Random As Rhyme

I have never been the type of person who let things stand in the way of something I want to do. Logic, skill level, and personal safety don’t phase me and have never stopped me from at least attempting to do something I maybe ’shouldn’t’. I also don’t think my skin color makes me better or worse than anyone else. These two personality traits have let very few things stand in my way.

When I started riding BMX I had already been playing hockey and skateboarding for a few years, so I was already used to the idea of doing a sport that ‘wasn’t for brothers’. One thing I noticed was that all the people who told me that BMX wasn’t for me were people who actually didn’t  participate in the sport. Everyone who did was too busy having fun to notice i was a different color.  At least that is how it felt, I was defiantly one of the ‘token’ black guys in the scene for awhile, but the Southern Ontario scene is great, and I never once felt out of place.

This did not mean that I never got stoked when i saw another black rider, in person, or in the media. Each rider listed below I have a vivid memory of the first time I saw or met them.

Jason Richardson

Jason was the first  black rider I ever saw, he had a full page ad for Mosh bikes in an old BMX Today (racing magazine that came with your NBL membership). I remember being so excited that I showed my mom as a way to show her I wasn’t that different. As far as I can tell he is still ripping up double A pro today.

Andre Ellison

Andre blew up young. He was the youngest person to ride in Gravity games at age 14 I believe. He was also the youngest rider to ever appear on the cover of the now dead Snap magazine. He was exceptionally good at a really young age. He put a lot of tricks within my reach mentally, even though they are still out of my reach physically.

Shaun Butler

Shaun came up before coming up was a wildly used term,  then  vanished. Lately he has resurfaced and has gone back to riding  for the sheer fun of it.

Ronnie Chalk

Like Shaun Butler, Ronnie came out shredded (I have 2 posters of him on my wall right now) then vanished, but he is now DC’s BMX team manager.

Ruel ‘Wormz’ Smith

Photo Credit:  Keith Romanowski

At the time I was first introduced to wormz I didn’t even know NY had a big street scene, or that someone could do a table so nice off a street obstacle (couldn’t find that photo). Wormz also used to have dreads which were pretty much the length mine are now. The NY street  scene is amazing these days and has a countless about of black riders who murk everything.

Keven  Salmon

First time I went to a skate park Keven was there, destroying. I had never seen anyone go so high or do the tricks he was doing in person before. Since then I have seen him in Dig and Ride, and then no where else. These days he is kind of camera shy, and it might have something to do with what he’s hiding under his hat, but he is still an inspiration and really positive to  talk to.

I was able to scrounge up a few more images of Keven using the Internet archive that are a treat: one handed foot jam, one footed x up air, canadian nose pick, invert, hip invert, one handed table, wall footjam, big stair huck.

Jaumell Campbell

First time I saw this video my initial reaction was ‘holy crap clipping that rail hop would have killed a normal person’.  It didn’t and a few months later I was fortunate to meet Jaumell at the 10 pack am  qualifiers and he’s not just a rad rider but a real chill dude, who could bunnyhop over the moon.

Jordan Savas/Chijioke Okafo edit. from JordanSavas on Vimeo.

I first met Chijioke 4 or 5 years ago at an ASC dirt contest. He was the first black rider to enter one of the contests I helped put on and I was super stoked that he made the trip from Barrie to come ride. (Come to think of it I have no clue how he found out about the contest at all)

Being from Barrie I didn’t see him again until he grew up some, ditched the mountain bike, and became an absolute amazing Rider. I now ride with him on the regular and every session is full of great times and great tricks. I honestly can’t say enough good things about this guys riding or personality.

Having rode for 10 years now I am happy to say that BMX has turned into a big melting pot and people of  all ages,  races, and sexes ride, and thats what makes BMX one of the best sports in the world.

Here are  some more shredders:

Murray is such an inspiration, I can’t imagine how hard it must be for him right now but listening to him talk you would never know. I think it would be an honor to meet him. Everyone should watch this video, It’s hard to face the reality that this can happen to any of us.

Stay Safe, Stay Positive, Stay Strong.

720 bars to fakie, who else even does 720s to fakie? Or 720 bars for that matter other than Ryan Nyquist. Garrett is on a whole different level of shit god damn.

Oddly enough, the crowd didn’t make that much noise. If this happened at notro the roof would have blown of the place.

Oh and if you have not seen it yet, Garrets video part in the Nike video is worth a watch.

I wrote this 10 years ago, so I guess I am going on 10 years of BMX. WILD. Expect an I still ride 08 soon.

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I was on a solo mission a few days ago and had just got out of a feeble in my local supermarket complex thingy and almost ran into my friend Jay B’s cousin. He looked at me with this shocked look on his face and asked you still ride? I replied of course I still ride what would I do if I didn’t, I would be completely lost and I proceeded to say later and go ride.

Now that I think about it I would be completely lost without my bike. My bike is a form of self expression, its helped me get stuff out of my system whether it is joy or anger or whatever.

Without my bike I would probably be a druggie or something stupid like that wasting my life. I need my BMX bike it is a part of me, no wait I need to ride, it doesn’t really matter what type of bike or terrain as long as I am on a bike I can have fun (even on a tricycle can have fun).

A lot of people think it is strange that a bike can mean so much to me but it does. Take it away and I will not be me I will be a bazzaro me (superman reference).

I won’t be the guy who never seems pissed of of sad about anything, I won’t be the dude who is always up for having fun or chillin, I dunno what I would be like, thinking about it just scares me.

So next time you feel like asking me If I still ride don’t because you already know the answer. When I am 40 I will still have a bike and ride it as much as physicall possible.