Chris Zeppieri Interview

Chris Zeppieri is one of those guys who depending on how well you follow the day to day in BMX, you may have heard of. He is one of the ring leaders of the AOTC crew. This guys is very talented from his artwork to filming and editing. Hell, the kid can ride like a champ too. So check out what Chris has to say, some of the photos, and videos. Oh, and don’t forget to leave him some love in the comments.

Name:
Christopher George Zeppieri

Location:
Boston, MA for the school year but I go back to Sea Cliff, NY once in a while to visit my family.

Sponsors:
TJD, OSS, Timeless BMX

Years riding:
5

What was it that first got you into BMX? Any early memories come to mind?
I used to skateboard like crazy until I developed this thing in my knee called Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome, its when your leg continues growing after your knee has stopped so the bone grows out. It makes bending your knee kill so constantly pushing and popping from skating was impossible, a bunch of my friends rode BMX and I was tired of sitting home alone not being able to skate so I tried out BMX and I couldn’t stop.

I hear you started wearing a helmet all the time now, what’s up with that and how has it been going? What’s the story behind the decision to wear it?
Pretty recently someone asked me how many times I’ve been knocked out, I couldn’t remember, I had to go back and recount all the times and I figured out that I have had 7 concussions in the last 5 or 6 years, I love riding and the friends I’ve made and the great times I’ve had through it, I want to be able to look back at it with a positive note later in my life. Wearing a helmet I feel will help ensure that I don’t look back with a negative view. It doesn’t impair my riding at all, if anything it helps me feel better. It does have its downsides though, I already sweat like crazy when I ride and the helmet totally makes it worse, WAY worse, I also get headaches if I wear it for too long and people tend to think I am a ramp rat when I ride street with it. Not that there’s anything wrong with riding ramps, I love skate parks, but I don’t like the idea of people judging me negatively because of it.

The whole helmet thing is really ridiculous, you wouldn’t believe how many people say, “Man I wish I could wear one, I just can’t bring myself to do it…” I just hope they don’t realize how trivial of a decision it is before its too late. No one is good enough to “not need one” just look at Aitken…

Photo: Kevin Valot

Do you see yourself sticking to it or is it just a phase type thing you are going through?
I’ve been wearing one for over a month now and there have definitely been times when I wish I didn’t because of the heat and the headaches, but just last weekend I took it to the shoulder/head doing an uprail and was glad I had it on even though I fell into grass. I think its here to stay.

How do you feel about full-face helmets on street?
No comment.

You are one of the guys behind AOTC, what exactly does AOTC stand for? How did it get its start?
What AOTC actually stands isn’t really important; its more what AOTC did for our group of friends that’s important. We just wanted to make a video and AOTC was the name, from there on we were able to make the video that all of us can be really psyched on and use to remember how much fun we have all the time.

It seems like your crew and Team Jeff DuPaul has been coming together more to make for this ridiculous crew of riders. What can we expect from all the talented riders?
Well me and Jeff have become really good friends over the last year and always ride/hangout together, half of the people I ride with I met through Jeff so its always a good time when we are all able to get together, new friends and old, to have a weekend session. And all the dudes that I ride with are so good the footage makes for a good edit no matter what.

Photo: Jody Sotddard

AOTC 2. When and what can we expect from it?
AOTC 2… oh boy…, I’m so busy with AOTC 1 stuff I cant even put my mind that far ahead, I can tell you that it is happening, but not for a bit. I’m spending a lot of time home in NY for the summer and CB is up in Boston so that is an issue. Also I have a couple other things I’m filming for like OSS and a TJD/Defgrip Edit that Jeff cooked up so I need to finish those before I can really dive into another full production. We learned a lot from AOTC, AOTC2 I can guarantee is going to be a hit.

It seems like most guys behind the lens aren’t exactly the most dialed of riders, but in your case it is the opposite. Do you ever find it hard to film when you know you could be pulling something good too?
Well thanks, yeah sometimes its hard, we will go to a spot and someone will call something out and I’ll start to film them, they will take a long time and we get booted right as they land it, and then I can’t try my stuff, that happens kinda often… but its alright, I’ve been filming for a long time so I’m pretty used to the stress and I think I’m pretty balanced in terms of time spent in front and behind the lens. I’m pretty excited to work on some non-AOTC stuff in the near future though, it’s refreshing to go out without the camera and be able to just hang out and ride, and have someone else take care of the documentation…

Where are you usually found riding these days? Any spots you couldn’t imagine getting sick of?
Well living in Long Island with my parents for the summer has its ups and downs, the ups being having a car and no expenses like food and stuff, the downs being spots. I’m so bored of my local stuff and I feel like I’m not motivated to ride when I’m home, in Boston I want to go out everyday and cruise around, here I want to sit at home and watch TV… In Boston I would say my favorite spot is the shopping center called Landmark right next to my apartment, its got so much good stuff there and lines for days. All of my friends hate it but I swear I could ride there everyday and never get sick of it.

Who is your usual riding crew? Any up and comers you think should be getting some coverage?
Well like I said I don’t ride too much in Long Island, but Craig Passero only lives two towns over so I see him from time to time. Other then that it’s just some local kids who ride around. Sometimes Craig and I will go to NYC and ride with Adam22 and whoever’s around for the day, those are always fun. In Boston I ride with all the AOTC guys. Zack Cooke and Brett Silva are two kids who I think are going to blow up this year. They are both SO good and have such good outlooks on riding. Hopefully they get off the cape and into Boston more this year, those kids are the truth.

Do you have any big road trip plans for the summer?
I actually just got back from a spur of the moment trip to Toronto with a bunch of OSS dudes. It was awesome, Toronto is the best city i’ve ever ridden and all the FUTU guys are really cool, and fun to hang around. Hopefully in August they will be making a trip down to Boston and we will be doing an East Coast thing for a week or two, maybe even heading to Woodward and hopefully not getting kicked out at the door again…

If you could go on a trip anywhere in the world with only 5 people. Who would you pick, where would you go, and why?
Ugh that’s the worst question… it’s so hard to pick 5, but if I had to I would say CB Coombs, Zack Cooke, Craig Passero, Jeff Dupaul, and Denny Pascasio. I would want to go back to Toronto but for a month to really ride the whole city, there are so many spots…

Photo: Chris Saunders

Do you feel like you would be where you are today if you hadn’t met guys like CB Coombs, and the guys you ride with?
Definitely not. CB has become my best friend over the years and he keeps me in check on some of the lame stuff I want to film which is always good haha, he’s also one of the biggest advocates of BMX FUN as apposed to being serious all the time, always keeps me laughing even when I go into hulk mode and scream like a moron. Also moving to Boston was a great thing for me, I got to learn what people form other scenes were like and it got me to travel and meet a ton of people and expand both my riding and my general mindset.

What is your biggest motivator to do things like DVDs, and everything?
DVD’s, web videos, photos, all that stuff, they serve as markers in my life. Things that I had fun, or trouble getting through and I want to remember, just the other day I went back and watched a ton of old footage and I remember how much fun me and my friends used to have when we were still learning the basics of bike riding, how to jump and grind and do 180’s those were the days…

What is BMX to you?
BMX means a lot to me, it has helped me get through some seriously bad times in my life and is a constant reminder of how much fun me and my friends have together. I really love riding and hanging out, filming, and going on trips. I am trying to enjoy this life as long as can, before I need to be an adult haha…

What do you think you would be up to if you didn’t get into BMX?
I played sports until I was in 7th grade when I moved to the town my parents live in now, that’s where I found skateboarding and BMX, so I think I would probably have continued with the sports life and wound up in college trying to make a career out of it.

What are you usually up to outside of BMX?
I do a lot of artwork, I have a website that I built to showcase it and I am constantly trying to push my abilities in that realm. Other then that I try and help my parents as much as I can (when I’m home) around the house and with my younger siblings. They both work full time so I do whatever I can to make it easier.

You are going to school in Boston right? What are you going for? What would you like to do after school?
Yeah, I go to The School of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston. We don’t have majors there but I guess you could say I go for industrial design, sculpture, and animation. I try and stay away from thinking about what I’m going to do when schools done… It’s a scary thought, being an adult, no way! I think I’m going to try and get a minor in mechanical engineering and go into that field if the independent art thing doesn’t work out, but who knows… your world can change in a second so there’s no point in making huge future plans right now.

You have some pretty sweet animations and videos on your website. Were those all for projects for school or just random ideas you had? What’s the link to your site?
Thanks! Some of them were school projects but all the ideas came from me, my school has classes that give “suggestions not assignments” so everyone in the class will have say, a 1 minute animation but they will all be totally and completely different, which is cool. My site is www.chriszep.com I’m going to launch a blog on the site next month with weekly updates on projects and stuff, hopefully its not too boring haha.

Do you have any favorite videographers, photographers, designers, artists, etc?
In terms of BMX video stuff I would say Joe Simon, Joe Cox, and Will Stroud are the 3 big guns right now. There stuff is always on point.

Photo: Chris Saunders

In the art world I’m pretty bad with names but people who do stick out for me are: (damn all their names just flew from my head…)
Marc Newson
Arthur Ganson
Keith Loutit
Tara Donavan
Phil Hansen
There are totally more but I can’t remember any of their names…

What are some of your favorite websites?
I live on the computer so I’ve got a bunch that I check daily…
Defgrip.net
The Come Up
BMXfeed
Myspace
Facebook
WhyTheFuckDoYouHaveAKid
LoLPorn.tumblr.com
AOTC.Tubmlr.com
Timeless BMX
MacRumors.com
SkatePerception.com
RapeMeUp.com (thanks to Mike Taylor)

What is key to success when it comes to pulling ladies?
Haha, if I told you I would have to kill you I guess….

It seems like every dude in BMX has some crazy sex stories. What about you?
Hmm, I was with a girl in my car at come parking lot in my town and a cop rolled up pretty heated. I guess someone called the cops saying they though we were going to break into the building or something, the girl was terrified because her parents thought she was a virgin so if she had gotten caught she would be dead, the cop saw I didn’t have a shirt on, laughed and just told us to leave. I started laughing; she didn’t think it was funny…

What makes for a good night of partying for you?

(Thanks Jeff Dupaul)

What is the craziest or scariest experience of your life?
I’ve been through a ton of really scary shit in terms of personal injuries and stuff like that. I got jumped in high school and almost died, I almost got stabbed last year by some wigger in Boston, its been a wild ride… the scariest thing though would have to be my Dad getting cancer last summer. My Dad is one of the most important people in my life and I look to him constantly for knowledge and help with everything. He’s the man, I love him to death and the thought of losing him was really tough for me. Thank fully he pulled through it and I am grateful everyday he’s around.

What is the best advice you could give somebody?
Try and live to be the best person you can. Karmas a bitch and things really do come back to get you in the end. And always remember that no matter how bad things are, they could always be worse.

Photo: CB Coombs

Do you have any shout outs or thanks?
First off I really want to thank my parents. They are the best. They let me do pretty much whatever I want and have raised me to be what I think is pretty good all around. Second I would like to thank CB Coombs for being my best friend and putting up with me for all these years. I would also like to thanks Jody and Christine at Timeless BMX for making me feel at home last year when I first moved to Boston and always helping me out with whatever I need, whether it be BMX stuff or advice in general. Also Eddie Buckley at 5050 BMX for all the help last year. As for the people I ride with, everyone in AOTC thank you all so much for making it happen, everyday people tell me they saw the video and everyone loves it, you guys killed yourselves for it and I thank you for that. Craig Passero for also putting up with my bullshit and for stinking up my apartment with your wretched feet every weekend. Adam Grandmaison at The Come Up for helping keep AOTC on the front page and for advice when it came to what to do with the video, you MO. Thanks to everyone I ride with daily, everyone I rode with and will one day ride with, thanks to the internet, thanks to the anonymous commentators on TCU for keeping us all in check and keeping me laughing. Thanks for Kurt for the interview, and finally thanks to anyone who made it through this whole thing, holy shit, I write a lot.

Anything else you want to say?
AOTC