The Stéphane Suini Flatmattersonline Interview

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Intro/Interview: Effraim.
Photos: Max Cassagne.

A few months ago as I started to think about 12 years of Flatmattersonline, and what I could do to celebrate, I began to think about why I do this, and get to the core of what my motivations are and actually what I enjoy doing with the site. The main thing I go back to time and time again are the interviews, I enjoy picking riders brains and I think they are educational for you at home too.

A big part of FM is like I said on the FLAT ONLY COGcast, is trying to help riders that I feel deserve some shine. As I started to reflect on the 12 years, scrolling through the sidebar on the right side of the website I started to watch Pokemon’s videos, real name Stéphane Suini! (you can watch his Pokemon 3.0/3.5 Mixtape below!)
It hit me like a flash, I need to interview this guy, lets get into it! Welcome to the The Stéphane Suini Flatmattersonline Interview!!!

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Chris Vasileiou & George Manos: C-REVENGE-G

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C-REVENGE-G from George Manos on Vimeo.

What a good day for edits! Heavy dual edit right here from two lifelong friends, Chris Vasileiou & George Manos… Love the mix in styles right here, from Chris’ long flowing front wheel lines, to George’s original short lines. It looks like these guys are riding in their houses!!! Hit play, get stoked for your session today….

Giannis Caternellis: Freestyler #111

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I’ve said before and no doubt will say it again, Giannis Caternellis has one of the biggest trick bags in the game! From the opening one footed hitch (look at the control) ending that line in one footed backpacker no less, this edit is about three edits in one! There’s a lot to digest, this got me thinking as watched this? So I;’ll throw it out there, what’s the perfect duration for an edit? Big respect to flatland lifer Giannis continually throwing down and documenting and sharing, this video marks Giannis 6th anniversary of the Freestyler series, living the FM motto literally!

FLAT ONLY COGcast EPISODE 1: 12 YEARS OF FLATMATTERSONLINE

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YO!!!!

12 Years into running Flatmattersonline on Friday 27th November 2020, it was time for something new for the site.
After various conversations with my co-host Pete Brandt during our lockdown here in the UK, the “Flat Only” COGcast is born, the title “Flat ONLY” seemed to be the most fitting, and described the direction we both feel strongly about, Pete suggested changing “POD” to “COG” to keep inline with that flatland feel.

On the evening of our 12th anniversary, I got together via zoom with Pete Brandt, Bobby Carter, Jody Temple and man of the moment, Peter Olsen to talk about all things 12 years of Flatmattersonline, Wheelie bikes as a trend, lack of flatland frames currently available, the latest video parts, reemergence of flatland only brands, back injuries and much much more. It was a great conversation, check the timestamps below for a quick reference of what is discussed when.

Grab a cuppa FM style and enjoy the first episode….

TIME STAMPS:

00:00 Intro to the FLAT ONLY cogcast, introducing Pete Brandt, and our guests Bobby Carter and Jody Temple!

5:38 12 years of FM, at what point did you guys start checking FM?

12:04 Questions for Effraim about running Flatmatters?

29:13 COVID has affected everyone’s riding. The pros and cons.

41:15: View on the over saturated market of old school frames

43:00 And not much choice in modern day flat frames….

53:57 Peter Olsen joins the show.

55:18 The reemergence of FLAT ONLY brands.

1:05:18 Back injuries and the importance of stretching…

1:11:50 Flatmattersonline year end awards coming up! So many amazing edits lately including Pete Olsen’s Ritual part….

1:26:59 Are wheelie bikes going to be the future or a passing trend?

1:39:45 Outro

Editorial: Flatmattersonline is 12 Years Strong!

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Text: Effraim.
Photos: Effraim, Bart de Jong.

Good morning everyone!

Friday 27th November marks a special day, today I celebrate twelve years of running the Flatmattersonline website!
In 2008 I said to myself after plenty of conversations and prompting from Sam Foakes on our trip to Japan (see yesterdays TBT) “let’s make a place where Flatlander’s can “document their riding, share it and naturally progress!”.”

The meaning of FM…

The name “flatmatters” originally had two meanings, the obvious, flat is important, the second, discussing topics flatland related, this became more meaningful when Mark Noble at Ride UK asked to start a flatmatters page in his magazine.
My parents competition, King of Concrete helped indirectly come up with the name, when other contests across the globe were dripping flatland. Flatland very much mattered at King of Concrete, there was a big contest floor to ride, prize money etc. I helped design a Flatland Matters tee to giveaway to everyone who rode the contest back in 2000 era, great times!

The original concept of starting Flatmattersonline pretty much runs true 12 years on. I wanted an independent place for Flatlander’s to be able to look at fresh content everyday, and help inspire their session that day. I thought if I am looking for something else on the net, than perhaps other people are too.
Interestingly enough, when I started FM back in 2008, video platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo were pretty fresh so not a lot of people were using them, and I was relying heavily on original content which eleven years on is something I am going back to and am more inspired by. So between October/November 2008 was spent writing articles to et ready for the 27th November launch.
From the initial generic blogspot days, to a full website FM that has seen many changes over the past 12 years. I really do have to pinch myself when I think about how many posts, and also how much time I must have spent putting content together for you the viewer at home.

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