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.
Chijioke Okafo
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:
