I first saw Ride Magazine in 93 and continue to buy it to this day, before that I had only seen BMX in print via some 80's annuals with race photos and a single copy of BMX NOW from 92 (the one with Alex Leech on the front cover doing a vertical smith stall with crust punk haircut and S+M pad set). Being a young and impressionable teenager I poured over these early publications obsessively. I absorbed every advert and every photo and I reread every article over and over. There was no Internet, if you wanted to see BMX and didn't know anyone with a stash of old mags it was impossible. You couldn't go to a library and research BMX you would simply find nothing. It was the dark ages, BMX was still in its recession. In these core years you simply couldn't find out anything about BMX. I tried so hard to find BMX but there was simply no avenues to look down. BMX wasn't going to turn up on TV, I remember having a KHE flatland catalogue with 1 page and looking at it for hours.
Ride Mag was hard to find and it only came out once every two months, when I did find a copy my friends and I would study it religiously. I would read it to the point where it fell apart in my hands. It was so precious, it's difficulty to obtain raised it's esteem. It was my first glimpse into an alternative subculture which was exciting and edgy. The ramps were covered in graffiti, the streets were dirty and poorly lit, the stair drops looked super dangerous, many of the riders had crazy rope like hair (dreadlocks) and they wore outlandish fashions, listened to punk rock, had mean expressions and were generally bad ass. All the photography was either black and white or grainy as hell colour. What was this world I was looking into? I could barely believe BMX existed, I knew it was the thing I had been looking for my whole life and desperately wanted to be a part of it but I was also a little scared of it.
What grabbed me most about these early days BMX publications was the writing, the stories were intense and often tinged with morality, the politics were bordering on anarchistic, and the characters were so rich and diverse. Everything was driven by a punk DIY energy in those days which drew me in, BMX was for outsiders, drifters, losers, punk rock squatters, alternative lifestylers and dropouts. I loved to ride my bike more than anything in the world but it was the lifestyle of BMX that shaped me as a teenager and continues to live within me as a man in my 30s. A lifestyle which I feel the media no longer portrays.
The Albion is the first ray of hope for a return to those glory days. I enjoyed every word of it. It was full of the marijuana smoking, motorcycle riding, law breaking, death wish visionaries and shit talking renegades that got me hooked on BMX in the first place. No magazine has grabbed the essence of the lifestyle like this in the last 15 years. If you haven't seen The Albion yet, go out and grab one. Read it cover to cover and remind yourself how special it is and how lucky you are to belong to the world of BMX.
Hey olly it's Eric. Long time no see and all that. I can totally relate to the things Your saying there. Although I didn't get into bmx till later on it was the same things that drew me into riding. Watching you and Marc bell ride the park on a cold morning as I supped a pint in the sundial was what turned me to riding. I thought you guys were badass, the freedom the danger the scene, I just knew this was for me and I wanted to be part of it. I still remember the first time I went street riding with you and Mexican John, before that I didn't even know it existed, I was new to it all but was keen to learn, And I have to say some of the things I've done and places I've been were the best times of my life and something I'll never forget. But for me, somewhere along the line my hunger started to fade, the first time I broke my wrists was the start, kinda a wake up call, a reality check, I came back but I wasn't the same, then after the second double wrist break it was like a bucket of water being poured on my fire, it hasn't put it out and somewhere inside a small ember of bmx love smoulders away. I've spoke to Mundo H and my Katy about it, since I haven't rode I have a void in my life, I miss the freedom, the excitement and just the good times hanging with your mates on the street. I miss having something that is just mine, an outlet, a freedom of expression. I know I can't ride at the level I used to but I do plan on getting my bike out, just seems like there's always something stopping me, things are always hectic with work and the bairn takes up alot of my free time ,maybe the Albion is what I need to reignite my fire and get bmx back in my life.
ReplyDeleteAnyway mate best get back to the rat race, this steel needs cutting.
Cheers mark. Yeah long time no see. I feel like there's all these people I know well but rarely see it's kinda weird. life just moves on. It would be rad to see you on yer bike again, but having a kid takes up a lot of time. I been down shields quite a bit riding with mouse, mark and alex. Its been like the old days. I don't really keep up with the modern tricks now so I haven't really been doing footage or anything but I still live for BMX. Once it's in your heart it never leaves. Keep the faith brother and I hope we meet up soon.
ReplyDeleteOlly.