Brilliant interview and banter from the Deep BMX crew with James and Phil. The pInky squeak question still gets me everytime!
Tag Archives: James White
2012 Highlights : Rider/Industry perspective (Part 1)
As I began reviewing the year, and realising just how many good videos/contests/interviews/scene edits there have been. It hit me that in addition to my review it would be cool to get the opinions of some of the riders/and industry heads that have made these highlights happen. Theres a real sense of things are on the up this year, read on to the first part of this 2012 Highlights article.
“2012 has been a great year for flatland. What has been the highlight of the year personally riding wise for you?”
Photo credit: James White.
When James White dropped this incredible bikeflip on “Whitelines” the whole flatland world took notice. As I look back on the year, this is without a doubt one of the standout moves of the year! Find out what his highlights were right below.
James White: Haven’t really travelled this year so my highlight is pretty restricted but it’s also a very easy one, The return of the Jaffa! Let me take you back to the close of 2011. It’s dark,cold, miserable weather and I’m pretty down. I get a call from Sam, when ever we get to catch up it’s so much fun putting everything to rights. So great I think this will cheer me up, but this call was different. Sam wasn’t riding said he wasn’t into it anymore, my heart dropped nooo can this year get any worse I was thinking. But I didn’t let on to him just telling things like, ‘well if you ain’t feeling it then that’s cool. don’t worry about it just concentrate on enjoying life and see if the motivation comes back, just take it slow with no pressure’. It was a hard phone call. It was like losing a family pet! (Sorry Sam, best I could come with on the fly)…
Anyway fast forward a few months and there’s rumblings of Sam riding, out the blue he goes to that redbull comp and with little practice smashes it. I speak to Sam shortly after this and asked what happened with the not riding? He replies ‘oh, well after our phone call I went out the next and the next day messing about and really enjoyed it, went out the the next and the next and been pretty regular since’……..Bastard!!! There’s me at home worrying about my boy giving up and all the time his out behind my back riding!
Anyway then comes the banging edit by Chris Massey at the Manchester jam. And my year is made!
2013 will have to have Sam’s return the contest scene to beat this year!!!
Sam Foakes: Highlight of the year for me was watching Hiro vs Ucchie on the COB livestream and seeing Hiro go off! COB was the event of the year. Don’t forget to invite me next time Red Bull 🙂 Personal riding highlight would be the Manchester jam. Nice weather and great atmosphere.
Alex Jumelin: Yes it has been a really coooool year for flatland and worldwide I can say that flatland as never been so big. In the number of contest and riders, I just hope that now big sponsor will follow ??????
My highlight of the year was of course to win the FISE.
Bart de Jong: The riding at the Red Bull COB was off the hook!
Without a doubt the most popular choice for highlight of the year. And who would argue really? The Red Bull COB went off! It was a huge honour for me to host the livefeed show!
Photo credit: Naoyuki Shibata/Red Bull Content Pool
Martti Kuoppa: Seeing / Feeling Viki being one with his bike at the COB.
Seeing DUB busting out at the COB.
Hearing Chase Gouin getting rid of illness and getting back on his bike.
Learning to ride flatland just sometimes and be happy about it.
Simon O’Brien: I would have to say for me the highlight was ‘Circle of Balance’. Not only was it an amazing event, but after being away from the scene for a while, it was great to get amongst it and be around so many riding friends again. I didnt realise how much ive missed it! And the event was in Japan….so just an amazing time!
Jean William Prevost: COB for sure!
Tom @ Sevisual: I couldn’t pick a specific highlight, but there were some great moments in the 2012 season for sure! I was able to travel a lot with Adam; we hit lots of contests this year and had so much fun. Hanging out and filming with Viki and the Madrid crew…JFB was a guest of mine for several weeks…Vienna with my friends Michael and Sebastian was priceless with great memories! Flatland wise the best was the high number of Hungarian flat contests this year. Keep organizing guys!
Matthias Dandois: Riding wise, 2012 has been such a turning point in my career, My point of view on riding has changed a lot the past year. I started not give a shit about contest, actually stopped practicing for contest, started riding everything (street, flat, park, dirt, whatever) and I’m more happy in my life than ever before. The highlight of the year are all the tours/trip I did with some of the coolest people: Odyssey trip in the Californian desert, The Frenchys distribution trip around Lyon, The dawn tour all around France, visiting the Jumelin’s family in New Orleans… Theses trips are more fun than anything else, you just have to wake up, go ride, film a couple clips and have the time of your life. BMX is, before everything: FUN, let’s just not forget about it!
Amazing photo of Matthias Dandois shooting with Soul BMX mag #77… Photo credit: Hadrien Picard
Peter Olsen: I’d say just feeling really comfortable on my bike and not feeling entirely stagnant was a main highlight of the year for me . I can’t really think of any particular tricks or days or anything that stand out, but just the overall feeling that you can go out and learn what’s on your mind has always been one of favourite things about riding.
Scott O’Brien: Emcee Voodoo, Dew Tour and COB in Japan. But nothing will beat a session with my homies in New Orleans. I had a lot of progression this spring and it was a lot of fun. Lets see what the winter will bring?!
Stay tuned for Part 2….
Old School Sundays? – Level Vibes 2001
Matthew Dyer sent a couple of nice clips from Level Vibes 2001, featuring dope riding from the likes of Phil Dolan, Alex Jumelin, Mr Level Vibes himself James White, and more. Thanks for sending in Matthew. Whether this is Old School Sundays material i’m not so sure, but it is 11 years ago…Mid School perhaps?
Throwback Thursdays with Props Groundwork
Go to BNQT.com for more videos.
So much that still amazes me about this amazing video from 2000 put together by the Props crew. Ground breaking video for sure, it’s difficult to pick the standouts without seeming to forget someone. But the Dan Rigby section has me hitting the rewind every time I watch it!
Mayko Lee’s Birthday Jam edit!
Nice edit from the weekend featuring the likes of yours truly, James White, Josh Briars, Jon Birts, James Smith, Mayko Lee, Jamie Young, Trevor Lacey, Matthew Dyer and more. Good vibes at the Bristol Bap jam! Check it!
Old School Sundays with James White & Matt Wilhelm
Without a doubt James White and Matt Wilhelm stole the show this week with two amazing edits in their own right! Check out Matt’s section from 2001, more mid school than old school possibly, but hey its 11 years old! And Whitey’s Mad Matt section from 1995 ifilmed in York, Pennsylania!
Must Watch! James White – Whitelines
Whitelines from James White on Vimeo.
Two banging edits in two days! Today’s Must Watch edit from James White! Amazing bike control front and back wheel! Are the front pegs missing for the ender? Stop reading my description and watch it already!
To scuff or not? part four
photo: sam foakes, crackpacker twist at the green mile.
photo by ec.
Is this whole matter a personal thing to your riding? Or can it be looked upon as something more than that?
Terry Adams: Not personal at all. If I bust a combo with no scuffing I do get stoked. But in no way do I think I will ever be so anal about it that I will change every trick to no scuffing.
Sam Foakes: For me, pumping has opened up a number of possibilities to progress my riding. It has also enabled me to extend my combos much more than if I didnt pump. In some cases, it can be used to stabilize a trick, I would say I am definitely guilty of that one, especially in contests. That said I dont think stabilizing pumping is as safe as stabilizing scuffing. When done to excess or without any real purpose (e.g pumping a trick with no intention of using that speed for another trick or switch) i wonder if its worth doing….
Jay Forde: It is personal, I work on a lot of different styles, rolling, pumping, scuffing, you need to work on all these to be a well rounded rider. I find myself freestyling most of the time with a lot of hustling.
James White: You could call it progression, In the 80’s, I was balancing and hopping the 90’s rolling and scuffing, and now I’m pumping. I think it’s obvious that riding will continue to get more fluid. But every time the new wave comes you think this is it, this is the bomb that cant be beat. YES! Even when I was doing petersons, gumbies, etc kitted out in full factory Skyway gear on my street corner!!! (balancing tricks for those of you werent around in the 80’s).
Keelan Philips: Each rider to their own, as I said if you feel like your going to fall off and you scuff to stabilize then cool, but it technically is less hard than if you didnt scuff, and as I said about my riding, I used to not scuff at all, but as long as I have my own original tricks in a link, no matter how small it may be, I dont mind scuffing somewhere, but if any scuffing does happen, it should be kept minimal! Like if you stabilize yourself then a scuff should do. I obviously prefer pumping, I think I can pump just about every trick I can do (I think I was the first doing pumping cliffs -not turbines just helping it move forward and hang fives).
Matthias Dandois: There is something else, after pumping, its called jumping! You only need one jump to take full speed whether you need more than to pump to get speed. So I think this whole matter is way more than that. No limit!
Justin Miller: It’s not a personal thing. This is how I’ve rode my whoile life and enjoy how I ride. I’m not going to change most of my tricks and pump it a million times to make a few people happy. I want my own style and tricks.
Chad Johnston: Yeah, its a personal thing, each person chooses what tricks they want to learn. It defines a riders style to eliminate or use different techniques. I think its cool to do your own thing. More flavours make riding interesting. There are two ways to look at it. If I look at it from an artistic standpoint, I say do whatever you want, especially if its something cool and unique. From a sport standpoint, I believe every position should be isolated and analysed. then, I think you have to take into account that there is a variety of techniques to move on your bike. Some are more technical than others. Some are more popular than others. Some are more popular than others. There should be an objective laid out for all to see.
Cory Fester: I just look at it like I want to do things as hard as I can. I like the challenge. I do a lot of backwards stuff and that stuff you cant really scuff and pumping it is ridiculous so I dont really have to worry about stuff like that too much. For me doing a 2 minute link with like 5 or 6 switches is boring and easy for the most part, I want to to do 5 or 6 switches in 20 seconds not in 2 minutes. I’ll take one really bomb original trick over a generic, flashy 2 minute link anyday.
Thanks to all the pros that answered my questions, a few didnt get back to me, but I think this is pretty comprehensive as it is. What was interesting to me, was how opinions seem to vary country to country.
any feedback blog readers?
To scuff or not? part three
Photo: Terry Adams on his own riding spot, photo by ec.
Is pumping an extra circle no different than taking a power scuff or worse?
Terry Adams: I really have no comment on this one. I will like the trick if the person does a power scuff or if they pump a extra circle to set up. Its all impressive to me.
Sam Foakes: I think pumping an extra circle is the equivalent of a power scuff, but i think it is more graceful to pump a rolling trick than to come out of a rolling trick to scuff and then to go back into it again.
Jay Forde: It’s the same thing I guess, some people cant scuff, some people cant pump.
James White: How personal do you want to get, this is peoples styles you are messing with, one may make the extra circle look fantastic, another may not. For me the goal would be to keep the speed and flow without any obvious pumps. Matthias is the master of this! But is he the master? Foakes power pumps it up like no tommorow… How do you like it? Rough and hard or soft and delicate…its a very personal choice! To answer the question though, it depends if its done to for that extra time to get a suck on that nipple. They should be marked down if so, but this is just analysing it too much! But thats you all over “E” and we love you for it. Who else would question this?
Keelan Philips: Power scuff is worse, it means you didnt get enough momentum into the trick so you scuff to compensate.
Matthias Dandois: At a point, pumping is ugly, if you pump too much its boring. So yes, sometimes its worse to pump too much instead of one scuff! For example, in steamroller, three pumps is the limit! hehehe, no more or you die!!! DOG!!
Justin Miller: Definitely! There is no difference. Whats the difference if someone lands in a backpacker and scuffs the tyre or pumps it. For me to get enough speed pumping a trick I have to pump more than i would to scuff. Each pump is like a scuff to me. It also depends on the person too. I’ve been giving the tyre a quick scuff or two or years so its no big deal and I can make it look smooth. But lets say I land in the same trick and pump it, I would look like I’m out of control and I would need to pump it longer to get my speed up. I can do it, but it depends on the rider and there style.
Chad Johnston: Pumping an extra circle is different than taking a power scuff, the riders not touching the tyre. Its a more modern technique.
Cory Fester: To me its almost the same thing. I think landing into a rolling trick straight to rolling vs.landing on the tyre is harder for sure. I think there is a big difference between catching a trick with one good pump and going vs having to catch it and roll around two or three circles to get your balance and speed.
(part four continues tommorow…)
To scuff or not? part two
photo: shane badman, circle k at the brum jam. photo by dnb chris. shant on geez.
At the highest level during a contest is scuffing the tyre mid link to stablize a trick lessening the degree of difficulty or is it adding another trick?
Terry Adams: Do I think scuffing the tyre is like touching the ground? (editors note I didnt ask that Terry). Nope. If a rider does an entire combo without scuffing I will recognise it and give them props. But I still enjoy watching people ride that hit their tyre to get speed before the next link. If the tricks are hard, I think the judges shouldnt worry too much about this, no scuffing only pumping so called future of flatland.
Sam Foakes: It is definitely stabilizing the trick. If you do a switch into a rolling trick then put your foot on the tyre, you are immediately making it easier, because you can control the speed and counter act a mistake which may have been made. I think from a judging perspective, when close decisions need to be made, this has to be taken into consideration.
James White: You can’t ask this question without pointing the finger at Justin Miller. He does the most perfect links, dropping original bombs all over the place, then kicks the tyre for no reason, its like taking a big suck on your mothers breast for comfort. I hate it. But then, it works for him to keep it together in a comp. We all know how hard it can be to pull one of your simple links in a contest, let alone what he does time and time again. I could only dream of being as dialled as he is. But to answer the question I would consider a scuff on the tyre the same as dab (touch) on the floor in this circumstance.
Keelan Phillips: Obviously if you scuff to stabilize a trick its not as difficult as without! But contests are a wierd thing, its the same as riding at your normal spot, I think a lot of riders will throw a scuff in to stabilize at a comp, because they might be a bit off riding if they are nervous, I think if you throw a scuff in to help your riding then cool, but if you did it without then even better.
Matthias Dandois: Lessening the degree of difficulty of course! I mean, when you are unstable, its so easy to scuff, and really hard to keep both feet on the pegs without touching the tyre. And its much more stylish not to scuff. Check raphael’s stubble duck, its like 1000000 more stylish than scuffing stubble duck, and much more harder.
Justin Miller: This is a hard question to answer, because there are so many riders out there with different styles and not one is better than the other. It may take away from the difficulty a bit, but it’s hard to say because I usually give the tyre a kick for speed, not to stabilize myself. Then again, if i have a choice between falling and scuffing the tyre a few times I’ll take scuffing. There is no difference though if someone pumps a trick and rolls it a long way to stabilize themselves.
Chad Johnston: I think its adding another technique to a position. It could be scuffing, squeaking or gliding. It could be hopping or stalling also. The bike is in the same pose, just motored/balanced differently. I don’t believe it lessens the degree of difficulty, it actually adds variety.
Cory Fester: Definitely it lessons the degree of difficulty of the switch, so does having to pump a trick around three circles as well. Going from switch to switch without having either of those things means the switches have to be dialled. I think its a lot harder to dial in the timing of each jump or flip than dialling how to scuff or pump.