FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Name: Rob Darden
Age: 24
Hometown: Greenville, NC

-You changing sponsors from S&M to HARO came as a surprise for some. How did it materialize?
Rob:  Pretty much just got a call one day from Tony D asking me if I had anything going on for next year. He called me back a few days later telling me what he could do and it sounded good. I've always stayed with Haro guys at all the comps, couch surfing. We're all really good friends and live in the same town. I just thought how good it will be to travel the world with your best friends. Now I have a chance to do that, so I went for it. Don't get me wrong, S&M was great!! But Sometimes change is good.

-You've been around for quite a few years now, what have been your biggest results?

Kari Olandese is a young lady who was born in Germany while her Father was in the military and after living in quite a few States now calls San Jose , California home. She works at Whole Foods market to pay the bills and studies full time. She is also a part-time artist , full time Aunt and enjoys knitting. Kari also rides freestyle BMX.

Q : What are some the events in your life that have happened solely because you were on a bike ?
A : A lot of broken bones---medical bills---frustration and bliss---offer to be in Tyson Chicken commercial yikes!... my trip to Portugal for the Worlds freestyle contest in 2003--- autographing kids clothing....demo for Dew tour in Colorado---GLTR class in Portland, OR.---meeting amazing females & males that ride from around the world---contributions to Emerald Nation Zine....

-Name: Colin Mackay
-Age: 27 -Hometown USA summer: Greenville NC
-Hometown Australian summer: Brisbane and Melbourne

-You were one of the first Australian riders to live and ride in the USA. What made you decide to pack up and give it a go?
Colin: I took up Chad Kagy’s offer to stay at his place in Nor Cal, I couldn’t miss out on that. The Fox video just came out and the Nor Cal scene was in full force. Chad was always going to comps when I was at his place, and he asked the Hoffman crew if I could go in the X trials in Louisville, KY. They accepted and it was on from there. I felt it was just the right place at the right time, I didn’t expect to do as well as I did.

-When was this?
Colin: 1999

Name: Markus Wilke
Age: 31
Hometown: Cologne/ Germany

The news of signing with KHE came as a surprise to us. How did it work out?

Well, two years ago I talked to Thomas Goering about some new KHE products at the Worlds in Cologne. He showed an interest in sponsoring me, but we never actually sat down and talked it over. So after a while I kind of forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago he called me totally out of the blue and offered me a full-on sponsorship. KHE has focused on the Flatland scene for the last couple of years, but the company also has a strong background in Ramp and Street riding. I guess this is where I come into the picture. I’ve known Thomas for fifteen years now and he has some great ideas for a Street bike. I think KHE is a cool opportunity for me to help design some really good Street parts. We signed a two year and half year deal.

Name: Ryan Guettler
Age: 22

Hometown Northern Hemisphere summer: Huntington Beach, CA. USA

Hometown Southern Hemisphere summer: Brisbane, Australia

Name: Dave Dillewaard
Age: 22
Hometown: Redcliffe, Australia

Last time we did an interview you just got out of Australia and hit up a few contests in Europe before making the trip to the USA. How have things developed for you?
Yeah that was a long time ago now. I actually was in the US for about a month before those contests. I was living with Josh Harrington, Darden, Nyquist and Bohan in Salt Lake City. Everyone was out of town and Nyquist was heading over to Europe for a few comps. I was pretty much broke so I wasn't going anywhere, but Ryan helped me out massively and got me a flight to France for FISE and then we took a train to England for bike 03. Ended up doing an interview with you and making a little needed cash so I was stoked. That year I got picked up by GT and everything has been a lot easier.

Matti Roese from Germany has taken things in his own hands. Instead of talking about it, Matti makes it happen. With the help of some friends he has started organizing contests and started doing flatland shows and more. Time to check in with FELT's MR. What made you decide to start organizing Flatland contests? Matti: Last year, by chance Jens Werner ( Manager of the Mellow Park in Berlin and the nicest person in Bizznizz) and me went to a meeting about the possibility to organize an event in the famous "Palast der Republik" (former DDR politician headquarter).

Donny Robinson has been racing BMX forever. Even in the expert classes, Donny was the small kid that was damn fast. When he turned pro a few years ago he had to race the guys that he had looked up to for so long. Donny tried hard but crashed hard a couple of times too. In fact, his crash at the 2004 UCI World's in Valkenswaard was one of the gnarliest crashes I've ever seen. He got up and kept on racing. That's Donny's attitude, never give up. His determination paid off in a pro title this year by winning the NBL Elite Cruiser #1 Title. How do you feel about your win? It’s obviously big for me. My ultimate goals are winning such titles. My whole career has been hard so I have to start somewhere and mentally this is good for me.