First, give us a bit of history about where you came from and how you have gotten to where you are now.
Off to a running start huh? When I first started mountain biking I used it to train for snowboarding as I originally intended on being a pro boarder. When I blew up my knee in the snow park at Blackomb I knew my life had changed forever. Rehab was hard and intensive, in fact it took 2 years to get even basic confidence and balance on a bike. Zero boarding and no pivitol sports led to new focus. The forest has always been my temple and now that I was riding more I was starting to come into contact with other riders and trail builders. Contributing to the building of trails like Bitches brew, GMG and Secret Seventh I then became a part of the NSMBA and started with regular trail maintenance. Through this time I started riding more complex trails like Reeper and GMG on my suspension bike and really focused on street riding with my BMX. Fusing the 2 styles was very natural as I BMX raced and moto’d as a kid, however the only protection available on the market was a light duty one piece leg armour or bulky BMX pads. As my level of riding went up so did my need for appropriate gear, right about now I started riding Flow shows and needed the right protection to ride in order to keep progressing. I clued into this because my injuries were increasing dramatically, so I started developing my own riding gear, sewing and assembling at home. I made my own screen print press, and developed ways to cut and mold plastics. Because all other mtb gear was developed from mtb bikers (with courier and XC backgrounds) I knew I had to design for my needs and I knew by watching the success of the Flow Show and a healthy underground street vibe that I wasn’t the only one. Long winded huh? Well, here we are today, the Hoots agenda has not changed and I have had the opportunity to ride for sponsors, in movies, races, demo’s and comp’s and still find that design always needs to be as innovative as I am.

Can you name a few people who have been instrumental in helping you throughout your journey in the bike industry? Who played a key role in the early days?

-Pete StaceSmith and Norco bikes for believing in me and being so cool about letting me explore my own journey. Never have any of my sponsors pressured me to do anything except have funn and choose whatever path I want from racing to trail building. Pete has also provided great industry experience and has always been there for me for a sounding board on all levels.

-My girlfriend Teri has always been there for me. She has helped motivate designs off the ground when I hit blocks, gone riding with me and allowed me to see things from other angles and given me the space to put in the crazy hours I do between travelling and working. We live together but we rarely spend quality time together as I am always riding, drawing, working, writing, organizing or umm working…

-My family have always been keen and supportive although mum thinks it’s time to not have any more injuries. My sister and brother-in-law (Amber & Steve) have always been there to make sure I have extra work when I need it and to have a flexible schedule so that I can work around Hoots and riding, I can’t begin to tell you how cool that has been. My older brother Dave and his boys are always stoked, and I am always amazed when my brother puts his hands on the grips, that is inspiring.

-Declan and Ken my partners in Hoots, for years they sat and listened as mentors to all my crazy idea’s questions and concerns, our role’s have changes but the passion remains.

-Dangerous Dan for the opportunity to ride Flow shows, it sure is nice to see jumping incorporated in the shows now ?

-Pip Osborne from Banshee bike’s for unreal support. Pip has given selflessly to Hooty, from industry contacts and advice to just a big ol’ smile. Pip is single handedly responsible for HOOTS representing Vegas style’s which has been huge for us.

-Cam from NSMB.com for allowing the crazy antics and insanity of the “Yo Hoots Jay’ articles. I’m not sure if I need to expand on this one, but it really has provided the exposure I needed to get my writing career on track.

This may sound like a naive question, but how did your nickname/company name come about?
Actually I get asked this one all the time. Hoots is a name that encompasses many things, fundamentally the 4 elements of Hoots are ‘have a’, ‘nice’, ‘Wanna?’, and OWLS. I wanted a name that everyone could identify with, and certainly a name that would not implicate anything to racey. 8 years ago the first 3 elements seemed right but something was missing, then I had a very spiritual experience in the forest (which incidentally is now 6 blocks of million dollar homes in West Vancouver) with a Grey owl and my great hippy friend Andy from The Great Bicycle Co. (my first bike shop) and it all came together. The name can cross many boundaries but will always be true to nature’s purity for me. I don’t care about my last name but my company, whoa! So Hoots Jay became my deal. My girlfriend Teri has always called me Hooty and Danger would call me it during Flow shows, I think it’s funn so Hooty is what my friends call me. Now that I am so active in my community, politics, writing and so many other things I use Jay Hoots, so all things considered I am 3 peeps at one time ? I’ts just a matter of interpretation.

How have you as a rider and your company changed since Hoot’s inception 8 years ago? Where do you see yourself and Hoots heading in the next 8 years?
For Hoots gear, hmm, I guess I have bowed to the will of the masses and produced gear that has rounded and finished edges instead of rectangles and camping foam ? LOL! Hoots went though some huge blips trying to find technology and materials that could be used for my designs, but now that I have partners who really know business, I have managed to find wicked resources to work with. Our gear line up is far superior to when I first started, considering shin pads used to be made with layered plastic antifreeze bottles and are now injection moulded plastic to my spec. I am still in charge of all design and image, team and warranty stuff but I don’t get caught up in day to day operations which can really limit my creativity. Better customer service and honed business practice will allow for us to plan further into the future for design and still meet with current demand, where before I was always struggling to meet orders and stay on top of development. One thing for certain that hasn’t changed is warranty, I design the stuff and I do the warranty repairs (so please wash your gear if you have to send it back!), as I should be the one to see where the faults are. Warranty repair and solutions should come across my desk not as a spread sheet cost analysis of warranty vs profit margin but real gear and real problems. Lastly, I remember the days of sewing, cutting, gluing and bonding sometimes 20 hours at a time, heck when I did my own screen printing we had to work until our project was done regardless of the time in order to fill our domestic market demand, now Hoots is available in 8 different countries and steadily growing! YEEEEEHAW!!!

I think as a rider I have been inspired, I look back and see the crazy twists and turns of my riding career but I wouldn’t change a thing, except maybe racing without training LOL! I have put a lot of emphasis on my park and street riding (bike control) as of late and really look forward to implementing even more of that style into the trail, but generally speaking I just really want to be able to ride ALL styles of riding. I train regularly now so I can ride way more at any given time, but all things said and done I still ride much the way I did before, and even with some of the same riders, we just happened to evolve together. 5. Mountain Bike armour and clothing is a relatively fresh thing compared to the evolution in other sports.

What’s important to you when you’re designing Hoots gear?
Always remembering who we are and what our role in the industry is. Too many times I have felt myself wavering creatively wanting to start making sleek groovy line clothing or super sleek race armour, but when it all comes down to it remembering our mission statement is our strength (see our web page http://www.hootsgear.com). Safety, comfort and style is essentially the priority when creating gear, I will not sell a product I have not worn or ridden and proven myself when I giver. I go off a lot about being a rider owned company, but that’s what we truly are. My sponsored team is considered first and foremost, product developers and our sales reps are excellent sounding boards as we try and always keep in touch with our retailers and bike mechanics on what we can do to have a better product.

As a professional freerider and an ambassador of the sport, where do you see freeride heading in the next few years?
Thanks for the props fellas, very kind of you ? I see a few things some positive and some negative. Certainly the overall increased riding level of most riders is allowing the push of trail building to incorporate cool stunts and features which allow for some seriously funn trails. I remember 2 years ago at InterBike 2 booths had ladder bridge in it (Ryders eyewear and Banshee Bikes) and last year you couldn’t walk a down a aisle without seeing it in dozens of booths and so many booths with Freeride videos playing, crazy. From all accounts Freeride bikes/accessories has the largest growth in the bike industry and I think for good reason, not everyone wants to compete or race but everyone wants to ride and that’s what it is all about. So I see better bikes, components, gear and clothing all coming down the line in a buyers market for awhile. What I do see is that so many people are getting into mtn biking that not enough of them are able to have experience with old timer’s and trail builder’s who can give some history and explain why we need to respect our sport, our environment, our neighbours and ourselves. So many places get shut down because riders don’t respect and we are having some HUGE issues on the Shore (amongst other places) right now for this very reason. I can’t believe how many rude and roughian tough guys there are who are all about givn’r at all costs. When the local neighbours got together to try and ban riding on Grouse I could only agree with most of their complaints, heck I ride way different trail than I used to just to stay away from crowds. I know you need media to push a concept or idea to make it mainstream so that way it can thrive but mountain biking for me has always been about soul, it sure would be nice to see some of the hard core freeriders with bad boy image share their intimacy with the forest for the rest of us to relate with, as I think good or bad shit slides downhill so let’s see some sponsored rider’s and bicycle icons lead by example in the etiquette department. Hey speaking of that, lets see more sponsored riders go out and build/maintain regular trail not just stuff for film and set an example, I wonder if I should make this a Always mad challenge? DOH! Hooty might not be invited to the next rider meeting now…

Which leads us to our next question: You were fortunate enough to witness Red Bull Rampage in Utah first hand. The riding in the videos and print we have seen are awesome. It looks like both the technical aspects and sheer bigness of the riding increases every time RedBull puts one of these events on. What were your impressions while spectating this event? Do the videos and imagery do this event justice? And do you see a limit to how big this kind of riding can be?
I have always been amazed by the footage of the Redbull Rampage but I have only seen maybe a couple of clips that really do it justice! Every one of those riders that have put it on the line to ride deserve EVERY props coming to them. The lines are sick the size is madness and the thing that is the craziest is that the majority of the lines have little to no run out. The landings to stuff leave you perched on precarious little shelves wrestling with mini bushes or rocks, the exposure is insane. The easy lines are beyond most rider’s capabilities and the accepted normal lines are ridiculous, there is not a line to be had without a minimum 8’-10’ solid drop to exposed line and then throw in testosterone, Kodak courage and a helicopter filming you… I have always thought there needs to be more ‘tricknical’ aspects to it and this year provided a glimpse into that, but all things said and done when these guys bust out the Milton BURL lines tricking becomes secondary to survival. A limit? I think we are at it, I think everything now is simply fusion. It will be interesting to see where the final rampage will be this year, I would suggest that if it is at the same place then big tricks are going to go down as most of the riders are quite comfortable with the lines, gosh backflips and canyon gaps this year all in the same run. Damn…

We met up with you at ExpoCycle 2003 in Montreal last year at the Hoots booth. You were still nursing an ACL injury, cane and all. How’s the recovery coming along?  Will Hooty be back in full force for this season?
You guys rule!!! It was so cool meeting the AMAD crew, your energy was so over the top, I remember chillin on the park bench (inside the show) thinking about sleep and you guys stoked me for the rest of the day!!! My specialist gave me the “it’s as healed or not as it’s ever going to be, stay in the gym and keep those quads girthy” speech. It’s good advice as now I have a matched set of knees. I was scared that I would forget everything while killing it at Downhill Domination and watching Forward and Metro Jam till my eyeballs bled, but Hooty is back and learning, and strong as an Ox. It’s all about bike control right now, I have learned opposite cans and am really working on dialling my barspins, but overall I am just working hard at pure bike handling, core strength, core balance. Hopefully I will get the nod for some invite comp’s as I feel very much up to the challenge. I had to grow up mentally and spiritually through this injury, so I have been riding hardtail and 4” bike trying to remember the roots, remember the smooth, remember the Funn.

Hoot’s recently sponsored the Myopic “Back to the Forest” street contest in St. Thomas Ontario. From your perspective, how has the street scene changed?
What a sick event. Props to Ryan, Andrew and the Myopic vision. Props to all the sponsors and rider’s who believed in it. My dad used to 1⁄4 mile race in St Thomas, you gotta really wanna go there? I think the mtb street scene has an incredible talent pool and great momentum. I so remember the vibe against 26” on street for years, thank goodness I have my dreads to protect me. Overall, I believe everyone in the mtb street scene knows how far bmx is ahead in terms of technical riding but every time I grab a magazine or even go out and ride I see guys on 26” wheel proving mtb belongs anywhere more than ever. I say enjoy that concrete powder, skid that ashphalt, slide that ramp. It was as funn riding a BMX as it is a mountain bike and I can ride a MTB bike more places than I can a 20”. If your complaining then your not riding!

What’s the story with “The Dirt Club” and what’s going on with it this year? The original Drop In series gave us a clear idea of the remarkable work you’ve been doing, all with the blessing of the local town.
Boy that’s a long one. That Drop In was cool, what a train we had going on those jumps ?. The DIRT Club has suffered a bit as my board of directors have other life events going on but we are still pushing ahead with skills parks though. Man, the newest park we are putting together is sick, it’s going to be worth riding your bike from AlwaysMad.com to North Vancouver just to ride it! Race track, Dirt jump circuit, Freeride area, outdoor street and trials area. I have developed a super cool relationship with North Vancouver District and sit on Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee as well as Parks and Natural Environment Advisory Committee, so I am involved with my local government. I get snapshots of what’s coming up and what’s going on allowing me to get proposals in with just the right amount of support usually at just the right time. The DIRT Club is fully responsible for on going maintenance of the parks so we have to really start focussing on training the younger generation on how to build as most of the kids there now are ready for school/job/bike careers. I do have to send many props out to our supporters, without any soliciting John Henry bike shop, King Kubota contractors, Norco bikes, Deep Cove shop, Ryders eyewear, Hoots, have all given selflessly and have committed to a future with The DIRT Club…DA Bomb!

The DIRT Club was a great way for me to give back to my community. I am so stoked and grate full with how the riding community has accepted me and my company and how it has afforded me a living in something that I love, so The DIRT Club is a way for me to give back without any corporate crap. When we identify green space to build in urban areas we work with kids to develop it. The design and building all comes from those kids who live in the area and members of The DIRT Club. We all build it and then the kids who worked the hardest become the park steward(s). The parks are open to the entire community so all jumps (tables) and stunts (nothing over 3’ high) are safe and progressive and I guess the kids build confidence and self esteem in a positive environment.

Tell us what your involvement has been with the Norco team and how it has changed for this year with consideration to Norco scaling down in hopes of providing better treatment to their riders.
This is my 6th year riding for Norco bikes. I spent 3 years riding GrassRoots 2 years R&D 1 year FreeRide and now I am on the ‘go and ride and have funn’ program. Norco has always been super cool with listening to feedback and actually implementing things into their bikes. One of the coolest things is that I can go to the dirt jumps, BMX race track or any of the local trails and I can bump into someone who works for Norco! IE, I talk angles with JJ on the 1Hun from last year and then see him killing it at the dirt jumps or talk about how the Shore is working out and Pete (Da Bossman for the marketing division) goes nose manualling by me over some crazy rock face. Some of the rider’s that didn’t come back this year to the new slimmer, trimmed team have been my team mates for years so it kind of felt a bit weird at first, especially because we are all friends and all had the opportunity to talk about what was going on as decisions were being made. I think in fairness to everyone, both Norco and team rider’s all had their own sets of goals and expectations but at the end of the day there is only so much bling to go around. I don’t envy either side. My relationship with Norco is the same, Killah! I thought it was over when I blew my knee last June, but Norco didn’t just say ‘hey drop a resume in and we will see you next year’, they got behind me and hooked up physio therapy gear, advice and serious support. I have at times envied the support other rider’s get but when I assess, I couldn’t have a better sponsor.

Does finding a helmet that fits just right prove difficult with your dreads?
Phew! Done with the heavy and on to the important stuff. Yeah, phinding helmets that phit sucks. When I was making helmets I had some pretty cool solutions for my big hair but now that I am back riding other helmets there is quite a bit of creativity behind getting a shell over. Just imagine putting a knitted blanket on your head and then try and put a helmet on, “I squish your head, I squish your head”… Full face usually tends to work out a bit better as there is more surface area to hold it down on my head, the dome’s want to always slip up on top of the locks, lock hopping if you will.

Tell us about your riding, where, what, influences, favourite places…  Also, running a company must cut into riding time substantially.  Have you found yourself developing "coping strategies" in order to keep riding and more importantly, keep the fun in riding
Hmmm tough one, great question. For lack of a better explanation here is a snapshot of a Hooty’s week May 10-16.

Mon-Thurs (afternoon) – work day job (travel to Victoria then back) 50 work hours/email first thing in morning, last thing at night.
Thursday night – block out 2 articles to write/hit sk8 park for 1 hour as it gets dark/ Organize new secret project being released on May 29th/tell my girlfriend I love her/go to bed!
Friday – Up at 6 for street ride/Use morning to design 05 Hoots gear, finish up some detail work on proto type clothing/ go to warehouse and quality check new 04 clothing/spend afternoon eve doing warranty repair work on 5th element shocks (my Biz. Partner’s distribute Hoots/Yetti/Progressive (warranty service center)/Dinner, yum food/ Respond to emails until midnight/tell my girlfriend I love her/go to bed!
Saturday – 6am up, respond to emails/work on crazy interview for Always Mad/ prepare for local Ripper race/ Oops girlfriend hasn’t spent any time with me and now wants to go dirt jumping, too bad racing going jumping with my girl ?/bike repairs/ write more article stuff/ out for dinner with Dalen and the girls only to talk about riding and business (bah!)/tell my girlfriend I love her/go to bed!
Sunday – 6am up, respond to emails, organize secret project/8am go to local sk8 park/9am take pics and meet women taking the Sugoi DIRT series clinics (Hoots is a sponsor)/10 meet up with Sprockids on cypress and go for XC ride (I got 7-11 years olds, sick funn)/ 1:30 ride up Grouse and hook up with NSMBA trail day, rock work and drainage woo hoo!/3:30 Climb up to Seventh secret trail and rip it down to hook up with all the new work that has just been done, woo hoo/business dinner/ respond to emails, contribute to on going articles/Take dogs for a walk/schedule coaching for June and July/ Put some more time into that crazy long winded interview for Always Mad/tell my girlfriend I love her/go to bed!

Jay Hoots is currently sponsored by
Norco Factory Team
Hoots Gear
Progressive Suspensions
Funn Components
Ryders Eyewear

How did you get into riding in the first place?

I was always outside when I was younger, I really didnít have much interest in video games or watching TV (not much has changed in that department), and it just so happened that the bike was my primary source or transportation. It was all about cruising around to the good cliff jumping spots, or out to my friends cottages. Then we started hitting some of the trails in and around town, and I realized my bike was a hunk of junk pretty quickly. I got a job when I was about 12 and worked all summer to get enough money for a real mountain bike, that is one that wasnít purchased from crappy tire or zellers. From there I started going to Hardwood Hills with my friends to race on Wednesday nights, and I moved onto OCUPs and the highschool championships.

Throughout that latter stage Iíd say I started playing around with some basic trials stuff ñ rolling over higher logs, and clipless hopping here and there you know? It was all so innocent, but those were the building blocks of a rapid progressive stage from age 13-present.

How did you eventually get sponsored? And any advice for new up and comers?

The recognition from the Ontario Trials Series plus all the demos I had pouring in through my promoter lead to someone approaching me from Norco actually. That was the beginning of my grassroots participation, which quickly lead to a factory team deal by the end of the year.

I guess my advice to all of you trying to pick up sponsors, skip it. Do your own thing, push yourself and the sport too if you can swing it, and the right people just might take notice.

I wish more people would focus on just pushing themselves and ignore the hype of team deals, they really arenít all theyíre cracked up to be considering how you ultimately benefit (I learned that lesson the hard way).

Do you feel like talking about Norco, if so, what do you think of the recent downsizing of all the teams and the complete elimination of the East Coast Trials Team?

To be honest with you I was quite frustrated with the situation at first, but being on the administrative side of the team I recognize their decision as a necessary one. During my final year with Norco I believe there was somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 riders between BMX race/Trials/DH/XC/Road/Freeride and a diminishing budget plus a desire to focus on road riders. Unfortunately enough for me they need to remain competitive in the market, and the kids arenít buying trials bikes nor were they into street at that point.

Was your experience with Norco positive?

Oh most definitely positive. We had our tough moments, but all in all I was treated like a family member. I was grateful for the opportunity and learned a great deal from the experience, but when the time came to move along I opted to go that direction (after four years on the program).

How do you support yourself? We all know riding doesn’t really pay.

I guess lately it has pretty much been a lot of thrifty-living so I can focus on my personal projects. Iíve been wishing that something would just give and Iíd get a call from one of my associates offering work, but instead I keep getting further in the hole. Usually during the summer I tour extensively, but I retired from that as of mid-2004. This year Iím likely going to do whatever I have to just to cover my tuition this fall I guess. Itís all about love of the sport, but things are steadily improving now that street is booming ñ maybe someday soon my abilities in graphic design/journalism/photography/videography/productions/administration will be subcontracted out within the industry.

What is your involvement with Match and Modest?

My involvement with Match is more or less on the creative input side, but I also kick in a pretty good deal of videography and as of issue 5 editing as well. Iím more or less a second set of eyes when the boss sits down in front of the suite, which after 30-100 hours of editing can probably be pretty helpful. Other than that, Iím helping out with music clearance and selections based on my official music geek status.

As for Modest, Iím just helping line up as much content as possible, that and contributing photos and writing of my own. I may be taking care of advertising for the mag once it goes to print.

How has your exposure in Match Videozine affected you with the ladies?

Well I hear I have a really big following in Sudbury now of all places. How a couple of national triathlon team athletes got it in their hands I have no idea.

What other things are you talented at?

Iíll go about this as modestly as possible:

Stuff.

What was your favorite part about your short-lived residence in the States?

The indoor park experience was a pleasant one, especially having four of them within half the distance I am from one really lame park here in Ontario. Other than that, Wisconsin muenster is a force to be reckoned with. Oh yeah, and getting to chill with my long-time bro and help him through a tough time in his life ñ that would actually take the cake.

What is your favorite/favourite place to ride in the entire world?

Without question, *not* Bracebridge. Toronto treats me fair, and I long to caress her gentle bank to fences/rails/walls/subs in due time.

Every rider in the scene, at least here in Ontario, owes you a debt of gratitude for putting on events like Roundhouse Rumble, Superfest and most recently the Myopic/Back to the Forest Event in St. Thomas. What drives you to put on these events and anything we should look forward to in the future?

I donít know if they owe me anything, I love to make things happen and stimulate growth in the scene but I also love to challenge myself. My entrepreneurial juices are always flowing and Iíve more recently learned to channel them to the projects that are more likely to succeed rather than anything and everything ñ the event-side of course being the primary one. I really love motivating people though, it seems I have a knack for it and itís nice to see people pull together as a result. The best part is just getting the right people together and giving them a chance to show their skills and dedication; the events would go nowhere without that kind of participation. I canít tell you what a thrill it is after all the brutal setup and preparation to sit back halfway through the event and watch it run itself ñ I just love seeing everybody out and having a good time.

What bothers you the most about putting on these events? Anything in particular get on your nerves?

Iíll tell you what bothers me — People that get in the way and add ludicrous obstacles to an already tough situation because they feel Iím capitalizing on the sport. That and people that go ballistic over results and scream down my throat for coordinating a half-assed judging panel. I guess I could narrow it down to people that donít take the efforts of my crew in a positive nature and make an effort to publicize it to the mainstream. It breaks my heart, makes me want to bag it all and just go into seclusion. I just canít understand why anyone would get so wrapped up in hating on something so fragile to begin with, Iím trying my best to make it work with the resources available and Iím not afraid to admit Iíve made mistakes along the way, live and learn right?

If you could change one thing about the mtb industry (or mtb-street industry), what would it be?

Iíd enforce a mandatory Mexican food zone at all contests and gatherings.

What is your current ride’s set up?

My current ride is MIA somewhere in the middle of Wisconsin. I miss you honey, come home soon.

Norco 853 (2001)Manitou jumper 80mm fork (20mm axle)

Profile cranks, Odyssey utility sprocket 28t

Chris King single speed rear hub (w/ fun bolts, 12t cog)

Chris King front hub

243 nextgen aluminum bars, 243 caps

243 DJ saddle, 243 post

eNVy 65mm stem

avid sd7 linear pull brakes, tektro lever

Odyssey grips, mosh cartridge pedals

Maxxis hookworm single ply tyres, sun rhino lite rims

pig bigballed headset

SRAM 9.0 rear derailleur (functioning as tensioner/guide)

and a single pink die valvecap

You ride a ridiculously light bike, what is the reason for that, and why would you recommend it to others?

Not to be boastful, but Iíve always focused on being smooth, and that goes a long way for the longevity of a setup. Thereís a magical strength to weight ratio in around 26 lbs for my bodyweight based on how smooth I am, and my bike feels incredibly agile at that weight. Heavier parts donít do a damn thing for structural-integrity; in fact they only make it harder to be smooth on your bike which leads to increased parts and frame failure. The weight of my bike is incredibly important for the speed of my progression.

How do you, and who do you look to, to get inspiration in terms of your riding?

I used to be really big on videos, now I canít really stand them, just watch it once through and Iíve seen enough. The golden ticket lately has been riding with riders better than me, which is why Area 51 and Undercover did a world of good for me progression-wise this winter. One night I ended up on the same decks as Osato, Heaton, KP, Freimuth, Degroot, and a bunch of new things fell in place based solely on the energy level in that building.

At the same time Iíd say some of my closest friends are the biggest inspiration to ride, guys like Headford and Gooch, Lutze, Lenosky, Dzavik, Cook, Vonesh, Porter, Ebbett, and Mac. Those are always the best sessions because you can mix your true personality and socializing into crazy good sessions. On top of that Iíd say bad times at home or at work lead to near explosions for me on the bike, Lutze/Headford and Gooch will back me up on that one. If things are tense, Iím in the mood to burn off steam ñ I get really quiet and donít stop shredding until I canít hang on to the grips anymore.

What motivated you to start trying more street-oriented styles back in the day when basically no one was doing that stuff?

You know what? I actually have no idea. I think it was Nelson Papel actually; heís an old school flatlander at heart and was always about throwing the style back into trials. We hung out a lot and rode together more than Iíve ever rode with anyone else over our hardcore show phase. Nelson scaled it down and I kept pushing at skateparks, jump trails and on street. I was always more about the manuals and higher speed street action back in the day thanks in part to Lenoskyís video parts around that time.

Who is the coolest celebrity you’ve ever met?

Tony Hawk was a rather interesting individual, it wise quite fascinating to see his chaotic world from the inside for a day. Iíd say the title for coolest would go to J. Lenosky though ñ that guy rolls a Sequoia on twenty-twos with loud jams yo, doesnít get any more badass than that.

If you had to be stranded on an island with one book, one cd and one video, which ones would you pick?

Good lord I would go delirious in a week, I canít stand watching videos more than once, and Iíd probably have the same problem with literature. Music wise, well maybe Dark Side of the Moon, or The Wall, I never seem to get sick of those albums, but theyíd have to be on vinyl.

Book ñ Ishmael / Daniel Quinn or Fear and Loathing / HST

Film ñ Apocalypse Now / FFC or Lost in Translation / SC

If you could go anywhere in time to change one event in the history of the world, what would it be?

The idea of tweaking historical events frightens me more than what weíve already been through. Itís such a fragile balance with the need to vent, so a positive adjustment would more than likely lead to more intense outbursts shortly thereafter. No thanks!

Oh yeah…one more…Don’t you think that mtbs in skateparks are kind of gay? Why wouldn’t you just get a bmx?? hahaha

Iíll tell you why, because I have no spine and I was born with a mental flaw that has had me adapt to 26î wheels. Why is it that all the people whining about my big wheels are the same ones that are focused more on the latest fashion trends and exposing flaws in pro riders of their own sport? Cheese man cheese.