Another week in BMX put together in the FAT Friday. Thanks for checking in and checking us out.  Week # 7:
- A while ago we received a mail from Todd Bank. He mentioned that he had found a box on the attic with od negatives and prints from the time the he and his brother Devin started out riding in West LA in the early seventies. That in itself is rather interesting but he mentioned that he had photos of the quarterpipe that they built in their front yard in 1976 and pics of him and his brother riding the Marina Del Mar

We got our hands on an exclusive Banksgiving pair of Nike's. Here's some info on the shoe and some more Nike product that was sent our way: The Air Insurgent’s leather upper is laser-etched to perfection with graphics by 6.0 resident artist, Adam Haynes, and marks the first time we’ve lasered one of our own. Lock down the graphics with the neon orange Swoosh for added pop, throw on some gum soles for sticky-fresh grip, and the Banksgiving Air Insurgent is set for any shredfest you have in mind. 

Since Mike was moved from the ICU last week, he has continued to improve slowly, but steadily. Although, he is still basically in the "waking stages" of a coma, he has been opening his eyes more often, moving his arms and legs, and has even mouthed the occasional swear word! Today during his physical therapy session, he stood on his own for a couple minutes. He has also been responding to commands from the therapists and occasionally answering questions by nodding his head.

Even though he has lost a lot of weight and muscle tone, physically, he is doing well. His lungs are clear of fluid and all of the bruises from the initial accident are healed. His last head CT looked normal with no swelling.

Everyday, Mike impresses us with his improvements. However, we are also reminded that he still has a long road ahead of him. It is obvious by the look on his face, that the simple act of sitting up

Name: Brad Simms
Age: 22
Hometown: Indian head, Maryland
Sponsors: Hoffman bikes / Target, Micreation / Snafu / DC flow

Frame: Hoffman Loyalty 20.8
Fork: Snafu lite
Stem: hb spreader stem 

Ben of WestOzBMX snapped this shot of these girls hanging out at a skatepark in West Australia. It's summer over there so they wear less clothing than the ladies that are stuck in wintermode. They're on BMX bikes too so perfect for today's FATBMX Pin-Up section.

The new Luna bars and the Pantera 3 bars are available in most of the countries. Check out the new Pantera bars they are bigger now. Here are the specs on the new Fly bars:
Luna:
Height: 8", Width: 26.5", Upsweep: 2º, Side sweep: 11º.
Colors: flat black and sangria (red-burgundy)

Man what a good trip we just did to Cuba, that is an amazing country, so much history, a total different point of view. The show got cancelled because of the rain which is natural now. We hope to do it again soon. Red Bull will invite us again in the middle of the year. BMX is a new sport in Cuba and all the riders are very pumped on learning, you should see the bikes they have since it is not allowed to import goods from other countries, there are some crazy laws that I just can't understand. I like to think that if I want to buy a bike part, I just go to the store and buy it. But that is not the way it is Cuba. It seems that the government wants to separate their people from the outside world. We all helped as much as we could, Nathan Penonzek got so much sfuff from Vans and some used parts from his friends from Chile, Redbull Venezuela got some parts and I managed to give away wethepeople parts. Next time we should get donations of bike parts to take to Cuba, I guess with time ahead we can get a bunch of stuff together. I'm sure Redbull can manage to send it there.

Traveling is a great part about BMX. American Mankind riders Ronnie Napolitan and Jeff Klugiewicz made it to Germany and rode a bunch of street and visited some indoor parks. Mankind owner Christoph Huber made sure they felt at home. Here's a video which shows their style. The photo on the right shows a different style but it's part of being a BMX pro too. Gotta love it.

Carhartt clothing test results by Paul de Jong:

-Carhartt Pin Stripe Cap:
New Era hats can't go wrong so this Carhartt version is a winner too! Finding the right size is not easy with teamriders cutting your hair once in a while, now I need a smaller one or I just go by the rapstyle look like Paul Roberts.

-Carhartt Siberian Parka:
This excellent winter parka made of Michigan Canvas 10.5oz 

These Props Best Of DVD's that show up every 12 months are a good way to put another year of BMX freestyle in your collection. The videos show trick after trick so there's no in between stuff like interviews, bio's, product news, or things like that. The Credits section is always fun to watch though and this DVD has a "Credits

A shoe is not just a shoe. At etnies they take pride in their lab testing. The new etnies Angle shoe has got System Flo2™, System G202™ and STI Foam™ to learn more about these features, check out this website. Mark Vos and Barry Kohne like to ride in the Angle shoe and if it works for them, it should work for you. The Angle is available in various colours and has the following features:

-Yo homies what Up? 2day shot 4 Monster Energy @ tha Gaint BIKES Spot and sum lifestyle stuff...If U haven't drank a Monster Java U really haven't lived yet!

-Good Guys In Black full band shot Mugshots The Book signing @ Book Soup on Sunset Blvd. With Danny Trejio and RIDES Magazine photo shoot with all tha Famous Stars And Straps team riders 4 tha cover! 

Check this video. Shred or die! For poolsharks only.

Nigel Sylvester designed a street frame for Mirraco. It is available at Mirraco stores now. It's got 6mm drop outs, a 21" top tube length and comes in Brown. It's got an Oval low-profile chainstay monostay, no U-brake bosses (brakeless!) and weighs in at 4.66 lbs. Nigel is stoked on it as you can see in the following am:pm video: