Round 4 of the AFA 2023 Flatland series went down yesterday in Houston, Texas. Congratulations to Jean William Prevost winner of Pro class, Bryan Huffman winner of Masters, Troy Hebert taking the win in Expert class, Marty Ferryman winning the Olds Cool class and Julian Thompson taking the honours in the beginner class. Full results and podium shots below, thanks Todd Carter as always for the news.
It’s time for episode 37 of the Hang 5 Podcast, listen to Chris Young’s story.
“Our guest today is a lifelong flatland rider. We discuss his BMX roots, meeting the legendary Plywood Hoods, becoming part of the crew, riding hard, turning pro, being in the early X games, having to make difficult choices to take care of his family, reconnecting with the scene after many years and competing again, battling injuries, launching Flatland Assassins as a way to give back to the community, the evolution of the scene between then and now, organizing FA Battlegrounds and so much more. Go listen to the passion and get stoked!”
Dane Beardsley just hit the ball out the park with one of the best edits of the year.
There is so much depth in Dane’s riding, front and back wheel creativity with sweet intricate rideouts to add more of Dane’s own flavour, not to mention some wild street/skatepark clips.
Happy birthday Dane.
There’s so much to talk about, lets discuss this one….
Alex Vickers, an absolute shredder with style blessed from the gods sadly passed away recently. We couldn’t think of a more fitting tribute than a jam at his spiritual home – Southbank.
So come down for a spin on 24th Sept 1pm to shred your modern whip, dig out your London Bikes, Morales etc. clad yourself in some ArtzOne clobber & raise a toast.
Yasunari Ishijima aka JImalog comes through with an amazing edit full of complex x-foot lines with signature Jimalog smoothness. The x-foot crackpacker line at 2:26, followed by the ender is next level. Congrats Jimalog, and thanks for all you do for the flatland scene!!
It’s been a minute since some updates on the site, summer time has been a busy one for me. Today, we have some treats for you. Starting out with this Underground Kings of BMX Flatland edit featuring Shinichi Kiba, Keelan Phillips, and Gabe Kadmiri, great mix of styles. Well worth a watch!
What a weekend! The annual King of Concrete was a blast, great mix of old school, mid school and new school which is really fitting as we celebrated 45 years of Southsea Skatepark this year.
Congratulations to Arturo Alegria from Mexico taking the win in Pro Flat, followed by Dave Nourie all the way from the USA, and Steve Green from London finishing up in the third place spot.
In Expert, Mario Carelse aka TGM Maz took the win, followed by Angela Cantreeas Alegria from Mexico, and Matthew “Denny” Dyer rounding out the podium. Great level of riding and diversity for all the experts.
A big part of KOC, is the grassroots side of BMX. So I wanted to have a beginner class and encourage the next generation to come through. Congratulations to Jake Lloyd taking the win, followed by Ellis Morgans, and Mitch Hutchinson in third.
Thanks to Four Pegs BMX supporting the event, and all the riders that made the trip down to Southsea. Full results below.
Sad news to break to the international flatland community today. Recently Alex Vickers was a staple in the U.K. flatland scene passed away.
Alex was a natural talent, who progressed his way through the ranks so quickly. I asked James Smith to write some words to remember Alex by.
It is with great sadness that I share the news UK flatlander Alex Vickers has died. Although it’s getting pretty close to 2 decades since Alex was most active in the competition scene his mark and legend lives on.. we met in school, I opened Alex’s eyes to Bmx and then he discovered Flatland which he shared with me. We both became obsessed with and spent all our free time riding together.
At some point we heard the myth of other flatland riders at London’s South Bank riding spot. And from then, every weekend there on after we’d go up to meet and ride with the london Locals such as James White, Phil Dolan, Jason Forde, Johann Chan,Mari Meret, Mark Walters, dreadlock Dave, Nick street and the list goes on… although by far being the youngest rider there, now riding with other riders and riders that were already well established legends in the sport we could all see he was a rare natural talent given the speed he could learn anything and with effortless style. In the years after, felt like he rose thru the amateur ranks in a Matter of seconds.. 1 year we we’re watching the competitions from audience side of the barrier, next his name was getting announced over the mic and he was mixing it up with international big hitters such as Martti Kuoppa, Viki Gomez, Simon O’Brian, Alex Jumelin, Frank Lukas.. after several years of being a regular in the pro ranks gaining several sponsors and placing well at Urban Games, NEC Bike Show, King of Concrete he moved away from London to University and concentrate in his studies and future career choices.. despite him not returning to competitive side of things , he always had a bike rode when he could and kept up with all the latest videos and news… It’s a tragic loss as only thing that matched his talent on the bike was how nice he was as a person.
A funeral and memorial service for Alex will be held later this month in Hong Kong but if you like to know how you can donate or pay respects with messages contact me ( James Smith / @leftie143 ).
Congratulations to Jean William Prevost taking the win at the annual Omarisquino contest on Spain, followed by Julien Baran and Varo Hernandez.
In the AM class, the top three were the same as qualifying. Aaron Santos holding onto the top spot, followed by Louise Signeur and her sister Jeanne Signeur. Thanks Varo Hernandez for sending the podium shots and results in.
