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George D’s band The Wait just released a limited edition vinyl LP titled Systemic.  Go like them on facebook for a chance to win a free vinyl and an animal t-shirt of choice.  One lucky winner will be chosen at random.  You can also download the full album for a donation HERE.

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The world is officially a much shittier place as of April 13th. Thanks for giving a random kid from New Jersey a chance to see the world and experience the kind of stuff most people dream of. Quitting college to attend the Mike Tag School of Traveling On A Budget was the best decision I ever made, and I know plenty of your other students feel the same. I would not have wanted to grow up any other way. There will never be another Mike Tag. R.I.P buddy

- Bob

Mike Tagliavento Barspin Seat Grab No Footer, Hoffman BS Contest Shimersvile Skatepark 1993 Photo: Rob Kucharek

In 1992 a skatepark opened up in Newburg NY. It was a super sick underground spot in this sketchy warehouse. It was the first indoor skatepark anywhere near me and it was still almost 2 hours away. We had some other abandoned warehouses with some ramps but this spot was legit. I went to a skate contest with some friends to check it out soon after it opened. At the time there were not too many bmx riders and I mostly sessioned with skaters. The park had never had anyone even bring a bmx into the place before. A skateboard photographer told me he rode bmx and was so psyched to see me there sessioning with the skaters. This was Rob Kucharek (from American Icon who to this day does our screeenprinting). He told me he rode with this amazing rider Mike Tagliavento. I was real hyped since I had recently seen a real crazy flick in a local zine of him doing a crazy limbless jumping variation that had never been done before. I don’t remember exactly what trick it was since he had so many, but it was a crazy flick that really stood out when I saw it.

A few weeks later we met back up at the skatepark and Rob brought his bike and Tag. It was such a great day and session. Tag rode with control and power like none other. He was strong as all hell and blasted the ramps all over the place.

A few months later I went to a contest at Shimersvile, Skatepark in PA. It was pretty big one and all the big pros were there. I saw Tag outside just hangin out on the curb watching everyone else warm up on a boxjump. They brought it in special to have a separate jumpbox contest outside the park. Everyone was killing this thing with crazy tricks I had only seen in magazines. All of a sudden the contest starts and Tag gets up and jumps on his bike and starts blasting way higher then anyone else. The he started to bring out his repertoire of crazy limbless jumps still at the greatest heights and with the best style and extension. He was up against the best in the world and ended up 3rd place in Pro right after Jay Miron and Dennis McCoy who were obviously doing godlike tricks also. This was obviously a wakeup to everyone on what was about to happen and where he was going to take riding.

Tag destroyed everything, but he was the first person I met who wanted to search for street spots more then me. I was always the one throwing a bunch of bikes in the car to get people to new spots, but now he was picking me up to go on crazy missions and showing me spots I could have never imagined. He really liked to grind ledges as much as I did and it was so awesome to ride any spot with him.

I learned many things from him over the years we traveled around and rode together. He lived by his own rules and made his life how he wanted it. He was always ready to scheme against society and enjoyed the challenge. Whether it was an illegal phone dialer to make free calls (this was before cell phones), or a dollar bill on a string to steal from a vending machine, he was always up on the latest and greatest way to not deal with the rules of society.

His crew of riders that was FBM were some of the craziest toughest guys in riding. I loved to visit him and Crandall in Ithaca. It was a constant party with plenty of riding mixed in. The days at Baker’s jumps seeing how Tag and his crew burned and blew things up while riding some of the craziest jumps at the same time are some of my best memories in riding.

He liked the way I rode and put me on the FBM team also. That was such a great honor to ride on the same bike company with him and the other lunatics on the team. I was real proud to represent for them and did my best.

When I told the next generation at the time that I knew Mike Tag they were so hyped to meet him and go riding with him. Once he met the crew, he took them with him all over also. He put Bob Scerbo and George Dossantos on FBM right away. We all traveled together with the goal of riding the best spots and having as much fun as possible.

Tag was with me when I got the idea to start animal. We were on a trip to Florida and stopped to ride at a college in Georgia. Being the ledge lovers we are we both attacked this brand new marble ledge down some stairs. Then we went to an amazing kinked curved rail and started to get busy on that with Bob and George giving it some work also. Cops rolled up and before we knew it were all in county jail in orange suits for the weekend. The college pressed charges for destruction of property since we really fucked up the marble ledge that they had just put in. When we got out we all went camping and after all the stress from the weekend and still being so hyped on riding I started animal.

Tag was a huge influence on my riding and my whole life in general. I know he had profound positive effects on many peoples lives. He really stood for what I found the most important in riding which was being tough as hell. Throughout his last year of life he gave toughness a whole new meaning. He faced his life head on and fought the fight with a smirk till the end. He will be severely missed and celebrated as a person and rider forever.

- Ralph

Finding out the news a few minutes ago that Mike Tag has passed away has been a tough one to process. Sure, we all know Mike has been battling a terminal illness for a while now. But we’re talking about Tag. He’s always done things his own way, whether it was double pegging virtually un-grindable cement kinked ledges, or having a nonchalant attitude towards dealing with a situation that would have most people just feeling sorry for themselves. It’s hard to believe that he’s gone.  Mike is an inspiration to all, and his influence will never be forgotten. Rest In Peace, Mike.

- Rob Dolecki

How long have you been in business? We have been open since 1990.

Can you explain how the idea for a store came to be? It started way back in 1985. Gordy, who was known by everyone for dropping the gate at the local BMX track, started seeing that there was a big lack of quality of BMX shops in the Phoenix area. So after fixing his son’s and all his son’s friends’ bikes, he decided to open up his own shop. And the rest is history.

Who owns the shop? Who works there? The shop is still owned by Gordy and his wife Nancy, but is now run by two of their kids, Kevin Bierworth and Kim Miller. Also working at the shop now is Jimmy Myers, Dean Watson, Justin Bayliss and Mark Cochran. Then we have part time bike builders, Mikey Robinson and Anthony Mitchell.

What events have you done at the shop in the past few years? We had two jams with Kink and Cinema last November. It was a big session on back-to-back Fridays. We had a box jump and an eight-foot quarter, plus a couple of up ledges and some flat rails. It was open to the public so any of the local kids that come into our shop got to ride with guys like Chase Dehart, Corey Martinez, Garrett Reynolds, KC Badger, Sean Sexton and many other pros. Plus we had the Demolition parts premier for ‘Last Chance’ and had a big turn out for that amazing video.

What changes have you noticed in the scene since the shop opened? We are seeing more and more kids started to ride and continue riding. The scene blew up in AZ around 2000, but after a few years a lot of those guys faded out, but now we have plenty of riders getting noticed and inspiring the next generation of kids to stick around and get better.

What does Gordy’s offer that mail order doesn’t? We offer hands on access to many of the latest parts and accessories. We understand that it is really hard to compete with the mail order companies but we try to have as many options for the everyday rider that comes in our doors, and we try to carry all the sizes available to fit any need. Plus you don’t have to wait for UPS to deliver your parts when you buy in our store.

Top three best-selling Animal products: Right now the TWW’s are flying off the shelves; we can barely keep them in stock. Vinnie’s sprocket is real hot seller, and so are the Hamilton PC pedals.

Strangest experience selling an Animal product: Nothing too strange, but I have had to talk to some parents about their kids wanting to put some 25 tooth Vinnie Sprockets on their bikes that are still rocking a 16 tooth freewheel.  The kids didn’t understand the whole hamster on a wheel comparison, but their parents did. But at least a couple of those parents just upgraded their wheels to a new animal complete that we had built up.

Why carry Animal? Animal products are some of the strongest and most reliable parts I’ve ever ridden. On top of that, you have some of the most influential riders being sponsored by Animal. I grew up watching Edwin, Vinnie and Bob over and over again before going out to ride.

What’s something you never expected to happen after opening the shop? I’m not sure if everyone knows, but Gordy actually ran Gordy’s until the summer of 1999. He was messing around with all the race kids at one of the parent’s house after a race, and ended up breaking his back on the trampoline. After the accident Kevin had to move back home to take care of his dad and start running the business. It was a lot of responsibility to take on at the drop of a hat, but Kevin and Kim (Kevin’s sister) have been running Gordy’s successively ever since.

Any future plans for the shop? We are planning on having more jams as well as some local contests to strengthen the scene. Hopefully have more teams come through for signings and more video premieres too. Also we are trying to branch out and make our mailorder bigger and better. You can order most stuff we carry in the shop, excluding frames and complete bikes, as of now.

How many trends have you seen come and go since you have been open? There have been many of changes in trends since we first opened up. Chrome was huge, and then it faded out to the all black bike and parts. Then everyone wanted anodized parts, especially from Animal, and then the crazy colors schemes started to come around. Now some companies are bringing back chrome, so it is a never-ending cycle of old trends becoming fresh again.

What is the best thing you gained or witnessed from owning/ starting the shop? Seeing kids and parents get to enjoy something together. It’s great to sell a bike to a family, race or freestyle, and then get to hear the parents gush about their kids at the track or at the park. Not many jobs give you that sort of satisfaction.

If you can have one BMX product that doesn’t exist yet what would it be? It would be more of a process than an actual product. The ability to have a 10-pound bike that can withstand the abuse of the typical and not so typical street rider. Freestyle bikes have changed so much since the 90’s, so it would be great to take the race technology and make it stronger and be able to take that punishment.

Where do you see the shop in ten years? In the digital revolution. Hopefully we will be fully online with our entire product inventoy, possibly have a couple of stores too. Maybe even have some sort of indoor park that we can run and manage that will keep the AZ scene going, especially in the summer months.

Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Shop address: 4205 W Thunderbird Rd. Phx, AZ 85053
Hours: Mon – Fri: 10am – 6pm, Sat: 10am – 5pm, Sun: 11am – 3pm
Contact info: Phone: (602) 843-6490, email: info@gordysbicycles.com, www.gordysbicycles.com

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We just shot some more photos of the new MR stems so you guys could get a better look at them.Check out the rest of photos after the jump