Intro/Interview: Effraim
Photos: Provided by Alexis Desolneux.

Firstly, congratulations guys for the Readers Choice Edit of the Year! Nominated in both reader and editorial choice edit of the year, plus second place in brand of the year. Tell us about some back ground information on the Fifth of September edit, did it turn out how you wanted it?
Sebastian:
Thanks E! I was really surprised when I saw the nomination. I didn’t expect anything like this. So cool! I couldn’t believe winning the Readers Choice Award in the end. It was mind blowing to get this news before the year changed. Thanks everybody for that!

Well, the Fifth of September…
All started that Alexis always wanted to film with Tom (Sevisual). As Tom lives in Hungary and Alexis in France, they didn’t get the chance too often yet.
Alexis was going to visit me in Vienna just before the OSG in Budapest, so we came up with the idea to get Tom here as well and get some links on tape. We had two days before heading to Budapest, so we thought it could be good to film some riding and do kind of a relaxed « a day in Vienna » edit. I didn’t ride much the weeks before because I had lots of work at my job and Alexis had a bad crash just a few days before his arrival, where he cracked some ribs, so we decided to take it easy — just capturing the good vibes and chilled atmosphere.

When we arrived at the spot we got pretty motivated and I had tricks in mind I really wanted to pull for this edit. It turned into a mission and at some point all of us (including Tom) were working pretty hard to get everything done in time, haha. Finally we finished the riding clips in one day.

Honestly I didn’t think much about how the video could look like, I was just happy to pull my stuff. In the end I was really stoked how it turned out! We both got cool clips, Tom’s filming and editing was perfect as always and Michi made the best track for it. It was a fun project with friends with an awesome outcome.

Alexis:
Thanks Effraim. Yes, a big surprise for us to even be nominated considering the number of good videos coming out each year and featured on FM. I had no expectations after that, I had a lot to care about before the end of the year, time passed and we ended up winning the award, that was crazy especially after getting the video of the month on FlatwebTV…Thanks everyone !
The video almost didn’t happen. I injured my ribs 5 days before my flight and was unable to ride. Tom was already there and we had planned this for a couple months. Somehow, with a large chest bandage and painkillers I could ride an hour the day before departure so I decided to leave anyway hoping an extra day off spent travelling would do me good…I figured I’d film little things and mostly let Sebastian shred. We had only one day to film some riding so I wanted to capture that special viennese atmosphere, make it a « more than riding » thing. On the morning of the 5th of sept., although the ribs hurt all night I was motivated to spend the day outside, the weather was perfect. The bandage held my ribs in place and with painkillers again plus some warm up, I worked my way up to some riding but only in line. Anything turbined or twisting my upper body was not possible, the last link was actually a bad idea… Like Sebastian said it was a mission but just being with friends at the Heldenplatz made for a great day. Tom and Michael (Sommer) did an amazing job working together and I always like to talk about music with Michael, he’s open on all styles and we could just create our own soundtrack. Michael came in the morning to the spot and we defined the musical elements that would build up a tension mixed with a positive vibe, Heresy meeting the city of Vienna in summer…Michael nailed it first try afterwards.
I shouldn’t even have ridden my bike that day so at dusk I was stoked and the title of the video came naturally as a special day for us to remember. Thanks to Tom and Michael’s input, the video turned out better than I imagined.

Did you guys hit all the tricks you wanted? Do you prepare for edits with a plan of what you want to get done?
Sebastian:
Yes, I think about tricks before I start working on an edit. I even write them down somewhere. This list can change in the process of filming. Some tricks will go, some new will come to the list. Writing it down helps me not to think about it too much and to be able to fully concentrate on the riding. I usually start filming with the „easiest“ trick. It gives me confidence for more difficult tricks to already have something on tape. For some reason I didn’t do that for the „5th of September“ edit. Maybe that’s why I started to struggle, haha.

I really wanted to pull the links that are in the edit. I didn’t pull two of them before, but I felt close the days before. Riding and filming with Alexis and Tom gave me great motivation to go for them that day and finally pull them. As I already mentioned, it was quite a mission and there was a point when I thought about giving up one link. Alexis and Tom were super motivating and finally I landed it.
The next day my body was sore but I felt great!

Alexis:
I did get what I wanted and although being injured sucked, it probably made me appreciate it more. I focused on just 3 moves that could work despite my injury, and that I never had the chance to film properly before. We didn’t take the first pulled clips as I tried to reach that certain peak of flow/amplitude you don’t want to miss to get the right clip. It worked on the fakie Xwhips and the antechrist/backwhips line but on that last octopus line, I was in pain on each try and just wanted to pull it and put my chest to rest. I wasn’t sure about it but when I watched it I was happy with it so sometimes the only time you pull it in the session can do the job.
As far as planning goes, when we jump at the chance to film a video like this one or « Heresy in Strasbourg », there’s a bit of that to get everyone in the same place. Vienna was easy to plan but with Strasbourg in the middle of winter we had to think of spots a bit more…with Heresy in general I would say the hardest aspect is to find a way to meet up despite our different schedules and places of residence but when that happens we just try to make the best with what we get. It’s good to have a general idea of the video beforehand but feeling our environment and enjoying what we do is essential in the end to produce a document that isn’t devoid of human feelings. That said, with the limited time we had, luck was with us to get some good riding for these videos. Next to that we have our solo projects going on and it’s a different process then…

Heresy has a very particular style, which is hugely respected throughout flatland. What are the core philosophies of the brand?
Sebastian:
Honestly I don’t think much about a philosophy of Heresy or BMX in general. It’s more that I just follow the path I feel and try to do the things I want to, the things that are fun and feel good to me – on my bike and in life beside BMX.
Maybe that’s one thing that makes Heresy what it is: a few guys going their way since years, do what they love.
It’s amazing that people like and respect what we do, I’m stoked about that and want to thank everybody for their support.

Alexis:
Well, I can only say that Heresy is way more than just a brand for me, it’s everything I’ve always wanted to do…with riding, friends, music and other sources of inspiration for which we can only be grateful for all the energy it gives us and in return to share it through this project…which is like a medium where we channel our ideas and actions, make the products we need (and naturally that others might need) and present the whole thing how we like it. We put a lot of effort into our riding, following our own directions and loving it, and our local spots are where things mostly happen for us. I want to hope that it tells enough about what Heresy stands for in this world. It’s important for me to leave things to interpretation. I prefer people to feel what we do and think for themselves. Some will relate, some won’t but that’s ok because we’re not trying to appeal to everyone. Heresy came like a new trick idea that had to come out how it came out. After riding for different bike companies in the past with their own agenda, this wasn’t really a choice as at my age I was going to do it exactly that way, uniting with friends who share a vision or not do anything of that kind anymore. I quickly went for the first option ; ) Naturally it’s much harder to start an independent company but every step means something to us and for the little we did so far, it’s been by far the most fulfilling project I’ve ever been involved. Heresy is just another way among all possible ways to experience BMX and give a representation of BMX. It’s truly amazing for us if what we do speaks to people out there and we are very grateful for all the good feedback !

If anyone wants to get ahold of Heresy product, where can they get it from?
www.bmx-force.com in France and Europe, 430 / www.decadeshop.com in Japan.
We’re amidst transition as we had to part ways last month with our original distributor/producer Distance Cycles, but we’re reorganizing things at the moment to get back on tracks and have things in production as soon as possible.

What are your plans with Heresy for 2014?
Alexis:
Well, we have a lot of work this year to improve distribution of our products and we have some new stuff in the works too. I’ll also keep on printing DIY clothing so expect some limited series as usual, keep an eye on bmx-force.com
On the riding side I just put out a full part which took a lot from me…but I’m enjoying riding and back at filming to complete another kind of project later on. I’m sure we’ll have some videos coming later but we don’t plan too much ahead. I know some opportunities to meet up and film will arise as we’ll all want to travel a bit and have a good time…So see you at the spot!

Sebastian:
The only thing planned is a trip with my girl to Sydney and New Caledonia to visit Michael Husser. We start 20th of February and be around for about 4 weeks. Can’t wait for it! Probably we’ll film a bit, if we have time beside chilling on the beach:-)
Nothing else planned yet… having fun, learning new tricks, filming for samethingdaily3 which should come out end of summer. Probably I’ll film an other Heresy edit with Tom anytime this year, if he wants to and if I have new tricks. Some trips to contests will happen as well. Let’s see what else 2014 brings…

Any final thank you’s guys?
Sebastian:
Thanks Effraim and flatmatters for making this award and this interview possible!
Thanks to Tom for being so patient, always having fun and motivating me! I know that it sometimes takes a while, haha!
Thanks Michi S. for the great soundtrack and Michael H. for the graphics.
Alexis, it’s always a pleasure to ride and hang out together my friend!
Thanks Matt @profileracing, Lisa @puma, Jakub and Pauli @paar-laden, Preddy @Personal-Rec.
Thanks to my family and my girl, Simone, for taking care of me since years and supporting me!

Alexis:
Thanks E + all the readers, Tom and Michi, Michaël Husser, Giorgos Manos, Matt/Profile, my friends @Savate skate socks, Alex V/Vans France, family and friends!

Thank you guys, it was a real pleasure catching up! All the best for 2014!

Watch the edit again!

HERESY – THE FIFTH OF SEPTEMBER from HERESY BMX on Vimeo.