WHY ARE KIDS THIRSTY FOR GIANTS

If BMX is your life, you most likely pay attention to all aspects of it, whether it’s your local BMX scene or growing mainstream BMX. The BMX media landscape has changed. We receive content from around the world as fast as our fingers can hit keys. The days of magazines and even DVDs have been replaced by internet videos, hashtags and the dreaded, yet ever-growing, vlog. Global communication is easy, and releasing content to a bustling community of riders and like-minded individuals is just as simple. The downside is over-saturation. Even when the caliber of said riding and rider is on par with whatever the current standards are, riding and riders will still go unnoticed – a shame when you think of the sea of talent currently in every corner of the world. This, in some regard, may explain the current approach of releasing an overabundance of repetitive content daily to the public. As the BMX media landscape changes, the overall need for attention has increased exponentially. Even during my youth there was always the rider thirsty for attention inside their scene. Whose attention is being sought after, however, has drastically changed. Riders have gone from wanting the admiration of local shredders, shops, shop employees and occasionally a local pro to now seeking the attention of corporate giants and pros from across the globe they might never meet. It’s possible that this is just the nature of expansion and growth in a global and openly communicative media landscape, yet it makes me miss the days when this thirsty behavior was looked at as a bit desperate. I would, in fact, be lying if I myself did not admit to daydreaming of photos in magazines and filming video parts in cities around the world. These desires, are normal with anything you love to do. But the fake-it-til-you-make-it mentality that seems to be the norm today has riders everywhere missing the general notion that they don’t have to be a famous pro to live the lifestyle of one. Even though the DIY mentality that built our culture is not dead by any means, I see fewer and fewer riders realizing the rewarding parts of BMX -- “pro lifestyle”— travel, being sponsored (which is essentially being part of a crew but with free shit), the photos and video parts -- can be achieved by themselves with a little ingenuity, a camera and good friends. I see fewer local, more-refined projects that were a major part of any local BMX scene until several years ago, projects that are now drowned out with the quickest form of attention-seeking and internet pandering. Great content from local riders, poorly filmed on phones, is posted and lost in the ever-growing sea of internet obscurity. It’s sad to imagine that kids may think that you need to be sponsored to dive into the more-refined projects. Shooting photos, making a video or a zine, or even starting a local brand with your friends are hard work but attainable. If this type of attention seeking is normalized by riders every where, then why not use that desire to create something you can look back on, be proud of and others can view to be inspired. That said, times have changed; kids seem hungry for attention now more than ever and have the technological means to get the attention of the biggest brands and names in BMX. So who would blame them for going after that great dangling carrot of enticement by whatever means. Again, I was no different, but park-stalking Bettencourt, Rotondo and Choquette around Skaters Island to learn how to possibly ride a bike with steeze, style and ease is a lot different than the attention-seeking of media giants I see from people today. Energy drink shout-outs, bike companies with roots in God knows what, whose on-going color-ways are a rotating spectrum of oil-slick transparent garbage. Nothing against oil slick and oil-slick lovers but seriously this is still a thing? The heavy pocket brands who sponsor the biggest names in the sport of BMX seem to get the admiration of the riding communities these days. I understand the attraction and even their cries, in the form of hashtags and shout-outs. A desire to be a part of something you admire and bigger than the current world around you. I, as a kid, would have loved to have been asked to be a part of something bigger than myself or my group of friends. I ask only this: Why the giants? Why not local shredders, local brands and most importantly local shops? The true backbone of any scene. Why is every young kid tagging an energy drink? I can guarantee these corporations don’t appreciate the gesture. The local shops, however, need your support, as do the other local aforementioned. These are the people who create the scene around you. They build the trails and backyard ramps. Get a skatepark built by your town, and are there with a high five at the session. I can’t remember the last time any energy drink trued my wheels. Don’t get me wrong, there are kids tagging shops, supporting core companies and the scene around them. If you’re reading this, however, and any of this is hitting home no matter your age, please remember that you hold the power. You can make a video or a magazine, you can get friends together to take a road trip, build trails or a ramp, and support the things that will actually have an impact on you and the people around you. You can even start a bike company. Most of the ones you look up to were no different than you and did just that. Yes, the flashy lifestyle of a pro rider and the bottomless pockets of corporate giants are attractive. But attractive for reasons that you yourself could achieve. Travel, shooting photos, filming and living the lifestyle of a BMX rider? These are the underlying reasons that you’re tagging these giants, possibly in hopes of being noticed, getting sponsored, and being a part of something. Why wait or rely on them, you hold the power to create all those amazing parts yourself. So be sure you’re supporting the right things and watch those hashtags. I mean it’s only your passion, ask yourself if you are sure you’re supporting the things that matter.

-Shajn

-Edited By: Luke Hayden