Reminder: 2nd Annual BV Jam

Just a reminder that the 2nd Annual BV Jam that I’m putting on is going down at Bluff Valley’s Over The Top Skatepark THIS SATURDAY (February 4th). I’ve got stacks on stacks on stacks of product from all of the sponsors to give away… Like… I need a truck to get everything there. Everyone is leaving with some goodies! Be there if you are looking for a good time! Doors open at 10 a.m. Session starts then. Noon for the Beginner and Intermediate contest… Pro / Expert class starts at 2 with a bunch of jams throughout the day and I’m sure a product toss will get in there at the end.

Shout out to ALL of the sponsors for the support. Couldn’t do this without you guys.

Name: Subrosa

It’s almost weird to think about how much goes into just the name of a brand. The whole image of the brand is based around that name and its meaning. If you really think about it, the name can sink or float a brand right off the bat, it can start a war with another brand with a similar name, logo or image and a unique name can be the difference between remembering it further down the road or not.
A while back, I got an email with an idea from a reader who asked if I could start doing a series to find out about the meaning behind a bunch of different brands. It took a little while to get the ball rolling, but it’s finally going. So let’s kick this off with Ryan Sher and Subrosa.
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Insight: Fly Bikes Electron Complete

The other day the UPS guy stopped by to drop off a few more boxes for the BV Jam that I’m putting on next weekend. After I got a few of the boxes, I said thanks and the delivery guy said “There’s one more, it’s bigger.” To my surprise, Fly Bikes hooked the event up with one of their new Electron complete bikes that they introduced to their line up for 2012. I got a pretty good look at the bikes during Interbike but definitely not as good of a look as I wanted. Since I needed to build up the bike, I figured it would be a good opportunity to take a closer look at the bike. So let’s do this!
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Updated Videos Page

We’ve been starting to make some of the tweaks that you will be seeing with the site over the course of the next few weeks. They won’t be anything too drastic, just some stuff to help clean up the site a little better and open up some new opportunities.
The first change is that we have dropped a video player into the site. So now, instead of having to shoot you over to the old BNQT page, you can get all of the Original videos that premiered on the site in the past by going to the Videos page. There’s also a link up top in the navigation bar.

Also, for 2012, I’m looking to get a few regular contributors from around the world involved with the site. Whether that’s video contributors, photographers or writers, the site has been growing and I want to give the people who are producing high quality work a place to showcase it and get paid for it. If you are interested in joining the crew, get ahold of me. Please have samples of your videos, photos and / or writing work ready to preview.

The new year is looking to be a good one.

Mat Olson Interview

Mat Olson’s name is one that has been popping up more and more the past couple years. This Deco rider floats a little under the radar but definitely kills it on a bike and lives on the road doing shows. About a week ago, Chris Smith hit me up wondering if I’d be interested in seeing an interview with him. I was more than psyched on it, so here we have the interview that Chris did with him. Check it!

Name: Mat Olson
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Jeff Wescott Bike Check

All photos: Jake Geisel

Jeff Wescott has been on fire lately. After joining the Amity Bike Co. team a little over a year ago, he has been making moves all over the world and is constantly on the move these days. It’s cool to see that if you put in work, you can make things happen for yourself. Jeff has been mega busy as of late handling the U.S team manager roll for Amity while putting in a ton of time in front and behind the camera. I figured it would be a good time to catch up. Check out what he’s rolling on these days with a bunch of extra questions. Sounds like he’s got some warmth in his future…

Name: Jeff Wescott
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Review: Almond Belmont Shoes + Giveaway

A few weeks back, I received a care package from Almond. They had sent over a pair of Ben Hucke’s new signature Belmont model shoe to check out and spend some time riding in. When I opened the box up, I found not just one, but two pairs of the shoes. They said I could keep them to myself, or I could give the extra pair away to a lucky fan of The Union, who happens to wear a size 10.5. So, I have been wearing the shoes for a few weeks now and figured I’d give you some insight on what the shoe is all about, how well they held up and my personal opinion on the shoe. Then you can find out how to win the extra pair. Check it!
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James Meliota Interview

Photo: Jeff Harmon
“ I had to circle that basketball court and then sprint full force to get up the grass bank with enough speed. Old Port area of Portland, Maine”

James Meliota has been a rider that I’ve been a fan of since I saw one of his edits a few years ago. He brings a lot of style to the table and with each edit he has produced, he has definitely caught the attention of more people because of his unique outlook on riding. A few weeks ago I hit him up to find out a little bit more about this guy who calls Maine home. I came to realize that he’s got a pretty interesting story based on his look on different things from BMX to nature, college, work, music and life in general. There was no doubt in my mind that I needed to get him some questions to let everyone find out more. So here’s the James Meliota Interview. Check out what he has to say, then leave him some love in the comments…

Name: James Meliota
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Strike Against SOPA & PIPA

Some of you might be seeing a number of your favorite websites either “going black” with this page or you might get a link to Google asking you to sign the petition.

But what the hell is it exactly and how could it affect BMX?

Well, simply put… The U.S law makers decided that they were sick of hearing the music industry and computer program industry cry about piracy, or people stealing their work and putting it online for people to get for free. Which, I can understand since how many times have you downloaded a song or tried to get a copy of a program like Photoshop or Final Cut for you to edit your photos and videos without paying for it? It happens… A lot.

However, after doing some research, if these two bills pass it will give the government and corporations the right to go on a head hunting mission to eliminate any form of piracy online. Ultimately leaving them in control of creativity and originality online.

I suggest that you read about the SOPA bill here or the PIPA bill here.

So it eliminates piracy? That’s a good thing, right? Yeah, ending piracy is a good thing, but what the government wants to do is make it so that any body who uses a song (like the song you want to use in your edit) or a photo without paying for it and gaining clearance could lead you to being sued. That also means sites like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook could all be shut down because how many times have you seen song posted up? How about a photo the person didn’t take or get permission to share? When was the last time you looked up your favorite video part that was uploaded by “BMX Kid 69″ or something? What about a clip from an episode of Family Guy that Seth MacFarlane didn’t upload? Hell, that means if you do your own cover of a song and put it up on Youtube, you are violating these laws because you most likely didn’t get permission from the record label that owns the song!

This also would force search engines like Google to block any website that could share content that was pirated. It would also make it so the government or a corporation could literally look at a website and decide they are promoting piracy through their videos and have the entire website deleted like it never existed.

That means The Union, The Come Up, Vital BMX, Ride BMX, Ride UK, DIG and pretty much every single one of your favorite BMX sites would get shut down because they all share edits that pop up on Youtube and Vimeo that I’m willing to bet 99% of the music isn’t cleared with. They could shut us all down because we are “promoting piracy and using content that is stolen”.

So what can you do to stop this from happening? Well, it’s pretty easy. You can call your local law makers and tell them they won’t be getting your vote if they vote for this and that you don’t want to see it happen. Even easier than that?SIGN THIS PETITION THAT GOOGLE PUT TOGETHER!. Then SIGN THIS ONE by the SOPA STRIKE GROUP.

Letting this happen would give the government and corporations even more control over what we can and can’t do. All I know is I’m saying fuck that! (Gotta take advantage of that freedom of speech before they try and take that away too…)

Introducing Network A

A few months back, I heard on the radio that Youtube was going to be launching 100 premium channels with different brands and celebrities that would feature higher quality videos. Combined each of these channels would produce over 25 hours of original footage everyday (that’s an hour more than a day for those of you counting). I thought it was pretty interesting, but didn’t really think too much of it.
Fast forward to a few weeks back and I get an email asking if I would be interested in helping one of these channels called Network A get rolling by compiling some lists of some of the best videos to pop up online.
This channel is an action sports specific channel (BMX, skate, snow, ski, moto and surf) that will feature original videos from some of the top film makers and riders from around the world from all these sports, along with some of the best of what Youtube already has to offer.
Fast forward to today, and they finally launched the channel for the world to see and I’m psyched. This channel will be a featured channel that will put BMX among the others sports in front of the millions of people who may check out the channel.

Above you can find the first original BMX video to premiere in the BMX Section featuring Chad Kerley and Connor Lodes getting in a round of Calling The Shots by none other than Justin Kosman. After you check out the video, go check out what Network A is all about since I have a feeling you will be hearing a lot more about it in the future.