OC CA SI O N
Just riding bikes because been riding bikes since riding bikes was just riding bikes.
Emores Petty, tooth hanger. Denver, Nov. 2018
Contributors
Cover: Ross Albreski, bar. Denver, June 2018. Photo: Zan Bergeron
Photos, words, and art are those of Joshua Lucero unless otherwise noted as one of these fine people below.
This page: Crewed up watching Byron Richson tackle a kinky kinker. Denver, CO. Spring 2018.
Above: Chris Zidek, central Illinois. Photo: Patrick Richert
Clint Zabodyn cut bustin’ in Denver.
Well, it’s been almost a year since the last issue and in typical me fashion I have been dragging my feet on getting issue two out, but here it is! Looks like I landed on a very accurate name when I dubbed this little project The Occasion. I might be worse that the writers of Rick and Morty when it comes to getting shit done. A lot has happened since issue one, both with my views of BMX and BMX in general. Further down this page I’ll touch on that.
As far as this issue goes, I wanted to talk to two opposite spectrums of BMX. With that you’re getting an interview with the boys of the Untrue BMX crew and an interview with Denver BMX mogul Clay Brown. Untrue is full of fresh-face young talent out of Broomfield, CO and Clay is a true BMX veteran who is probably best known for Pusher BMX in both its magazine and shop forms. Hanging out with these guys was a treat, as it should be when you’re out on your bike.
This issue is also chock full of photos from a handful of talented photographers. In the beginning I was pretty set on this zine being scene specific, but after seeing the submissions that came in from photographers from outside of Colorado, I changed my mind and decided I want this zine to be about inclusion.
This brings me back to my current outlook on BMX and BMX’s most recent loss: Ride BMX. To be honest when I first saw Z’s post about Ride on his instagram I immediately thought to myself, “It’s about damn time.” I then proceeded to write two pages on my opinion of the current state that BMX was in before scrapping the entire thing. Really the loss of Ride happened, for me, just about the time their last print issue dropped. Once they were forced to give up the print dream I knew it was going to change the way BMX was covered and represented to the BMX masses and it was only going to further splinter an already fractured culture.
The thing that I most liked about Ride, the sense of true community, disappeared when the magazine stopped. Ride was a place where one could really feel the community that BMX is outside of being at a large BMX event. Ride took all of the best, whether it was riders, creators, companies, or scenes and put them on display on their pages as a testament to the resilience and beauty that is BMX.
No matter if you rode flatland, park, street, dirt, or vert, you could find something for you in the pages of Ride and it was all represented as equal even if it didn’t garner mainstream success with the public. That’s what I loved about all of the big BMX publications. You could pick up a magazine and feel like part of a community that had a unique culture that encouraged freedom of interpretation and expression.
Of course something so lofty and ideal as that doesn’t always rake in the cash that corporate media prefers and you get the current situation we as a community are in. We aren’t profitable enough to attract the support of large media corporations for the mass production and dissemination of our culture. Luckily, as BMX has proved time and time again, we straight up don’t need that shit. Even the dudes at Ride have already broken off to do their own thing under a new name which, last I checked, was gaining followers at an extremely rapid pace (let’s just hope it won’t only be Instagram based and if issues do come out they’re not almost twentydollar-a-pop collector editions. Looking at you DIG).
So when I see that Ride is “gone” I can’t help but not be all that sad because BMX was already on it’s way to moving past the media of yesterday. Ride BMX will always be remembered as a cornerstone of BMX history and a shining example of what BMX media can be, but it’s time to leave it in the past and ride the new wave of BMX media that is slowly taking hold across the community. A resurgence of BMX media driven by an underground push to bring the culture back to the forefront of the conversation. It is already gaining momentum, signaling a brighter future for everyone involved in BMX. For us it’s once again time to adapt or die, and one thing I know to be true is that BMX ain’t dead yet.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this issue or any other independent BMX project. You guys are BMX - JL
Photo: Lucero
UNTRUE UNTRUE
Word of mouth brought me to the boys of Untrue. They were often mentioned during sessions, usually remarking about a crazy Instagram clip they posted. After hearing their name enough times I knew I had to get out to their local stomping grounds in Broomfield, CO and see what all the hype was about. The boys, ranging in age from 17-19, did not disappoint and turned out to be a really good group of dudes that I’d be glad to share a session with any day. I managed to ask them a few questions and tagged along on a couple of street outings to get a feel for the group dynamic. Untrue consists of a larger group of dudes, but the main three interviewed are Joey Hobart, Colin Gilmore, and Jon Harris. Jon’s brother Jeff wasn’t available for the interview but managed to get a few photos in with the crew.
How did you guys become Untrue?
What’s the origin story of the crew?
Joey - It all started with the first dream team challenge, we needed a name, and we were all riding Broomfield skate park almost every day, so we all decided to call ourselves the Broomfield locals. After a few months, we thought that name wasn’t all that great. So we all tried to think of a new name while we were obviously riding the best skate park in Colorado.
As we packing up to leave, Jon started to mention his extremely untrue wheels.
After hearing that we thought the name Untrue BMX would be perfect. And the most powerful gang of BMX riders was created.
(Jon mentions he only has 27 spokes in
his rear wheel currently)
What is it like being a younger crew growing up around a BMX scene like Denver’s?
Joey - Its sick being the younger crew because we can look up to everyone else and try and progress with the denver scene. Specifically the other Broomfield crew, the Fiji Bois. They are always cool with us and always great to ride with.
Jon - I think one of the biggest parts about BMX to me is that it acts as the perfect medium for people of all different ways of life and bring them together in a way that we can share progression and good times. Without BMX I wouldn’t be where I am today and I’m hyped to be part of the scene here. Great things to come hopefully
p Opposite page, clockwise from top: 1. Joey and Colin consult with Jon after a gnarly spill on a big bump-jump 360 crash. 2. Jon, Jeff, and Joey get ready to fish Jon’s bike out of a stream during an all out slaughter on a new spot in Westminster, CO. 3. Jon and the aftermath of a couple of hard slams on an unforgiving setup. Can’t win them all. 4. Jeff Harris is a crankflip master. Here’s the gap version at Winona Ditch. 5. Colin grabbing a tbog hop into a big boy bank at Winona Ditch.
u This page: I threw this idea out there with little faith that it would work, but Colin proved me wrong. He got this hanger to pop up across the bridge after an hour of trying it and getting so close. Not pictured here is the rest of the crew motivating from the sidelines and giving Colin that extra push to get this one done.
Being from a new generation of riders, what do you see as the negatives and positives of current BMX?
Joey - I personally think the only thing I don’t like about BMX right now is criticism. Its a freestyle sport so if you want to walk next to your bike and call that a trick, go for it. I see it as a do whatever the hell you want kind of sport.
Who do you guys look to for inspiration as far as riding goes?
Joey - Obviously a lot of pro riders. Like Garrett Reynolds, obviously everyone looks up to that guy. But locally, it’s the Fiji Bois.
Jon - Yeah, definitely the riders that come around Broomfield that we
see all the time. They definitely help influence what kind of tricks and stuff I’m trying to learn. Especially because I can see it right in front of me. Riding with those guys is a big help.
Colin - Rob Diqua (DiQuattro) was the first person who made me hit the three-flat-three rail. He made me put my pegs on the rail. He was like, you got it dude, and I was like, you sure? And he said, yea for sure. And I was like, ok, and I trusted him. And I did it Joey - Yea, he’s pushed us to do a ton of stuff.
Do you think you guys could take the Fiji Bois in an arm wrestling contest?
Colin - I don’t know, Taylor’s mustache is pretty strong.
Joey - I think most of us are pretty small, they’d probably beat us. {laughs}
Jon - I think they would beat us too. Especially cause I know some of them have been working out. {laughs}
What else do you guys do outside of BMX? I saw you guys snowboard a little as a crew.
Joey - We just recently started doing that. Probably within a month we all went snowboarding for the first time and we’ve just been doing it like crazy lately.
Looks like you guys are already taking it to the roofs. Are roofs kind of a thing for you guys?
Colin - I think so. I think we just like to try to kill ourselves. {laughs} My mom told me not to jump off of roofs. Little did she know… I love jumping off of roofs. It’s fun, it’s just a rush you get from jumping off of roofs. Is there anything you are working on as a crew?
Colin - The main Untrue video. It’s been going on for a good minute. Joey - We’ve just been filming stuff for I think, probably close to three years now. The first two years we weren’t really filming as much as we are now, but we’ve got a lot of stuff now. I want to make a couple DVDs with it. Just to give out to people and then try to post it on YouTube, but I probably won’t be able to though because of music.
Who puts together all the footage?
I’ve seen a few Untrue edits floating around Youtube.
Jon - Joey does most of it.
Joey - Yea, I put most of the videos together. I use Hit Film 4 Express because it’s free. {laughs} A friend of mine pirated Adobe Premier for me, but it doesn’t really work because they did it wrong. So I just stick to Hit Film because I’m used to it.
What’d you guys think about Ride BMX going under?
Jon - I was surprised honestly. I’m actually on Youtube all the time, so it actually pretty exciting to see them still posting shit. I’m glad that some of the dudes that were working with them are still trying to make content. But, it really does suck. The whole situation that they were put in.
Joey - yea, I was really surprised. It sucks.
Did you guys get into the magazines or was it a bit before your time?
Colin - Yea I did in elementary school. They’d have these little magazines in plastic things and I’d open them up and be like, damn that’s fucking nuts! {laughs}
Joey - Right around then(when Ride BMX stopped printing) is when I wanted to get them and they had stopped.
What keeps you guys riding now?
You’re about the age a lot of people put it down.
Colin - The imagination. For me it’s putting stuff together and hooking it all into one line. That’s probably the coolest thing ever. Working on something over and over again and taking it to that new thing and hooking it all in a line is pretty fuckin’ fun.
Joey - We’ve talked about if none of us rode BMX, what we’d be doing. None of us can think of anything because it just seems weird. None of us are really into sports, so we’d just be sitting at home doing nothing.
Jon - Maybe drugs?
If you guys had to pick just one thing from Broomfield skatepark if you were stranded on an island, what would it be?
Joey - I would pick the three-flat-three rail.
Colin - I think I’d pick the sunshine box. It just doesn’t get old. Broomfield never gets old though. {laughs}
Jon - I’d probably pick the smiley for sure
Any future plans for the crew?
Colin - We want to make a shop.
Joey - We have talked about opening a bike shop in Arizona, but I don’t know if that’ll ever happen. Probably
Phoenix. I’ve never been there, but Jon and his brother tell us that there’s no strictly BMX shop there. We are going on our first trip as a crew this summer. Who’s going to be the hardest to deal with on the road?
Joey & Colin - Probably Jon.
Jon - {laughs} Probably me. Definitely me. I can definitely be needy {laughs} and I like to fuck with people.
Colin - He’s just a shit head {laughs}. He’ll just fuck with you a lot.
2. Jon Harris getting a Broomfield
slid five stories up. Somehow security was not called on us. 3. This spot the boys took us too was fun for the whole crew. Joey Hobart flexing a toboggan for the lens of Derek Cano.
4. Hobart did this step-up bar twice and I screwed up the timing twice, but less bad the second time. Thanks for doing it more than you had too Joey!
Photos, clockwise from top left page: 1. Jeff Harris, crank-flip to tire slide. Broomfield, CO.
freshie
p How many 46-year-olds do you know still out there shredding doubles? Clay twisting one up out at Barnum Bike Park in January. Denver, CO.
PUSHER PUSHER MAN MAN
Clay is no stranger to digging either. Always helping out where he can. q
A conversation with Pusher BMX owner Clay Brown
When I moved to Denver in 2015, Clay Brown was one of the first BMXers I met. You know, because Pusher BMX shop is a must stop destination if you’re in Denver. Right off the bat Clay was friendly and helpful, which, if you’ve ever been to a regular old bike shop, is not common. From there I learned about Clay through the grapevine, slowly learning how integral he is to the Colorado BMX scene and how he has impacted BMX as a whole throughout the years. Fast forward to last November, I was putting together the outline for this issue and I decided to hit up Clay because I had wanted to interview with him since issue one. It took a few tries to get a solid day for an interview (Clay is a busy man, and me, I’m a lazy man) we eventually made it happen and we got to discuss BMX for more than an hour. A lot of the interview was conversational and the topics frequently lent themselves to long tangents (some of which were trimmed for space) that were intriguing in their own right. Clay is quiet and reserved when talking about BMX, but you can tell he’s sitting on a wealth of knowledge and wisdom he has acquired over years and years of being deeply involved in the BMX community. Having been a contest judge, a shop owner, a magazine publisher, and now a mailorder partner, he has seen BMX from almost every angle. Denver is lucky to have a guy like Clay giving back to the scene. I’d argue BMX is lucky it has people like Clay sticking around and making the effort to keep BMX alive.
I’ve seen through the ol’ social media that you’ve been judging contests a lot. What’s that like? How does one become a bmx judge?
Yeah, I’ve been judging forever. I think the first.. well I did contests here for years at the Bladium. We did like five or six comps every year, like a series. And then Triple Crown came here. What year was that? I wanna say mid 2000s maybe, 2005. Somewhere around there. Triple Crown came and I rode it the first year. Then, the second year they came Dennis McCoy ran them and he was looking for a judge in Denver so he didn’t have to pay for flights. {laughs} So Jay Eggleston recommended me and they hired me for that Triple Crown and then that summer I started getting a lot of gigs from Dennis. The Gravity Games and then it led into all the Dew Tours and more Triple Crowns and all that kind of stuff. Do you like (judging) a lot?
Dude it’s so fun. It’s really hard. It’s weird. So, like I didn’t really ride in the X-Games and stuff, but I went to a lot of contests and competed. I never really had that X-Games clout, but everybody respected me. After doing Dew Tours every year, Mark Losey quit to run the Nike program and that’s how I got into X-Games judging. Losey recommended me. So it’s just like one after another, you know. Apparently I did a good job so they kept me around.
How do you judge something like BMX?
We all have like a setup. We have a base of scores that we go off of, but at the end of the day it’s just overall impressions. It’s not like I’m the guy judging height and the this is the guy judging tricks and this the guy judging speed or flow. It’s a collective thing and we each have our own opinion. Do you have a best and worst BMX contest announcer?
Well, I like them all. They’re all pretty funny. My favorite is (Steve) Crandall by far. Darryl (Nau) is good at what he does. Catfish is crazy. I judged a lot of Dew Tours with Catfish and he’s good, but he’ll kind of throw the judges under the bus every now and then. He kind of shows favoritism to certain riders. Like he’ll hype a crowd up over a certain person, which kind of puts us in a bad spot because if we don’t give the score that the crowd was expecting because of the hype they boo you and shit like that. That was somewhat his fault a lot of times {laughs}. Bad ones, I don’t even think theres really too many out there. Even the TV guys are good. Scotty kills it.
Speaking of judging, you’ve seen your share of changes in BMX, but what’s your take on BMX in the olympics?
We just talk shit about it because it’s so corporate; it’s so many rules. Even Dennis Ennarson said it feels like going to a national. Everybody’s all countried up and chasing points, you know. So many rules {exasperated}. It’s good for a lot of things because of its trickle down effect. Like Rob Darden is the coach for China. Van Homan is the coach for Japan. Nyquist is the coach for America. Everybody is getting these cool jobs and things coming from it. Even us (Pusher) might benefit from it because China needs bike parts for their entire team. For that it’s cool. It brings exposure to the sport. It’s got goods and bads. Obviously people are going to bring up the bad points super easy; like we sold out or this or that. It’s a super cynical sport. {laughs} But, yea. There’s only eight spots, nine spots at the most I think and there’s a couple hundred people that think they can do it. We’ll see what happens. But, I mean even the best dude in the world is not guaranteed to be on there because it’s all about points for 2019 and if you don’t perform or you break a leg youre done. So if you throw all your eggs in one basket with this Olympic thing you might be a little bit devastated in the end. Who knows who’s going to make it and who’s going to actually win it. If there’s only nine guys and one’s from each country kind of point thing, that doesn’t mean you’re going to have nine best dudes in the world. I’m cool with it.
You see BMX from not only the perspective of a rider, but as a shop owner and a professional contest judge. What, in your opinion, is currently good for bmx and what do you think is bad for it?
I think for BMX… I think we’re growing. Some people say we’re not around the country. I guess it just depends on where you’re at. I think the good things with it is there’s a lot happening as far as these pump tracks and all this suff that people are building around the country. That just gets the whole family involved in BMX. So I think that’s fucking awesome because then you’re selling more stuff and the industry is growing and you’re putting more money back into the industry. I look at it like skiing where the entire family buys stuff. In BMX for years it was just the son. My son wants a bike, and that was it. And then they didn’t even want you to have that probably. So now it’s changing to where they see an ends to it. They see Olympics. They see racing and all this stuff being big. They actually feel like it’s worth it now. So that part’s really good. The bad part is... We don’t have our shit together, BMX is fucking all over the place. Like we can’t even have a contest schedule for the year so we don’t overlap contests. Simple things like that. We don’t have a real organization.
pKeeping the local kids bikes running smooth. Another day living the BMX dream with Clay.
Well, we do, but nobody really takes it seriously. A lot of us don’t have each other’s backs. Let’s say one guy gets offered ninety grand to ride the Nitro Circus and then another kid comes along and is like “oh I got double backflips, I’ll do it for forty grand a year.” You know what I mean. We do have that shit and it sucks. It means you’re kidding yourself. You’re shorting yourself. You’re not getting paid what you’re worth and you’re cheapening everyone else. That guy is going to be super pissed at you, they’re never gonna be boys again. There’s a lot of that kind of shit. That goes back to having an organization that says hey, if you hire one guy for Nitro Circus at ninety grand, you hire them all at ninety grand or you don’t get any. And that’s just the way it is. Skaters do it all the time. Like they were gonna pull vert from X-Games one year, all the skaters said well we just won’t enter any contests; any of the disciplines. All skaters will pull out. The X-Games had no choice but to fucking keep it in. So when they do shit like that you have more of a chance of winning, where us, we’re just like “oh cool yea, that kid said he’ll do it for forty. Don’t say anything, hire him.” That’s bullshit. We just need to get our shit together, be more on the ball as far as an organization is concerned. Other than that I love BMX. Trends come and go.
On the subject of bad for BMX, what do you think are some of BMX’s best and worst trends?
Best trends are geometry. Geometry bikes right now is where it’s at. Those are the best trends. I could do without some of the super short rear ends, like these bikes are getting really, really little and tiny. But it’s cool for tricks and shit. It makes it a lot easier. Freecoaster, I don’t think it’s a trend anymore. I think it’s here to stay. It’s just part of the game now, everybody is going to run both. Seems like people aren’t getting too crazy now with the fashion anymore, which is nice so we’re not like just copying some band you know. It’s exactly what we did; it wasn’t anything we came up with on our own. I don’t like the one aspect trend either. Like, “oh, I’m only a street rider so I can’t go ride with you guys today because you’re going over there.” Or, “oh I’m just a vert rider.” That shit sucks. Dude you’re just blowing it because BMX is fun everywhere you go and whatever you do, so you might as well at least just dabble in it. At least that when you go at least you’re having fun instead of just sitting on the sidelines. When I grew up that is what you were; you were a freestyler and you rode everything and that’s what makes you a well rounded rider. Do you have any you’re guilty of?
Oh I’m sure, let me think here. Well, I got my hair cut just like Ron Wilkerson when I was fourteen. {laughs}
Which haircut was he sporting at the time?
He got the new one. It was like the short
spiky one and he had glasses on in the ad. I even took the ad to the lady and was like, will you cut my hair like this {laughs}. Fuckin’ did not turn out well. I pretty much wore a hat all summer. I also had like the full mag bike in the day. Yea I had all the normal shit, I just copied everything I saw. I’m sure I was trendy. I was guilty of the one aspect thing too. All I wanted to do for a really long time was dirt jump. I just did that for years and started talking shit if someone would go to the new parks. As soon as all the parks started popping up, those kids never came back to the V ever. I was watching the Props Colorado scene report and saw an old Pusher Magazine ad pop up. Pretty fuckin wild I’d say. What happened with the old Pusher mag? I heard some rumblings on Facebook that you’ve thought about starting it up again. What do you think a Pusher BMX Magazine would look like in the current era? What happened to it was just magazines died. Nobody bought advertising anymore. We lost money on every issue. We never made money. We got checks, but we never made money. Usually have to dip into your own money just to finish it up, but people liked it so we did it and just continued to do it. I enjoyed it. But that’s pretty much what happened and the ads dried up and I just kind of lost motivation after that. Everybody started switching over to internet and I just wasn’t feeling that. I didn’t like the content. I didn’t like the end result. I didn’t feel too satisfied with anything. I was like, meh this is just easy. It (Pusher Mag) had a good run, like twelve years, thirteen years. We did like twenty-one issues. If I did one now the way I did it back then, I probably wouldn’t have any more friends {laughs}. It just seemed like you could talk more shit back then and people didn’t get butt hurt and cry and whine. Today if I did a Pusher Mag we would probably make fun of NoWear and we would probably make fun of certain people in town. That’s all it is, just making fun of shit. It’s not that we hate you. It’s just how we grew up. We’d rip on each other hard growing up and I just thought that that was how people still do it. And they do, they just do it in a little different way. When we all lived in the Jackson house it was ruthless. I mean nobody was safe. I told some of the kids on the the team that too, you guys wouldn’t last a day at the Jackson house. They’re so used to these perfect little lives and there everything was just disrupted. If I did a mag these days I’d have to do it a little bit different which I would have to compromise what I want. That’s why I don’t do it. But, I’ve thought about doing a book of all the old issues. Old ads, a few old interviews, some new interviews and stuff like that. It really did do a lot for me, the magazine. It opened up so many doors as far as BMX for me. It was really fun man. I miss it.
Keeping it Pusher approved behind the shop counter.
*Pusher BMX shop jam 2014.
*Mean funky chicken at the Nike HB contest, 2011.
*Post KO at Woodward West and hanging with a few legends, 2011.
*A small selection of more than 12-years of Pusher Biker Magazine.
For a BMXer, you’ve been in the game for a long time. Enough time to essentially grow up with BMX. How has your outlook on bmx changed over the years from the time you started pedaling until now?
I was actually thinking about this just the other day. Dude, I’m forty-six and I ride with kids like half my age all the time and for me now it’s like when I was a kid almost. When I first started riding, those first couple of years, it was just me and all my shit. I could go ride in a parking lot by myself and learn things and I was getting in trouble because that was all I was doing. I was supposed to be doing this and that, and that (BMX) is all I wanted to do. Now it’s kind of the same thing. I’m forty-six, I’m not supposed to be riding, I’m not supposed to be hurting myself, blah, blah, blah. All of that stuff. So it’s kind of the same thing, like fuck you I’m going to keep doing this type shit. I like that part of it cause I feel like it’s back to me and I can control everything. For a long time there it was like it just felt like you had to ride. It just felt like you had to be at the session and you had to be there or you felt like you were missing out or whatever. Now I don’t feel like that. If there’s something BMX related in town and it’s not even my thing, like a flatland contest, I still want to go to the flatland contest and check out the dudes riding. Those are the important things to keep yourself stoked on BMX. Nowadays it’s just super fun, I can just come and go as I want. What are your thoughts on the demise of the print magazine in BMX? Do you think BMX has suffered from the lack of tangible, widely available media or has it benefitted from the constant content machine that is the internet?
It’s a bummer man, This new generation is just so ADD. It just comes down to that. These kids don’t read, they don’t flick pages; they swipe. It’s just a whole different world and if you want to market to these people you have to change a little bit. The print part is a bummer, but it’s really cool when someone comes out with something because you want it. It’s not like, oh I missed last month’s Ride, big deal. You know what I mean? Now, like when the (Rob) Dolecki book comes out you want it. If you’re into print, you want it. There’s a lot of people doing zines now. Every time I get one in the mail I’m stoked. I know exactly how hard it was and what they went through to do it. But, it (print BMX media) will be back. Everything comes back.
Do you think it will come back in the form that we knew it?
I think, if someone’s smart with it, it will be free. Like they kinda have been. Then you can just make a big mag with a ton of advertising and give the magazine away. If you sell 25,000
copies at five bucks, whatever, but if you get advertising to cover those costs then you don’t have to sell it and of course the kids are going to want it because it’s free. If it’s sitting right here for free, they’re going to take it. That’s probably the best way to get people back into print, I hope.
The shop team is full of riders with that know how to shred as well as they know how to party. What’s it like being on the road with these guys and living the BMX dream?
It’s super fun. It’s actually kept my riding stoked after all these years. I’d just be at the dirt jumps every day if it wasn’t for them. They get me out street riding and parks and all that shit. I’m lucky to have them all. It’s really rejuvenated me as far as wanting to jump down a handrail and stuff like that.
If you hadn’t gotten into BMX, what do you think you would be doing now?
{laughs} When I was a kid I was fucked. I’d be in jail {laughs}. No doubt about it. I even went there as a BMXer, but just over night type shit. I came from a super small town. Most everybody I know either stayed in town and still works there or they’re done. I’d be in a lot of trouble. I wasn’t good at school. I quit school. I would have played sports if I could have. I was really good at wrestling and really good at boxing. I did that stuff forever. So I’d probably maybe have done something like that. It’s either jail, or boxing, or wrestling {laughs}. Always something that has to do with attitude.
The shop has come a long way since you started it up back in 2010. Now that you’ve expanded the shop space and branched into a mail order, what’s next for Pusher?
We have plans. We want to buy our own building. That’s the next move. Save up and hopefully this keeps growing like it is and we can get into a building and we don’t have to worry about landlords and shit like that. We can just take that next step and have, maybe, ramps and stuff like that. Then just keep going with the mailorder. The guys are just busy. Rob (Darden) is in China and Dennis (Enarson) has a crazy hectic schedule this year and Seth (Klinger) is a family man.
Favorite trick to watch vs favorite trick to do?
Favorite trick to see done is a Proper no handed three. I remember Mirra having those on lock for all those years and nobody could touch it, it was so beautiful. Any three really. A big three over a double is so beautiful. My favorite trick to do will always be a no footed can. It’s just a classic BMX trick. It’s still a trick but it’s not too crazy and it’s not too weak. It’s just a nice medium, classic BMX trick. Can’t go wrong with a good wall ride too.
*Clay laying down his favorite trick at the V back in 2007-ish.
Photo: Billy Graham
*Photos grabbed from Clay’s social media
Bag Check
What better way to showcase the work that goes into media production than taking a dive through your homies camera bag? The goal is to provide insight into the processes and approaches of those out there making DVDs, websites, zines, etc. Starting with my personal camera bag, this feature will look at the gear people are using to produce a variety of BMX media.
This beast of a bag (about 38lbs sans lightstand) is what you’ll likely see me riding around with during sessions. It’s a 6-yearold Incase camera bag that is in dire need of replacement, but it has served it’s purpose well. Somehow it’s still kickin and holds most of my gear. Shit isn’t comfortable though and at this point most of the foam padding is crushed.
My camera body is a seven-year-old Canon 5D MKIII (A.). Still a workhorse though, coming in with a 22.3 megapixel fullframe sensor and a burst of 6 frames-per-second. Not the best but it gets the job done if you know what you’re doing. Flash sync speed sucks though at a very slow 1/200.
Sometimes I can push it a bit faster, depending where the subject is in the frame thanks to a set of Pocket Wizard Plus IIIs (B.) The only complaint I have about Pocket Wizards is the price.
When it comes to lenses I have a very practical, from a photojournalist standpoint, set of focal lengths. The Sigma 15mm 2.8 fisheye (C.) is the only exception. Wonderful colors and sharpness from it. Also sporting the Sigma 50mm 1.4 (D.) for those shallow depth of field shots/low light. My main lens is the legendary Canon 24-70mm 2.8L (E.) that I got second hand at a good price. This lens is almost always on my camera because of the variety of focal lengths it offers and the large 2.8 aperture throughout the entire range. Now for the big hoss; the Canon 70-200mm 2.8L (F.) This versatile lens makes it easy to cover events where you have to stay out of the middle of the action (I.E. jams, contests, etc.) Again, a 2.8 aperture throughout the range makes this lens very fast (big aperture = more light = faster shutter speed = freezing action) and good in low light, especially coupled with a camera like the 5D MKIII that has a wide ISO range with low noise. Sometimes a wide aperture isn’t enough when it starts getting dark out, that’s where my Canon 580 EX (G.) strobes come into play. Yea these flashes are old as balls (I bought them shortly after I got out of highschool in 2006) but they still work when I need them to. Without hypersync these flashes can’t compete with midday sun, but cloudy days and sunset is when these things shine. I usually mount them up on a couple of 8ft lightstands (not pictured) that completely changed
my lighting game (thanks to Scott Marceau and the early
critiques).
The strap I use is a Rapid strap (H.) Essentially it’s a sling that connects at one point to the bottom of the camera. This is a great strap for shooting sports and events, but BMX not so much. Too much camera dangle makes it very hard to pedal with.
Shoved wherever it will fit in my bag is my Canon AE-1 35mm camera (I.) I don’t have the cash to be shooting a bunch of cool film stuff with medium formats and shit, but I still love shooting with film. The AE-1 provides me everything I need to get my film fix. With this body I use the Canon 50mm 1.4 lens pictured on it, a Tokina 135mm 2.8 (J.), and a Vivitar 28mm 2.8 (K.)
I recently began incorporating a Magic Arm (L.) into my kit. It’s always a great backup for a lightstand in a pinch. Attach it to anything with the super clamp (not pictured) and then you can maneuver the arm around how you like and set a flash on the other end. Great piece of equipment I used to use for a backboard camera when shooting basketball.
Last but not least is a couple of pieces of wax (M.) because you never know what spot is going to need wax while out trying to get a photo and none of your boys brought any with.
Pushitastop
G.
I.
S T I L L THRILLS
WE’REALL SCREWED
Mario Carrasco. Denver, CO. Photo: Scott Marceau
Are people doing 1-handed icepicks again?
I don’t know, but Dev is out here doin’ them nice. Even at the trails! Devin Burks, Winter 2019. Denver, CO
THRILLS
Don’t you hate when your friends call something out and don’t do it so you have to do it instead. Welcome to Duke’s life when he’s with me. I had big plans of doing this bump-gap to curve wall, but upon arriving I thought I had better leave it to the professionals. Duke came in and sent himself around the wall after only a few trys and I managed to get the whole thing on film (errr, CF card?) Duke Dustman. Amarillo, TX. March 2018.
It took a few weeks to get back to this spot for a photo after Paul and I found it. When our schedules finally lined up to shoot, we arrived and found a van had been parked one space away, pretty much ruling out the shot I had wanted. Not to be deterred though, I got out the trusty fisheye and went to work figuring out a new approach. The rest was in the bag, Paul handled it a few times to get the right shot and we came away with the one you see here. Paul Smith, edger. Denver, CO. June 2018.
p Mike Vitatoe. Cincinnati, OH. Photo: Dylan Alvarado. “We cruised a decent portion of Cincinnati. That was probably the last spot we rode with dark rain clouds heading our way. We probably rode it for about 10 min and got a few shots before rushing back across town to our cars.” - Dylan
q Perrier. Cincinnati, OH. Photo: Dylan Alvarado.
I can’t pass up a classic. I saw Tbonds throwing these one handed tables in an instagram clip and knew I had to get a shot of it. When the day came to shoot it, all the boys were out and had put in a full day of riding before we rolled up to this janky concrete setup. Luckily for me Taylor can pretty much do these in his sleep, which worked out well for him since it was practically dark out by the time we got this photo. Taylor Bonds. Winter 2019, Longmont, CO
If there’s a gap, Ken Joe is going to send himself across it. Ken Joe Robinson, Grindwheel Ditch jam, Westminster, CO. Fall 2018. Photo: Preston Solis
I’ve only met Jakob a handful of times. Each time he’s pretty quiet, but he always does something sick at each spot. As evidence, I submit this photo of Jakob casually tossing this crankflip gap.
I showed up, smoked a blunt with Preston Solis, and then he proceeded to haul ass at this set up. High speed ledge ride to pegs right by the Broncos stomping grounds. Denver, CO. January 2019.
t Byron Richson gets some extra bump-jump pop for this bar in Denver, CO. Summer 2018.
t “We quite often congregate at this over hang in Ann Arbor due to the fact the shop here has a air machine Available for use 24/7. Of all the years coming here to fix someones flat (Usually mine) I’ve yet to see someone even try and touch tires to these walls, but Kyle has a unique eye for wall rides and fired this out pretty quickly despite the odd run up & run out.”Blake
t A little coaxing from the boys was all it took for Clint “Magwheelguy” Zabodyn to lock down this 7-stair wall ride. Denver, CO. Summer 2018.
Kyle Dalton. Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Photo: Blake Yardigan
What a damn day. First off, (top) Tyler Rembold put in work getting this feeble smith and ended up pulling it twice. Even after a harsh couple of body slams (middle). I’d say having a solid crew out was a highly motivating factor. Anytime you get a couple of dudes like Rob and Dut at the same session it’s bound to be a good time. (Bottom) Rob DiQuattro and Dustin Arp, tandem jump rope champions in the making. Summer 2018, Denver, CO S T I L L
Alex Duleba. Chicago, IL. Photo: Patrick Richert. “After Duleba nearly hit every other hubba that Hamburger University has to offer, he finished off the day with a back pedal grind on an overgrown chunky curved fella.” - Patrick
Ben Linschoten, invert to fakie. Denver, CO. Early 2019. Photo: Tyler Rembold
Rob DiQuattro christening a new rail with a locked in icepick. Winter 2018, Denver, CO
This is one of those things that’s in my neighborhood that I never saw as a spot. Literally, I have passed it by without as much as a second glance. But, you get a guy like Derek with the key and the spot gets unlocked. Derek Cano, bump gap to pegs, Denver, CO.
S T I L L T H R I L L S
Ryan Pipkin. Denver, CO.
Photo: Scott Marceau
Summer 2018
Bangers & Mash Bangers & Mash Bangers & Mash Bangers & Mash Bangers & Mash
Solis
Solis
A mix and mash of photos from a few of Denver’s 2018 BMX jams put on by Emores Petty, the guys at Grindwheel and Pusher BMX, and ABQDNV. Pictures shot by myself and Preston Solis. In here you’ll find Emores Petty, Devin Burks, Shane VanVeldhuizen, Tammy McCarley, Habo, Scotty Cyphers, Ken Joe Robinson, Jack Jolley, Tuan Duong, Mario Carrasco, Adrian Vigil, Preston Levi Solis, Jeffrey Gilbert, Micah Lee, Sean Hanni, Jason Miles, Jon Harris, Josh Dunn, Dan Nielsen, and Zane K.
Solis
Solis
Bangers & Mash Bangers & Mash Bangers & Mash Bangers & Mash
Here’s small collection of photos from the past year out enjoying my time on two wheels. If 2018 riding had a theme it would have been Backwoods blunts. Couldn’t have a session without one. Thanks for the good times boys!
In these you’ll see Clint Z, Dustin arp, Byron Richson, Rob D, Zim, Ben L, Cramer, Tbonds, Ross, Tyler Rembold, Paul Smith, an angry dog, and some street trash. All from the greater Denver area.
OC CA SI O N OC CA SI O N OC CA SI O N
Founded January 2018
Guy who puts it together: Joshua Lucero
Copy Editors: Joshua Lucero, Elizabeth Carpio Printing: Nicholas Schum
Contribute to The Occasion
Send 300dpi images, stories, art, or writing to luceroj87@gmail.com
The Occasion will only publish content that has not been published elsewhere previously. This means instagram and your blog, dawg. Save that shit.
For ad inquiries please email Joshua at luceroj87@gmail.com
I love BMX and would very much like to continue contributing to it in this small way. Anything that helps toward that goal is greatly appreciated, whether it’s buying ad space, content contributions, or letting me sell the zine at your spot. Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy or helped along the way.
“I got my hair cut just like Ron Wilkerson when I was fourteen.” - Clay Brown 1st Printing OF
Later! Derek Cano, summer 2018. Denver, CO
