Rich Hirsch is someone I was always interested in when I was younger. He was one of a handful of pro’s that were blowing up in the Northwest when I was really getting into riding, and he always seemed to have some sort of project going on. Whether it was a clothing company or a video, Rich knew how to keep himself busy.
Now Rich is still riding, but is looking at life much differently than when I first met him. He started two major brands in BMX that are going stronger than ever – Lotek Footwear, and Fremont Clothing. While his main focus is his companies, he still manages to make the cover of major BMX magazines. Rich is a very interesting person and probably lives his life much differently than you would expect. One thing that has never changed with Rich, is that he’s always got a new project up his sleeve and no matter what it is I don’t think Rich will ever stop surprising us.
Faile is an art collective out of Brooklyn that is one part Canadian, one part American and one part Japanese. Their work is very pop art and collage influenced and I really love all their installations, especially the wood cut pieces. (via QBN)
This was random. TL’s got an interview up on High Snobiety about all things SE. Check it out. That woodgrain OM Flyer looks dope.
Also, I just spent a bunch of time checking out the photos on TL’s site too. Todd keeps some good records. I remember sweating that 360 sequence over that Dover jump/gap. Nuts!!!
Aesthetic simplicity and functionality at its best! I was Parkinsons Disease- Best-selling Book On The Internet looking around at the NYtimes today and decided to check out the Conversations section and was very impressed! Not only were the videos done very well! The site itself should also have something said about it. experience it for yourself, my personal fav Conversation is Ben Stein’s!
If you haven’t seen it yet, check out an interview with our very own Mike Ardelean on Japanese BMX legend, Shoe-G’s blog. Also if you haven’t done it yet, wish Mike a happy birthday (we are almost a week late, but better late the never)!
Maciek Kobielski is a photographer I came across while browsing through some magazines at the news stand on Friday. I don’t remember what magazine I saw his work in, but I did recognize some of his photos from the latest Rock & Republic ads… He has A LOT of great shots on his portfolio and I had a hard time slimming down my favorite picks. So check out a bunch of Maciek’s photos after the jump and check out even more his site – maciekkobielski.com.
Josh Sperber, owner of Bay Area’s Hella Tight hat brand (and Defgrip fan), sent through some caps for our melons. Thanks dudes!!!
At first, the name didn’t ring a bell, but once I saw the branding/designs, it all clicked. The hats arrived in that solid black box, and appear to be built real nice and with good details. Check them out below.
Ryan Bailey, another great photographer residing in the infamous Snake Lounge in Brooklyn, has updated his portfolio. He’s got a great mix of people/hot girls, landscapes, and some BMX photos.
Cameron from Hidden Clothing hit me with an email containing an amazing collection of old school BMX Polaroids. The photos came from a guy he works with, and they are apparently him and his friends when they were younger. It’s incredible how well these photos sum up what it’s like riding bikes when you are young and I really feel like this is what BMX is all about… All I can think about when I look at these photos, is the time in my life where I had not quite got into the whole BMX scene. I was riding bikes every day, but it was more of just curb jumps and flyouts. Me and my friends were still discovering BMX magazines for the first time and the whole idea of BMX was just so fresh! Some of my strongest memories of BMX are from those days. Big thanks to Cameron and his co-worker for hooking up the photos!!
I’m super psyched on the intro animation/movie for the Re Reserved site. I definitely feel like you get a bit lost in there for a second, like you are looking at something more than just a website. I did find everything after the into a bit confusing… I’m also really into the repeat video on each side of the main screen.
Shadow has been doing these rad hand drawn ads. They start from a photograph, illustrator over top, and add some goodies in here and there. The ads are rad and the concept is dope. When each ad drops, they are posting the before and after shots on their site. So far they have ads of Alistair Whitton and Ryan Sher. Check out the ads after the jump and go to the shadow site (click on the ad feature in the side nav) to see the before shots…
We (myself and Travis Stearns) were recently asked to do a mix/podcast for Damien Correll’s mix series, Heard & Not Seen. I’m sharing an advanced copy below for the people that are interested. Thank you!
New Math is a project by Craig Damrauer that I cam across on the Build Blog. I found the project very amusing and I really loved the simplicity of the whole thing. My favorite has to be the Modern Art one that’s above… How many times have you heard people say stuff like “I could splatter paint on a cavas, what’s the big deal” haha…
Since I was 11 years old Lee Reynolds has been my favorite rider. Aside from Brian Blyther, I feel like Lee and fellow Brit Craig Campbell were the first freestylers to “have style”, if I may be so bold. They did fewer tricks, but better… a trait that seems to have come full circle for those of us who can’t get enough Chase Hawk or Mike Aitken or Eddie Cleveland.
As you can imagine it was an honor for me to meet Lee this past weekend at the Old School Reunion and watch him kill the vert ramp on his new Verde complete. I told him the story about how, in 1989, I tore a photo of him out of a magazine and and sent it to Haro with a self addressed stamped envelope, hoping for an autograph. Lee, being the gentleman he is, signed and returned it to me and that gesture has stuck with me for the last 20 years.
Look for a full length Lee Reynolds interview coming soon on Defgrip.
Check out a great Autophoto with Boston photographer and film lover, Jeff Allen. Jeff was the one who’s Hasselblad was smashed on that Metal trip and he included the photo in his series along with many other great shots…
Check out this Carhartt Gran Canaria bmx roadtrip video featuring Stefan Lantschner, Bruno Hoffmann, Owain Clegg, Ben Hennon, Hannu Cools, Arthur Dietrich, Paddy Gross, Barry Koehne, Benny Paulsen.
