12 May Thomas More: Embassy Exclusive Video
We have another Embassy Exclusive Video from Thomas More out of Pickering, Ontario. I’ve had a bunch of sessions with Thomas over the long Canadian winters at Joyride 150 and he’s always super positive and killing it. Thomas has some unique moves mixed with dialed tech tricks. I reached out to see what he’s been up to and to get some insight on his new video.
How long have you been working on this new video? Any memorable moments?
I believe the oldest clip in the video is from April 2019. It seems pretty crazy it has been that long, but I guess that’s because last year was the “shortest longest year ever.” I would say the most memorable moment was the ender. I did the rail to rail a couple years ago with the intention to go back and get the bar out, but it just got forgotten until last year. It felt good to get that one done and over with. I was lucky enough it happened the first time I landed on the second rail clean.
A lot has changed since 2019. How has the past year been with COVID?
At the time when we all thought it was going to be two weeks and we’d be back to normal, it was kind of cool and motivated me to do more spot searching locally. I found a few new spots and didn’t get bothered by anyone due to everything being closed. Once May rolled around and COVID was still in full swing, my planned BMX trip to Barcelona with the Luxury boys had to be cancelled. We were supposed to leave right on my birthday and that cancellation kind of set the tone for the rest of the year. Luckily, I was able to keep my job and work from home which, before my knee injury, I was able to go to the skatepark on my lunch break or when work wasn’t too busy. It could have been worse, but definitely could have been a whole lot better.
You had mentioned you fractured your kneecap. That sounds brutal. How did that happen and what is the healing process like for that kind of injury?
It’s not quite as serious as your ankle injury and didn’t require any surgery thankfully. But yeah, it hasn’t been fun. I wish I could say it was from riding because that would make a lot more sense. Haha. A couple friends and I were just chilling in the snow, tobogganing and snowboarding. Little did I know there were some large sharp rocks under the snow. My left knee found one with full force. Right now I am about two and a half months into the injury. I no longer need the immobilizer, but I am only allowed to do low resistance exercises. I think at about 3 months in they will allow me to start doing more and hopefully I can start pedaling my bike properly. I got very lucky that it split vertically in half and stayed in place, so no surgery was required. Otherwise, it would have been a longer process. Hopefully you heal up soon as well Ryan!
You don’t see many people doings x-ups in the streets nowadays. What’s your motivation behind bringing that trick into the streets?
Haha. Yeah, I’ve always been doing them. I don’t really know why, but I just love the feeling when you get them clicked. I can’t for the life of me do x-rides or x-up grinds because both my wrists are fucked. Give me a little hop and I can get an x-up in. It’s a trick that isn’t scary to do, but it sucks if you don’t get it back around.
What clip were you most stoked on in your video?
Aside from the ender, I would say the line with the smith to ice, fastplant over the ledge, and 3 off the curb. Something about that clip appeals to me. It was also one of the first times my buddy, Mike Griffin did a follow cam line for me and I think he killed it.
Were there any clips that you had to battle with?
The clip that was the biggest battle was probably the night clip with the smith manny switch 180. I am terrible at switch manny 180’s and the space between the grind and curb was pretty tight to set up for the spin. A couple times I thought of just going to regular 180, but I stuck with it and eventually got it done.
What’s your local scene like? Do you spend a lot of time riding with the Luxury boys?
My local scene is pretty bad. There’s not too much going on in Pickering and it seems to only get worse as I get older. The last couple years, I got my buddy Mike into riding and thankfully that has kept me able to ride regularly with someone local. My other homie/filmer, Mike Dimartino is also usually down to ride, but it’s definitely getting harder to find the time to get shit done. As I mentioned above, I was supposed to go on a BCN trip with the Luxury boys last year. Since that trip was cancelled, I have only gone out riding with them once. I definitely have to make time to get out there this year when my knee is all good. I miss those dudes!
You filmed most of this on an iPhone. What made you want to save the footy for a video part as opposed to just sending everything right to the ‘gram?
I would say all but two or three clips were filmed on the iPhone. The pure convenience of it is what makes it so great. You never have to think about bringing a camera because it is always there. The ability to film the clips and airdrop them to buddies or to your laptop is nice. Throwing stuff on the ‘gram is great and the clips would probably see more views, but I just enjoy putting together an actual video. Instagram seems to be more to show others what you are working on; I find making a video part is more for myself. I like to go back through my old videos and see my progression and in some cases regression. Haha. But I never go look back at Insta clips.
What do you get up to when you’re not riding?
Last year I bought a 70-300mm lens for my DSLR. When it’s nice out, I have been going out in the forest or by the lake to take pictures of animals. I always liked animals and it’s pretty relaxing just going on a walk/hike and seeing what I can find. I must be getting old. Haha. Flying drones around is a pretty good time as well. @tcmorephotos or @_tcmore is where you can find some of those shots on Instagram!
Any shout outs?
First I want to shout out Mike Griffin (@_mikegriffin) and Mike Dimartino (@bigbmx24) for helping get all these clips and keeping me riding. Shout out to the Luxury homies for sure. Shout out to the company, Moment for making an awesome fisheye lens for phones because they would all be ‘gram clips without it. Thanks to Tal at Freenight for letting me get my hands on a prototype of the first and original planetary coaster two years ago. Lastly, shout out to you, Ryan and the Northern Embassy for showcasing us Canadians!
Follow Thomas on Insta @_tcmore and follow us @northernembassy. Keep checking the site for more exclusives in the future!