Klaus from Wethepeople

The wethepeople team are coming to Vancouver on this Saturday for a tour around the west coast and they're bringing some pretty heavy hitters. I was talking to Klaus Dyba, one of the main guys behind WTP, the other day and decided to send him over a short interview. Check it out!

How did you get involved with WTP?
Wethepeople as a BMX company was born out of a BMX distribution back in 1996 in Cologne, Germany. Before it was just a little local t-shirt brand. At this time I worked for the German BMX magazine "Freedombmx" which I also founded. Besides being an editor for the mag, I did all the graphics for the magazine. After doing some graphics for the distribution I started doing all of the artwork for wethepeople. From then on I got involved more and more into the business side of wethepeople as well. Since 2002 I am one of the owners of wethepeople.

Give us a bit of insight into what you do with WTP.
I think 80% of my daily work is working on graphics. Mostly stickers, websites, logos, packaging and so on. Besides that I run all of our companies with Harry. We decide what we do, who is on the team, what products we should bring out, etc. There is always something to do, on Saturdays I even work in our BMX shop called People's Store. Since I live right above our office and shop, it happens that I don't leave the building for a few days... but I love it!

What's going on at WTP right now, any big news?
We just finished doing all new products for 2010. This is always a lot of work, shooting photos, doing catalogs. For 2010 we have some new frames, forks and a Switch cassette where you can easily change from right to left side drive. Our new bikes came out pretty well, too. We changed our distributor in the USA and now we have to do our first Interbike booth by ourselves. This is a lot of work, since we have to organize everything from Germany. Besides our other brands like éclat, Fuse protection and Salt BMX we are working on a new project, but I can't say anything about it before Interbike!

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
I think they are really important. All the BMX mega events are not 100% what BMX is in real life. I don't think kids start BMX cause they see a double backflip on TV. I think most of all of us came to BMX because we saw some kids riding through the streets and having this smile of freedom and rebellion on their face. Local events like the Re-Session Tour are really important for BMX. The kids can ride together with the pros, hang out with them and realize that they could be at this point someday. It's great that the Re-Session Tour is in so many different towns, I don't think anyone has done it like this before. Think global act local!

Matt Beyers Interview

Photo by Al Shantz

I've known Matt Beyers for quite a few years now, he's a solid individual on and off the bike and arguably one of the best trails riders Canada has to offer. Matt was hooked up with Verde a bit ago and is helping host the trails jam coming up this weekend, so I figured I'd hit him up with an interview.

You were hooked up with Verde a while ago, how psyched were you on that?
More now than ever! I like where BMX is going with Verde.

What are you favourite things about riding and building trails?
Riding I'm stoked to hit a line I know is possible but haven't done, or the same line ridden all day but I haven't done. Building I make my own in team, be a part of and discuss, year after year.

How are the trails looking this year?
Like a dream we've shared as a crew our whole time on bikes. Concrete hard!

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
Sessions keep people off the web long enough to remember what this shit's about.. riding! That and digging a scene.

What are you looking forward to on this trip?
Sharing our trails with people who know their value. Gonna be a rad weekend!

Ryan Barrett from Verde

Ryan Barrett is one of the main guys behind Verde and is one of those riders who is always a treat to watch. I sent Ryan a short interview for the blog, so here it is...

How did you get involved with Verde?
I knew Cory (Muth) and Steve (Buddendeck) for years before they asked me to be a part of Verde. They are both great friends and asked me to help shape Verde from day one. It was a great opportunity for me to work with friends and help build a brand from the ground up.

Give us a bit of insight into what you do with Verde.
Since I am in Portland, and the office/warehouse is in Ohio, my day to day roles are slim compared to those guys. I have always helped out with the team, blog content, organizing trips, and consulting on the product line.

You're no stranger to Canada, what do you think of the BMX scene here?
Man, I love it! Good attitudes and great spots.

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
I am all for tours and jams. It brings people together in their normal riding scenes, not a fabricated course. Plus you just chill, maybe hit up the best place to eat or swim after the session. Overall, it is a more real experience than a structured event.

What are you looking forward to on this trip?
Hanging out with the Ten Pack crew, meeting some new faces, and summertime in the woods! A huge thanks for all the hard work the trail builders have been putting in (for years) to make this happen.

Ryan Mountain from Cap's

My good friend Ryan Mountain is the main man behind the BMX side of Cap's Bicycle Warehouse in Langley, BC. They've already hosted the Kink team and the Verde team are the next to stop by on August 20. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for us, so here's his interview.

How long has Cap's been in business?
Well CAP'S was founded in 1932. Back then you either worked for the man or you were THE MAN!

You run the BMX scene at Cap's, how did that come about?
When I was a a little guy (if you could believe that) I bought my first BMX from the only place you could buy a BMX in the 80's: CAP'S!!!!!! After being here for a bit I have learned a lot of bike history, if it wasn't for CAP'S we would not have cycling in B.C. And just to let you know CAP'S brought BMX to Canada, FOR REAL!

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
I feel that we need to thank Jay and all the guys at Ten Pack for putting on something like this, where kids can go to their local shop and see pros. If you buy from a mail order this would not happen. Would Dan's send pros to you house?

How's the scene in the Langley area these days? Are there more kids shredding lately?
WOW, look out, the kids in Langley shred! The scene is rad, everyone is super cool (they even ride with tall old guys).

What are you most excited for when the Re-session Tour rolls in to town?
Probably the fact that you have a lot of bike kids on small bikes getting rad.

Dawson Creek and Glenn from Griffin Sports

We just got back into Vancouver from the Kelowna area, we had a ton of fun, lots of good pics and stuff from the weekend to come. Dawson Creek was a ton of fun as I've already said, here's a video of some random stuff and the interview with Glenn Mah from Griffin Sports, who, if you ever have the pleasure of meeting him, will make sure you have a blast in Dawson Creek.

How long has Griffin Sports been in business? Give us a bit of history behind both of the stores.
Griffin Sports in Dawson Creek has been in business for 24 years now, there has been good years and some "KD" years, I like the other years better by the way. I started the original shop in 1986, before that I was working as a civil engineer. I did enjoy that career for a while but it got kind of boring and I found myself getting a little stagnant. At that point i sat down and tried to figure out what was important to me, money actually came in around number 8. Enjoying work and life was definitely number one so I quit that job and opened up my shop. I saw an opening in my town that had only a "sports distributor" general sporting goods store, my niche was action sports (no Bocce ball for me).
After about 10 years of operating in Dawson Creek a friend in Fort St. John was retiring his sports store and wanted me to take it over. He knew that I wanted a location up there but would not open until he was gone so I just let him liquidate his general sports store and opened up another action sports store. I did have a third location in Grande Prairie, Alberta for a few years but I was insanely busy with three locations and decided to shut that one down so I could see my kids grow up.

The stop planned with your shop is a last minute addition to the tour, what made you want to get involved and how important do you think events like the Re-session Tour are?
I have always wanted to bring some pro riders up to give the kids up here a show and let them see the opportunities in riding. These riders and the show has got me super stoked and i am sure that the kids will be as well, having the guys up here to show their talents will light a fire in lots of the kids watching them.

How's the scene in Dawson Creek these days? Do you see a lot of riders riding everything or a lot more street or park riders?
What are you most excited for when the Re-session Tour rolls in to town?
What am I most excited for when the tour rolls into town? Probably seeing the excitement in the spectators' eyes and seeing jaws drop at the riders' abilities. And, of course, just hanging out with them as well.

Fun in Edmonton

Today we were in Penticton at the Inferno Jam and it was a blast, more about that later. Our stay in Edmonton was brief but we had a ton of fun. Kendt Fredborg at United Cycle gave us the grand tour of the shop and let us get down in the indoor batting cage. Kendt was also kind enough to fill out an interview, check it out...

How long has United been in business?
Since 1928, that’s over 80 years. It's pretty sweet having moms and dads come in with their kids and drop the line, “I bought my first bike from United Cycle back in 1971”.

What made you want to get into owning/running a shop?
Pumping up little dudes is an awesome feeling. I think we all remember when we bought our first ride. But the best part of running a shop is buying stuff you like but spending someone else’s money.

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
It’s an awesome way to bring a small community of riders together. Seeing riders of all ages and skill levels have a good time is what it’s all about.

How’s the scene in Edmonton these days? Do you see a lot of riders riding everything or a lot more street or park riders?
The scene’s still strong, lots of the old riders are having babies and getting married and they don’t ride their bikes as much as they used to. There is a whole new wave of young riders emerging that just go balls out, it's fun to watch it progress. The parks are decent but the street riding is where it’s at. Grab your bike hit some stuff, have a tasty beverage, hit some more stuff, have a 7-11 hot dog, repeat.

What are you most excited for when the Re-session Tour rolls in to town?
To eat fried chicken and have grape drink with Jams!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken Dowdle from Mission BMX

As I said in the previous post, the first stop of the next leg of the tour is Calgary. We have a pretty solid crew that is going to be riding and hanging out in Cowtown. Our guide and host for the weekend is going to be Ken Dowdle from Mission BMX, a familiar name to a lot of people in the Canadian BMX scene. I sent Ken an interview a bit ago, check it out...

How long have you been with Mission BMX and give us a bit of history behind the shop.
I have been with Mission for a little over 15 years. We started selling BMX out of the basement under the name Big City BMX (which I started because BMX was my first love). After the first year or two we slid it into our existing skateboard and snowboard shop and we have never looked back. We started out really small as guys like Ten Pack were either just getting started or didn’t exist. Now with the support of the Canadian distributors and BMX in general we are able to offer all of the best BMX stuff you could want. Thanks Ten Pack! We have a great BMX team and fun shop rats that go as far as helping out when it gets busy. Mission is the place to be in Calgary if you ride BMX.

How long have you been riding? Give us a bit of a personal history.
I started BMX racing in 1983. I travelled a lot with that and then started hitting up the dirt comps at the races. By about 1990 I stopped racing all together. I just got tired of endless push ups and sit ups (ha, ha, ha). Really I just wanted to ride my bike and not worry about first or last. I really got into street riding and that’s all I wanted to do. Trails are hard to come by in Calgary (especially since they got plowed last year) so street and park rule the days on my bike. I still get a warm fuzzy feeling when I ride a new spot and I guess that’s good. I will keep riding as long as I can still turn the cranks and hold the bars.

What's the Calgary scene like these days (parks, types of riders, numbers, etc)?
The Calgary scene is in my opinion the best! We ride a little, hangout a lot and put on the greatest events (see below). Everyone rides the park a lot because it's there, but we do have some of the best street riding around. Like most cities there are the old dogs, the young punks and a bunch of party animals. Our scene just gets bigger every year and I think we may have too many people when the Re-session Tour rolls through town.

What's the history behind Calgary street jams?
Calgary street jams are awesome! I gotta thank Boicott (Ryan) for all of these events as he usually dreams up these ideas (ask anyone about the stripper street jam). They go like this: Everyone meets somewhere and we see how many show up (10-50). If the group is huge we split up and go session a bunch of places. After a good session we all just gravitate towards one location where everyone is invited to participate in a “liquid picnic,” usually by the river or at an outdoor patio. At this time prizes are given out usually in the form of ridicule or beverage. The awards sometimes last all night but everyone wakes up the next day with a prize. Calgary BMX rules.

What are your plans for everyone when the teams roll in to town?
The plan will be simple. Everyone will meet up at the 17th Ave. shop around 1pm on Saturday and we will follow the above formula (for the younger riders we will do a stop at the skatepark around 2pm so they can have fun watching and riding with the teams). I have a local indoor nighttime picnic area lined up with drink specials (Pilsner tall cans) and no line or cover if you BMX. Street, skatepark, river, and picnics are the best ways to experience Calgary.

Will there be enough cowgirls for everybody?
Are you kidding? They are everywhere. As long as Spicer doesn’t scare them away. Haha.

Chad Levesque from Gene's

Chad is the main man over at Gene's in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and he and the shop are going to be hosting the Kink team when the Re-session Tour blows into town today. I fired him some questions a bit ago, check out what he had to say and check out the Team Gene's website.

How long has Gene's been in business?
We have been busting a move since 1972!!!

What made you want to get into owning/running a shop?
Owning a bike shop kicks ass and you don't have to go to school!

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
Events like this are huge for the BMX scene. I have to give out huge props to the boys at Ten Pack and Kink for lining up such an amazing event for our shop and our local BMX scene. Never thought we would have this level of riding in our small town in north central Saskatchewan. This is going to be off the chains, all of our local riders are so pumped to rip with the Kink team. Most of our locals have taken holidays from work so they don't miss a minute of it. Bring on the bangers!!!

How's the scene in Prince Albert these days? Do you see a lot of riders riding everything or a lot more street or park riders?
Prince Albert has a strong BMX scene. We have some amazing talent in our city. Riders like Mitch Anderson, Nick Kaufold and Dawson Sayese are all top notch bangers. We host bike nights every Wednesday at our local park, we usually see about 30-50 rippers out. The little rippers and our team riders all rip together, we have a really tight crew out here! P.A. has a few street stops to ride but for the most part we ride the park.

What are you most excited for when the Re-session Tour rolls in to town? Everything!!!

Jay from Doug's Spoke 'n' Sport

Doug's Spoke 'n' Sport is the next stop on the tour in Saskatoon and Jay Woytowich from the shop was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

How long has Spoke n Sport been in business?
We have been in business for 23 years.

What made you want to get into owning/running a shop?
Well it just kind of happened. I’ve been here for 15 years, after the first couple I was doing some buying, going to shows and stuff like that. It’s fun to see someone stoked to get out and ride a bike.

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
I think local events are the most important. I’ve done little jams and things since we got our park, we have been the only shop to do so and I feel it’s a great way to say thanks to the locals for their support. The tour is like bringing the Stanley Cup home, I think it’s great.

How's the scene in Saskatoon these days? Do you see a lot of riders riding everything or a lot more street or park riders?
The scene here is getting good. We have a bunch of guys that rip but most important it’s a great vibe, everyone gets along and is out there for the love of it.

What are you most excited for when the Re-session Tour rolls in to town?
For all the locals to see what is possible in our city, some guys have never seen the calibre of riding that is coming through outside of videos so it will help all of us to see things differently. I feel that the Re-session Tour is an amazing idea and can’t thank you guys enough for coming to 'Stoon.

Darcy from Block's Cycles

Next stop on the tour is Regina at Block's Cycles, the guys should be rolling in anytime soon. I asked Darcy a few questions about the shop and the scene in Regina, here's what he had to say...

How long has Blocks been in business?
Block's has been in business since 1978. That's 31 years!

What made you want to get into owning/running a shop?
Always wanted to control my own fate. Could not handle being told what to do by the boss.....except the wife of course..ha! I was a BMXer back in the 80's and Block's was the place to shop then so when the opportunity came up to run a bike shop it was a no-brainer! Since then the race days have left us and the freestyle days are here to stay! Its all good with me!

How important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
I think it's all good especially for the young and upcoming kids, gives them self-esteem and a reason not to sit in front of the X-box with a Coke and a bag of chips!

How's the scene in Regina these days? Do you see a lot of riders riding everything or a lot more street or park riders?
The Regina scene is lacking a bit only because all sport money goes to hockey and soccer in this town. We finally just got our second skate park last year and it took some tooth-pulling to get it. I have a wide range of riders come in to the shop from ages 10-35, most younger riders will do the park and older riders do the street. Our street scene is great with lots of cool stuff to hit up. Block's is the destination for BMX so I get a lot of feedback from the riders and from what I hear it's a great street riding town.

What are you most excited for when the Re-session Tour rolls in to town?
I would have to say my BMX guy in the shop Steve Kowalsky had enough excitement for all of us when he found out the tour was hitting Regina. He rides street and park religously and pretty well pee'd his pants when I elected him Block's host for you guys! I am definitely looking forward to the skatepark jam on Tuesday but personally I'd like to see the pros rip up the streets instead. Hope the weather holds out and the ride is a good one!

Niall from Royal Sports

Royal Sports helped us out a ton last year during the stop in Winnipeg for the Metro Am Qualifier and they're at it again this year helping us host the Re-session Tour with the Kink team. I hit up Niall Mossop, one of the main guys at Royal, and he answered a few quick questions.

How long has Royal been in business?
This is Royal’s 30th year right now. They started out as a hockey shop, but as Greg and Gerald (then owner’s sons) got into BMX racing, Royal got into bikes.

What made you want to get into owning/running a shop?
I just started out wanting to be involved more with BMX. I enjoy building and fixing bikes, so it just seemed to fit. Started as a bike mechanic and worked my way up.

You helped us out a lot last year at one of the Metro Amateur qualifiers, how important do you think events like the Re-session Tour and other local events are to the BMX scene?
Small, grass-roots events do a ton for local scenes. They bring the whole town together, and get kids out to experience more of BMX than what they see every day.

How's the scene in Winnipeg these days? Do you see a lot of riders riding everything or a lot more street or park riders?
Brooklyn said it the other day. The Winnipeg scene is rad because it’s not always about getting sponsored or who can do what. It’s about a bunch of guys just riding bikes. Winnipeg is super chill, everyone’s just out to have fun. We have really good parks, and some amazing street; I’d say most guys ride both.

What are you most excited for when the Re-session Tour rolls in to town?
I’m just stoked to go hang out in the sun and have a good time, the weather for the Metro qualifier sucked last year and we still had a good turnout, it's supposed to be a beautiful day so hopefully everyone comes out for this.

Charles Deschamps from the Taz

I've seen Charles Deschamps around the Eastern scene for quite a few years now. I didn't really get to talk much with him until the Ten Pack Am at Muskoka Woods a few years ago. It was there that I learned that he's a cool guy who shreds on a bike. He's working at the new Taz now so I figured I'd ask him a few questions about the park before we get there with the MacNeil team on Wednesday June 10th. It's amazing that they've been able to build such a big and crazy park. With all they have planned for the future, I'm pretty sure there will be a lot more road trips to Montreal for both Canadian and American riders in the next few years.

Check the video Charles was cool enough to film and edit for the interview.

Charles Deschamps - BMX - TAZ Montreal 2009 from Guillaume Latrompette on Vimeo.

How long has the Taz been in business?
The Taz open 1996 and use to be in downtown Montreal, 55,000 people were riding it in the last year! In 2001, the government was in need of the building so we had to move...We've been working very hard and for very long to finally re-open in March 2009. It was worth the wait. Now Montreal has the biggest indoor park in Canada!

Are all the old Taz people still involved?
Yes it's pretty much the same people who run it and we try to keep it in the same vibe. A safe place to push riding to a new level.

The park looks huge How many square feet is it?
The indoor park is 31,000 feet square, it's perfect to fit in all the best ramps. We have a box jump, street spine, mini spine, bowl, a nice street section, hips and much more stuff!! And it's not ready yet but we do have 75,000 square feet to build some outdoor stuff. I am talking about dirt jump, bike plaza and some surprises!!!

Have any other pro teams been to the park before us?
MacNeil is the first pro team coming to the Taz and everybody has been waiting for it for a long time! Some pros come on a regular basis, we do have a Bike Jam every last Saturday of the month with bike parts for the riders and $100 for the best trick of the night! For the middle of October we are preparing a pretty cool contest, check it out on www.taz.ca

How long have you been riding?
I am 21 and I have been riding for 10 years (1987).

Jeremy Deme is coming on the Re-session Tour

Jeremy Deme, creator of Presence Videos is coming on the MacNeil leg of the Re-session tour, and he’s bringing Greg Flag, (Federal) and Dillon Lloyd, (MacNeil). Jeremy is going to be filming and editing web videos for the Ten Pack site during and after the tour. We’re super stoked to have him on the tour. He’s a bad ass! We’re also super stoked that he’s bringing Greg and Dillon. Should be fun.

How long have you been involved with BMX?
That's a hard one to answer, feels like forever, probably a little over ten years. A few years before the first Metro Jam.

What got you into filming?
I used to always film Eric Trepanier back in the early riding days, I broke my ankle years back and couldn't ride for most of that winter so I just started filming a bunch. From then on I just really got into it.

Name a couple of edits that you are most stoked on.
I'm not a huge fan of web stuff so I'm going to say the Presence DVD we just filmed last year. It was really fun going on a bunch of trips and seeing dudes shred all year. Everyone was really into the project and it was really motivating. This year we're working on a Canada wide DVD, I have a feeling that it will be something I will be really stoked on for years to come.

http://vimeo.com/1604370
http://vimeo.com/4537002
http://vimeo.com/3879525
http://vimeo.com/3823397

Who’s in your crew in Montreal?
The Montreal crew isn't really a crew, but these are the dudes who are usually out shredding the streets on a daily basis: Corey Dewey, Greg Flag, Dill Lloyd, Albert Krolikowski, Mike Cardin, Chats dudes, myself and a bunch of other dudes.

How long have you known Dillon?
I've known Dillon for a few years now, since he was wearing white pants and running Ti spokes.

When’s Dillon going to get a belt?
Probably when his sister gives him one.

Carl from Element 51

Carl from Element 51 has strong roots in BMX as an old school dirt jumper, but he's not one to limit himself. He also spent several years riding mountain bikes on the North Shore of Vancouver before heading back out east and opening his shop. Carl is a rad shop owner. He's been in so many different areas of the bike industry it's hard to believe he's only 34 years old. In the short time his shop has been in business his orders with us have grown substantially. I've been at this game long enough to know that shops don't get that big that fast unless they know what's up and they support the scene.

When I first talked to Carl about doing a Re-session stop in his town we bounced around the idea of doing it at one of the local outdoor spots near the shop (it's always good for the shop owner if the event is close to the shop) but we couldn't find a good enough spot. So he said fuck it and set up a session at the brand new Taz Mahal skatepark in Montreal. It's not too close to the shop but it is one of the best indoor spots in the world so it's going to be super fun.

We're going to be heading to Element 51 at around 4:00 on Wednesday June 10th. Then after a quick dinner we'll be heading into Montreal for the Taz session. Carl also talked to the Taz people about staying open late for a bike only session. It's going to rule.

That's Carl above grinding the break mounts off his bike. Check out his small interview below.

How long has Element 51 been in business?
Element 51 is turning 2 years old in August but the actual shop has been in business for over 25 years.

What’s your background in the bike world and how did you end up owning the shop?
I’ve been around bikes for as long as I can remember, I guess it all started out with changing flats and taking out the trash at Orleans Cycles in Ottawa. I did a couple years as a bike courier in the capital then moved to BC when I was 20. I wrenched for a couple years at The Cyclepath in Vancouver then ended up working at Norco for 8 years, I have to give huge props to my old bosses Dave and JJ, these guys gave me the opportunity to learn everything I know about the bicycle industry. Then the next 12 years went something like this: Ride the most amazing trails BC has to offer, meet a cute French girl along the way, buy a house, settle in, talk about kids and next thing you know I was in a 30 foot U-Haul driving back to Quebec! I kept working for Norco as a sales rep for the next 2 years, that’s how I met the previous owners of Le Centre du Velo in St-Eustache. I had a really good relationship with them and they asked me one day if I knew anybody that was interested in buying their shop. That got me thinking and there I was 6 months later signing papers in the lawyers office with my best friend / brother in law Frank. That’s how Element 51 came to be.

How’s the BMX scene looking in your area these days? Are the riders more park or more street?
There is some serious talent here in St-Eustache. There's no real BMX park in the area so the riders here are more into street. But with Taz not too far now, some of the kids are really stepping it up on the ramps.

I definitely can tell you that we’re stoked, but how stoked are you on renting out the new Taz Mahal when the MacNeil team is in town?
Jay I can't wait! We've been thinking about doing an event like this ever since we opened our shop, but not this big!

Are you a Canadians fan or what?
I don’t think they let you live here if you're not...

Pete From Hogtown

Hogtown Extreme Sports has been around for as long as I can remember. I’ve seen the owner, Pete, on CBC news a few times when they wanted to talk to someone about the history of skateboarding. He pretty much knows it all. In the mid-nineties he started selling bikes. Hogtown’s been one of Canada’s best shops ever since. He's a good guy who's always happy to help out and support us when we're putting on events. He’s going to be supporting the Animal Street Jam on June 6th when they come to Toronto. Check out what he had to say in a little interview.

How long have you been in business?
I started the skateboard/snowboard part in '83 in a roach infested hole. By '87 skating came back huge. Can you say CA-CHING? (sing along) So we loaded up the truck and we moved to Main and Danforth -empty swimmin pools - no movie stars (insert banjo mus-ak now). By '91 skaters sucked but then snowboarding got biiiiiig (play banjo again). By '95 skaters and snowboarders were really taking the fun out of it. Doug Pilkey and the fruit booters were the only ones keeping the dream alive. They were keeping Rampage and then the Vaughn Sports Village open. I knew maybe two skaters still riding tranny. The GT rep came into my shop and said 'hey you should start selling bikes.' WHAT?! Anyway, we did, and it’s worked out really well. Thanks to great support of our suppliers like Ten Pack and MacNeil more kids of all ages are living the dream!

I know it’s been a while but what made you want to start a shop?
I started the shop so as I could get any skatin' er snowboard stuff I wanted fer my ugly self, and to meet women. The women part didn’t work out soos good.

Where did the name Hogtown came from? Does it come from the old nickname of Toronto?
Hogtown, (Toronto) being at one time the biggest pork producers in the world. Dogtown (San-Diego) being the birth place of Tranny.

You were always a huge supporter of the Metro Jam when it was happening. How important do you think events like this are for the BMX scene.
Important, but people are going to keep riding just the same.

You’ve been around this sport for a long time. What are the biggest changes that you’ve seen?
Light bikes, then heavy bikes, then light. Brakeless, it’s all good.

Jose from Joe Mammas

Jose Bray owns one of the coolest bike shops in the country. It's the shop in Ottawa that sells bikes that other shops don't sell, like BMX, cruisers, fixies, etc. His BMX section is always stocked up with the latest goods and he always seems to be organizing some kind of jam or contest. He also knows a thing or two about partying. So what better shop to do our, "You're a Man Now Son" contest with.

We asked Jose a few questions about his shop and the jam that's coming up on June 13th.

What made you want to start a bike shop?
Could not buy what I wanted anywhere. Most shops fit into a stereotype of either road or mountain bike. Everyone seemed to have forgotten about bikes for having fun.

How long have you been in business?
5 years!

Why did you name it Joe Mamma’s? Are you referring to my mamma?
I am talking about Joe Mamma…….Yo, just got my bike from Joe Mamma and she rides great.

How stoked are you to party with some 18 year old American kid on his birthday? Do you think you’re going to enhance his life, or do you think you’re going to ruin it?
It depends on how much fun they are willing to have, and how well they handle their booze! We are known for being a rowdy bunch in Ottawa so he better be prepared to have some fun.

You are in the nation's capitol. Have you ever had a famous politician come into the shop?
Jack Layton has got his flat tire fixed by Joe Mamma!

What are you most psyched about for the Ottawa weekend?
Taking some time to ride my bike with some friends. I hope I remember how to ride.

Ralph Sinisi Interview

Ralph from Animal was cool enough to do a small interview with us. I tried to get a little more info about who's coming to Toronto with him but still nothing. Check out what he has to say.

How many times have you been to Canada?
Probably about 10. Once with my family to Toronto as a kid and a bunch of other times to ride over the past 15 years to either Toronto or Montreal.

Do you have any idea who’s coming with you to the Jam yet?
The whole squad is souped on the jam. I told them they are all invited to make the trip and we have 15 guys on the team, so I am sure we will roll pretty deep no matter what.

How stoked are you to check out the crazy Toronto spots?
I can’t wait. I know it is stocked. I am ready to check everything out. There are a bunch of dudes that kill it up there.

What’s new with Animal?
Animal is crazy right now. All the team is filming for the vid and throwin' down sick stuff everyday, all day. The warehouse is super busy with spring time. The parts guys got a bunch of new stuff in the works that we will be putting out one at a time. A lot of stuff is being tested right now and will soon be in production. We have a bunch of real nice new clothing going on also.

What’s with you guys being down with all the NY rappers? How’d you meet all of them?
We just have been doing what we do and everyone knows how Animal supports hip-hop. The word gets out and the rappers like the way we do stuff, they like the riding and like to wear our clothes. Only real deal hip-hop heads that we want representing us. We listen to their music and love it and get souped to ride from it that much more.

Animal’s had a huge influence on the sport. How does it feel to have such a huge following?
It is great that so many people represent and support the company. It is that much more motivation to keep moving everything that much more forward to all the riders. We want to give them what they want with parts to ride, clothing to wear and riding to watch.