Throwback Thursdays: Ciaran Perry Interview

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Lots of people messaging me about Ciaran Perry’s riding, and I dug back to my interview with him from 2009, his riding to this day is still relevant. Enjoy this one if you missed it the first time from the FM blogspot days….


intro/interview: EC

Ciaran Perry is the first of the ‘isolated’ interviews for my blog, it’s great that in a country as small as ours, there’s still amazing riders that I haven’t ever met yet. Throughout the UK and no doubt every other country in the world, there are pockets of riders or individual riders that help push the artform forward at their own speed, not inspired by trends, but their own personal aspirations.
Ciaran’s 23 years old, and lives in the South west of England, in Taunton. Not too far from where the NASS event happens.
No doubt many of you have seen Ciaran’s videos on global flat, Vimeo, you tube, if you haven’t theres a few videos within this two part interview, an awesome rider, with a real creative flair. Read on.

Your quite far removed from the rest of the UK flat scene, how did you get into riding? I’m always interested how riders get exposed to flat?
Well I used to skate for 3 years + before flat and was first exposed to flat at I believe the first ever NASS. Phil Dolan was doing a show with GT, I remember being massively intrigued by what was going on, it just looked so different and so fresh. I think even then I percieved it as being super creative and pretty much limitless ironically as a skater I was full into flatland skating but without the influence. I never knew who Rodney Mullen was or even saw flatland skating till pretty much after I had finished with it, it was just my natural style, so it was transitional to move to flatland. It was the perfect sport, my love for bikes and the creativity I enjoyed in skating all came to one with flatland. So yeah, Phil Dolan and the first issue of Ride (UK) I ever owned, which again had a Phil Dolan interview and Jimmy (Petitet) and Alex (Jumelin) interview in were my first exposures to flatland.

That shows the importance of flatland being in the magazines really, and also flatland in contests, that also really proves worthwhile when something I was involved in inspired somebody to get into flatland. Now your into flatland and fully involved, I guess you don’t miss the magazine coverage and everything has moved online pretty much? What’s your standpoint on lack of flatland in the magazines?
I can’t really say I was ever much of a magazine buyer anyway, they were more like if I happen to be going past smiths I’ll have a look to see if there’s anything worth purchasing, so for me whether flatland is in magazines or not is no direct concern, but now we are all online I think it’s positive for a number of reasons.
Firstly its easier to reach a broader audience online which is clearly a big thing, its also free online to both access and create so the concerns of covering costs aren’t so great, but also outside of that, the internet is fast and everyone now is contributing like a family, if some jam comes down you can guarantee someone was there and will be reporting it online within a day and then it will be talked about and to be honest the only negative I can ever see is the lack of quality in online videos compared to professional DVD work from Bobby and Chad, etc, but I think slowly that’s improving also.
At the end of the day flatlanders aren’t film makers so they just want to see the riding, which is a shame because the art of film making and presentation is important to. The end of magazines isn’t a negative though, it’s merely a focus shift to a more accessible online format, it’s basically made the most underground riders able to show off their stuff if they want to.

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Akihiko Takahashi: The Flatmattersonline 2022 Year End Awards Interview

Intro/Interview: Effraim.
Photos: York Uno.

It is time to catch up with winner of both Editorial and Reader Choice Must Watch edit of 2022, Akihiko Takahashi. Akihiko is a name you don’t hear much about, but when see or hear of a clip or part online from him you know it’s going to be serious. I wanted to pick his brain about his attitude towards riding, filming video parts, instagram vs parts, and so on. This is a good one, whilst you’re at it. Go and watch his amazing edit once again!

Congratulations Akihiko, you had a clean swoop winning both editorial and reader choice for “Must watch edit of the year”! How do you feel about winning the FM awards?
I was surprised, because my style is not what every rider likes. I am very honored.
Thank you so much to everyone who voted.

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Aude Cassagne: The Flatmattersonline 2022 Female Rider of the Year Interview

Interview: Effraim.
Photos: Aude/Stephane Bar.

What an impact Aude Cassagne made on flatland in the latter part of last year, it really is mind blowing to think she rocked up at the UCI World Championships in Abu Dhabi essentially cold on the contest scene, and the same week was announced onto arguably the best team in flatland, Heresy with an amazing edit (and she’s already dropped a fresh edit this year!). I wanted to know more after, Aude was voted Female Rider of the Year. Read on…

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Scott O’Brien talks about the up & coming Red Bull Circle of Balance 2022

Interview: Effraim.
Photos: Voodoo Jam Photo Files.

With the return of the Red Bull Circle of Balance less than two weeks away, it’s time to catch up with Scott O’Brien who is MC’ing the 20th anniversary in New Orleans. I dubbed the COB the Super Bowl of flatland a while back and this is huge for flatland it’s back. It’s time to get into it with Scott and discuss this amazing event. Have you got your ticket?

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Hang 5 Podcast: Episode 26 / Travis Collier

Episode 26 of the Hang 5 Podcast just dropped with Travis Collier, over to Francois Debroux and TC!

“For this episode, we travel to New York state where Vancouver native Travis Collier is now residing. Growing up in the Vancouver Flatland scene of the late 90’s, Travis went to make a big impact on the flatland world with his unique style. One of the, if not the first one to use the pumping technique during combos. A very creative mind, he also designed some flatland products still in use today. After a successful pro career, he went on to found a design agency. That eventually led him to relocate to New York and work with some famous liquor brands.
Here is his story.”

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1164767/11200640

Mark Noble: Ride On Interview

Ride On talks to Mark Noble.mp4 from Neil Waddington on Vimeo.

This is one of those moments where I say grab a cuppa, set yourself an hour free to chill out on your couch, and tune into the Mark Noble Ride On Interview. Mark is the man behind Ride UK BMX Magazine and much more, and the man that encouraged me to start Flatmattersonline. Mark was also a flatland world champion. This is essential viewing, top work Waddy!

The Yoshihiro Shinde Flatmattersonline Interview

Intro/Interview: Yasuyuki Takeo.
Photography: Riku Shinde.

In the late ’90s, top Japanese flatland riders emerged from nowhere and started competing in the X-Games hosted by ESPN, the most prominent sports channel in the US.

By the early ’00s, it wasn’t surprising that Japanese riders were on the podium of international contests. The Japanese scene attracted riders’ attention worldwide, and they invented new techniques and trends one after another.

Yoshihiro Shinde has been one of the top riders in Japan for a long time. He continues to pursue Flatland while working as a product designer for an enterprise company on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

He is in his forties and does not ride BMX for a living. However, when he said he wanted to master BMX, his words somehow resonated with me. Even though I had left the BMX scene, I wanted to know what the word meant.

While many riders stick with only certain tricks, he has mastered all kinds of tricks since he started riding. Stating “I want to master BMX Flatland” would probably sound cliche, but I felt he was sincere in his view of Flatland and his weighty words.

He continues pursuing Flatland to master it, entirely different from riding for love, money, or fame. Here is his story.

——

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The Kio Hayakawa Flatmattersonline Year End Award Interview

Intro/Interview: Effraim.
Photography: Kio Hayakawa & Hikaru Funya.

Kio Hayakawa!! This young talent from Japan is making big waves in the global flatland scene. I met Kio for the first time at the X Games in Chiba, Japan and it was obvious the man is on a mission. Riding more than anyone else at the contest, and so consistent on all his new tricks. It’s kind of daunting to see, and I would imagine even more daunting for his competitors.
There is something wonderfully pure about his riding, and his work ethic. It’s kind of cheesy to say the future is bright for Kio, because he’s already here as is proven by his X-Games gold medal. He kicked the door down, and shouted loud and clear his intentions. His riding does the talking, hammers getting dropped with an amazing consistent ratio.. Let’s get into this interview with two years in a row Flatmattersonline Rider of the Year, and of course X Games Gold Medalist, welcome to the Kio Hayakawa Interview…..

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