Author: Prashant Gopal

31 May

Posted at 04:57h in archive by

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This is one for all the readers in Vancouver to make it out to. Riley McMaster is throwing a zine and video premiere at Ride On Bike Shop (19th and Main) tomorrow night (June 1st) at 8:00pm. He’ll be releasing his newest zine, Chilling Spree, and premiering a new mix edit. All the details are below. Make it out and support this event.

Death of a Homeowner. Gnarwhale’s extinction. Chilling Spree prevails.

Finally finished my new 48 page full colour zine, CHILLING SPREE, with tales and photographic evidence of riding/tripping around North America with contributions from Chester Jones, Jordan Hango, Randi Oh, Carl Arnett.

Also going to premiere the new mix edit feature a whole bunch of the homies.

A bunch of new shirt designs will be dropping this night, so many freshly tied and dyed creations coming from my own hands.

BYOB. At the bikeshop.
Like we need another excuse to party at the bikeshop.

Zines and shirts will be on sale. Get peakin’

29 May

Posted at 08:59h in archive by

CAMP HAT 1

We are excited to finally release our new Embassy Camp hat. Inspired by old military uniforms and outdoor gear, the hat features jalapeno coloured cotton twill fabric, a custom red embroidered Northern Embassy leaf patch sewn on to the front, black cotton twill on the underside of the bill, and EMBASSY embroidered over the rear adjustable snap. It shares the same popular shape as our old Anniversary cap we made some time ago, and with time will have a broken-in look that will only get better with age.

These hats are extremely limited to a batch of only 24. Once they are gone, they are gone for good and won’t be made again. They are available for sale in our online store today on Wednesday, May 29th starting at 12:00pm EST (9:00am PST). Check out a couple more photos of the hat below and pick one up in the store while you can.

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24 May

Posted at 04:53h in archive by

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My friend Trevor Oleniuk is doing what most of us only dream of. He bought himself a van, fitted it with custom cabinets and a bed, packed in some camping gear and his bike, and is hitting the road. He’s headed south from Saskatoon to New Orleans for the 7th annual Flatland Voodoo Jam, then through Texas and New Mexico, towards California and up the west coast until Vancouver. You can follow him on his travel blog The Goldfi Van, and look for a gallery of photos to come at the conclusion of his maiden voyage. Best of luck Trevor and stay safe. You can check out a map of his proposed route after the link.

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15 May

Posted at 05:06h in archive by

sticker pile

If you’re following us on Instagram you’ve probably seen me posting about stickers lately. They are an obsession that I still can’t shake, and nowadays I grow even fonder to old stickers that act as bookmarks to different periods of BMX in my life. I started writing a piece about this strange obsession and fascination with stickers almost two years ago for this site, then Nick Ferreira (of Holeshot Zine/Amigos/ESPN) wrote a very poignant and thoughtful piece about BMX’s appetite for stickers in The Albion Issue #2, and I thought why bother when he hit the nail on the head. The issue has been long available to view and read online here, but I just recently stumbled on the full article again and thought it would be a great time to share it. Read the first paragraph, then the rest of the article after the link. What’s your favourite sticker in your collection?

Collecting stickers, whether to save for the right moment, or cover your bike in an unrelated mess, is a BMX phenomenon that continues even in the increasingly digital landscape we live in. Kids typically plaster their bikes with any sticker, mid-schoolers have a Metal Bikes “Spade” logo they’ve been saving to put in the “perfect spot” for the past decade, and older guys still have that Club Homeboy sticker they’ve also been saving for two decades to place in that same elusive “perfect spot.” While these groups disagree about seat height, already-been-done tricks, and what company will go under next, one thing they can all agree on is stickers.

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08 May

Posted at 05:01h in archive by

Chijioke Okafo has had a few bad summers now and bad luck with some serious injuries in the last couple of years. Now he’s back in the game and healthier than ever. He met up with Chris Silva one afternoon to film this quick edit at our favourite ramshackle skatepark in one of Toronto’s west end neighbourhoods. If the video is telling of anything then he hasn’t lost a thing. We also asked him a few questions about his injuries and recovery, so read his interview below along with a couple recent photos shot by Mike Headford.

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06 May

Posted at 11:08h in archive by

ART-Webzine-2-promo

Globe trotter and Quebec born flatlander Jean-Francois Boulianne (or JFB as he’s commonly known as) just landed on the cover of the France based publication ART BMX. Once a print magazine, ART appears to now be publishing their issues as web-zines. You can view the current issue in french or english here, and make sure to read JFB’s interview inside too.

29 Apr

Posted at 11:32h in archive by

A break from the usual BMX videos, this piece on sign painter Nicolai Sclater had my eyes locked from beginning to end. Nicolai, who goes under the working title Ornamental Conifer, is a long time BMX rider, artist, graphic designer, etc. and you may recognize his lettering style from the cover of The Albion issue 8 where he painted the back of a leather jacket (Till The Wheels Fall Off). This video profiles him and the dying art of sign painting as he explains his work and beautifully paints a glass store front window. Found on The Diggest.