Category Archives: Flat Snitches

Flat Snitches: Episode 5 / The Crackpacker with Pete Brandt

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YO!!!

Flat Snitches is back!
During the lockdown, plenty of time to kill and come up with ideas. Using Zoom started to become a weekly occurrence in work, and daily life, so why not use it for Flatmattersonline!
The subject of episode 5 features my co-host for Flat Snitches, Pete Brandt and the Crackpacker.
Chad Johnston, of Intrikat fame was the first to document Pete’s riding for us all worldwide, it only made sense to get in contact with Chad and include him in this episode.
Chad drops some amazing historical knowledge, and Aaron Frost joins in the episode too. We had a lot of fun on this call, the line dropped out a few times so apologises for that. You can check the time stamps on the video to skip to the parts you are interested in!

And remember kids, it’s a crackpacker not a wheelchair! Grab a cuppa and get educated.
Big thanks to Pete, Chad and Aaron for this episode!

00:00 Flat Snitches intro.
00:47 Introduction to the show.
1:36 What is a crackpacker.
2:41 When did Pete create the crackpacker.
3:49 Where were you when you created the trick.
4:45 When was the first time anyone saw the crackpacker.
6:01 Chad’s recalling filming the crackpacker for the first time & Reali-TV 1.
6:38 Chad’s fondest memory filming the section with Pete & Eric E.
7:06 Chad recalling how groundbreaking the riding was for time period.
7:30 Aaron talks about the emergence of West Coast riders…
8:44 Effraim ordering Reali-TV via the post.
11:00 Chad capturing the feel of the West Coast.
11:22 When Pete first drop the crackpacker in a contest.
12:00 When did Chad first meet Pete, Chad in leathers..
15:13 When time Chad and Pete saw the Crackpacker being copied.
18:04 Variations on the crackpacker.
19:34 Inventing the crackhanger, europeans calling it a coathanger.
23:06 Why did you call the trick a crackpacker.
24:11 Hayward and San Mateo stories.
26:16 Chad recalls his time in SF filming Reali-TV.
27:01 Chad driving back to SF for one trick.
28:01 Chad learning from Pete’s dedication.
28:31 Variations of the Crackpacker other people have done.
32:51 Is Chad still filming? Security Guard stories.
41:19 Scuff into crackpacker to learn it?
42:18 Outro.

Credits:
Chad Johnston.
Stewart Johnston, Props Video Magazine.
Lee Musselwhite.

Steve Mulder: 1999 X Games / San Francisco

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If you caught our Flat Snitches episode with Steve Mulder earlier in the year, you will recall where I talked about Steve riding flawless, and still not making the cut with bomb move after bomb. Look out for the no handed 360 bike flip at 2:20 and hand job move at 00:57! This week marks 25 years of the X Games, so today’s posts are dedicated to some awesome X games moments I could find.

Flat Snitches: Episode 4 / 360 Bike flip with Steve Mulder

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Intro: Effraim.
Interview: Effraim, Pete Brandt.
Photo/Video credits: Steve Mulder, Chris Rye, Mark Eaton, Rob Dolecki.

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since Episode 3 of Flat Snitches with Tim Treacy discussing the Backyard, so it’s time to get back to it, and take a little break from the regular FM exclusive clips (we return to the exclusive clips on Wednesday)…
Myself and Pete Brandt have been talking about switching over to video for Flat Snitches to document, and show visuals of the trick creations and provide some historical context also. Editors note: Steve is camera shy, so enjoy the video and the written interview…

For episode 4, we go back to the 90’s.
And a 360 bike flip move that begins in a peg wheelie, throw the bike 360 degrees and land in a switch-b, aka switch foot caboose! It’s time to show its creator, Steve Mulder some much deserved respect!

The concept of the bike flip has become trendy as of the last few years, but the 360 version has not. Myself and Pete discuss a few heads that have stepped into the arena, but as we delved a bit deeper, it came to our attention the straight line version is untouched. Mad respect to Steve for this timeless creation!

We catch up with the man himself to discuss this amazing move, and dig into some of the background information on it. Enjoy the episode and interview, it’s time to learn more about this amazing creation and give props to one of the best riders to ever do this artform we call flatland….

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Flat Snitches: Episode 3 / The Backyard

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Intro: Effraim.
Interview: Effraim & Pete Brandt.
Photos: Tim Treacy.

Welcome to Episode 3 of Flat Snitches, an educational resource on the history of trick inventions in flatland. We have a very special guest for our third episode, Ladies and Gentlemen… Tim Treacy from San Francisco! Tim was one of the first pioneers of the scuffing technique in flatland in the 1980’s. San Francisco was a hot bed of creative talent back in the day at Golden Gate Park that are now legendary in flatland circles and via coverage in Freestylin’ inspired riders across the globe.

Have you ever done a backyard? Maybe a two footed rolling backyard in the modern era? Were you ever curious. Where did this trick come from?

Episode 3 focuses on the Backyard, myself and Pete Brandt dig beneath the surface of this trick and interview the man behind this staple move in flatland. It’s time for the interview!

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Flat Snitches: Episode 2 / The Gadget Whip

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What a response, we got from the first episode of FlatSnitches. Myself and Pete are super stoked and humbled by all the feedback. FS is a labour of love dedicated to being an educational resource on the history of trick inventions for flatlanders spanning across all generations of our artform.
What we realised after the first episode is that these are episodes that can be updated as useful information (“art of facts as Pete calls it) comes forward. This wasn’t something we considered when we started FS.
We had numerous riders, for example reach out with further information about Jesse Puente doing the Plasticman after we published the first article. Articles can be updated much like tricks are, you get a refresh every so often and learn more about tricks you love to do on the daily.

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Flat Snitches: Episode 1 / The Plasticman

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Intro.

Welcome to a new section of Flatmattersonline that has been brewing, not unlike the cuppa right next to me right now as I get ready to drop this first episode. After a lot of talk back and forth with Pete Brandt, “Flat Snitches” is born and dedicated to help educate the flatland community on the history of trick inventions and most importantly showing some love to the architects that came up with each trick along the way, not to mention the evolution of each move with other riders putting their twist on it.

Who came up with what trick and when, is sometimes a grey area, but myself and Pete Brandt after all our years of experience are as best placed as anyone to attempt to do this.
We Kick off Episode 1 with the Plasticman, and talk to the trick creator, Jesse Puente about the tricks history and evolution into another move entirely.

When I think about Jesse Puente, his energy springs to my mind. I always recall when he commented “You bust, I bust” back when we both rode for KHE in the late 90’s, his energy was contagious. Always thinking about new tricks and concepts, he made me want to have new tricks every time I would see meet him at contest across the globe. Jesse’s energy brings me to the plastic man and his desire to create something fresh.


Jesse, rolling the OG Plasticman in Shimersville, PA back in 1994. Photo: Sean Parker.

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