Brain Krudd and Shajn Raines' Donner Party went down in Granit Gorge Mt in New Hampshire a couple weekends ago and thankfully Chris Tardiff was on hand to capture all the action. You can’t argue with a gauntlet of doom, a rumble pit, and rails. Looks like a fun time was had by all! Shout out to Chris Childs for having no fear whatsoever and throwing down so many crazy runs!
Filmed and edited by Chris Tardiff.
To find out more about the Donner Party organiser, Shajn Raines, check out his 'Hold Tight, Be Lucky' story in DIG 86.
"What is Ferbert doing up there? Shajn "Ferbert" Raines is what I like to call an escape artist. A deadman balancing act with true precision and accuracy that some riders are scared to admit they don't have. I believe we’re living in a time where some deadman riding tends to be seen as ‘easy’ and even ‘dumb’ to some people. The 1996 roof craze is long over. The time period of ‘what’s possible’ has long passed. Not everything that is large in size has to be considered any type of huck. BMX will always contain systematic error no matter how dialed you are. The risks might be greater but if it is something you have 100% confidence in… then why the fuck not? When so-called ‘utterly senseless’ setups can be done it is a celebration of the same concept that was happening during the roof craze of 1996 - BMX in it’s raw state. When I say Ferbert is an escape artist, I mean it in a way of escaping death and escaping via roofs. They are usually setups that consist of some type of getaway plan. Basically a scenario that would get you away from the cops with lots of danger involved. The spots he looks for are essentially escape lines or action movie spots.
And these setups are not easily done. Deadman riders who commit to riding hammer spots on the regular have to be completely confident in their precision. If you were to just huck some of these deadly scenarios you wouldn't be able to continue living. Some average ordinary people die falling from a mishap down a three stair. Deadman riding can be just as technical as tech itself. Precision can be even more important with a deadman setup than a tech one. Who's more dialed now? Both are equally as respectable, especially when the two are brought together. Take kinks for instance. Kinks make things more technical and hard, but they can also make the trick gnarlier and more deadly. This is where tech riding is similar to an episode of CSI... in depth, detail, and technicality. Whereas deadman riding is pretty much the movie ‘The Transporter.’ You can play Tetris, or you can play Mario Brothers. Both are just as hard to do. One is just more nerve wracking than the other. Holding tight helps block out the idea of systematic error. The two main things that take over nervousness during the time of something a bit hairy where there is any type of systematic error or what to say to everyone as they part company… hold tight, be lucky." - Sean Burns
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.