Dude's quite the breath of fresh air, an antidote to super-serious trick stars and 14-year-old Dew Tour park rats. The best thing is, unlike most internet shit-talkers (like, say, myself), he can actually back it up on the bike. Ask Scotty Cranmer. Or just watch his insane Little Devil TV video from back when he was just plain ol' Pat Laughlin. He's got a way better chance of saving BMX from itself than I do—even if he does ride for Fuj...um, SE.
However, just the other day I was flipping through an old issue of Ride (Dec./Jan. '97), and I ran across the following ad on the inside front cover:
Uh-oh. Someone's got some explaining to do.
(And this was just plain weird to find.)
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Despite what you may have heard, flatland is not gay. One would think that the world's pre-eminent BMX magazine would do whatever they could to break people of that impression. Right? Um, or not.
21 comments:
if two dudes touchin each other is gay....i dont want to be straight.
But dude, they're French AND they live together!
(I realize the Baco videos should have laid the whole 'flatland is gay!' thing to rest a long time ago, but I still thought the photo was pretty funny.)
I am pretty sure Mark Hilson has something to say about all of this.
And while Chad DeGroot may have grown that mountain man beard, he's not fooling anybody.
flatland is even gayer than russ
After years of defending it, I've decided that flatland brings the majority of it's popularity problems on itself. Which would a kid rather look up to and aspire to be, a muscled up badass like Aaron Ross or Van Homan, a fearless vert fighter jock with a gorgeous wife like Simon Tabron or Mat Hoffman, a relaxed hipster with trail style and skill to spare, like Mike Aitken, OR a weird, introverted, broke loner who spends all day alone in the parking lot shunning human company, refuses to participate at most events but complains loudly at the conditions whenever they do, rides a bike with a 28" wheelbase that looks like a girl's bike, spends whatever time he actually is talking complaining about how unfair it is the ramp guys make 10x more money than the flatlanders, and spends his non-riding time looking for parts from a company called Magic Fruits?
Either that or a wannabe Vanilla Ice whiteboy hiphop guy who thinks that flatland is somehow related to breakdancing and calls his riding "art".
Sorry flatland, since Chase G. left the limelight and Penonzek took off the Europe it just hasn't been the same. You did this to yourself. We needed a leader, and instead, you all collectively shrugged your shoulders, looked at the floor, mumbled something, and promptly left to go smoke before heading out to the parking lot before your shift at the tollbooth started. Way to organize.
Terry Adams is the only hope left for flatland in the US.
I'd put Paul Osicka up there as a hope too, but I don't think anyone's seen him since like 2000. So I suppose that negates my point.
Osicka was/is a great rider but he never wanted to be seen ride by anybody. A friend of mine went to visit him once years ago and Paul refused to ride flatland in front of him, he would drop him off at one spot and then drive to another.
Years later he showed up at a contest here and didn't ride at all, just sat around on his bike. My younger brother, who doesn't ride, asked me "so why are all the people impressed with that guy who isn't even doing anything?" And honestly, I couldn't think of a reason. Not exactly what you would describe as promoting the sport well....which is really ALL a pro BMXer does. Promote riding to sell more bikes.
Osicka can do whatever he wants, I'm not criticizing, but one thing he hasn't done is be a pro bike rider, at least in the past 10 years...
where's Andrew Faris?
troy mcmuray use to do the xfator back in the day!
Hey, I see Terry Adams stars on Props 69. Maybe he CAN save flatland by himself.
Terry Adams seems to be the only person in flatland making any money. Dude knows how to market himself.
if you havent watched the new terry adams interview in props do it. i thought it was pretty awesome. he does some pretty sweet flatland lines on street. just something different that i thought was kind of cool.
And while Chad DeGroot may have grown that mountain man beard, he's not fooling anybody.
-best thing i've read in a while.
although i like chad degroot.
Paul osicka is nuts! does anyone remember his standar country part?
the first clip is blindfolded and in his house!
speaking of all this flatland, what about that Akira Okamura part from Soul #53 that's floating around? slammed seats are a cop out.
http://www.vimeo.com/1261966
Osika's part in Standard Country is one of my favorite video parts ever. i love when people show you that you don't need the perfect spot to ride and/or have a good time.
can i kick it!!!! yes, paul osikia, you can.
Terry adams is good and all, but the way he rides is just gross.
Shaky, five minute long links at 2mph with his bars on the ground the whole time is not saving flatland.
For me, there's Paul Osicka, Kevin Jones and Chase, and then there's everybody else. OK, and Brian Tunney.
Whatever happened to Trevor Meyer? I assume he just kept growing and is out somewhere doing time machines (or something) on a 29er with 37" wide bars.
It would help if more BMX videos had flatland sections, but most "regular" BMX companies don't even sponsor flatland riders anymore (or make flatland frames, for that matter).
Would it be a safe bet to say that 90 percent of current video content is street and park? With the remaining 10 percent divided (somewhat unequally) between trails, vert and flat?
I think Edgar and Chase know where Trevor Meyer is...and they aren't talking.
Trevor bought a house in Tulsa or somewhere in flyover country and is probably still doing shows with Woody Itson's crew, shredding the flat bottom of the portable vert ramp at state fairs and amazing the yokels.
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