Bit late with getting this repo up on the site, after a very busy summer. I finally have some time for myself to return to riding and updating the site regularly. Hope you all enjoy this one!
As I boarded my first flight home from the FA Battleground contest, I planned to start writing a report on the event for the site. Then, over the tannoy, we were told that we were unable to land in Chicago because of a thunderstorm. Off to Indianapolis we went, to wait until we could land in Chicago. I thought to myself, was this trip all worth it? The flight home was already delayed by twenty-four hours, and now was going to be even longer.
The Battleground contest had a real family community vibe that we really need right now. As this event clashed with the Olympics, I thought to myself, what do we really need to help the sport grow? More events? More jams? Better communication between riders? What is it that holds us back?
Congratulations to Kio Hayakawa taking the win at the Cycle Week contest in Zurich, Switzerland followed on the podium by Terry Adams and Viki Gomez! 📸 Mike S. Watch the finals right here: From 2:21 onwards…
Congratulations to Kio Hayakawa qualifying first at the Cycle Week contest in Zurich, Switzerland followed by Alex Jumelin and Matthias Dandois. Finals at 8pm tonight!
Toon Pakphum, Varo Hernandez, Lee Musselwhite, Matthias Dandois and Alex Jumelin took the 4th to 8th place spots respectively in the eFise qualifying online competition that combined fan and judging votes. take a loo at their runs if you missed them!
Many of you will have seen the entries from the Master of Creativity Pro qualification round unless you have been in a cave or something, however it is still awesome to see all the top ten entries back to back and some new faces rising to the top. Congratulations to all the finalists, finals is going to go off! Congratulations to Yu Shoji taking the top place spot. Good luck everyone for the final round…
Flat Snitches is back!
During the lockdown, plenty of time to kill and come up with ideas. Using Zoom started to become a weekly occurrence in work, and daily life, so why not use it for Flatmattersonline!
The subject of episode 5 features my co-host for Flat Snitches, Pete Brandt and the Crackpacker.
Chad Johnston, of Intrikat fame was the first to document Pete’s riding for us all worldwide, it only made sense to get in contact with Chad and include him in this episode.
Chad drops some amazing historical knowledge, and Aaron Frost joins in the episode too. We had a lot of fun on this call, the line dropped out a few times so apologises for that. You can check the time stamps on the video to skip to the parts you are interested in!
And remember kids, it’s a crackpacker not a wheelchair! Grab a cuppa and get educated.
Big thanks to Pete, Chad and Aaron for this episode!
00:00 Flat Snitches intro.
00:47 Introduction to the show.
1:36 What is a crackpacker.
2:41 When did Pete create the crackpacker.
3:49 Where were you when you created the trick.
4:45 When was the first time anyone saw the crackpacker.
6:01 Chad’s recalling filming the crackpacker for the first time & Reali-TV 1.
6:38 Chad’s fondest memory filming the section with Pete & Eric E.
7:06 Chad recalling how groundbreaking the riding was for time period.
7:30 Aaron talks about the emergence of West Coast riders…
8:44 Effraim ordering Reali-TV via the post.
11:00 Chad capturing the feel of the West Coast.
11:22 When Pete first drop the crackpacker in a contest.
12:00 When did Chad first meet Pete, Chad in leathers..
15:13 When time Chad and Pete saw the Crackpacker being copied.
18:04 Variations on the crackpacker.
19:34 Inventing the crackhanger, europeans calling it a coathanger.
23:06 Why did you call the trick a crackpacker.
24:11 Hayward and San Mateo stories.
26:16 Chad recalls his time in SF filming Reali-TV.
27:01 Chad driving back to SF for one trick.
28:01 Chad learning from Pete’s dedication.
28:31 Variations of the Crackpacker other people have done.
32:51 Is Chad still filming? Security Guard stories.
41:19 Scuff into crackpacker to learn it?
42:18 Outro.
Credits:
Chad Johnston.
Stewart Johnston, Props Video Magazine.
Lee Musselwhite.
Chris Carter just sent this this rad blast from the past, open practise from the 1999 King of Concrete at Southsea Skatepark featuring the likes of Alex Jumelin, Martti Kuoppa, Michael Sommer, Gernot Ibounig, (myself) Effraim Catlow, Sam Foakes, Lee Musselwhite, Chris Carter,James Needham, and so many more riders. As you will see, the sessions were so busy!
Intro/Questions: Effraim. Photos: Alberto Moya, Stephane Bar, Ride UK, Agency Photo, Kai Kussisto.
As we reach the final part of my Decade of Flatland article, the opinions are nicely varied. Opinions are just that, opinions (we all have one)…., we are at a healthy point in the progression of flatland where new tricks are shown almost weekly on instagram, and pretty much periodically, via video parts that are shown on the site.
For me, it doesn’t matter about your bike set up, brakes or brakeless. What matters is that your out there doing it, and living the culture of flatland and contributing something. For this final part I catch up with the boss Martti Kuoppa, Lee Musselwhite, and Jean William Prevost. All three riders, have massively contributed to the artform side of flatland, video parts, contests, and also the industry side of things too. Grab a cuppa, and enjoy this final part…
