Signal BMX

Photo by John Povah

Taj Mihelich is one of the most amazing riders in the history of BMX. Not only does he have the ability to do anything he wants on a bike, he’s also an incredible artist, musician, and one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Earlier this year Taj lit the forums on fire when he became sponsored by Giant, and he just got word that his long-term sponsorship with Etnies is coming to an end. We talked to Taj about the changes in his life and what’s coming next in this exclusive Vital BMX interview. Special thanks to John Povah for the photos.

How did you wind up getting on Etnies in the first place?
I can’t really remember how I got on exactly. Rooftop had gotten on a bit before and I think they gave him the green light to pick up a few other guys. Joe RIch got on and then I got on soon after. Airwalk had been talking to me about a signature shoe, and so that was a stipulation of my new contract, that we would start on a signature shoe through Etnies.

What were some of your proudest moments from all those years?
Those years were really like the prime of my riding career so the good moments are far too many to remember and catalog. I got to travel all over and totally live the BMX dream, you know? I got to design three signature shoes, I got voted favorite rider a few times, I had some great contests, met loads of great people, got to film sections for Etnies Forward and Grounded videos… I don’t know… it was all amazing!

What are some things you were able to do in life that being on Etnies helped with?
Well number one, they have been my main sponsor for years. Providing money, support, and friendship so I could focus on bikes entirely. They also have always trusted me to run the sponsorship my way and encouraged me to follow my own direction. Like, they never “made” me do this contest or do some demo. I basically always got to keep riding exactly in the place I wanted it to be, and even though Etnies was supporting me so well I never felt pressured to change who I was. I could pick and choose events and competitions I wanted to attend. They also helped me with the Thunderdome park up in Olympia (that never opened), and they helped Joe and I with some of the initial funding for the T-1 ramp.

(Here’s a little video of the Thunderdome from 2001. Not crazy riding, but you can get a feel for how fun the ramps were. An earthquake damaged the building and so the park never opened. Such a shame!)

When/how did you get word that it was coming to an end? Was it a surprise?
The timing of when I got word was pretty funny. I’d been stressing about buying a new car and after going back and forth for a few weeks I finally decided to go for it. At the dealership signing the dotted line on the last piece of paperwork my phone rang. It was the team manager John Povah and I decided I would call him back after I finished signing. I called him back a few minutes later and it was THE CALL. Oh well…. to some degree I knew it was coming and I wasn’t surprised. Poor John Povah, we’ve been friends for years and making that call was really hard for him, I know. It’s all totally cool, though. Him and I just traveled to Ray’s MTB park for fun and it was a blast!

You’ve seen a lot of sides of the pro BMX life that most people don’t know exist. What are some things that would surprise riders about life in the BMX industry?
Oh… I don’t know if I can say because I don’t really know anything else. It’s been my life for as long as I can remember. I think things are a lot more casual then a lot of people realize… for the most part anyway. Or, at least at my level. Some of the big TV contest guys have agents and stuff and that’s a whole other level of business. All of my sponsors have always been really laid back. Sometimes there are legal contracts, but for the most part it’s all just pretty much a “you help us and we’ll help you” kind of agreement.

You’ve had some major sponsorship changes over the past couple of years. Has that affected you’re riding at all?
I think everything effects your riding in someway. Riding for Giant has been a big breath of fresh air for me. I’ve been just a bum on a bike for a while now. No real responsibilities outside of riding and just getting to have a lot of fun. Like seriously, I have been smiling and laughing a lot more lately… bikes are good.

From skits with Monkey Boy to huge hospital bills, you’ve been through a lot. Anything you would have done differently over the last stage of your “career?”
I don’t think so. I’ve had some memory issues after some concussions so I don’t remember a lot of things, so maybe that helps. Only sort of kidding there… at least as far as I can recall everything has been great, or at least worked out in the end in a way that is just fine. Even Monkey Boy… jeez… even that. I’m really excited about the choices I’ve made lately, too. It’s exposing me to so many fun things and challenging me.

What’s next for you? Austin for life?
Well, Giant said they wanted to try and step things up for me next year so I could remain on my bike. That will be fun if that all works out and I can keep enjoying this full time. I’m thinking a lot about moving from Austin lately. Maybe I just need a change of scenery or something. That’s why I bought a car anyway, to go explore a bit this winter and see if there’s anywhere else that feels like it could be home. It’s very likely that my first encounter with snow will send me running to the comfort of warm old Austin.

Photo by John Povah

The Rye Airfield Skatepark in Rye, NH, has been hard at work getting ready for its huge Pro/AM contest going down Dec. 4-7. Tons of sponsors are already on board, so the Ams are going to be stoked. There is a $10,000 pro purse as well, so this thing is going to go off. The park is going through a remodel right now, and Rye is making sure the event’s focus will simply be a good time on a BMX bike. If you are anywhere near the Northeast and don’t go to this comp, there may be something wrong with you! For more info, click the flyer below.

Click the image to get to the SNAFU Video Contest page and start uploading!.

To celebrate another year of total Failure, SNAFU and Matt Bischoff are throwing a video contest for Vital BMX members. For your chance at a piece of the action, just upload your video. Anything goes as long as it’s legal, and extra points will be awarded for stupid and dangerous. On December 15, the Beard’s top pick will win a brakeless Failure complete built with SNAFU parts. Ten runners-up will get a backpack filled with SNAFU and Failure components and accessories. The deadline to upload your video is December 10. The winners will be featured here December 15. You can upload as many videos as you like, but only one prize package will be awarded per individual. Good luck!

Words and photos: Colin Mackay

2008 has been a year Dave Dillewaard would rather forget.

After breaking his left wrist in February and getting surgery at the end of March, He rode for 2 weeks and broke his left elbow at the X-Games in LA requiring another surgery.

He got to ride for 2 weeks in October and received a wildcard spot for the final Dew Tour stop in Orlando and crashed on dirt breaking 2 bones in his left hand and will be on the bench for a further 6 weeks. He hopes to be riding again around December 1st.

Dave recently moved from Corona, California to Greenville, North Carolina for a fresh start and new scene.

He plans to visit his family in Australia over Christmas and return to Greenville in 2009.

Hopefully by then his bad luck will make a turn for the better.

Dave recently re-signed a deal with GT Bikes, he remains on the Famous Stars and Straps, Demolition, and 661 teams. Dave is also getting flow from Electric and Etnies.

Click the image to see all the photos from the Painting Party.

PAINTING PARTY!—by Mat Hoffman

My kids’ (Gianna and Jet) school is having a fundraiser through donated work from artist on Oct 24th 2008. They go to a great place that put the arts in the forefront of education called Keystone School of Adventure.

www.keystoneadventureschool.com

They asked if I could donate to the cause. So what transpired from this was inviting my friends to a “Painting Party” in my hotel room in random cities and countries that my bike brought me to. So far we’ve just had two PP’s,
Mexico City and Vegas. This has turned into a great way for myself to learn a new obsessive creative outlet with my most obsessive-creative friends and get a live show of how some twisted minds create.

I’m sure this is the start of many more to come.

A big THANK YOU goes out to all who got their PP on in my room. I hope to put the winning bid in at the auction and start my new collection.

-Mat

Levi’s(R) and Tilly’s have partnered up with Morgan Wade to give away some amazing prizes, including a fly-away trip to a bike park this fall with Morgan for a day of riding. Click hereto check out the Tilly’s site and click the “enter here” button for a chance to win. The contest ends at midnight on August 31, so you only have one week left to enter. Prizes include:

*A weekend trip to meet Morgan at a surprise park location for a day of riding (all expenses paid!)

*One of two custom BMX bikes (and we mean CUSTOM: we’ll even powder coat it in your choice of colors!)

*One of ten $200 Tilly’s giftcards so you can stock up on your Levi’s(R) for the fall!

In the early 1990’s, a new BMX clothing company made its debut under the name Little Devil. The company was founded by Pennsylvania’s Derek Adams, and what began as a print shop in a basement evolved into one of the most important brands in BMX. The shirt designs were fun and cool, and the Little Devil team produced some of the most important videos in the history of BMX (“Seek & Destroy” and “Criminal Mischief”).

Rumors began circulating earlier this year that the Little Devil brand may be closing down so that Derek and his business partner Mike Clarke could focus on Orchid Footwear. Rather than publish any rumors, we talked to Derek to see exactly what’s up with the Devil.

First a little history. When/why/how/where did you start Little Devil?
Little Devil started in 1995 as a part-time T-shirt printing operation in my grandfather’s basement. I didn’t get that many printing jobs, so I started making my own designs as well. That was more fun anyway, so I focused on custom designs until eventually that’s all I was doing. I already rode, so that’s where the BMX connection came from. I would take shirts to the trails in a backpack and sell them to anybody who’d buy one for ten bucks. “All right, I’ll take eight bucks, I need pizza money.”

Over the past few months there have been rumors of Little Devil closing down. Can you explain what’s going on right now? Why are you closing that chapter now, and what led you to that decision?
Rumors are for schoolgirls. Basically, Mike [Clarke] and I decided that we wanted to focus our efforts on one brand instead of two or more, like we’ve done for the past few years. Twice the brands mean twice the work and twice the expense, but not necessarily twice the profits. We wanted to make things simpler instead of always thinking “bigger is better.” Right now we have a “less is more” mentality. So Little Devil is getting put on the back burner at the end of this year, our 13th anniversary. It seems fitting. We’ve done everything I ever dreamed of with L.D., so I feel like we can give it a rest for a while. Orchid is more exciting for me now because there’s still a lot I want to do with it. It seems like uncharted territory. I like doing shoes and we make Orchid clothing, too, so our hands are still pretty full.

Is your plan now to focus 100% on Orchid?
Yes, definitely. A better focus is the plan. Besides, BMX is over-saturated with brands right now anyway. Everyone else is adding a second or third brand. I’m probably doing us all a favor by cutting back.

The Little Devil name is catchy and you have had many designs that would appeal to the mainstream. Did you ever think about selling the brand?
Not very seriously. I’d be afraid to see what kind of bastardized version of the original it might become. With a name like Little Devil I could see it going really wrong. I’m going to hang on to the name and do some fun stuff, like re-issue some old T-shirts. I’m not trying to kill the Devil. I just want to do something different after 13 years.

Didn’t you guys also move recently?
Yeah, we moved everything to a new spot. We rented a big garage down the street from my house that’s way cheaper than our old warehouse. Cheap is good. Our new phone number is (610) 831-2244.

Little Devil has had a few great ramp setups over the years. How important were the ramps to Little Devil, and your sanity?
Good for my sanity in the winter, but it was also insane paying that much rent. We were paying $2,500 a month for the ramp space alone, which sounds crazy, but that’s also the cost of a full-page ad in a bike magazine. When I think of it that way, I’d rather have the ramp any day. But the ramp was basically a Little Devil advertising write-off, so it had to go away to keep expenses in line. I will miss it; I loved riding that place. We still have trails for the summer but I’ll have to travel a bit more to ride in the winter…and snowboard more.

Looking back over the history of Little Devil, what are some things you are particularly proud of?
I guess the fact that we did everything on our own terms and somehow managed to make it work. I mean, I could still be cleaning doggie doo-doo at a pet store like I did before L.D.

Are there any things you wished you had done differently?
Number one, I definitely wouldn’t parody any more “Hell’s Angels” T-shirts. You don’t want an angry call from some dude named “Chopper.” Obviously we’ve made some mistakes, but we were learning as we went along. Just winging it, no business training or anything. One day Mike and I were talking about what we’d do differently if we could start over. That conversation lead us to thinking about really starting over with Orchid as the center of attention, and now we’re doing it.

Of all the shirt designs Little Devil has done, which has been the most popular in BMX? Why do you think it was that design?
I don’t even know. Maybe “I love your mom.” It was so dumb that people couldn’t help but laugh. That shirt just wouldn’t die, as much as I wanted it to. But it was paying rent so I couldn’t really complain.

Who are some people who played important parts in Little Devil that you’d like to shout out?
My grandfather, Mike Clarke, Van Homan, my family, friends, anyone who’s ever worked or ridden for us, people in the industry who’ve helped us out, our dealers, distributors, and manufacturers. Last but not least, anyone who’s ever bought anything from us. I appreciate all the support.

Do you have any big plans for Orchid moving forward?
I wouldn’t say “big plans”, but I do think Orchid will get more awesome because it will get more attention now. We’ll see what happens.

Little Devil’s Derek Adams throws down a wall-tap at the last Little Devil/Orchid ramp. Photo by Bob Myers

Mark Owen at Sidewall Distribution is one of the driving forces behind Hoffman Bikes. He’s done nearly every job that could be done at HB over the years, and now he’s one of the guys driving the ship. We asked him a few questions about what life is like in the BMX industry as Hoffman Bikes gets ready to release its 2009 products.

How long have you been riding and what got you into BMX in the first place?
My first encounter with BMX freestyle was when I was about 12 years old. My friend’s brother built a 6-foot tall, four-foot wide quarterpipe. I tried to ride it but never gave it much thought to make anything of it. When I was 14 years old, I met a kid in the neighborhood who raced BMX. We got together and built our first ramp and that was all it took, been riding ever since.

How did you wind up working at Hoffman Bikes and what were some of your first duties there?
When I was 17, my friend and I drove to a mall three hours away to see Mat Hoffman, Dennis McCoy, Rick Thorne, and Steve Swope do halfpipe shows. We got to meet the guys and ended up hanging out with them most of the day. Before we left Mat gave me his phone number to call him some time to head up and ride his indoor ramp.

When I finally got the chance to go to Mat’s to ride they were surprised by how good I was and they would let me hang out more and more. When I graduated from high school in ‘91 Mat had already started Hoffman Bikes. Once Mat started receiving some of the first Hoffman Bikes products I just happened to be around. So, I ended up helping with cleaning and decaling the frames, forks, and bars. I guess I did a good enough job to where they asked me to help with the BS contests (Bicycle Stunt) and I continued to help around the warehouse. In the spring of 1993 Mat asked me if I would work part time around the office while they went on the road to do Sprocket Jockey shows. When they returned back from shows later that summer Mat hired me for full time. Some of the first duties at that time were cleaning frames, forks, and bars, and decaling them. After that, I started doing everything possible: sales and shipping to pro-vert rider to product manager and so on.

How did things evolve from working at HB to running it through Sidewall?
Since 1997, I’ve been brand manager for Hoffman Bikes, taking care of everything product related. Prior to starting Sidewall Distribution, I started helping out more on the business side of things. In early 2006, Mat asked if I would be interested in running Hoffman Bikes for him. We discussed what this would involve and from there Sidewall was born. As of July 2006, Sidewall manages and distributes the Hoffman Bikes brand. Basically it’s the same crew, just working under the Sidewall name with plans to add other brands.

What are some of the best parts of your job?
Friends, travel the world, make up my own hours, doing something I love, seeing product come to life, and seeing riders get rad.

The 2009 Hoffman Bikes products are ready for their debut. Click the image to get to it.

What are some of the worst parts?
Traveling for 26 hours, finding mistakes during production, standing in the assembly plant in August (hot and humid!), sitting and waiting for production to start, missing deadlines, dropping hammers on my foot.

Are you solely responsible for choosing the HB team riders? What do you look for in riders?
No, it’s a group effort. Mat, myself, and current HB riders work together when it comes to choosing new riders for the team. We really look for someone cool with a good head on their shoulders, plus offering a new dimension to add diversity to the team.

You spend a lot of time traveling to Asia to oversee production. Why is that?
Yes, I spend a lot of time in Asia. This is where I’m currently overseeing the new ‘09 HB product. Since 1997, I’ve traveled to Taiwan at least three to four times a year. This way I can ensure Hoffman product is being produced correctly and meets the quality that we demand. Plus, build on the current relationships that we have with our factories.

Any big trends you see coming for BMX products?
Banana seats, one-inch stems, the mullet stem, and recycled cardboard bikes. Outside of those new trends you will start to see new manufacturing techniques used to make product better.

How involved is Mat in HB?
Mat is heavily involved with Hoffman Bikes, from the team to marketing to direction of Hoffman Bikes brand. Mat and I are constantly talking about ideas and direction.

With work and a family, do you find time to ride very much these days?
I wish I could say yes. However, my days of riding every day have passed. In a roundabout way I get a vicarious fulfillment through the products I design. Between Sidewall, Hoffman Bikes, and family, my time is spread pretty thin. I do not get out every day, but I still ride when I get the chance.

Traveling the world for BMX can be a blast, but it’s always good to go back home and just be Dad…

New Jersey’s Animal Bike Company has been a driving force in BMX since the day the company began. The Animal crew puts out parts riders want, and the riding that the team gets done is some of the most progressive street you will ever see. To give you a peek behind the scenes of the BMX business, Vital BMX asked Animal’s Ralph Sinisi what goes on in the Animal Warehouse, and what keeps him and the team fired up to keep Animal moving forward.

Photo by Matt Brown

How did you get into BMX in the first place?
My uncle Mark—one day he came up to the house with a cool bike and started doing a bunch of tricks that I had never seen before. So after about two weeks I quit playing football and started racing.

First off, how long have you been riding?
I’ve been riding for about 29 years, since I got my first two-wheeled Schwinn Stingray. About 25 since I got my first BMX Hutch.

At what point did you decide that you wanted to start a BMX company? What was the motivation?
I just knew we had something going on in the NY/NJ area that was different than the rest of the world. I just wanted to get it out there and represent it. This is what we do. Here is the riding and these are the best parts to do this riding.

When you were getting Animal going, what were some of the hardest things to go through?
Shit, that is a pretty tough question. Things are happening all the time. You just have to take things one-step at a time and do the best you can through every step. Since the beginning I have had a great crew of riders and everyone who has worked here, and we work as a team. There are so many good people behind the company. They all love riding and truly know the deal with Animal and want every aspect of it to be the best. I just always wanted to make sure it is all about the riding and no bullshit.

Animal is going strong now; do you feel like you are getting the business-side wired, or is there always new stuff coming up? Any good examples?
No doubt, I learn something new every day. If you’re not learning then you’re going backwards. We are always going forward 100%. Things don’t happen right away. Perfection takes time and that’s why we don’t put out 100 new parts each year. We have the team thoroughly test and give all their input about products on every level. Our designers Whiteboy, Dom, and Tom run everything we do past the team and design things for their signature stuff to their exact specs. I don’t care about flavor of the day. This is all about the long-term. We are pushing stuff with technology on the parts like the new Wedgeposts (patent pending). We’ve got huge plans for all kinds of stuff for the future, but are not rushing.

How would you describe your warehouse? What do you need out of a space?
The warehouse is dialed. We got CEOsso running the game. He is dialed and his job is so intense that I don’t even want to start explaining all he does. Omar and Scotty are on the phones getting the product out to the customers. Those guys are the real deal, and you have to love the product you sell to do the great job that they do. Then there is Tim and Paul that pack all the boxes and keep the shelves filled up and everything in perfect order. Things have been crazy and they have been putting in overtime to keep up with the orders. Paul has been working with a broken wrist. Two days after they put a metal plate in it he was back on the job. Then there is tooth-to-180 master Teague. He gets all the packages out with UPS, runs credit cards, and collects the money when shops are slacking. Don’t nobody try to get away without paying or they feel the wrath of Teague.
Even though Dolecki doesn’t work at the warehouse on the daily, I got to give him a shout as our staff photographer. I have been riding with him for over 20 years and shit is still the same as kids when we go riding. I am proud to have his name on our flicks. His pictures are the next best thing to being there. I also gotta shout Navaz, since he is a staff filmer right now to help Bob film the new vid. I can’t wait for it to drop. It will still be a while, but the stuff that has been going down is off the hook.

Photo by Mike Wilson

How would you describe what you are trying to do with Animal? What does Animal offer that other companies may not?
I am just doing what needs to go down. Parts, riding, and company. All the best representing what we do. We ride anything, but street is our main deal. I got Bob making the vids and getting everyone all that much more hyped to ride. There is nothing better than watching one of the vids and just being so souped to ride and going and have a great session. Go out and just ride everything. I really don’t care what other companies are doing. I really don’t even know or pay attention to what the hell is going on. I only know what we are doing. I am in my own world over here. I run the company totally freestyle. I never knew anything about business and just do what I feel is right.

What are some things you have been proud of since you began Animal?
Everything we do. I don’t want us to ever do anything that I am not proud of. There are always little problems here and there, but if we start doing stuff I am not proud of, then the company is done and I won’t care about it anymore. As long as we stick to the riding and parts being the main deal, then I will always have pride in it.

How important would you say the team has been to getting Animal to where it is?
You know the deal with that. We got the best crew in BMX without a doubt. All the most real deal dudes. They have all been down from the beginning. Vinnie, Bob, Ed, Lino, Nigel, Osso, George, Hamilton, Butcher, Wormz, Mike B., Tom W., Jared, and Rone. They are all my best friends, favorite people to ride with, and all huge influences in every aspect of the company. Most of them have gotten offers from other companies at one point for more loot than I could get them at the time, but they all stayed true to Animal since they all know the deal with the realness being the best for the long-term.

How has your riding time been affected since starting Animal?
I am more souped on riding then I have ever been in my life. It’s all I think about and all I want to do. I want to go everywhere and ride everything. I can’t leave anything unchecked. Keep a lookout behind any building or the darkest alley. I am everywhere sessioning everything. My shit is so hectic and I constantly feel like I am loosing my mind, and riding is what keeps me sane. It takes priority over all.

Brad Simms is flat-out incredible on a BMX bike, and those skills have put him on airplanes headed around the world for the past year, getting to sample scenes in countries most will never see. Vital BMX asked Brad some questions to give you some insight into what life is like for Hoffman Bike’s latest destroyer.

Photo by Mark Losey

How did you get into BMX in the first place?
My uncle Mark—one day he came up to the house with a cool bike and started doing a bunch of tricks that I had never seen before. So after about two weeks I quit playing football and started racing.

You’ve been traveling a lot over the past few years.
Yeah, last April was my first time leaving America, so in the last year I have seen 17 countries. Hopefully by the end of the year I’ll have seen close to 30.

Have you found a place you’d like to move, or are you happy being on the move?
Honestly, I think at the end of the year I will find somewhere to move, maybe East or West. I love the lifestyle but it’s starting to get kind of hectic with having my sponsors send me stuff to a different address every month, and sometimes stuff comes up missing.

You get tons of coverage riding street but you also blast on park. Do you like riding both?
I prefer to ride street, but I love going really high out of quarters. The thing with ramps is that I start to get bored with them after a few hours. For some reason I never try to progress at park riding. I just like to do my favorite air tricks as high as I can and that’s it.

How did you wind up on Hoffman Bikes, and what’s it like riding for the team?
Will Stroud and Chad Shack put in a good word right after my Shook video part had dropped, and shortly after that I became the newest member of the team. The only thing I can say about riding for HB is that it’s AMAZING!

What is your preferred bike setup?
20.875” HB Loyalty, but I’ll be on my prototype in a few days. It’s called the B-Rad frame, 175mm cranks, 36-spoke wheels.

You ride at a pretty high level. When you are out riding, are you always firing out big stuff, or do you play and cruise sometimes?
It really depends where I am at, but I do cruise from time to time.

What’s the most fun trip you’ve been on for BMX?
The month-long trip right before X Games. Slovenia and Croatia are a must-see.

Do you have any goals with BMX? Are you trying to accomplish anything in particular, or are you just along for the ride?
Seeing the world and enjoying the ride of my life.

Who would you like to thank?
God, family, Hoffman Bikes, Target, DC Shoes, Micreation, SNAFU, Sidewall Distribution, Vital BMX for the interview, all my friends and anyone who has helped me out.

Photo by Matej