Author: Prashant Gopal

17 Jan

Posted at 06:02h in archive by

St. John’s, Newfoundland has a booming BMX scene and population, despite the city’s relatively small size. Much of that can be attributed to Rob Yetman’s shop Turndown. Very few shops offer a huge selection of BMX bikes and parts, as well as being home to an ever changing indoor park. Rob and his crew are in there building ramps, rails, and modifying their setup in order to offer the riders of St. John’s a haven for the long winter months. Jon Fenn sent in this edit from their winter so far, which includes a number of Hiatus/Deadline era riders back riding for the first time in a few years.

04 Jan

Posted at 11:22h in archive by

sean cooke - smith

Pretty much all across the country people are dealing with terrible weather, so I dug up this photo of Sean Cooke doing a smith grind last year in Spain to remind us that it’s not so icy everywhere and it will always get better. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

02 Jan

Posted at 07:33h in archive by

This is the trailer for the DWOK Mixtape from London, Ontario which looks really good. High-jinx and street riding from Mason Grey, Eli Taylor, Jack Leonard, and more.

31 Dec

Posted at 10:24h in archive by

top 10 - 2012

Another year, another slew of year end wrap up lists. In all honesty, this past year has been the best yet for Embassy. I feel like we’ve put out the best content we ever have, released a DVD that we were all proud of, put out some great products (hats and t-shirts that didn’t last long in our store and sold out fast), ran some fun contests, gave out lots of prizes, and proudly showcased Canadian BMX from all corners of the country. I went through the last year of posts on the site to find the top 10 most popular entries we made (based on web analytics), to share with everyone. In case you missed any of these the first time, or wanted to re-visit them, have a look at the top 10 posts of 2012 after the jump.

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24 Dec

Posted at 05:00h in archive by

happy holidays - luke - 2012

Luke Santatucci spreads his cheer to all the girls this season, good or bad. Happy holidays from all of us here at Northern Embassy. Enjoy the season and the time with friends and family. Thank you to all of our readers, contributors, advertisers, and everyone else for their support over the past year, and we’ve got a lot more in store for 2013!

23 Dec

Posted at 08:29h in archive by

Back in the fall I spent an afternoon riding around with Keven Salmon. If you are like me you may remember Keven from his short lived clothing label Iahmperial, or his appearances at some of the most memorable early to mid 2000’s contests in Ontario such as La Rev and the early Metro Jam events. He would hold his own in the pro class with strangely original tricks like one handed icepicks down rails. I shot this simple one handed icepick on a poorly designed and steep quarter pipe in the middle of a line at my local skatepark.

Creativity ensues, and nowadays Keven’s focus has turned more towards his music, which he writes and records under the pseudonym Dread Eye. Check out a live recording and video of his song Fire Bombs & Sunscreen below, and try to catch him at an open mic night at venues across Toronto.

19 Dec

Posted at 07:42h in archive by

Our history with Dillon Lloyd runs deep. Deeper than the 2nd place section for The Hunt that we worked together on last year. I remember him since he was a 12 year old boy at the skatepark with food stains and crumbs all over him, riding better than the guys twice his age, and Jeremy’s history with him runs even deeper. All that makes us even more stoked and proud that he just got the bump to the Éclat pro team to a roster of some pretty heavy hitters. One could say that he is carrying a torch for a new generation of Canadian riders on the world stage now. Check out this amazing video filmed largely by (occasional Embassy contributor) Sean Cooke, and put together by Jeremy Deme.

heavy hitter
Heavy Hitter 1#

10 Dec

Posted at 05:22h in archive by

Brad Hill and I just finished issue three of our collaborative BMX newspaper zine Union Press. I can truly say that it’s my favourite issue so far, and I feel like we were able to cover a range of people and topics, while having the most contributors in an issue yet. As always you can get this for FREE from better bike shops across Canada as it is generously supported and distributed by Ten Pack Distribution and 1664 Distribution. If you do not have a local bike shop, or live outside of Canada, you can order a copy for the price of postage here. Check out a list of contents from issue three below and a number of photos from its pages after the jump.

– Dagg’s Kitchen: Cooking tips and a recipe from the mind and kitchen of Nick Dagg
– Team Manager Tales: A story from Harley Haskett about his best trip ever
– Build and Create: An interview with skatepark builder and bike rider Kean Fougere
– A profile of Niagara area flatlander Smoother
– Photos from Jeremy Deme, Charlie Crumlish, Trent Barker, Jason Vawter, Brad Hill, and Prashant Gopal
– Fold out posters from MacNeil Bikes, Verde Bikes, 1664, and BMXFU

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09 Dec

Posted at 07:51h in archive by

“A coaster, a cassette, a race bike and an airplane. There’s a bit of everything in this…”
Justin Schwanke sent in this diverse video. What sold it for me was the tune and the bold choice to include race footage. Click below for a couple other submissions from Winnipeg’s Wayne Hartman & Matt Perrin and also Vancouver Island’s Nathan Hines.

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