Author: Aaron Gates

29 May

Posted at 22:49h in archive, features by

Those familiar with Canadian BMX in the early 2000s may have seen the Calgary based video The Western Front. Filmed and edited by Marc Doucette, it featured all of the prominent Calgary locals of that time, and included standout parts from Danny Cox (one of the all time great Canadian street riders of the era…. IYKYK), Dave Myers, and a young King of Streets.

I’ve heard a few mentions over the years that Marc made a follow up video to the Western Front that never came out. Marc passed away earlier this year, and as part of the remembrance of Marc and his legacy of bmx videos, Richard Gallant has gotten that follow up online.

This video is an incredible time capsule of the era, in what has long been one of Canada’s best bmx scenes. Calgary has incredible street spots, a long history of trails, and a core scene held together with Millenium park at the center of it all. The city has always had great riders and a cool and welcoming scene. It must be surreal to see this entire video come out 22 years after filming concluded.

From Richard:

Number 7

So this is it, first off I really have to dedicate this video to Marc Doucette, the man is a true OG. When I started BMX, he had already made a few videos. This wa sin the 90s, and Marc was making them using 2 VHS players. Eventually, I was going on trips to Halifax, Truro and PEI, with Marc and the gang welcoming me into the crew, riding and stacking clips for all of his videos. Eventually, a few of us moved to Calgary and Marc made the video Western Front. It was. a scene video that highlighted the ever expanding BMX scene in and around Calgary. For the next couple of years, he had filmed and stacked more clips for another video. He edited and made a bunch of sections but that’s where it all stalled out. As the years passed, he got more into the Music scene in Calgary and his life evolved into that journey More than BMX.

Tragically, Marc passed away in January and I ended up with his computer in my hands to render the final version of his video. I asked around for clips and photos of Marc to stitch together a slideshow for a last addition, dedicating it all to our lost brother.

 

01 May

Posted at 09:53h in archive, features, home, videos by

Braden Beck came to prominence in the Canadian BMX scene through Saskatchewan which is honestly pretty damn rare and probably pretty difficult. But that tends to happen for a guy riding at the level that he’s gotten to, regardless of location. Most of us would have seen him through Brodie Gwilliam’s videos, including the seminal Saskatchewan full-length Let’s Get Fistical. Braden and Kelly Bragg put together a new Embassy edit and it’s as good as you hope it would be. Below is a quick interview with Braden and a couple of anecdotes from James Perry.

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03 Aug

Posted at 11:30h in archive, events, features, home by

The Nelson contests were our piece of ’90s BMX lore in British Columbia. They exemplified so many things about that time, from people scraping together road trips across Canada and the PNW to get there, to the collective party vibe that resonated throughout the town and its nightlife (which by most accounts could not handle that many BMXers). For those of us who were young, it was a chance to see our heroes in the flesh, riding in the purest way possible with our friends. There were bangers, crashes, and even a flatland contest. Above all else, the vibes were unbeatable and everyone who showed up had a chance to feel like they were a part of something. When a small crew of organizers resurrected the contest as a reunion effort in 2022, a long lost piece of our culture returned and by all accounts brought back its original spirit. The contest is on again for 2023 and I know many riders are feeling the collective pull to be there. Justin Schwanke and I traded some questions with Andrew Lazaruk and Wade Nelson, who are both at the helm again for this year’s gathering.

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15 Oct

Posted at 11:31h in archive, features, home, videos by



La Soupe Du Jour is an excellent local video produced by the Stweetcrew from Northern Quebec; it represents an area of the country that gets little exposure. There was a day that local videos were one of the most interesting things going on in BMX, mostly showing up as burned discs in DIY packaging. To see that ethos transferred to a well-produced video in a modern online format is really cool. La Soupe Du Jour is full of riders I’ve never heard of hitting spots I’ve never seen in a place I’ve never thought much about, and now it’s all on the map for me. That’s one of the best things in BMX! We sent some questions to the man behind the filming and editing of the video, Evans Murray. Read on to learn about the Stweetcrew and La Soupe Du Jour featuring William Pilote, Evans Murray, Thibaut Weber, Olivier Croft, Dave Pilote, Keven Minier, Antoine Beaulieu, Sam Thibaut, and Billy Brodeur.

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26 Jun

Posted at 04:05h in archive, features, home, videos by

Often when I plan out a No Bikes trip it’s centered around visiting a single park, or a few parks that are clustered in the same area. For our trip in 2018, that skatepark that really captured my imagination was the “Thunderpark” in Montana. The park is one of the (now) many Evergreen Skateparks built in the state, and beyond the unique concepts in the park layout, the backstory behind the park was really intriguing. Throughout Montana, skateparks have been built in small towns and on reservations as part of the Montana Pool Service movement with Jeff Ament from the band Pearl Jam as the leading force. In my travels, I’ve always had the best time riding parks in small towns, and these parks look especially good.

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04 May

Posted at 11:36h in archive, features, home, videos by

Alaska was a dream trip that was a decade in the making. Since we started doing No Bikes trips in 2009, the general theme has been to go to interesting places, often out of the way, to ride cool stuff. Although Alaska was always bound to meet the first two criteria, the third is an open question to most people. I know that there is a lot to ride in AK, but others have found that idea to be somewhat unbelievable. After ten years of evolving crews and memorable trips to Washington (twice), Oregon (three times), Montana (twice), Utah, and BC (twice), six of my favorite people came to visit my favorite place. The above video contains nine minutes of highlights from the summer of 2019. Read on for some photos to preview a ‘zine that will come out later this year (for those who like hard copies, and want to know more about Alaska and this trip).

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07 Aug

Posted at 21:43h in archive by

Chris Silva put together a 50th birthday edit for “Drifter” Dave Stewart, who passed away last year. Dave was a longtime Toronto and Rexdale local who had sections in the legendary ICC DVDs, built trails, and was well known across Canada for his longevity in bmx.

Drifter Dave’s 50th birthday jam is happening tomorrow (August 8th), 2 pm, starting at the Toronto Music Garden.

https://youtu.be/hGmkzoEyx5s

04 Aug

Posted at 11:00h in archive by

“Vagabond Squad” is a full-length BMX video from the Weird & Revered crew. Filmed from 2016 to 2019, the project is community rooted with a strong focus on the Edmonton BMX scene. Although a majority of the clips are from the crew’s home city, the footage spans 9 countries, 8 American states, and 4 Canadian provinces and territories. Full and split sections from: Thomas Henderson, Jesse Baraniuk, Logan Kirzinger, Joe Weidman, Mark Stanway, Duke Thomson-Kurz, Andrew MacLeod, Cary Lorenz, Kyle Lafleur, Sean Tiffin, Ted Bambrick, Tyler Horness, Justin Schwanke, and Derek Bolz.