On Sunday, December 14, the Skateland BMX Open took place at Skateland Rotterdam. Around 35 riders participated in the event, divided into a pro and an amateur category. Seven riders competed in the pro class, with the remaining riders entering the amateur category. The BMX Open combined a traditional contest format with runs and a jam format, where riders judged each others runs. During the jam sessions, riders were evaluated on their progression compared to their initial scores, under the supervision of international judge Stuart Gibson and MC Thomas van Bemmelen.
The BMX Open was all about community and good vibes. The atmosphere remained positive throughout the day, with riders and spectators spread across the park.
Introducing my new personal BMX bike.. a Colony BMX Sweet Tooth frame with a lot of Profile Racing and Odyssey BMX parts. Almost identical to my previous bike build with lots of titanium but a few subtle changes. I am very happy with the result. Built in a skatepark workshop & inspired by Gee Milner videos. Big thank you to Halux Visions for helping me with the camera work on this.
Skateland Rotterdam has a fresh new park course! During the lockdown the guys at Skateland did some remodelling and added new ramps to the skatepark. My friends and I were very lucky to be able to cruise the park for a few hours before they reopen in the near future.
Music playing in the background, smoke from the BBQ is drifting around. A single dirt jump with a make shift quarter pipe at the end, a bunch of BMX riders hucking tricks and enjoying each others company without a trace of competitiveness. When I hear stories about jams like these, it’s always from riders talking about the good old times. When the scene was small and you were just happy to be able to ride BMX with other people.
However the situation just described is not from the good ‘old’ days but June 9th 2018. Many years ago Albert Moonen and his riding buddies created a spot they called the Junk trails. The name inspired by nearby homeless people that took residence under a bridge next to the spot. It has changed a lot but
This project was a special one for me personally. When I approached Jimmy Schaffrath with the idea, he immediately said yes. Can't thank him enough for his hard work! He killed it on all fronts. The initial concept has changed dramatically, but the essence is still the same. Great shots of the city, supported with some basic riding to deliver the story I wanted to tell. Bad weather and our schedules made it hard to get the content we were looking for but I think we managed to get a great result!
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.