FAT BMX Magazine - FAT FRIDAY week 05. The week of the interviews - FAT Friday

FAT Friday : FAT FRIDAY week 05. The week of the interviews

Posted by Bart on 2009/1/30 18:30:00 (869 reads)

It has been the week of the interviews here on FATBMX and we're not done yet. We're stoked to bring you some insight on the UK ramp scene from the eighties. Those riders made things happen on old trashy bikes and shady quarterpipes. They had fun and they got good. So good that some of them tried their luck in the USA and stayed there to become a pro rider for a few years. Lots of riders are in the same boat now. To really make a living out of BMX freestyle is not easy. Not here in Europe, not in Australia, not in Africa and not in Russia. If you really want to make it as a rider you'll have to make finals at the Dew Tour, or better, podiums. That will possibly land you some sponsors that flow you a monthly check of a few hundred dollars so you can help pay the rent and make it to the "training center" a few days per week. But it's not even 1% of all riders who can reach that goal. Others will have to do shows, join the circus or get a regular job to make ends meet if they really want to live like a BMX pro. If you're in this game to make money, you've chosen the wrong "sport".

But we don't need a lot of money to have fun. A bottle of water and the bike keeps us occupied for an afternoon and I've lived on Taco Bell's food for dinner for months and I'm still alive. Things are rough right now but who cares. Good times do not have to cost a lot of money. At FATBMX we try to keep you stoked on BMX for half an hour or so each day with some updates from around the globe. Here's what we had going on this week:

-We contacted some riders and asked what their Favorites were. If you want to know what these riders like to eat, where they like to ride, with whom, what car they fancy, etc. Hit their name and you'll see their complete Favorite list:

-Daniel Wedemeijer
-Joe Riley
-Jorge Jovel
-Simone Barraco
-Waldemar Fatkin
-Nicky Van Der Veen
-Austin Coleman
-Fabian Giess
-Bas Brouwer
-Arthur Dietrich

-We've got more interviews this week. If you haven't read the Lee Reynolds interview, go check it out and learn how a rider from Europe ended up living in the USA. Were you riding skateparks in 1983? Well, Billy Stupple was and he's got photos to prove it. Want to hear about those times? Read his interview. We're not done yet with the UK Ramp Lords. In fact, we've just started. Coming up is the Mike Canning interview. Hit the profiler button which takes you to all these guys.

-Did you notice we're giving away a Nike 6.0 parts package? Orange grips, plastic (animal) pedals and a pivotal seat. It's free to enter. Go here.

-BMX GAMES 2009 Pro Street Final Order Name Best Run
1 Craig Mast 271
2 Jaie Toohey 258
3 Vince Byron 243
4 Andy Buckworth 237
5 Ryan Brown 235
6 Josh Mete 230
7 Anthony Napolitan 230
8 Clint Bensley 222
9 Matt Whyatt 219
10 Andrew Ahumada 215
11 Dean Manson 195
12 Nick Cooper 184
13 Ryan Guettler 0

BMX GAMES 2009 Pro Flat Order Name Score
1 Mike Steingraeber 508
2 Simon O'Brien 493
3 Eric Effinger 429
4 Ben Moran 417
5 Tomasz Hantke 409
6 Brett Dighton 383
7 Michael (Frenchie) 375
8 Rhys Mason 350
9 Ron Rampton 348
10 Grant Cruise 332

-The folks at Woodward posted a funny movie that you've got to see . The Amish (Ali's) are coming!

-2009 Pro Standing through Sooner Nationals AA PRO:
1 KYLE BENNETT 614
2 MIKE DAY 564
3 JOEY BRADFORD 494
4 KHALEN YOUNG 374
5 DANNY CALUAG 300
6 DONNY ROBINSON 294
7 JAVIER COLOMBO 241
8 JASON ROGERS 230
9 CRISTIAN BECERINE 210
10 TYLER BROWN 210

-New magazines arrived this week. Filed under Reviews:
RIDE UK
FreedomBMX
BMX Plus!

-Woozybmx & allride presents: Kink "safety first" videopremiere + party! Cologne / köln (today 30-01-2009 / 20:00).

-Zach Shaw, Mike Mullen and Ronnie Remo are in Barcelona doing shows. If you're there too, go find them.

-Paul's Boutique received a complete makeover. It actually looks like a shop now.

-Subrosa news by Ryan Sher:
Just wanted to drop a quick update about some Subrosa news that's been going down. Rich Hirsch has been out in Portland for most of the winter hanging out with new family members and running his new shop. He just recently had enough of the weather and took his signature Alameda down to San Francisco for some sun and BMX.
Also avoiding the winter and putting in some hard work for the Anthem 2 video, Eli Platt just hit the road and went to Austin with Sean Burns. He's having a great time and as he put it, "This photo pretty much sums up Austin for myself: bikes, books, and brews." Can't wait for that video!
Hoang Tran just got a nice shout out from Defgrip about his graphic design and photo skills. I just posted a bunch of polaroids he shot on a recent trip with friends to San Fran. We'll be adding a Hoang photo feature to the Subrosa site full of great shots. Also stay tuned for some really exciting news about Hoang and Subrosa coming soon.
I've done a great job avoiding winter all together by heading to sunny Florida.
Ryan Sher

-Received a message from Stefan Lantschner saying he was sore. This is the reason (check photo).

-Is Ryan Nyquist planning a dirt comp in the San Jose area? Cam White's jam is taking place this weekend. Should be nuts. Hopefully less wind than they had at the BMX Games last weekend.

That was a little summary of this week. Have a good weekend.

BdJ