“Flatland is all about having your own identity, with the use of brakes in a “brakeless world” and trying to learn every single trick on the flat ground I feel like a freestyler, this is my identity. I have free mind, free spirit, free soul, free from any rules. Flatland means hard work, stamina, faith, imagination, creation, originality, progression, values that stands the test of time and are beyond any trends or anything else.”
The following paragraph stood out to me from the recent Part 1 interview I did with Giannis Caternellis from Athens, Greece. We discussed this video before the interviews came out and as timing would have it, it fits in nicely in between Part 1 and Part 2.
Giannis’ new edit strikes a different chord than my usual “Must Watch” edit, his interview and this edit made me think about how “Free” freestyle really is. All these so called rules we make on our riding, don’t touch the tyre, don’t drop the bike, don’t scrape bars, the list goes on. I am as guilty as anyone of this!
I experienced a series of emotions from watching “Originalidade #5”. I laughed, I cringed, I screamed WTF!, I questioned myself “Would I show this in an edit?”, the answer was no. When you think about it, as much as people wax lyrical about you have to original, if you truly are original, when you are original you might upset someone. You can’t do that??
Giannis’ I don’t give a fuck attitude is a lesson to us all, this guy truly lives the freestyle life. The way he documents his limited riding time is as real as gets, you don’t have to like it, he’s living it! I took a lot out of this edit and wanted to share some of my favourite parts with you all. God bless the internet, for we might never see Giannis’ riding otherwise. The power of video parts is so important to our culture. Well done Giannis!
– The opening switch handed fork wheelie two footed no comply crackpacker jump to steam at the 1:01 mark.
– The ice cream side roly poly out at 1:13, WTF! Really??
– Opposite lawn stall to no handed puppet to xft pedal backwards decade out at 1:58!
– One of my favourite clips is the opposite lawn in what looks like his yard, walkover decade to caboose body varial track stand out at 2:51! So good!
– Straight bar Xft hitch pivot to backwards backpacker line at 3:37.
– Wheelie to time machine pedal two caboose back out to pedal time machine, simple idea I haven’t seen before at 4:12.
If you missed Giannis Part 1 Interview!
https://www.flatmattersonline.com/giannis-caternellis-the-flatmattersonline-interview-part-1
Savage edit, looking forward for part 2 Interview Big E
No pressure huh valance! Im curious if other riders took this kind of approach, how much more free and varied would the flatland scene be? His part 1 interview and this edit got me thinking a lot, as you can probably tell.
Psyched!
No disrespect but to be honest it seems to me that he’s a bit too concerned about learning/inventing as many tricks as he can (I also got that impression from the Interview). To me Flatland has never been about the sheer number of tricks but rather about stuff that feels and looks good. And I don’t think rolling around on the floor or letting your bike drop and then pick it up again feels or looks good. Aesthetics should also be a part of Flatland imo. But that’s just my opinion and I respect him for doing his thing.
@marc – totally see your point and like you said aesthetics thats a big apart of my riding, I wouldn’t dare show some of the stuff Giannis does, but thats also the beauty of what he’s doing and I love he went there and did that. Theres something wonderfully raw about what he does. And Like you said, you respect him for doing his thing, how many can truthfully say that.
sick ! Creative !
Awesome edit ! I don’t think Giannis is too concerned with creating as many tricks as possible. As everyone can see he can also do all the main tricks as well, and none of those are original. It is truly incredible that someone who doesn’t do flatland for their life, and has their own business and a wife and two kids can do 5,000 + Flatland combos. I seriously, think Marcs comment sounded completely dumb in relation to Flatland. Never have I heard a Flatlander say “this guy is to original as if it is a bad thing”.
I didn’t say he’s too creative or that being original is a bad thing. Of course not. I think it’s great that he has his own approach and his very own tricks. That’s what I love about flatland, that every rider has his own style and tricks. And it’s absolutely amazing that he’s got such a deep bag of tricks. I have a ton of respect for that. However personally I believe just because a certain trick can be somehow done it doesn’t mean it should be done if the trick in the end looks weird and forced. In that case I’d rather not do it. But again, that’s just my opinion.
No disrespect Marc.
Roll around on the floor.
Try it, you’ll like it.
It feels good.
Aesthetics are in the eye of the beholder, as is originality and creativity. I for one have massive respect for anyone who thinks for themselves and break out of the norm. Kudos to Giannis for doing his own thing and dropping some great tricks!
I’d much rather watch the same 10 guys do,the same,tricks over and over again for like a decade straight … Oh wait no I wouldnt. Giannis ride on , don’t think,twice about this negative crap. You are in my personal top ten flatlanders ever . Much respect di,you.
I personally think the two footed no comply / footplant opens a lot of doors. Indeed, touching the ground has been banned in flatland but look at the doors footplants opened in street riding, why not flatland ? There’s a whole universe to explore here.
This isn’t contest flatland. It’s freestyle. This is also one of the few videos I will make Kevin watch.
That raises an interesting thought in mind, what is contest flatland? What has it become that you can even label it that you know?
Nice answer! Exactly, is our sport freestyle or what ?
@Viki Gomez – This is what particularly working on Giannis’ interview and seeing the edit got me thinking about, the unwritten rules of flatland, you can’t do this, you can’t do that, this is cool, this isn’t cool. I’m still thinking about this…
The thing I like about this dude is that he doesn’t limit himself to one particular style or anything like that. He incorporates different eras/styles/techniques and puts them all together. I agree some of it is kinda cheesy but sometimes it’s fun to do cheesy shit, but he looks like he’s having fun. I always look forward to his edits because I know it’s not gonna be all pumps and turbines and everything else that is considered cool now.
SO STOKED on all the positive feedback that Giannis has been receiving , Ive been SCREAMING about his skills on THIS EPIC site , THANKS BIG E , since his 2nd edit ! CRAZY how I said hes like a CYBORG that KEVIN / CHASE / SCOTT programmed to COMPLETLY MASTER THE BIKE ……………..THEN he mentions them as INFLUENCE , RAD !!!! Said this before , when Giannis RIDES I call it HORRORLAND , HAHAHAHAHA !!! To me its like watching a HORROR movie , I NEVER know what trick / variation , where hes going / out of , during his lines , SO MANY tricks / techniques , its ACTUALLY frightening !!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!!!! He started riding in 1991 ????!!! Hes a QUICK / SKILLED learner ALSO !!!!! PROPS / RESPECT !!! BRETT DOWNS , PROPS on showing KEVIN his riding also , VERY CURIOUS to know what THE K , OUR LEADER of ALL TIME thinks about Giannis !!!!!!!
Awesome and so refreshing to see some pure freestyle ! thanks for this one Giannis ! ! !
This is what freestyle is all about…having fun and do your thing!Thanks Viki and everyone who cares about Progrssion.
Progression!