Is There Life After Youth? -
Photos of BMX after the age of 30
- AndrĂŠ Maia -
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Is There Life After Youth?
Is There Life After Youth? Photos of BMX after the age of 30
- AndrĂŠ Maia Kicked In The Teeth Publications, 2014.
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Is There Life After Youth?
On Front Cover: Érico Melo, Barcelona, 2013.
Thanks to
On Back Cover: Renato Silva, Aveiro, 2013.
Érico, Mika, Renato, Bjorn, Pedro, Edu and David for the photos and inspiration. Vasco for the graphic design. Isi and Mike for the tips and english corrections. Tiago and Nuria for the suggestions and tips. Stay young.
Is There Life After Youth?
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Think of salad days They were folly and fun They were good, they were young _ Young Marble Giants
Mike Beyts and a young dude, Barcelona, circa 2010.
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Is There Life After Youth?
“Is there life after youth?” I once read this question on the back-cover of a book I bought while travelling. I immediately got shivers all over. It’s one of those short, straight to the heart questions, which makes you think about so many things at once.
I will turn 30 next year, and that scares the shit out of me. It feels like a leap into the unknown, even though it’s just a mere number. So I decided to ask a few wise BMXers that already went over the edge, how is a rider’s life after “youth”?
BMX has always been my true passion, and the long-time sought after Fountain of Youth. Apart from all the fun and joy that I got from riding, I can say without a doubt that BMX completely changed my life: the out of the box thinking; the urge to explore; the music associated to an alternative culture; the amazingly talented, humble, and kind friends I’ve met along the way; the conscientiousness about not living a normal life... All of these have helped me to develop into the person I am these days.
The riders that contributed to this project are exceptional people that started to ride for a very simple reason: Fun! Despite all their great skills on a bike, none ever made a living out of riding. All of them had to find a way to buy their daily bread, by splitting their precious riding time with a grown up occupation.
As kids we never thought that the distant loom of adulthood on the horizon could ever reach us one day. It comes without warning and most of us are not well prepared for it. The responsibilities of daily life; the little time to do what you most love, the increased pain on crashes, the longer time to heal injuries and the difficulty in progression. All of these things make you feel as if the safe ground you had underneath your feet is gone, and you don’t know what to do.
They started to ride in the 90’s, when BMX was not “cool”, and no major company had yet dared to relentlessly corrupt the minds of these kids on 20 inch bicycles. Girls, money or fame were things far away from the BMX world, so the only “prize” you would get at the end of the day was some bloody shins and a smile on your face. Three pictures were taken of each rider: a portrait after 30, a picture riding, and a picture of an injury that will always remind them of youth. Fundamentally, they were asked the question: is there life after youth?
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Is There Life After Youth?
Michael Tenner _
Mika, 30 years old from Neubrandenburg, Northern Germany, started to ride in 1996 because he wanted to do an endo on one of these little bikes. He got a Stratos with pegs screwed to the axles. With this he spent his days getting air from a small curved quarter to landing bank and learning new tricks. He and his buddies hung around watching BMX videos over and over again, getting motivated to ride. Nowadays Mika is an engineer, living with his girlfriend in Berlin, riding “one of those frames that everyone rides”, and on a monthly basis, hitting the Berlin mini-ramps and inner city street spots, motivating himself by grabbing some flow from a transition and surprising himself with a good feeling while doing a new move. Small talk with the people at the park or meeting new people while riding also makes him grab his bike and go out. “There are still a lot of fun people in the scene. There’s still the crazy guy with the sketchy moves, I like what people are doing in BMX”. If there was no bike in his life, Mika would build one, but apart from BMX, he does many different things with his life, getting focused lately on discovering the environment by running and climbing.
Mika taking a break, Berlin, 2014.
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Is There Life After Youth?
“I crashed on a vert ramp doing an air trick. It knocked me out and smashed my clavicle totally. Still have some problems with it. I had a heavy brain concussion but luckily I had a helmet. I hate to remember this day.”
Is there life after youth? _ “Nice try! Bringing me all through this, remembering moments. Life is a natural thing. I think you didn’t ask this question just to hear from another person that there is a life. Life is everywhere and anytime and even with the focus on BMX it is still there if you work a 40 hours per day job. There isn’t a lot time to spend your thoughts in only BMX. And this BMX-thing does needs ones attention. The most important thing is that you do it for yourself. Even if there was this one bad injury which reminds you to turn the volume down. It’s still fun.”
Is There Life After Youth?
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Up up and away, Volkspark Mini Ramp, Berlin, 2011.
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Is There Life After Youth?
Érico Melo _
One of the native BMX wonders of Praia da Luz, in Portugal, is Érico Melo. Currently 33 years old, Érico started to ride in 1990 after he bought a Huffy Thunder from his cousin. Being bored with the strict rules of athletics that he practised, he decided to quit and started to ride his tiny bike, wherever and whenever he wanted to, rules free. Loaded with the energy of a 10 year old kid, Érico would ride every single day, easily up to 12 hours during the endless days of holiday. His first local spot were the trails made by the Praia da Luz locals, and of course, the square in front of the Church. Back then, motivation could be found in the amount of fun one could get from BMX, the good friends, the exploration of the infinite possibilities and by doing something different on a bike, the fruit of your own imagination. However, following what was happening in the scene was not easy and only one magazine was accessible, so going to the competitions was basically the only way to keep up with what was going on. Far away from the warmth of his hometown, Érico now lives in Helsinki with his wife Maija and their newborn daughter. He works as a gerontologist, and, despite all the grown-up life obligations, Érico can still find 2 or 3 hours a day to ride. His ,not 100%, indoor “Elisa Spot” is his safe flatland shelter for the rough Finnish winters, but Érico also rides street all over town and Kontula and Sokeva Skateparks for indoor riding. When asked if he identifies himself with the current BMX scene, Érico replies that he never really
felt identified with the scene in a mainstream way. Things like alcohol, drugs or competitive spirit were never his thing. Concerning motivation, nothing really changed since 1990, and due to time limitations, he gives more value to every moment he is on his bike. The will to go out and ride every day, to go beyond his limits and evolve and explore new ideas, developed in Érico this kind of dependence that brings him more benefits than harm: “sometimes, to learn a new trick I take a long time, but the joy I get in the end when I land it, it’s something very special”. Apart from his beloved wife, BMX is his only passion, but some new hobbies like snowboarding, cooking and travelling are a reality in his life.
Érico in tourist mode, Barcelona, 2013.
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Is There Life After Youth?
“This injury happened when I was 20. I was teaching a friend of mine how to double peg stall on a mini ramp and on one of the runs I did an air and hung up on the coping, flipping over the bars and landing hands first. On that moment I didn’t think it was serious, even though two of my fingers were a few centimetres shorter than the rest. After waiting for several hours in the outside the hospital urgencies (and after a seagull took a shit on my broken hand), I went under surgery and I stayed in the hospital for 5 days. I skipped military service due to this injury, but the doctor also told me I would never be able to ride anymore. During the 4 months after the surgery I rode flatland with only one hand, and after some months exercising my hand, I was able to be back riding with both hands on my bike. Nowadays it’s still not perfect, but in general ways it doesn’t limit me on almost anything.”
Is there life after youth? _ “As I have been lucky enough to keep in quite good shape, and never stopped riding, it is still hard for me to realize the limitations of my “old age”. But I believe that if you take good care of yourself you will be able to enjoy life almost throughout all your life span. I know I won’t be able to ride my bicycle the same way I do now when I am 50 or 60, but maybe I will be able to cruise around the park doing a few tireslides or play around with flatland tricks in the parking lot and still have a lot of fun with it. I am also quite sure I will start snowboarding more in the future as it is a bit less demanding to your body and also super fun.”
Is There Life After Youth?
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Two broken fingers didn’t stop Érico from blasting some tricks on a borrowed bike, Barcelona, 2013.
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Is There Life After Youth?
David Martin _
David Martin, 31 year old rider from Mataró, a small town in the warm and cosy Catalonia, 31km away from Barcelona. BMX passion sprouted in David 14 years ago when he first got a Specialized TJ Lavin Pro Model; he started to have fun with his friends, learning new tricks and progressing along on a healthy BMX scene. Daily riding was a golden rule and he followed what was going on in the scene as much as possible, even though it was hard to find videos or magazines. His local spot was the unique Lost Trails, founded by David and his friends a few years after he started riding. Nowadays, David still lives in Mataró with his beloved girlfriend (they met 14 years ago, same time David met his lifelong passion), he is a gardener by profession and the Lost Trails are still his second home where he spends most of his time digging, riding and taking care of that special place. The back-in-the-days golden rule of daily riding had a small change: riding his S&M BTM can vary from once a week, to 10 or more days a month, depending on the season and the visitors to the trails. The motivation never went away because having fun, finding new people and new trails, digging new lines and flowing around will always be there, justifying his true love for BMX. David also claims that nowadays he doesn’t follow up very much on what is going on the current BMX scene because “it changed a lot and there’s only street”. Nevertheless, the Trails scene has also changed a lot and it’s now “a completely different world from the current world of BMX”, which makes him identify more with the new trail scene that he adores.
David before hitting the big line at Lloret Trails, Lloret de Mar, 2014
David confesses that he developed some new hobbies such as digging, photography and landscapes, but when asked what he would do if there was no bike, he says that “as long as there is a place to dig, there will be a bike…honestly I don’t know what I would do…Trailife is my big passion, my way of life”
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Is There Life After Youth?
David testing new dirt, Lloret Trails, 2014.
“I had a crash at the Lost Trails, went head first and knocked myself out. I still have some sight problems due to the crash, I don’t know if I will ever recover from that or if I will have to live with this for the rest of my life…”
Is there life after youth? _ “Of course there is, and it’s much better. You enjoy the pleasure of riding, when you are young you don’t really know how to appreciate it. You ride less, but the quality is better!”
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Is There Life After Youth?
Bjorn Eulink _ The golden warrior, 40 years old, definitely a true old school soldier. He was born in Oldenzaal, East Holland, and started to ride in the 80’s, when bikes’ quality was poor and would easily break. By exploring Rap music and Breakdancing during his youth, he thought while spinning on his back, there was more he could do, so he got a skateboard, and there was no way back. After that, an old Batavus made out of spare parts donated by one of his best friends.
Bjorn, Amsterdam, 2013.
Bjorn was fortunate enough to grow up in Oldenzaal, home to one of the oldest skateparks in Holland, built in the 70’s. Riding there on a daily basis with his friends was a must, despite the security guard that didn’t allow bikes on the snakerun and the broken parts, that would make him wait for days until the arrival of new spare parts. Motivated by exploring and learning new things, he definitely found his escape from boredom and incapability of being sat down for a minute. He connected to the BMX world and local scene through the dutch zine Fat BMX. Fast forward 20+ years, Bjorn is proud of the small Dutch BMX scene and still loves BMX like day one, even though he is currently heavily into origami and he would have been a secret agro ninja if there was no bike. He lives in Driebergen, has a girlfriend and is self-employed, working as an illustrator from time to time, collecting and selling records and if there is less work, he renovates and decorates houses. He tries to ride once a week at the local indoor park, but his beloved bowl in Utrechts’ Griftpark will always be his local spot: “riding my bike after a day full of grown up stuff clears my mind”, says Bjorn, who still takes his bike everywhere in order to meet like minded people and visit and explore new places. “It gives you always something new”
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Is There Life After Youth?
Is there life after youth? _ “Slayer!”
“I dislocated my shoulder with skateboarding 10 years ago. A few times a year it will pop out and in. I do some training to keep it steady though.”
Well known trick at a well known spot, Marnix Bowl, Amsterdam 2013
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Is There Life After Youth?
Edu Garcia _
Edu Garcia is a 34 year old rider from Granollers, Spain. Around 1997, after some years riding MTB and following his childhood fascination for bicycle stunts, Edu wanted to try something new and decided to ask for a borrowed BMX bike from the brand he was riding for at the time. That was his turning point: MTB was gone and he bought himself a HB Condor. In the beginning, Edu and his friends used to ride the local Granollers Bowls on a daily basis, every time they had time, they’d be there. Good mood, good laughs and riding with your friends was the only necessary ingredients for having the time of their lives. Since videos, magazines and anything related to BMX was so hard to find back then, those precious goods were shared inside the community, tightening up the sense of unity of the BMX kids.
Edu feeling good at home, Lost Trails Mataró, 2014
Fast forward 17 years, Edu earns his daily bread by being an industrial mechanic and is still riding his BMX with the same passion as before. When he was around 30, he stopped riding for a couple of years, but he couldn’t avoid going back to BMX: “the sensations you have by riding your bike... You just forget everything for a moment! And specially the good moments one spends with the friends at the trails”. Nowadays, Edu, David and 3 more friends run the Lost Trails, and that’s where he spends more time riding and having a good time with his friends and visitors. The “riding every day, every time” philosophy is a bit different today, and riding time spans can go from riding a little bit every day to riding once every other week, depending on the motivation and work schedule. Edu also
likes to ride Bowls a lot, together with the friends that he started to ride with. When asked about the BMX scene nowadays, Edu says that today it is easier to follow up what’s happening everywhere, but essentially he cares about trails news and videos. He also says that nowadays the BMX scene is different: back in the days, riders used to ride a bit of everything, but today BMX is heading towards a specialization of the different genres, together with the differentiation of the way of living different genres. If there was no bike Edu says that there are a thousand beautiful things to do in life, that you could become interested in and dedicate your free time to.
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Is There Life After Youth?
Is there life after youth? _ “After so many years punishing my body, my back is where I feel more pain nowadays. It is normal right? I spend times when I suffer quite a lot, without being able to move myself or riding. Then I do physiotherapy and it gets better, and swimming has helping my back a lot.”
“Certainly there is. Every period of your life has good and bad things; you just need to set aside the bad ones and care about the good ones. Once, a very dear person told me: Edu, after 30 is when the life is better.”
One Foot Table, Lost Trails Mataró, 2014.
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Is There Life After Youth?
Pedro Melo _ Pedro Melo, 30 years old, born and raised at Praia da Luz, in the sunny and pretty south of Portugal. Pedro started to ride in the summer of 1994, when he was 10, on an old BMX, because he loved Motocross. Due to heart surgery, he couldn’t practice team sports; so he decided to give it a go learning how to ride bikes. His proving ground was the rough and slightly downhill square in front of the local Luz church, where he learned how to blast all his flatland moves and it soon became his second home. Pedro rode every single day, finding strategies to escape
the hot summer sun by riding very early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Motivation was found in the unrest state of mind to learn new skills on his bike and share them with friends. He followed what was going on in the scene by reading magazines and going to skateparks. Twenty years have passed since the summer of 1994 and Pedro is now a tourist guide showing the visitors of Algarve the wonders of his own little corner of the world. He still rides his bike everyday, and the square in front of the church is still his second home, knowing it better than his own hands. When asked why he still rides, Pedro says “without a doubt rowing against the good old “calçada portuguesa” and all the “velhos do Restelo” that are there to pull you down...and motivation can be found in this long lasting search for the unknown and struggle against ones own fears”. Nowadays he doesn’t follow what is happening in the BMX scene and he confessed that he never identified with it, claiming that it was very hardcore orientated back then and very fashion orientated nowadays. Pedro and his friends had their own scene and it was where that they were happy. Being very interested about his homeland when Pedro isn’t riding you can find him reading and learning about the nature and culture of Algarve, surfing at his secret spot or taking care of mint smelling garden. If there was no bike, Pedro would most probably skate and surf more or be involved with culture preservation projects at Praia da Luz.
Pedro at the church, Praia da Luz, 2014.
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Is There Life After Youth?
“A classical mistake to be made when riding...I tried to grind a handrail that apparently would be easy with a not so easy entrance. I crashed three times riding it, and after the last crash I felt my knee growing up too fast. So before it was too late I gave it a fourth go and crashed again. Happened that the knee was already broke and it didn’t react for the bunnyhop, so I ended up breaking my teeth and getting a shitload of stitches, adding it up to the broken knee.”
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Is there life after youth? _ “As I’m trying to answer your question I realize that I’m not really good with words, I would definitely use my bike if I could. When you are a bike rider you learn to follow your guts and shape your own lines, you teach yourself how to be safe in dangerous soil, and you understand that some of the Earth laws were meant to be broken. For so many years I have been pedalling against the beautiful old “calçada portuguesa” and a bunch of “velhos do restelo” that always have told me I was not gone make it. But what do they know about the future? What do they know about tomorrow when they were not even ready for yesterday. Man, there is a lot more than life after youth, it’s up to you to know if you have been following your heart,taking enough precautions to be safe in grown man’s world. Make sure you live for today, and maybe I will see you tomorrow.”
Pedro and one of his many tricks up his sleeve, Praia da Luz, 2014.
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Is There Life After Youth?
On Front Cover: Érico Melo, Barcelona, 2013. On Back Cover: Renato Silva, Aveiro, 2013.
The photos shown in this book were taken between 2011 and 2014 at different skateparks, trails and local street spots in Portugal, Spain, Holland and Germany. All photos were shot in 35mm film with my beloved Yashica FX-3 Super, except for the photo on page 14-15, shot with a borrowed Lomo LC-A+. Thank you for keeping BMX young and fresh.
Tiago chating up some girls, Barcelona, 2013.
Is There Life After Youth?
“Is there life after youth?” is a photography project about the importance of youth in a BMXer’s life. Six riders that already went above the age of 30 talk about their life and how they passionately still ride their little kids bikes, keeping in mind what they truly believe and love.
Kicked In The Teeth Publications 2014