Kostya Chimkovitch Tag

26 Aug

Posted at 11:40h in archive, features, home by

Earlier this year, ahead of the 2021 re-launch of the site, my close friend, Kostya Chimkovitch expressed interest in contributing to the Northern Embassy. We started brainstorming project ideas together and eventually a concept came to fruition: What if someone were to document the history of Canadian BMX companies? As a machinist by vocation, Kostya has a strong background in manufacturing. He also ran a small BMX frame and component company with his friend and then-business partner, Brian Kelly from 2013 to 2018. It was clear Kostya would be the perfect candidate to share some stories about past and present BMX companies in Canada. To kick off Kostya’s ambitious history project, I’d like to introduce you to the man himself. Read on to learn about Kostya’s history in BMX, experiences in manufacturing, and life off the bike.

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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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19 Sep

Posted at 23:30h in archive by

The Gorilla Jam hit a big milestone by celebrating its 10th year of existence. Austin Odegnal chopped up this edit with highlights from this year’s event. Shout outs to Josh August for putting in the work to make Gorilla Jam happen.

10 Apr

Posted at 10:53h in archive by

Our dude Justin Schwanke and the Weird & Revered squad are putting out these awesome weekly promo vids until their full-length video drops on May 11th.
They’ve been hard at work for the last 3 years travelling all over the place for this, so I can’t wait to see the final product!

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