Nick Ferreira

Posts from Nick:

Shameless Self Promotion/Contest

Sorry, just a quick post to let you know that Holeshot is now offering three issue subscriptions for just 10 bucks (16 international). It comes with a free Koozie as well (sorry, US only),which means you’ll be all set for BMX printed reading material and keeping your hands at normal body temperature while drinking cold beverages for the rest of the year. And just for shits, be the first person to answer the question below right on the Holeshot Facebook page, you’ll win a free copy of issue 6 and a koozie, courtesy of Holeshot. Ready? Here goes:

What kind of frame was featured on issue 2 of Holeshot? Here’s the bike:

The only catch is, you have to be a fan of us and not be a part of The Least Most editorial team. Thanks, I’ll be back to making weird posts that don’t really mean anything later this week.

Sasquatches, Lumberjacks, and Legends

Dusty Afternoons from jackson allen on Vimeo.

No epic pans and zooms, no instrumental “jams”, just sweet trail riding from Dusty Sampson in the seemingly healthy riding scene that is Santa Cruz, California. Jackson Allen threw this one together and I’m psyched to see what else he has in store for the BMX internet world. To see more from this scene and one of the most consistently updated sites on the web visit Sasquatch Canyon.

And speaking of legends like Sasquatch, when I googled Chris Eimen’s name a recent comment on The Come Up was the first thing to, well, come up. I must say it’s a very “legend” comment to make, if it was in fact him. Chris Eimen, along with other Seattle BMXers, were featured heavily in the Jan/Feb 1998 issue of SNAP Magazine.

Also riding those Seattle trails in the same issue was the Lumberjack himself, Mr. Gary Ellis who had a great interview in that issue. The Lumberjack surprised many with photos of him 360ing doubles and performing other jumping variations. If I recall correctly he was wearing flannel. I can’t recall if this was post mullet days.

Here, Gary Ellis proves he is actually a Lumberjack with his apparent affinity for wood. We also see that BMX Media men were just as awkward then as they are now. Except replace sweaters and scarfs with neon tee shirts from ironic USA tourist traps. The best Holeshot of the week indeed.

Hicks in Action!

While I genuinely try to not put anything on a pedestal, I make an exception for the DIRT BROTHERS. Tabletops, ditches, concrete, ramps, backyards, pools, Santee, San Diego, Pelican Banks, burritos, Tijuana skatepark, fuck it, anything that’s cool, the Dirt Bros. have done. So why not join their page on Facebook. I know the Dirt Brothers go together with Facebook about as good as Jimmy Levan and Huffy but last I heard we’re in the digital age. Might as well embrace it. ALL HAIL DBI!

Dirt Bros 1988 – 1994 Highlights from Dirt Brothers on Vimeo.

Web Video Reviews in 10 Words or Less.

Occasionally in Holeshot I do a feature called “Reviews in 5 Words”. I didn’t invent the idea, in fact I’m pretty sure I stole it from The Factsheet 5 Reader. A zine I have never seen, only heard about from the depths of, hold on while I cringe before I say this, zine culture. Being that it’s pretty fun to describe something in so few words, I decided to apply this method to reviewing web videos. I picked a bunch from TheComeUp, Defgrip, and a few other sites. I only picked edits that were less than a week old (I think) and not a trailer for anything. Although I did break that rule, as well as the 10 word or less rule, once. Enjoy.

1. Chase Hawk “How-To Moto-Whip”

Amazing. Watch out for the impostors this week though.

2. Travis Kiesow Vital Edit

Miles Rogoish on Osiris Pro from Osiris BMX on Vimeo.

Where the D3’s? Should’ve used Limp Bizkit instead of Cam.

4. Balazs Ivanfi WethePeople Videorama (?)

wethepeople videorama 2010 – Balazs Ivanfi (HU) from wethepeoplebikeco on Vimeo.

CROSS-FOOTED BACKFLIP TO FAKIE. Pretty Jock Jamming.

5. S&M “Shoot The Moon”

Ahhhhhh. Butthead style. Just how S&M should be. Sick wallrides.

6. Cult “Get Laced”

No disrespect but, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT????????

7. THAW Video by Agus

“My Dehart whips are so dope.” Thanks to Dah Streets for this one. It’s gonna be a legend in web video history.

8. Sexton & Tocco Kink Edit

Sean Sexton-Darryl Tocco Kink Commercial. from Kink Bike Co. on Vimeo.

VIMEO user Shannon Allan says “one of the most stylist edits ive ever saw”. (way over 10, but not really.)

9. Joe Dodd Leaf Cycles

Joe Dodd, riding for Leaf Cycles. Produced by Oliver Smith from CTN Imports on Vimeo.

Good but too slick. Looks like some weird Apple trailer.

10. Brian Castillo “BMX Inferno”

What? Who cares, watch this again and enjoy something today.

Not-Spots

For a long time, I loved weird spots. Actually, the BMX community in general seemed to be pretty into weird, hard to find, and secret spots. Pipes, street trannies, that fountain in Chattanooga, etc. They seemed to all be top priority for awhile. However more recently, those weird hard to find spots have been replaced with a more classic street style. Both are great and honestly, I wouldn’t mind a comeback of the weird spots but what I’d really like to see is a comeback of not-spots.

Now I realize that most street spots tend to be “not-spots”, especially with all of the bug splatting going on these days. But what I’m really talking about are things like roots, shitty walls that aren’t even that good to wallride, bumps that give you boost, the type of stuff that is accessible to every kid in every shitty suburb. These spots also kind of separate BMX from skateboarding unless of course you consider mtboarding skateboarding.

Regardless, not-spots are pretty much the best kind of spot. Chances are no one cares about their brick wall, the tree that was already chopped down, or that curb that’s already gone to shit from snow plows. This will leave you with even more time thinking of weird things to do on the weird spot and not worrying about getting kicked out. And if you do get kicked out, you’ll probably be able to ride around the corner and find another not-spot. To help you start looking for something that basically doesn’t exist I listed some possibilities below.

1. Parking blocks.

Granted they may be spots to most skateboarders (especially the red ones in Cali), for the most part these things are just 3 inch wide manual pads. But situated the right way, they are great bumps for Wallrides. Also great for skids, sliders, and bump jumps in general. I’d say that no matter where you live there’s probably at least 1 parking block in a 5 mile radius.

2. Roots.

Roots do lots of cool things besides just looking cool. The best thing they do is mess up those sidewalks and create possibly some of the best curb jumps ever. Basically they are curb jumps on steroids. Also if you ride other bikes besides BMX ones, like say mid 90’s MTB’s, roots play an integral roll in jumping into hills and trails.

3. Walls.

Walls are not Wallrides. Although you do “wallrides” on walls. I know it’s confusing but here’s what I use to differentiate the two. If it’s got a bank up to it, it’s a Wallride. If it’s curved, it’s a Wallride. If it’s slightly banked, I’m still calling it a Wallride. Other than that, they’re just walls. The great thing about walls though are the different things they are made of. A stucco wall can give you years of fun. Brick is similar, unless it’s new. Then you’ll have to wait years for it to weather perfectly to grip your tires right.

That’s it, I’m only giving you three. Partly because there aren’t even more than 3 kinds of not-spots and partly because finding not-spots on your own, similar to finding actual spots on your own, is pretty sweet. Enjoy! Oh, and if it’s too cold to actually ride some not-spots, I would suggest tracking down a copy of Standard Domination and watching Brennan Brown’s part a few times. That whole part is basically not-spots.

Local Talent

Blogs, tee-shirts, web videos, whatever. It’s a dime a dozen at this point. Nothing is new so why not do something a little different? Like maybe a wax company? That’s what Dedham, Massachusetts local Brian Nguyen aka B-Win did. While you’re at it, might as well make it a hilarious name a la HPV. I’m not sure if the nod to Sex Wax was intentional but it fits, that’s for sure. It also fits the local skatepark where B-Win dwells at, Hyde Park. It’s on the outskirts of Boston and viruses probably run pretty rampant there.

Brian wasn’t available for comment as he was doing what most people on the East Coast do when it gets too cold, headed south. But how much more info do you need? It’s wax. You put it on the ledge, grind faster, and get sicker. For more information on HPV and where you can maybe pick up a brick of the curb butter head over to keepitdirrty.blogspot.com

Wallride photo by Dan Nquyen, portrait by Andrew Burton

Check out this edit from Brian’s crew HPV of their recent trip to Florida: