas is an OG Santa Rosa shredder who was definitely one of the first people I remember really catching me off guard as to how good of a rider you could be. Cheers boys, the weekend is upon us!
A year ago today, I found out that Mike Tag, my favorite rider, passed away. Naturally, my first reaction was to be sad. But it wasn't too long before a kind of spirit started to develop inside of me, driving the forlorn feelings out and replacing them with an exciting mixture of hope, appreciation, and wonderment. It compelled me to call my brother to ride that day, rather than the usual crew in Santa Cruz. So I called my brother, whom also heard the unfortunate news, and made plans to ride some old Peninsula spots from when I was younger. Rumors were circulating that some of these places were getting torn down, and the last thing I wanted to do was let them slip away due to idleness or a lack of ambition. A few hours later, I'm at the Millbrae skatepark with my brother and Joe Sprinkles, ready to seize the day.
Although we rode away from things that day which were gratifying, the session wasn't memorable because we championed a spot and recorded some rewarding clips. Surprisingly, the atmosphere reminded me of the futility behind "progress" when applied to your personal riding. The truly memorable part was the aura that encompassed the day, a respectful salute to the pursuit of happiness. I felt honored to be able to do what I do, with the people I've met, and the places I've ventured. Riding offered a spiritual connection with my peers and my environment, and stood as a firm reminder to cherish these moments and the ability to create them. The feeling seemed pretty mutual between all of us; a connection that will be tangible in my head for years to come. Ride in paradise, brother Mike!
Two full length posts in a row. This might be the week of the full length, you never know. Either way, after FBM kindly referred to this dismal piece of shit blog as "Country Club a baby seal," I'm much obliged to return the favor by spreading the word about Vagabond Ritual. It's short, sweet, contains rare big footage, and makes me want to hit the road. If it doesn't make you want to travel with your friends, then you are probably a goth.
Kenny Horton has done it again, with another Shit Show classic! Featuring mentally unstable people on and off the bike, strap up your straight jackets and prepare to get a dose of grinds, gaps, and the death-defying Jac-Nac! More posts to come, but this is a good video to rope you back in from our brief hiatus.
Good morning loyal readers. I hope the following video inspires you to live a fulfilling, dedicated and better life. I hope to be doing a backwards handrail when I'm thirty too. Mike Tag is my hero, and I think he would've grinded the rail in the previous post.
After a wonderful and wild weekend in Texas, it feels great to come back to Santa Cruz. Thanks to everyone who rode hard, partied hard, and took our names to the next level. PS go to Chris' warehouse in Salinas, you will have fun.
Alex displays very clearly that he could get to the princess' castle without fire, a racoon suit, or even a star that grants invincibility. All it takes is four pegs. Crazy grinds to grinds to grinds. Amazing.
I greatly enjoyed finding Waldo Allen amongst this sea of degenerates.
Life got you down? Watch this video, be stoked on bikes, stoked on friends, stoked on life. Then watch it again. And it wouldn't be a Country Clubbin' post without a shameless plug for Santa Cruzians. All hail FBM!
Henny has the best turndowns in BMX. Doyle and Lacey can suck it. Since this has been established, above is Eric's sick new web video, made by my sick ol' friend Jackson. While you're feeling the Henny hype, check out his blog, Trails Rule, which I've added on the right in the links section. HENN SC N SC!
We usually forget birthdays, dates for jams, and plenty more relevant events that generally effect the Clubbin' brethren. But today, I'd like to wish everybody a happy Halloween. Halloween is a good holiday; not my favorite holiday, but it's still fun after all these years. Especially since I'm psyched on the crew, the costume, and the near future. Cheers! Also, thanks to Nathan, Jackson, Crazy Chris, and everyone who came out on Saturday that made for an awesome Fun Spot jam. Blew my expectations away for sure.
Make sure to check this link too, for a glimpse of the new FBM video. Should be rad, and a premiere is in the works too...
I am thoroughly bummed that Mike Tag, one of my all-time favorite riders, was diagnosed with Lymphoma. I never met Mr. Tagliavento personally, but I grew up admiring his no bull shit General Sherman style of street destruction. You can read about this shitty news here, and make a donation here. Bad news for sure, but hopefully we can see him destroy this with the same ferocity as he would a 30 stair kinked handrail.
Like usual, we're a little late getting the hot new business up on this here blog channel. We are very proud of Jackson for locking it in on the FBM flow bro team. Get psyched on this:
Very slowly, LeastMost is more and more becoming one of my frequently visited BMX-related sites. I came across this article, which linked you to a contribution on GoogleBooks. On a side note, did anybody else know that GoogleBooks existed? Although I like to say I'm on sabbatical from just about everything besides riding, the link has two essays (with a few pages missing so you actually buy the book) that center around BMX. These start on page 145 and 153. Basically it is a critical and very scholarly assessment of BMX and the action sports movement. I always thought that it would be interesting to examine the popularity of action sports in conjunction with the ethos of American values, traditional sports, and yes, even social relationships between the different classes of Americans. But according to the second essay by Kyle Kusz's, we're all just a bunch of angry white men. Yep, even you Anthony! Well, that's not really the case, but the focus of his argument is that as a result of pressures brought on from marginalized groups, white people are trying to carve a new identity that is distanced from the normal understanding of white people as oppressive, subversive, conservative, and materialistic. Action sports give us an outlet in which we can rebel from this stereotype and create our own paths. Interesting enough, this "new" identity tends to follow more traditional qualities that celebrate American heroes. These include exploring new frontiers, physical prowess, and of course, pulling off feats unthinkable to your average putz; in short, being LEGENDARY! Yet most of this searching and building appears to resort back to white people fearing that marginalized people are infiltrating their institutions, but instead of jobs and neighborhoods, it reflects upon the institution of traditional American sports. Do we consider action sports a radical or reactionary pastime as a result of backlashes and critiques of white dominance? I guess that's for you to write up your own rebuttal in the form of a scholarly essay.
I'm not sure I really agree with Kusz, but he does make some interesting points about the way BMX and action sports are becoming popular and carving their niche into American culture. He also uses "Live Fast, Die" as a resource for his research. I wonder if there will be a day in which Albert St. and Criminal Mischief will be available at the McHenry Library at UCSC.
If you've made it this far, between watching a full length FBM video, navigating hyperlinks that are often a rarity on this site, and discovering my inner nerd, then good reader, you are in luck! Here is a picture of me oppressing my white ass on a ledge in Kookertino. Good thing I didn't have Chipotle across the street before this spot, or I would've been leaking TabASSco sauce!
But wait, we're still not done. First, you readers have until Friday to comment as to which Salinas is better. Currently, George and Mario are neck and neck with a whopping one vote each. This isn't like voting for the President or anything, so take into consideration that your vote actually matters. Also, I now have wireless set up at my house, so this entire post was conducted while taking a shit. Like the American frontiersman, I'm using my Logger account to break through the barriers of social constraints and upset the natural balance of decency and blogging. Toodles!
