Category Archives: Articles

The Must Watch edits of January!

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What an amazing start to the year! There are plenty of amazing diverse flatland edits being dropped weekly, after going through a years worth of posts multiple times for the Flatmatters Online 2013 Awards it made sense to do some kind of review at the end of the month this year. The Must Watch category has become a big feature of Flatmatters so it made sense to showcase the Must Watch edits of each month. So let’s begin with January!

It was fitting that the first Must watch edit of the year went to Flatmatters editorial vote for Rider of the Year 2013! Mateus Beckmann continues where he left off, plenty of new whopper/decade variations – check 1:59 Rollback candybar stem decade anyone? Enjoy this incredible talent do his thing! Flatland is all the better for it!

If that wasn’t enough, Shintaro Misawa added another Must Watch edit! I could watch Shintaro ride all day, smooth as glass liquid flatland right here!

MATSUDO YEAR END JAM 2013 !! from JIMALOG1985 on Vimeo.

When this edit came through, I just knew it would be amazing! Everything about this Matsudo year end jam edit screams fresh, fresh, fresh!!!! From youngsters, Yu dropping a mega spin to perverted, Kato’s stalled xft g-roll flip to pedal caboose, Akira Okamura’s nose wheelie bar out, and Hotoke’s last combo at 11:19!!! There is so much to enjoy and motivate you right here, give this one a rematch. Don’t you wish you had a scene like that!

When Matthias sent me an advance preview of the new edit I felt blessed. MD definitely sent out a message with this Welcome to La Creamerie edit! High energy, and incredible riding that had us all pumped for days! Have you watched it again? The spinning no handed halfpacker whip to halfpacker is jaw droppingly good! I hope to see much more of this style from Matthias in 2014.

On January 19th, Shintaro dropped his second incredible edit of the month! This was and is a masterclass in flatland control, that I have to admit I’ve watched more than any other video up until the Alexis edit dropped. The man can do what he likes on that bike, the right hand halfpacker to opposite hang five spinning circle k out had me screaming at the screen, perfect! Total masterclass in bike control, and certainly the most slept on edit of the month!

Matthias not only delivered a massive edit to start the year, he also put together this quality Winter edit for his good friend Alex Jumelin. Alex treated us all to a few surprises, especially the back wheel line at 3:50! It will be interesting to see where Alex goes with this kind of back wheel foot jam concept in 2014.

Stephan Kornely BMX Sport Import 2014 Edit from Waldemar Fatkin on Vimeo.

This made a rainy day in Southsea all the better! Much like Matthias, Waldemar Fatkin is not only an amazing rider, but also can deliver on the editing front as well. There aren’t too many people that can say they can do a hang ten kickflip to halfpacker a’la the Boss, Martti Kuoppa. Stephan Kornely is one of those guys, this guy goes under the radar a fair bit. Amazing rider, give this one another watch!

2013 was a great year for Heresy! And 2014 has started with an absolute banger to start the year, the accolades will keep coming for Alexis I am sure. When the edit dropped, I made the comment “Every so often an edit comes along that defines what we do! This is flatland!”.

Do I really have to tell you to watch this again?

The end of the month started as it begun, another incredible edit from the Brazilian phenomenum that is Mateus Beckmann. The decade variation at 5:33 has got us all talking, Mateus puts a body twist on the decade variation landing backwards. Go watch it again, I am sure we will be talking about this for years to come. It is a groundbreaking piece of originality from one of the sports most talented riders.

What does February have in store, stay tuned!

Repo: One Love Jam

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Text: Pat Fisher
Photos: Alex Capecelatro
Video: Todd Carter

Fifteen over the limit, sailing though the Mojave. Last time I crossed this desert, I had a blowout and ended up having to drive over five hundred miles on an emergency donut. But this time my buddy James is driving, and we’re blasting our way to the water on the other side. We’re on our way to our first One Love Jam.

My buddies and I awoke the next morning in Newport Beach, CA, to find a ride spot better than anything our land-locked minds could have dreamed of. Walking onto the unbroken blacktop an hour before the jam officially started (you could say we were eager), we were greeted by the pristine liquid backdrop to our upcoming day. Separated from the Pacific Ocean by only a few dozen yards of sandy beach, the massive jam area spread itself out in a smooth and consistent canvas of unbroken blacktop. (“This spot is as close as you can get to the beach without getting your bike wet.”) Unbroken and uninterrupted, its surface pushed away from the ocean for a hundred and fifty feet. Its length extended parallel to the beach for another three hundred and fifty feet. The January sun started to warm our faces, and we quickly realized that long pants were an unnecessary mistake. And yet, away from the desert and soothed by an ocean breeze, it’s heat would never become oppressive. Was this for real?


Pete Brandt throws down a blender as Adam Kun looks on..

Over the next couple of hours, the fourth incarnation of the One Love Jam grew quickly from a small handful of early-birds into a massive swirling energy of stoked riders sharing one blacktop for the meet-up of the year. Riders flocked in from all over the States. Several made the trip from Canada, Finland and Hungary. When Darin Wright called out for group picture time, about 70 riders struck a pose, making this year’s attendance the largest of any One Love Jam to date!


Groupshot yo!

Taking breaks between warming up and stretching, I started to remember just how uncertain I can get around other flatlanders as their numbers began to grow. Gawking pedestrians never make me self-conscious – they don’t have a clue what they’re looking at. But other riders know what’s going on, they know what to expect, and they know how to judge what they see. I’ve only been to one other jam outside of Arizona, which brought together about a dozen riders from the Midwest. Despite their unbroken support and kindness, I had been too nervous to try much of anything that was unorthodox or experimental. Suddenly my mind rocketed back to Newport, and I looked up to realize that flatlanders were showing up faster than introductions could be made. How would my riding be received?


West Coast OG, Jesse Puente!

I soon realized, however, that the numbers were far outweighed by the personalities. As attendance climbed into the triple digits, the jam continued – if not accentuated – the welcoming vibe it began with. The benefits of its non-competitive format were quickly demonstrated by the diversity of skill levels, styles and backgrounds that it supported. Strolling through the crowd, I saw newbies on pieced-together spares learning the basics, next to retirees trying to remember those tricks they used to do “back in the day”, next to sponsored stars throwing down fresh links, next to legends of the oldschool reminding us where our roots lay. The openness of the One Love Jam supported the active presence of this diversity, and each new person helped to make this event what it was: absolutely fantastic.


Terry and Scott O’Brien made the trip out from New Orleans. Here Terry mid 3 flip to halfpacker!

For most event reports, I think it would be appropriate to highlight some of the more remarkable moves thrown down. For this jam, however, I will break that convention. I have three reasons for doing so: First, so many amazing moves and links were attempted throughout the One Love Jam, and so many of them were executed with flawless style. Suffice to say, the level of riding was so insane I wouldn’t even know where to start. Secondly, I’m not even going to pretend like I know what all those moves’ names are. Finally (and by far most importantly) I think that reciting a credit roll would miss the point of what made the One Love Jam an incredible event: The valuable thing about the One Love Jam was that there were a bunch of different riders having fun, doing their thing, all on one spot, together. People were having their minds blown – be it because they pulled a semi-decent rocket manual or because they saw someone link a cross-footed wobble-duck into a boneless handscuff (or, you know, whatever). Cultivating and sharing this state of being stoked – for me the highest ideal of what being a rider should always be – was what the One Love Jam so remarkably accomplished.


Being this is Dylan Worsley, I am going to guess this xft halfpacker is backwards! Timeless style from one of the best flatlanders of all time!

With this in mind, I would like to give some highlights from the event, in no particular order. For starters, we have Gabriel T., who traveled alone from Florida. He came to the jam without knowing a single flatlander there (nor in his hometown of Miami, for that matter). His kindness shone through in both his smile and his smooth, self-taught riding style. Another highlight was meeting Lalo Jimenez, who took the time to make introductions for those who were so recently strangers to even himself. Off to the side of a thriving jam circle, he shared some original concepts he’s been feeling out lately which could potentially shift the paradigm of riding style. His curiosity and willingness to share his imagination is infectious. Yet another highlight was seeing Sean Fontenot’s burning commitment and his willingness to make mistakes along the way. I think I saw him crash more than everyone else combined at the jam – and I mean that as the highest compliment of his dedication and confidence at trying something he knows he may not pull, not even the twentieth time. I think it is also an amazing gift that he was giving to the rest of the riders, to show them that even the most skillful of riders have to learn the hard way and that we don’t always have to show off our dialed tricks every time. I can personally attest that it was this willingness to show the flaws that encouraged me to try the moves I’m currently loving to learn. More than any single trick or link, it was these attitudes – not exclusive to, but for me epitomized by Gabriel, Lalo and Sean – which were the highlights of the weekend and helped to make this year’s One Love Jam truly exceptional.


No winter this year for Adam Kun, two foot pedal backyard in Cali sunshine!

I now look back at this past weekend and wonder how everything could have ever gone so well. In the course of twenty-four hours, I met more flatlanders than I cumulatively know from the rest of my life. I met even another rider from Arizona, who had been completely disconnected from our state’s budding flatland jam scene. No longer. I am looking forward to more One Love Jams, and am freshly motivated to help build the flat scene here in my home state as well. Many thanks to everyone who made this event possible: the fellow riders, the tag-along friends, and most especially the incredible organizers who hatched One Love from their imaginations.

Top 5’s with Tyler Gilliard!

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As we kick off 2014, it’s time to bring back the top 5’s feature we have been previously been running for a few years. And who better to begin with than Tyler Gillard, a name on everyone lips at the moment with the design of the Profile freecoaster! This top 5’s feature grew into something a lil’ bigger, enjoy Tyler’s list and some great photographs!


Amazing shot of Tyler pumping a foot on bar cliffhanger!

People to ride with: In Florida – Marcos Palo de Jesus, Mitch Hall and the Orlando crew, Stephen Crider, Mike Henry, Henry Wilson, and a local kid in my town named Mark Addison.

Web edits: I don’t watch web edits on a daily basis, so once every week or two, I’ll go through Flatmatters and watch several at a time. Jason Plourde’s “Trasitions” and all of the Autum “My Frame” are the most recent videos I’ve viewed. Anything produced Sevisual and Jim McKay are always pleasing to watch. I really enjoy videos put out by Waldemar, Dominik N., Bruno Zebu, and Mateus Beckmann.

Places to visit: These are places that I’ve actually visited: Chengdu and Beijing, China, Quebec to visit Dub, and all of the Quebec scene, Germany because it’s beautiful and full of dope riders, Santa Cruz, California for the serenity and friendliness of the town, and anywhere with a great place to ride, tight scene, and great times to be had in the USA.

Websites/blogs: Flatmattersonline.com and Global-Flat.com to keep up to date with the world of Flatland. Facebook (and the random websites I land on from clicking on an article from my newsfeed), Youtube, Kickass.to, Profileracing.com, Freegun.com, and boldlife.vemma.com.

Inspirations right now: Healthy eating, more specifically vegan: inspired in combination with the knowledge provided by Scott Powell, Jason Plourde, Fat Tony, and Autumn Brown.

Tricks: Anyone throwing awesome tricks! I’ve always had a thing for Tj Perry’s riding since the age of 15. I’m inspired by the technicality of Dominik, power of Jason Plourde and Waldemar, speed & control of Dub, front wheel links of Dez, progression of Matthias Beckman, and crazy difficulty of Bruno Zebu. I’m generally inspired by anyone really pushing for what they want in their riding.


Great contortion on this steam teakettle switch!

Reasons to leave your town/city: For better opportunities, to travel, experience different cultures and ways that people live, ride with new people, become apart of a scene that doesn’t require driving one hour to ride and one hour home, contests, a change of scenery, to eat different foods, and better places to ride.

Things to do in Florida: Hang out at one of the many beaches, ride flatland (or train for sport for that matter) all year, play in the unexpected rain, swat at mosquitos, sweat, go swimming in December, theme parks like Disney World, Sea World, Wet ‘N Wild, Legoland, and Busch Gardens, the Everglades, Key West, boating, fishing, surfing, wear shorts and a tee shirt during “Winter,” hang out at Bent’s Schwinn Cyclery, pick out the “snow birds” or Northerners driving during the winter, avoid spiders and snakes, eat oranges, wear sunglasses, carry umbrellas during the summer, go to the beach any time of the year, host riders visiting to escape their snowy winter, see Marcos perform in Cirque du Soleil, and eat oranges.

Current Albums to listen to: Flume and Flume remixes. Floor.

Travel Destinations: First: Japan – I’ve always wanted to go, and believe the motivation of the scene would be incredible to experience. I’d love to visit Dez in the Netherlands, Chris Bohm in Switzerland, Rayk in Germany, all of Europe, South America, India, Indonesia, Africa…the world!

Tricks to do daily: Halfpacker switches, spinning cliffhangers, my tech switches, new tricks, nose manuals, bar flip to steamboat, no-hand clipped crackpacker, time machines, and new tricks that I’m working on.

Tricks you can’t do, but wish you could: Hitchhiker bike flip, hitchhiker kickflips, full 360 halfpacker kickflip, multiple turbine halfpacker kickflips, cliffhanger 360 barflip, turbine nosemanuals, hop double tailwhip, hop 720, pinky squeeks, megaspins, multiple xfoot whiplashes (w/turbines), halfpacker whip to xfoot hang ten, xfoot halfpacker/halfhiker/hitchhiker/ backpackers (w/turbines and juggles), spinning halfhiker, inside halfpacker, and CONSISTENCY!


Backwards spinning crackpacker somewhere in scenic Florida.

Bike Brands: Profile Racing, Autum Bikes, igi BMX, and Deco.

Non bike brands: Freegun Underwear, Vemma Nutrition, OrigamiOwl.

Things that piss you off: I wouldn’t say that these things piss me off, but things that don’t please me: Whenever it’s raining when I’m ready to ride, leaving to ride, while I’m riding, or don’t have access to a covered spot; getting kicked out of spots; strong wind when riding; blowing a tube out during your session, or getting to your spot to find that your tire has deflated overnight; not having a tool that I need; injuries and soreness; ripping a favorite pair of pants; paying for gas; unhealthy foods costing significantly less than healthy foods.

Non Riding Movies: I don’t watch movies too often, and I probably won’t name them all, but I really enjoy movies that captivate a part of my brain to make me think, well done movie adaptations of books, or anything with a unique plot. A few off of the top of my head include: The Ninth Gate, Fight Club, Pan’s Labrynth, Altered States, 12 Monkeys, Inception, and Brazil. Movies with Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Edward Norton are usually enjoyable.

Gadgets: Galaxy SIII phone, Macbook Pro, Sony MP3 headphones, Freegun watch, and speakers for my session.

Flatland dislikes: Pulling anything – link, switch, or combo – and messing up the ride out. Landing a new trick, then not landing it again for the rest of the session. Messing up on tricks that are consistent. My bars or seat moving (this creates an obsession of moving my parts around the rest of the session). As mentioned previously, my obsessive nature with adjusting my handlebar and seat positions when my bike doesn’t feel “right” to me.

Flatland loves: Pulling tricks effortlessly. Getting into a zen, focus mode during my session and tuning out completely. Landing a new trick that you’ve invested a lot of time and energy into learning. The feeling of riding flatland or being on a bike, how it feels to spin for as long and fast as you want. The feeling of floating that occurs in any trick, because that’s what flatland feels like: floating.

Workout routines: Oh how I’ve been slacking off since returning from China; however, the workouts I was doing were specifically to condition and fix the asymmetry in my body created from riding. In the beginning of 2012, I began experiencing excruciating lower back pain that would have me not riding for one to three days between sessions. This was due to a curvature in my lumbar spine (lower spine) and my hips not only being rotated “clockwise” or toward the right side of my body, but the left side of my hips was elevated much higher than my right side. Because of my externally rotated, anterior tilted pelvis, I had to do something to correct this, or suffer not progressing, not riding often, and becoming a worse rider overall. This led me to consult a co-worker of mine and a personal trainer who put together a work out protocol specifically designed to correct my hips and spine. Most of the exercises were based around strengthening my gluteal (butt) muscles, balancing the strength in my legs overall, strengthening my shoulders and core, and stretching before and after the workout. If you don’t own one, buy a foam roller!

Thanks Tyler! This was fun! Look for the next Top 5’s in a few weeks. Who’s next?

Peep Tyler’s latest edit: https://www.flatmattersonline.com/tyler-gilliard-profile-freecoaster-testing

Editorial – 5 years of Flatmatters

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5 years of Flatmatters!

As I sit here a week before celebrating 5 years of Flatmatters. I’m taking a moment to reflect on what has come before. I grew up in an era when you had to imagine how the trick worked from a photograph in a magazine/’sine or wait months sometimes years for contest footage in crappy VCR quality. Nowadays we are asking, wheres the contest footage an hour after the event?

As technology advances, are we spoilt? It’s hard to see how we aren’t? Day to day videos, sometimes seeing contest footage livestream. Is the internet good for flatland, in many ways yes! Look at the documented progression, to document share and progress as I call it. That’s basically how I see a lot of the flatland world working nowadays, everyone is influenced daily to push their level or at the very least to be entertained daily and to be kept informed of what different riders and scenes are up to. The vast source of information (videos) to take in is of course hard to keep up with. I feel sometimes, videos are overlooked and I’m as guilty of that as anyone. You put so much time and effort and thought into something you feel like it deserves more. That sadly is just the nature of the beast.

Flatmatters has become almost like my second full time job. It’s a labour of love that’s hard to describe to you all, unless your inside it. From the daily requests “hey can you post my video”, to searching online for something new and fresh. From the messages about what kind of bike to buy, or how do I get good at flatland? One thing remains so constant, I love all forms of flatland riding! Whether its old school (Old School Sundays was born), mid school (throwback thursdays…), or new school, I always believed and still do believe theres something to take from every generation that can inspire for that next session your going out on.

During the last year I’ve ticked off some dreams I never thought would happen when I started Flatmatters. I was able to put up the prize money for the flatmatters contest this year at King of Concrete. I always wanted to be in a position where I could give back to the sport I love. And now I’m ticking off another, the idea to hold Flatmatters Online Awards has been in my head for a few years. There are so many different elements to our sport/artform that I wanted to showcase as many as I can!

I feel like these awards help legitimise what I have been working towards the last five years with FM. So with that being said, let’s celebrate another great year of flatland! Whether it’s a video part, your stoked on a brand and what they are doing, maybe it’s a contest run you watch over and over. Maybe a rider is coming through the ranks and its pumping you up. There are so many factors that make flatland great and make it matter. Send in your votes and let us hear your voice! (see the post above from all details!)

Thanks to everyone that checks the site daily or whenever you have time, all the riders that send in their edits. All the advertisers that are supporting and believing in flatmatters, shoutouts to Emer, Flatland Fuel, Autum, Profile, Dans Comp, S&M. Shoutout to Kurt at BMX Union, Anthony at FlatWebTv for being a big supporter of FM!

Much love to you all!

Effraim Catlow/FM.

Exclusive: Guru Jam Repo!

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Text: Effraim
Photos: Effraim, Michael King, Joe Cicman.

As I begin this repo somewhere above Ohio airspace on route to New York returning from my week long Guru jam experience. I’m filled with nothing, but positive thoughts. The week I was out in Columbus Ohio flew by, the stress of forgetting to renew my esta at London Heathrow the previous week was far in the back of my mind.

For all of those that do not know, this contest came about a result of Texas Toast dropping flatland this year. The am flat circuit needed a final round to complete the series, Joe Cicman stepped up to the plate at his own personal riding facility in Columbus, Ohio. I almost want to thank Texas Toast for dropping flatland, otherwise the Guru jam might not have been born. Anyone else feel that?


The man responsible for the Guru jam, somehow this photo kind of sums Joe Cicman up for me. Guru sticks and incense. Photo by Michael King.

When Joe came to the King of Concrete contest back In August, we talked about his event and the underlying thing I took out of it was this was truly an independent flatland contest, personal touches to almost everything from practise sessions, contest structure, music, trophies, prizes and of course it’s Joe’s personal riding spot which is the icing on the cake. The guru jam was a coming together of his close knit friends, his girlfriend Angie, Todd Carter, Scott Nagy, Danny Sirkin, Steve Lapsley and the AM Flat crew, Catfish. Then you have judges such as Bryan Huffman, Art Thomason, myself, Chad Degroot, and last but not least DJ Mark Eaton blazing the Dorkin’ soundtracks all day! This is what can happen when good friends get together for the love of flatland and having a good time. A crew of friends making it happen, each bringing a skill or more than one to the table.

From Todd Carter with the Guru jam logo, Angie with day to day decisions back and forth with Joe, Scott Nagy with the livestream, Danny Sirkin working on sponsors and arranging Mark Eaton to DJ, Steve Lapsley and the AM Flat Circuit crew with their behind the scenes help prior/during/after the contest, and of course Catfish blazing on the mic.

The daily hype tweets from Joe, memes on instagram, and general social media building up to the event, during, and after, the incense sticks burning throughout, this was all Joe’s personal take on how-to run a contest. And this was great to see, a rider putting his own personal touches to his own event. It’s a brave move, and one I respect a lot having run a lot my own contests too. If you aren’t in Joe’s circle of friends, you might be puzzled with all the memes. I was amazed that there’s a story behind each one.

If you followed the Guru jam diaries I posted on the site leading up to and during the event, you will have a general feel for what went down day to day. If not I’lll briefly go into it. From Tuesday onwards riders were arriving daily from all across the United States and Canada, whilst this was all going on Joe was off working his normal 9-5 job with good friend Scott Nagy manning the Terradome so riders could session. The vibe was growing everyday, by Friday it was electric in the building. Non stop sessions all day everyday, plenty of snaking going down, yeah I’m calling you out McGraw? In fact I might now call it doing a “McGraw”. Or as Joe would meme, “your doing a McGraw bro?” It was all fun, it was all banter and all added to the event.

On the Friday I teamed up with Joe and Danny to talk all things guru jam for the latest Flat Web TV live from the Terradome. It was exciting to drop the Deco news on the show. Good times!

One of the highlights of the event for me was watching Todd Carter’s kids bust out, but also ride with respect for other flatlanders “space”, something that many older flatlanders could learn something from and definitely James McGraw could. Sorry McGraw,I couldn’t resist. Let’s call it flatland etiquette. These kids, Camden, T-bone, and Colin all had it. Beautiful to see! I hooked the kids up with Deco grips and some stickers, these kids are awesome! And with a father figure like Todd to look up to, the future is looking bright! Really psyched to see what comes from these kids, Camden lit up the Terradome with emotion, two flawless runs in Novice and took a well deserved third place podium finish. I say Emotion because if you were watching the livestream at home I hope you could see riders cheering for each other, the warmth I felt from the flatland community during this event was almost tear worthy. In fact I hear a few came close to shedding a tear or two during Camden’s runs particularly..


These young kids tore up the Guru jam! From left to right: Alex Kornowski, Colin Carter, Tyler Daum and Camden Carter! Photo by Michael King.

This event made me think about the importance of a contest series in your country, seeing all the riders chasing year end points but maintaining respect for each other I must say touched me. It was humbling to see. Four girls competed in the Novice class, Kim Klisiak who runs the WOF website brought some smooth squeakers to her runs, Liberty Armstrong pumped barhops a’la frontyard position on her nice white Junglerider bike, Lona Adams from York, PA was psyched ending up 5th, and even rolling hitchhikers and backwards backpackers in practise, you gotta get into them now Lona! , and Paula Callery.
The real story of the Novice class were the young kids riding, Tyler Daum did clean front wheel to backwards bar hops in both runs, hard not to say “Dammmmmnnnn”. No pun intended I promise, but very impressive! Colin Carter had super smooth runs but a couple of touches held him back, I have a feeling the Carter kids will be back! Alex Kornowski made the 8-10 hour drive from Green Bay, Wisconsin with his dad, this kid had super smooth runs, linking up nicely and taking a well earned 4th place. Third place went to Camden Carter who I already mentioned had two flawless runs, and actually he was the only rider to have two clean runs all day! So much style from someone so young on his swivel boomerangs!

Paula Callery came all the way from Vancouver for the event, and kicked ass with a really smooth rolling style. I especially liked her backwards hang five swing round to fork wheelie without scuffing. Stomped with proper style, so dope! A well deserved second place for Paula. First place to Kevin Washington from Cary, North Carolina who had a flawless second run, smooth controlled hang tens, and steezie hop 3’s. Kevin also took the year end title in the Novice class. Congratulations Kevin!

Vet Class was up next and a good turnout for the old timers at 17 riders deep! Catfish put down the mic, and passed it over to his good friend, Dane Beardsley whilst borrowing Dane’s bike he hit a sick brakeless rolaid and screamed “Go Michigan!” to the bemused crowd in Columbus. Yellow came all the Colorado and may be the only flatlander I know that can go ten feet on a quarter and roll no foot cliffs around the whole contest area, so good! Much respect Yellow!! One of my favourite moments of the day was Mark Eaton on the decks whilst Brett Downs was out on the contest floor, “The Plywood Hoods” do I need to say more? Brett tore it up and considering this was his first contest in ten years, I was amazed at his composure. It is also worth mentioning that Brett had some of the best rideouts of the entire day to not to mention very little deadtime between each combo! Hope to see much more of Brett at future contests. So stoked to see him ride. The Vet class was all about the smith decade as I think back, Jake Umberger, Derek Callendar, Danny Sirkin and many more all threw them in their runs! Classic move and these guys had them down pat.
The top 2 in Vet class were Mark McGrade and Quest BMX’s Danny Sirkin, who both had amazing runs, Mark has a really nice rolling inside circles style lacing together a great second run, whereas Danny has a more compact link everything together kind of style that reminded of DMC back in the day complete with a lil’ raditude to boot. I’ve heard a lot of debate about the Vet class, and now from first hand experience I can definitely say it has its place at contests like this. It for sure catered for a lot of the older riders, that might not have entered which is surely a good thing.


Vet Podium, Mark McGrade, Danny Sirkin, and Mike Smick! Photo by Effraim, Guru lettering by Krys Dauchy!

(Lil intermission from writing on the plane- back in the UK now).
The day was well and truly hotting up and the Expert class was up next. If you were watching live stream you will know that the atmosphere was electric. Great turnout of 21 riders plus the support for each rider from rider to rider continued, such a good vibe. A lot of faces were new to me, so thats always interesting as I truly didn’t know what to expect. And case in point with the winner, Austin Luberda, he tore it up with some of the biggest bars of the day to the sounds of Fugazi with a flawless run full of front and back wheel turbines with great style, this guy has a bright future. I heard plenty of discussion about Austin being pro soon, I hope Austin gives it some time and doesn’t feel too pressured. I think in a year or two you could be looking at a new legit American pro on the contest circuit!
In the second spot, a rider I’ve seen for years on video but never met, Ivan Adamiec from York, PA. I’m not exactly sure how tall Ivan is, but he pulled off riding a BSD street frame with ease. One of my favourite moves was his backwards wheelie flip to forwards ice cream to forward rope to decade out, stomped! Really stoked to see Ivan bust out in person.
In the third place spot, Mr Guru jam himself Joe Cicman, the Terradome erupted with love and praise as he took to the floor for his first run. There was a great line from Catfish “this is your contest you’re not supposed to be riding this good” mid way through his first run, Joe embraced the love and had an amazing first run hitting inside circle steam to no handed crackpacker jump to two footed backyard half turbine out, two footed death trucks, and no handed backpackers. Great to see all Joe’s hard work training at the Terradome paying off for him, not easy when the pressure is on at your own contest. I can speak with experience on that one. Well done Joe!

Mr Purple, Bryan Huffman has been on the contest circuit for years, now doing it for Reklamation Bikes, much respect to Bryan still out there busting, he hit a really nice steam to opposite inside circle k on pedals, and steam bar flip jump to gliding greater for fourth place and second spot in the year end rankings. In fifth place a steezie Steve Jordan, hop 3s both ways, smooth messiah links, and hop turndowns on lock, Steve was full energy all weekend and perhaps a lil’ too much by the end of the day. In the 6th spot, Mr Smooth Todd Carter, Todd spends half his month in Ohio with his kids, half back in LA. His smooth riding is so impressive to see in person, no footed death trucks and no footed forward death trucks on lock across the whole floor but sadly on this day it didn’t quite happen for him. He did pick up enough points to take the overall title for the year end. Congratulations Todd!


Todd Carter is one of the smoothest riders out there, guillotines are no joke. And Todd has them on lock. Photo by Effraim.

Young gun, Mannie Nogueira tore up the floor with both handed pedalling ice creams a’la Dane Beardsley for the 7th place spot, and dialled backwards manuals. This kid has a bright future, great to see new talent coming through the Am Flat Circuit. Ron Monis didn’t quite hold it together as he normally does, but did hit a super long last link to take the 8th place spot. The level of riding was super high in the expert class, one of the best I’ve seen rider for rider in a long time. The highest seatpost of the day award would have gone to this guy, Micah Murray, Micah has a super smooth long rolling style, one of my favourites was his xft pedal five line, which in practise he was hitting into juggler and back into xft pedal five, a’la Phil Dolan. It didn’t quite happen for him in his runs, but dope to see nevertheless.
One of the highlights of the Guru jam for me in tenth place, Lincoln Harbeger. This guys riding is a breath of fresh air, and on his day he could easily win the expert class. Super unique halflash combos, and an amazing xft ankledeath steam/karl combo that I can’t wait to see pulled clean, flowing around the bike, this guy looks like he was born to ride flatland. I’ll definitely be looking out for a lot more from this guy.


Good times judging the expert class with Chad Degroot and Art Thomason.


Catfish killed it with the antics and mic duties all day! Photo by Michael King.

Between 10th and 21th was super tight, as it was in the top ten actually. Josh Hansen took the 11th place spot on board Jaffa’s Focus frame, and came out of one of his links in a super unique way to bar ride, I’ll have to see that one again, super creative. The 12th place spot went Shauny Meme Lapsley, aka the Jamie Bestwick of flatland sorry bro I had to tell Catfish to call that one out. Shauny has a really smooth style and great original rideouts. In the 13th spot, Morgan Peckosh didn’t have the cleanest run, but the xft steam flip to right hand halfpacker was dope!!!

In the 14th place spot, the man who set up the livestream, so you have Scott Nagy to thank for that! Scott put together two nice runs full of front and back wheel, nice hitch to whiplash out, switch foot gerators and with the Terradome now his home riding spot I look forward to much more from him. No pressure Scott! In the 15th place spot, Mr AM Flat himself, Shaun Lapsley, like his bro, really smooth styles and creative exits as well as dialled backwards hitchhikers, good job Shaun.
York PA local, Jeff Brown took the 16th place, he had a bit of trouble with his back brake during his run. He did hit a smooth whiplash to hitchhiker carved across across the whole floor in his second run, that i’m sure Kevin would have been proud of.

The Reklamation crew were in full force, Jason Rideout dropped halfhikers, turbine mega spins and looked like he had a blast doing so, great to see all these fresh faces loving flatland. Terradome local Phil Brunet hit one of the smoothest links of the class, forward rope to two footed backyard with no scuffs, had so much fun riding with Phil and Scott Nagy during my time in Columbus. Like I am with Scott I’m excited to see where Phil goes with his riding with this fantastic facility to utilise. Keep busting guys! Chris Armstrong tied with Phil for the 18th spot, a few crashes hooding him back, but the support of his daughter Libby jumping up and down overtime he hit a combo summed up the guru jam nicely. The community spirit shone bright, I told you I would mention it again… and again..

Jim McKay put down the camera and busted out super fast hop rocket 3’s into megaspins reppin’ the OSS cat t-shirt, and came super close to no footed steams grabbing both back pegs. Great to meet finally meet Jim! 19th place for one of the most hardest working people in flatland. Big ups Jim! The 21st spot, but no means least went to Alan Young. I haven’t seen Alan ride in person before, but now after this showing I’m expecting a lot out of him even though he had a bad day, super controlled inside no handed karls. The two run format worked really well for the expert class, it held the tension with the crowd throughout. One of the many highlights of the Guru jam for sure, such a positive vibe! Congratulations to all, but particularly Austin, Ivan and Joe for the top 3 podium finish in such a stacked class.


DJ Mark Eaton provided the perfect soundtrack for the Guru jam, photo by Effraim.

Whilst all this was going on, DJ Mark Eaton tore up the decks, with new tracks mixed in with old Dorkin’ classics all day! Catfish and Degroot goofed off with Guru jam inspiration Scott Powell at every opportunity, lord knows what you saw at home! These guys are a riot, good times!!! There were so many legends from all generations in the building, some I haven’t mentioned till now AFA killer back in the day Danny Meng, Scott Powell I just mentioned, Brian Rybak, Bll Keaggy from ACC ‘zine frame, Krys Dauchy, street shredder Stevie Hamilton and many more.

The two run format worked amazingly well at the Guru jam. By now you all know that Jean William Prevost, Jason Plourde and Dane Beardsley took the top 3 spots. But let’s start from the bottom and work way back up. Joe Miller took the 13th place spot and had a tough time, and didn’t take his second run, but was happy to make his contribution to the prize purse by entering. I thought that was awesome gesture. Chicago’s Tod Gully is super fun to watch, loved his junkyard perverted decade to switch foot greater. An oldie but a classic that no ones does anymore, 12th place. In the 11th place spot, Prasheel Gopal turned up late, so much so, that I assumed he wasn’t coming. Making it just in time for a lil’ of the expert class and the pro of course, Prasheel strung together a nice jumplash to plasticman xft steam pivot to crackpacker, love that move and he nailed it with ease, 11th place spot to one of the most dedicated riders on the contest scene.

Ok, now we get into the top ten and Joel Schallhorn made a big impression on me, not only for his nude fine art modelling which you know Joe had to stick drawings around the building of course, but for his unique approach to riding, one of the highlights for me was his under hand manual to regular manual. Real good to see someone taking a different path, interesting to see where Joel goes with his riding and modelling in the future.
9th place went to James McGraw, he maybe old by most our standards, but boy can he snake a practise session. James turned in a nice second run, lacing bar spin gliding inside switch-b’s, rocket hang five to time machine on the pedals, the banter with this guy is great. So much energy, long may it continue James. You pumped me up for sure.
8th place went to one of the underrated riders in the contest scene, Andy Cooper. Multiple g-strings to backwards hitches are no joke, not to mention his ice cream to backwards straddle brakeless, that is tough. Big up Andy for busting out for so many years, much respect due.

In practise in the days leading up to the event, a lot of the talk was that Tyler Gilliard could podium if he hits his stuff. Tyler’s trip to China has done his riding the world of good, stripping his combos down to the bear essentials, nothing but hammers. It looked like he was so in the zone he exhausted himself in the warm up and didn’t realise he was first up in his group. Nevertheless Tyler hit whoppers, half cab whoopers, half cab to steams as well as a really nice x over steam whip to halfpacker combo. A few too many crashes and touches held him back on this day, looking forward to seeing what Tyler brings in the future. 7th place for the man behind the new profile freecoaster.
6th place went to one of the biggest characters in flatland, if you have ever met Percy Marshall you will know what I am talking about. Percy is on the verge of being a top 5 heavy hitter in the pro class, loved his no handed death trucks step up no handed blender, and a massive final combo with hitch to darkside caboose mid way through.
5th place went to Hoffman Bikes Art Thomason, Art had a clean first run, so good to see Art still out there killing it after all these years. He seemed to grow in confidence after every trick pulled in his first run, loved his whip no handed halfhiker swing back round one handed step to messiah, and also his pumping hitchhikers mid combos not only gave him so many options for long combos, but also made Art stand out! A well deserved fifth place for Art.
Now Matt Wilhelm in fourth place is a rarity on the US contest circuit, such was the level at the contest and the fact Matt hadn’t got any real flatland practise in since August. Daily shows and being parent, but it’s a measure of the guy that still came out swinging. And what he did pull what absolutely amazing, still without a doubt in my eyes one of the best flatlanders on the planet, his spinning greater locked into spinning forward death truck stood out for me. But there’s so much more from one of the only riders rocking both brakes, keeping it true.


Dane Beardsley, backwards rear wheel backpacker during a practise session the day after the contest. Photo by Effraim.

The top three rode at an amazing standard, some of the best contest riding I’ve seen in person in a long time. Watching Dane Beardsley ride I got the feeling you could have blindfold the man and still get the same results, Dane is so dialled, the highlight for me was the x-ft gliding dump truck to backwards ice-cream to backwards 2ft backward pivot xft lawn shove it regular lawn one kick to xft forwards ice cream one kick backwards x-handed rope into two handed cranking rope-a-roni and out with so much steez, it was flatland buttery! Catfish once took shower with Dane, he wanted you all to know. Third place for Mr Same Thing Daily!
Second place went to the explosive Jason Plourde, who else does foot jam decades mid combo into x-ft mega spin pivot spinning greater to brakeless stubble duck shove it mega spin foot jam decade out! Amazing moments in the Terradome! Great to see Jason red in person.
Dub’s first run was something special, something you don’t witness every contest for sure. Like a tiger straight out the gate, if you missed his run, check it out below if you missed it! The save as he 540 pivoted into pumping inside switch-b, just screamed “bike control!”. Dub’s run was action packed from the moment the clock started. Dub was crowned the Guru jam Champion for the first time. Congratulations Dub!

At this point I must thank Joe for not only flying me out to the Guru jam, but also his and Angie’s hospitality during my stay. Joe had a few shoutouts to add here: Danny Sirkin for hooking up all the prepayments for the contest as well as the sponsors and DJ Mark Eaton, Mark smashed it on the decks all day! So rad to see Mark at Guru! Big ups!! Behind the scenes Angie and Amy for all their hard work running the registration desk, and Andy Johnson for the the website! The Guru jam was all about friends getting together and helping the cause, just an amazing contribution to the flatland scene, I can’t say enough good things about it!


It wouldn’t be a true guru jam repo without a shot of Joe and Scott, and even funnier is James McGraw photo bombing. Pure gold! Photo by Effraim.

Joe is living the dream with the Terradome, and I’m so stoked that he was able to implement his ideas into a contest and share them with the flatland world! Truly one of the best and most fun contests I’ve ever been to, the independent feel about it, no rush to leave the building, loads of practise time, dope floor, the riding level, so much going for this event. There’s already talk of the second Guru jam. The feeling of the event truly being his, you don’t see that often in flatland, it added to the event. Not to mention the non stop banter with Joe, Scott, Chad D, Catfish, Danny, and everyone involved. The after party was great to catch up with everyone out of the contest setting, and to top off the next day Joe and Angie laid on a meal for everyone left at the Terradome. Like I said earlier so much thought, and hospitality went into this event. I’m sitting here two weeks after the event getting ready to post this, still smiling at what went down in Columbus, Ohio.

Thanks for everything Joe, Angie and everyone that made Guru jam what it was!

Guru jam was a blast, when’s the next one bro?

Effraim/Flatmatters

Guru Jam Diaries Part 3

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Dub, killed it all weekend, inside switch -b from “that crazy body varial” during fridays practise session.

With how busy I was on Saturday, the Guru jam diaries took a lil’ intermission before I get to Part 3.If you were lucky enough to see the livestream, you will know that the Guru jam was such a good vibe. I haven’t experienced anything quite like it for years, from the attention to detail on the contest organisation, to the rider to rider support during the contest. Just an amazing contribution to flatland by Joe Cicman, Angie and everyone involved.


Judges for Novice, Expert and Vet Classes. Chad Degroot, Art Thomason, and myself.

This is my last full day here in Columbus, Ohio, off to session the Terradome in a bit with Dub, Jason Plorde, Tyler Gilliard and whoever else shows up today. I’ll be posting a full repo once I get home, Jim McKay was on hand so look out for a tasty edit from him sometime soon.


Non stop antics all weekend, Catfish interviews Guru jam inspiration, Scott Powell as Chad D gives it the shocka for all of you at home watching. Scott Nagy works on livestream behind.


The day after, Joe and Angie held an after contest dinner. Joe walked into a standing ovation, it was a really nice touch to a great weekend here in Columbus, Ohio!

Guru Jam Diaries Part 2

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Inside No handed Switch-b from Mr Purple, Bryan Huffman!

Second full day in Columbus Ohio and the rider attendance is growing by the minute, quite literally! And with that the sessions and atmopshere are getting more and more intense. Yesterday we saw the arrival of a whole posse from York, Baltimore, Chicago, Bryan Huffman, Dub, Jason Plourde, Tyler Gilliard, Jim McKay, James McGraw and many more!


Jason Plourde tore up the floor last night!

We scheduled a live flatwebtv chat with Anthony Buglio, to do our first Flatmatters pick of the month, talk all things Guru jam related, and announce my Deco hook up! Fun times at the Terradome! This place is so rad! Check out the show above this post!


Tyler G, mid xft steam whip combo! Unfortunately Tyler wasn’t rocking the Profile freecoaster, but reports he will running the prototype version from next weekend!


So stoked with the Deco hook up! As with all things Deco…..

Live link will be posted tomorrow!

Guru Jam Diaries Part 1

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Joe, downside no handed halfpacker whip.

Yesterday was my first full day in Columbus Ohio as we approach the Guru jam contest on Saturday. This event is a real coming together of the flatland community, from Joe’s training facilty the “Terradome” that he rents, to friends Todd Carter out in LA helping with the logo design, Scott Nagy getting the livestream set up for you all to watch, to longtime friend Catfish MC’ing the event. The excitement is building everyday.

Scott took me to the Terradome, which is actually “Terradome2” as they already had a previous indoor spot which was way more ghetto. When you arrive into the Terradome, my thought was wow this legit, like the Berrics of flatland I have dreamed of for years. Joe is making it happen.


Scott Nagy working on hitch turbines.

I ended up riding a solid 6 hours in two sessions with Scott Nagy and Joe Cicman, as I always ride on my own back home so experience something fresh. I offered advice to Scott on hitch turbines and was so rewarding to see him progress at them during the session. Joe got off work and was on fire right out of their gate, it was obvious Joe has been working uber hard on his consistency. The fire in the eyes was motivating to see to say the least.


Yours truly Flatmatters, mid x-ft juggler.

The guru jam is going to go off this weekend, Joe just confirmed Dane Beardsley is coming to the event. Riders are arriving today from York PA, Chicago, Danny Sirkin, Tyler Gilliard from Florida and many more. You can watch the event live on Saturday with various interviews hosted by Krys Dauchy throughout the day as well as the contest broadcast. Stay tuned for further updates.

http://gurujam2013.com/

Repo: York Jam 2013 by Brett Downs

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Text/Photos: Brett Downs.

This past weekend, the annual York jam went down in PA. Plywood Hood, Brett Downs was on hand to let us all know what went down.


Digger, two foot backyard.

As I was driving home last night from the 2013 York Jam, it was a quiet drive with my sons both completely passed out from a full day of BMX and fun. It gave me a moment to reflect on not only the day’s events but also the history.
The first Jam we held was in 1990 and purely based on the lack of contests bringing riders together. We missed our friends and wanted to see what everyone else was doing in their own parking lots. Now twenty three years later, not much has changed. There is no starting or ending time, no fees, no rules, no age classification. All that’s needed is a good attitude.
I got there early and had to leave right away to go buy hoodies for my kids due to the 58 degree temperature. That’s a first. Digger, who now runs the jam, moved the date to September and it was a blessing not to be in 100 degree heat for the first time. The dark clouds hid the sun for a couple of hours but then they parted and the temperature and the amount of riders climbed.
There were some big names like Dane, Leif, Cerra, Mc Graw and Jones there but honestly, they weren’t the show. Everyone there was the show. We all rode, jumped the little launcher down the hill, took turns on Ivan’s motorized Wal Mart mountain bike and enjoyed seeing friend old and new. DJ Mark Eaton (AKA Lungmustard) showed up with a generator and his system to add an amazing live Dorkin’ soundtrack to the day. One of the younger riders said it sounded like he was at the first York Jam because of the mix but how better to start off the day of riding in York than with Eaton’s live remix of Public Enemy?


Mark Eaton was on hand all day, dropping the soundtrack for this years York jam.

Riding highlights were James McGraw showing us about 6 different coasting junkyard variations and trying a unibike for the first time (be ready for him to build his own very soon), Percy from Canada was shredding hard, fast and non stop with more energy than anyone else there. Bryan Huffman makes it to every jam and was killing it with a great mix of older tricks thrown in between new school moves. Ivan once again won the “first double decade” contest and confused many riders with his effortless style to the hardest tricks. Dane Beardsley shot a lot of video so hopefully it will pop up sooner or later. There were also about 10 kids jumping the ramp and dive bombing down a grass hill landing.


A lil’ trick ramp jump session went down, pure BMX in York, PA!


James McGraw must be clocking as many air miles as anyone this year! James made the trip to York and impressed with his bag of tricks!

So another York Jam has come and gone. Everyone agreed with Digger that September is the right month so that’s the plan for next year. When I was running the York Jam I wanted to stop because I was afraid it would slowly die down due to a lack of interest. I’m sure glad I was wrong and I hope to see you there next year.

Repo: OSG 14 by Shane Badman

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OSG #14

Text: Shane Badman.
Photo: Andras Pentak.

The Offline Sports Games is Hungary’s biggest action sports festival. For those not in the know, Offline is the premiere magazine for action sports and urban culture in Hungary where they cover everything from BMX (and flatland of course!) to skateboarding, inline skating, music and so on.

 Each year they hold a contest in Budapest for BMX, skateboarding and MTB with a much of top shelf music performers to cap it off. For the past few years they have been using the area behind the iconic Heroes Square in Budapest that doubles as a lake in summer (where you can even cable wakeboard!) and an ice skating arena in winter.

In between the time they drain the lake and make it suitable for ice skating, the OSG contest takes place; for 2013 this was September 7.

The flatland part of the festival was invite only with the pro list deep with talent. Riders included: 

* Pal Gyenes(HUNGARY)
* Andras Domany (HUNGARY)
* Laszlo Tivadar (HUNGARY)
* Mihaly Hajnacs (HUNGARY)
* Peter Sarlos (HUNGARY)
* David Szabo(HUNGARY)
* Matthias Dandois (FRANCE)
* Martin Drazil(CZECH)
* Sebastian Grubinger (AUSTRIA)
* Dominik Nekolny (CZECH)
* Alexis Desolneux (FRANCE)
* George Manos (GREECE)
* JF Boulianne (CANADA)
* Jean Bulhon (FRANCE)
* Sebastian Pospischil (GERMANY)

.


Dom, mid halfpacker switch on his way to first place in Budapest!

Qualifiers and finals were held on the Saturday so partying for most was “chilled” the night before. The spot was swept and cleaned as best it could be but with the dirt jumps not far away, there was always going to be challenge of riding with a dusty surface. The riding in the qualifiers was not at the usual high standard with a lot of riders struggling to complete their runs. Not so riders like Dominik and Matthias who’s riding was on point. Everyone knows how they ride, so no need to go into details.

The finals rolled around late in the afternoon as the sun started to dip behind the famous Heroes Square. The final 8 that went through from the qualifiers all meant business and most riders had flawless, or close to, runs. By this time of the day, the festival was rammed with people so the crowds watching were definitely in the spirit to watch some gnarly riding go down. There will be vids floating around on the inter webs somewhere along with results, so check those for the low down, but the bottom line here is that everyone put it all on the line and rode amazing.

Shout out goes to Laszlo Tivador who looked like he had the run of his life hitting all his hard and original combos. He was stoked. Dominik is maybe the most technical rider on the contest scene at the moment and the hard work he puts in showed itself with a flawless final run that earned him the top spot. Also from the Czech Republic, Martin Drazil killed the front and back wheel and showed how dialled his riding is at the moment. Matthias rode like Matthias always does and killed it on the front and back wheel. With some riders slowing down for the dusty surface, Matthias rode like it was his home spot and didn’t seemed bothered at all. Seppl worked through his unique nose wheelie / whiplash / half-packer combos and JF Boulienne dropped his signature front-yard runs.

Sebastian Grubinger and Alexis Desolneux brought a whole different style of technical riding to the contest with their endless whiplash variations and Sebastian’s backward facing manuals (he also pulled it cross-footed too).

Highlights for the weekend were definitely getting to hang out with everyone again including George Manos who stayed at our flat for the weekend. It was cool hearing about his approach to pegless flatland.

It’s always a good time at events like this. Catching up with friends and making new ones and creating some good memories for the future. Preparation is already underway for next year with a time clock and better floor preparation. Thanks to all the riders, Burn Energy Drink, Offline Sports Games and OG Bike Co for making it happen – see you all next year!



Peeeeeeeeeace!

Badman.