As Marton Szilagyi celebrates his 48th birthday, I think back to meeting Marton for the first time when I was riding alone in the skate rink at Southsea Skatepark, I must have been 14/15 years old at the time.
Marton was working in the circus down towards the fair ground, and we hit it off right away. He was at the time riding at a basic level, a year later he came back and was an absolute monster.
As I watch Marton’s 48th birthday edit I think about this guys contribution to the sport, he’s done so much it’s hard to really capture it, but whether video parts, making full videos (Trickstars, KHE videos), mentoring riders (Adam Kun, Denes Katona, the list goes on), running OG bike Co and a bike shop and distro. Marton is one of the most skilled riders out there in my opinion, this video is well worth watching, good production and even better timeless riding. Thanks for all you do OG Marton!
Yesterday right as I posted Brandon Derbowka’s amazing new edit, I got a notification on instagram that Yu Katagiri had dropped a new edit. Rather than post 2 banging edits at the same time, I decided to give Brandon’s edit some limelight on the site for 24 hours, well deserved in my opinion. Today, is all about this wonder kid from Nagaoka,Niigata Japan.
I had the pleasure to watch this 13 year old prodigy at two contests in the summer, BMX Cologne and Urban Waves and the kid delivered in both contests and is the real deal. What were you doing at 13 years old? This level of riding, creating tricks, being consistent, beating established pros double your age? It’s easy to say Yu Katagiri is the future, but he’s already here and smashing it hard!
As with all Must Watch edits I like to highlight why I chose this edit as Must Watch, and before I get into details, regardless of age this hits the spot really hard and can only inspire you for today’s session!
1:22: Carved peg wheelie flip to pedal g-roll turbine flip to opposite foot turbine ice cream shove it xft ice cream turbine flip pivot to spinning lawn bike flip to xft mega spin turbine pivot to g-roll flip back to spinning lawn bike flip to pedal turbine g-roll out! (that last switch is insane!)…
2:03: Xft carved peg wheelie pivot to two footed backyard pivot direct to backwards ucchie spin bike flip to xft pumping ice cream backwards xft ice cream spin pivot peg wheelie to xft ice cream (that switch rewinding to understand) to backwards spinning x-ft cream to backwards foot pedal time machine out! Thats’s two massive lines already with so much creativity within, this kid!!!
3:00: My favourite line of this amazing edit, the beginning just has me hitting the rewind. So rad!
Go watch this and admire this kids technique, I feel like I have typed enough over the past few days. I’m left thinking various thoughts…
If Yu is this good at 13 years old, what happens when he is 18 years old and so on…. Thank you ZOLS ETM for sharing this kids amazing talent with us all, flatland just went up a notch and then some! Hitting the rewind and watching in awe of this kids abilities.
Can we please see some footage of his brother, Ryo!
It feels like a minute since a fresh Kobe scene edit by Kenshiro Ojima dropped from Japan, today the wait is over! So much good content already this month it is crazy right now trying to keep up with what’s going on across the globe. The scene is looking healthy in Kobe, Japan and today we have the YBF Vol 2 featuring Fumiya Wakabayashi, Kenshiro Ojima,Toshiaki Chiwata and Kouhei Okuda. Enjoy!
It takes a lot to move the Heresy Tour video off the top spot here on Flatmattersonline today. You just know when you hear the name, Brandon Derbowka that this is going to be really good and this does not disappoint.
Right from the off, working a really tight indoor riding spot, 00:05 a straight version of Martti’s xft hitch full body varial. Starting opposite xft Karl to opposite xft hiker to backwards backpacker for a second literally pivot regular side xft hitch, beautiful. Literally everything hits hard in this edit, so this might be a long description. But I wanted to show this video some deserved love, so bare with me.
00:18: Xft opposite halfpacker pivot hitch pivot regular side xft halfpacker, how he flips that hitch to xft from an almost straight angle is amazing!
00:47: Xft whiplash to xft hitch jugglers, crossing his feet regular and opposite on each rotation of the juggler, watch this one again and again. So technical!
1:14: Might be my favourite line of the edit, xft half hiker to halfpacker pivot opposite xft hitch and he comes out straight (that’s the key point), to opposite backwards backpacker switch hands regular backwards backpacker pivot xft half hiker to the Martti Kuoppa xft hitch body varial this time in circles! What a line, difficulty levels off the chart here, wow!
1:47: Xft half hiker pivot to halfpacker bars straight pivot xft hitch xft whiplash switch leg to regular xft halfhiker pivot halfpacker pivot opposite xft hitch! Are you following all this?
And the final move, that I wish to highlight because it’s so damn technical! At 2:15, opposite Karl entry to opposite backwards backpacker hitch to regular side backwards backpacker pivot xft half hiker uncross leg switch to opposite xft half hiker backwards backpacker pivot xft hitch out!
What an edit, I realise today the Heresy edit will get a lot of attention, but do not sleep on this one. Holy shit! Take a bow, Brandon Derbowka this is truly inspiring!
Good morning all! We start the week here on Flatmattersonline with one of my biggest current motivations, Bri Welch! If you follow the FM instagram page, you will have seen the photo of Bri balancing with a prosthetic leg! Think about that, flatland is hard enough but throw in a prosthetic leg and I can’t even imagine. I met Bri at the Battle in the Rockies this year, and she is full of life and out there doing it and learning tricks. Paula Marie over at Rad Girls BMX caught up with Bri to tell her story, which goes so much deeper. Next time you are struggling for motivation, think about this girl and what she has gone through. Much respect Bri, over to Paula Marie..
I routinely scour the girls bmx scene, looking for new talent, I’ve been doing it well over a decade, pretty much since I started riding. But I can tell you that these past few years have been some of the greatest yet. Every so often I find someone that really stands out. Recently Bri Welch caught my eye. A girl showing up to ride at the Cornhuckit Jam, at the Midwest Indy Jam, and Battle in the Rockies. Bri has a real interest in riding that you rarely see, and she’s already planning to host a clinic this upcoming spring to inspire others to ride. Even though Bri just started flatlanding last spring it has been a whirlwind for her. Much of her life has been. From new flatland beginnings back to how it all started, Bri answers a few questions I asked her when we sat down for a chat in the proverbial cafe that is the internet.
Masashi Itani & Sunny Singh met up for a session in Japan, and Sunny was able to chalk off two life goals in one day. Read his description and watch the video, the back wheel line from Masashi is off the chart!
“Two. Today I knocked out two life goals ever since I made my first BMX video back in 2000: 1) Ride with and film a Japanese pro rider at a famous spot in Japan and 2) Pull a trick of my own in Japan. Spent a few hours today riding with 2nd generation pro rider Masashi Itani and 13 year old Sakura Kawaguchi, who is just getting into flatland. In a scene dominated by men it was really great seeing her work on new tricks. She is part of the emerging 3rd generation of Japanese riders who are pushing the boundaries in terms of originality and technicality.
It took Masashi several tries to land this combo. The difficulty was the final cross footed pivot before scuffing the ride out. We had a radio playing and for good luck he switched the song to the KRS-One track that I used in the video I produced for him earlier this year from our session in Hawaii. Sometimes the right tune puts you in the headspace you need to be in.”
In a few weeks time, Keelan Phillips is hosting a xmas flatland jam at this indoor spot in Leicester, here in the UK. If you are able to make it, message the man himself Keelan on his social media for the address details etc. Here’s what Keelan had to say:
“Riders: a Jam going down to see out the year!
Saturday 22nd December, 10-4, Leicester city centre!
*Few quid on entry (and that goes directly to the hall who do loads for charity including food for the homeless)
*Chill day, music etc, msg me for the address
*See you there!”
It seems like Joe Cicman was made for the Master of Creativity contest and when didn’t enter this year I was curious as to what he was up to riding wise. Today the wait is over and for his year-end edit, he teamed up with Jim McKay for something special. From the opening Jaffa rebates, how many does he do? 10-11? I was glued to the screen wondering what was next. My shinbones ached just watching that first clip, I’m always into riders that master their craft, and do the lines they do as best they can and Joe really put some effort into the details of his riding to make the lines have as much impact as they can.
00:57: The huff packer (I believe thats what it’s called) to halfpacker jump two footed backyard.
Aside from the riding, Jim McKay did a great job I feel communicating Joe’s personality throughout the edit, the two complimented each other really well.
2:06/2:35: The hitchhiker version of the Jaffa whip rebate, really inspiring to see Joe take his Jedi skills to another trick and in turn create something new particularly that second line where momentum is coming out of nowhere and 3:13 Jaffa whip death jump to two footed backyard, although not pulled. This almost adds to the hype!
And not a scuff in sight from Mr Scuffington Post himself, the critics gather round…
Fanks a lot for this Joe and Jim, you made a rainy Friday in Southsea so much better!
Last night it happened again, I see a notification for a new Nick Watts edit right as I am about to go to sleep. It’s become a late night Thursday ritual to save Nick’s video for the morning. I feel like I must scythe same thing every week, but bot can Nick freestyle. I feel the term gets thrown a lot in flatland circles, but Nick is a true freestyler. These lines look like they are thrown together without an idea of where they could end up, bike control, quick awareness and so much style. There are a couple of standouts that made my morning I wish to highlight: the Double boomerang off the back tyre popped into xft cowboy at 00:16 and the No footed flail land back pegs to caboose at 1:07 both brought a smile to my face. It’s raining outside, thank you Nick!
On November 24th we held our second major contest at Sport Zone Veresegyház. I worked really hard to improve on last year’s contest in all departments. Thanks to our main sponsors Magnetic, IPF Corner, DMKER, Elite BMX Shop and Sport Zone we raised 1000 Euro for Pro purse. I hoped it would help bring some top Pro’s here and it did! We had 12 Pro riders from 6 countries, including the kids and Amateur riders a total of 34 competitors!
Róbert Völler “Minerboy” our live DJ was running the rider routines which made my day a lot easier. We also added new podiums and sponsor wall for the prize giving.
I split School Class into A and B classes, because there is a good step up now from the kids who are really practicing a lot. Recent contests in Hungary have really helped to motivate them. The B class was great to see as some of the kids have only been riding 5-6 weeks and still wanted to take part. Emma Kriston one of two girls at the school got second place! There is a separate video for each category on Youtube.
