10 thoughts on “Old School Sundays with Gary Pollak

  1. I realize this is tantamount to blasphemy, but I Really hated all of the hand jestures and fist pumping. I know it’s one of those love or hate things, but I would definitely land on the hate side of this one. But I do love some Gary Pollack!

  2. I wouldn’t say it’s blasphemy, that kind of showmanship was thought to be necessary. I did it at the time, but it’s a constantly evolving sport and we have have to accept embarrassing things that were done.

  3. Showmanship factored into the score back then. Of course it didn’t hold as much weight as the other criteria but it could be used as the deciding factor between two riders who were otherwise equal. Flatland seems to be the only sport where it’s frowned upon these days. TJ Perry shares your disdain for it. He actually criticized me at Texas Toast 2012 for using showmanship in the 80’s.

  4. Believe it or not, I was there. I was really a great contest, but I wouldn’t attribute the response to the hand gestures.Jason Parkes, one of my personal favorites, never succumb to that tendency and people were bonkers during his runs. I would say that the noise had more to do with the size of the crowds then anything else. Again, not hating on anything, just stating a preference. Gary P. was the man and inventor of some great stuff! I still don’t see many folks mastering the pinky squeak the way he did it. Saw Trevor H. go into the teens in front of his house, but no one else really, since then.

  5. Missed that event, but have been riding since the early 80’s – started right along with Bob Haro and R.L. Osborne way back in the early days. Will be 47 this summer and still ride at least two or more sessions a week for about 3 to 4 hours a session. Involved with King BMX and the TransJam BMX events. Attempted a vet class run a VooDoo last year, but had a rear flat that took me out. Still very passionate about riding flat and about the sport of flatland in general! Will keep on riding until I physically can’t…age is not a factor! 🙂

    Yeah, showmanship was a big part of it back in the day. I get it why some don’t like it, but it’s also why the crowds were more pumped up as well. It’s a combination of a good MC and the riders passion for the riding showing through. Ever hear the crowd at VooDoo when Terry gets excited about something? 🙂 It’s all good! If you want to show your having a good time and are stoked about your performance…let it out!

  6. These comps were the WORST! Sitting through hours and hours of imitators, riding to the same 5 songs. To this day, whenever I hear “it takes two”, I have to fight back a homicidal rage. They went nuts because it was AWSOME to finally see some originality, especially from an east coaster getting some factory love.

    Ps-1. CW really was the shit for a minute!
    2. Showmanship is just another embarrassing memory, like flip down pegs in the middle of your fork legs.
    3. Damn you DJ EZ Rock, and Rob Base can eat a sack of baby dicks!

  7. Well, said all! I guess, when all is said and done, the free in freestyle is about catering to YOUR preference. There was so much I loved about this era, just some other things that didn’t strike my fancy. One of my favorite memories of the golden age is the limited number of wall flowers I remember. The bikes and gear always looked ripe because people got on their bikes to ride. I ‘ve noticed a lot more of the beautiful bike that doesn’t get ridden syndrome now then I ever remember back in the day. Just an observation!

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