29 Jan Catching up with Tristan Sweet
Tristan Sweet is a name you often hear out of the Vancouver scene. Whether it’s an edit, killing it at a jam, a crazy doube tire ride somewhere, filming editing something for his friends, Tristan seems to be in the mix of things so we caught up with the mega productive 19 year old Sunshine coast to Vancouver transplant.
How old are you? Where you from and where you currently reside?
19, grew up on the Sunshine Coast and currently live in Burnaby, BC
When and how did you get into bike riding?
I always rode bikes around when I was little but I got a BMX when I was 13 because me and my friends thought writing on the wall was the coolest thing ever
The Nike Vid?
Yeah
What was your first whip?
It was a kink whip and I remember I wanted the Kink liberty instead so bad because it was supposed to be for street haha
Haha that’s dope. So you were into the street riding side of it from day 1
Yeah probably because of seeing Writing on the Wall right away, but I still grew up at the skatepark just because there wasn’t enough street on the Coast to entertain me until I got a bit older. Still is that way when I’m back there honestly.
Which park was closest to you?
I lived closest to Gibsons but went to school in Sechelt and the skatepark is right at the high school so I guess I got to ride both pretty evenly. Gibsons park has my heart though haha, shoutout to the jab
Correct me if I’m wrong but it seems like both of those parks are pretty street oriented compared to some of BCs other famous tranny parks?
Gibsons definitely is even though it does have a pretty good bowl and sechelt is like nothing else I’ve ever seen really. It’s a really old park with huge roll ins and quarters but also jibby shit
Outside of riding, what was it like growing up on the sunshine coast, being a pretty isolated area?
It was deece, really good in the summer for lakes and beaches and shit and then there’s the mountains to play on in the winter, but yeah I still always wished I lived in van or even the island
Again, outside of riding, comparing it to Vancouver, which do you prefer? The busier city life or the quieter ‘island’ life.
I prefer Vancouver overall but sometimes I definitely feel like I need to go back to the coast for a bit. It’s a lot cleaner haha and it’s just home
Was there/ is there currently a decent scene out there? Who was your squad that you typically rode with?
There wasn’t really much of a scene when I was growing up, just Joel, Kyle, this kid Mark that doesn’t really ride anymore, and I. Also a couple older dudes that would show up at the park every once in a while. Now that Joel and I live out in Van it’s just Kyle and some youngins on complete bikes. Shoutout to Kyle White and Joel Dykstra for being my best biker buds for the longest.
When and how did it come that you and Joel both moved to Van?
Well we both always saw how Vancouver seemed to be where it’s at for BMX and the coast had absolutely nothing for us, so we knew we had to get out there when we graduated. My dad has a little place rented out in Burnaby because he works out here so that’s where I live, I’m pretty lucky on that. Joel is a year younger than me so he just moved out pretty recently and hes living with Shawn and James.
Were you guys like kids in a candy store with all the Van spots/ parks when you first moved out?
Oh yeah dude you hit the nail on the head. I was so overwhelmed for so long when I first moved out here, I didn’t know where to begin. It’s crazy how much having more to ride changes things.
How long have you been out there now? I’m guessing you guys are still finding new stuff?
I moved out in October 2014 and yeah there’s so many areas just outside of van that I haven’t explored yet and everytime we do hit somewhere new we find tons of shit. Its honestly endless
You are mad productive too, how is that? There seems to be a never ending flow of footage from you and your squad, what’s your schedule typically and how do you have so much footy on the go all the time?
Haha shit man thanks, I don’t know. I think for me personally it’s going from the sunshine coast where I never got to ride anything new, to being able to ride pretty much anything I want in a day. That and I just honestly really like filming and getting clips more than anything. So that combo leads to lots of clips I guess. I always feel like I’m getting way too many ok clips and not enough really good ones that I can be stoked on though, trying to learn to pick my battles. And my friends being amazing at bikes helps alot too
Who’s the typical van squad you roll with these days or enjoy rolling with the most?
So many dope people out here to ride with I could never name them all, but Kyle, Joel, Adam, Nate, Rayden, Owen, Neriah, Teddy, Josh and Andrew at 3ride. Those are the fucking homies and who I ride with most.
You kill it behind the lens too, was that something you started on the coast or after moving to Van?
Thanks dude, ever since I got into bmx I have always been really into the video aspect of it. We used to make videos a whiiile back on my buddy’s shitty camcorder as the jabcr3w haha. But that cam broke and for years we had absolutely nothing. But I swear I always had like an urge to make bmx videos and I could always envision them in my head if that makes sense. I acquired a dslr in grade 12 and we started filming again. When I figured out how to torrent final cut pro I started making my first video with all the footage we had so far, and that turned into the Jabtape. Then once I moved to the city it just took off and I became completely addicted to it just like riding. I just upgraded from a t3 to a t6i so I’m stoked
Hell ya! So you watch alot of BMX vids then? Who are some of your favorite filmers in the game?
Yeah especially when I was younger I watched an absurd amount of videos. BMX filmers real quick off the top I’d say Rich Forne, Tony Malouf, Joe Simon, Kanode. I could go on for days about that though
Also, you hear alot of dudes stoked on skate vids/ filming over BMX stuff. Are you just genuinely stoked on BMX stuff mainly?
Yeah I feel like it’s a trend to say your into skate videos. I definitely get really stoked on skate videos from a film making standpoint. Mostly the raw shit that no one in bmx is really doing like Nick Von Werssowetz, Peter Sidlauskas, William Strobeck. and Headcleaner is probably the best video ever so shoutout to that. But it’s definitely BMX videos over anything. It’s a completely different experience when you know all the tricks that are being done and how difficult they are.
On the riding side of things who are some of your favorites?
I gotta shoutout Garrett as the all time favourite. Simone, AK, Bruno, Smillie are up there. Really stoked on Dan Coller recently. The Common dudes do it right too. I could go on for days about this too though, I know I’m forgetting so many.
Has there been any videos or edits that have stuck with you in a similar way that Writing on the wall did when you were just getting into riding?
Right off the top, Devon Smillie’s new eclat video completely blew my mind. Of course, the Deadline video. I had heard all the hype since I started riding and when I finally saw it for the first time it was a fucking crazy experience haha
You knew this one was coming, how the fuck did you get so good at tire rides?
hahaha shit dude, I don’t really know. I guess it could be all the winter undercover sessions with Joels flat rail. I was also pegless for the longest time and did a lot of tire rides then, so then with 4 pegs its like a safety net. I’m just really comfortable with doing them I guess, like alot of the time I’d rather do a rail ride then a grind
So I’ve heard you have a rare bone or knee or some kind of issue which also makes it difficult for you to work?
Simplest way I can explain is that my hips, knees, ankles/feet don’t align properly. My hips and feet point outwards and my knees point inwards, it actually looks really fucked. I’ve been going to doctors for it since I was like 7 and they say I shouldn’t be riding bmx at all. Anyways it causes pain and discomfort daily and sometimes a muscle will like seize up and I won’t be able to do anything til I get into physio for some needles and electricity to relax it haha. For work it’s generally just a huge annoyance until a muscle seizes up and I have to go try to get it dealt with. It affects riding more than anything, my ankles and feet just turn outwards on the pedals all the time so impacts can be really bad and it makes it super easy to sprain an ankle, like scary easy. It just holds my riding back a lot, I can only do big shit when I’ve been resting my ankles for a bit.
I also broke my leg really bad when I first started riding and now apparently my tibia and fibia are fused together. So my bones cant flex with impact and I guess it’s really likely to break again
Thats crazy man. And I’m guessing its something you’ll have to live with, just cant be fixed?
Yeah, they said if I break my leg again they can probably fix the bone fusion thing then with surgery, but the other shit doesn’t seem like it’s ever gonna go away. Way she goes
Fucking way she goes. Of what descent is your last name?
Duuude I have no idea actually
For the record it is Sweet though?
Yeah hunnerd percent. Facebook used to not let me have my last name as sweet for some reason so I had it as sweat for a long time, looking back that was a terrible alternative
Hahaha that’s crazy. You basically have the best last name ever, one that can never be forgotten. Have you had nicknames or alternate last names given to you over the years based on your last name?
Yeah its pretty tight. People always end up calling me tsweet most often
Have you rode anywhere outside of BC so far?
Yeah we did a road trip to San Diego a few summers back, that was unreal
Any spots youd like to hit in the next couple summers? Or dream spots/ cities?
Definitely want to make it out to Portland and Cali again soon. Barcelona is the dream
How’s Van been this winter? wet or rideable/manaeagble?
It’s not too bad I guess, wet most of the time but it gets dry for a few days every once in a while. It gets rough sometimes though when the dry days just aren’t coming. Van needs an indoor!
What’s the plan for spring,summer,fall? Any projects in the works?
Going to toronto with 3ride in march I believe, hopefully a trip to Portland and maybe Cali with Ray, Adam, and Nathan. Some little trips in the summer, whatever else comes along. I’m working on a video with Rayden right now that’s almost done. Super hyped on it because its my first project that I got to work on for a solid period of time with a dedicated filmer. I also have a long ass street mix sitting on my computer, it’s got sections from me, Owen Dawson, Kyle White, Adam Piatek, and Joel Dykstra. Just waiting on Joel to get some more shit and then it will be dropping so look out for that. Also prepare for Closet Boys Volume 1 from the minds of Teddy, Owen, and Neriah because that shits gonna bang!
Stoked for all of that man! Any shoutouts?
Shoutout to everyone that rides bikes with me, everyone at 3ride, you, world deece, blaise olson, brian castillo, nick jones, anyone who watches my videos. peace