The state of BMX.

I'm sure those of you that frequent the BMX related websites, blogs and messageboards are well and truly sick of hearing stuff like this. If this is the case, the following might do your head in but read it anyway.
Really, whats going on? I may not be out there putting the hours in everyday anymore, but I am definetly aware of BMX changing for what I see as the worse.

1. EVERYONES's bike looks like one of those stupid fucking Monty trials bikes. You know, brakeless, seat slammed, no pegs and them huge bars that look completely daft. Seth K's bike on Road Fools 12 = perfect.

2. Videos never have good music anymore. Electro and plastic 'gangsta' rap should be banned from BMX. What happened to videos having amazing soundtracks? Nowhere Fast with Slayer, Black Flag, Bad Brains, Redman, Black Sabbath etc, the first Animal video with The Jam, Deltron, Jefferson Airplane, Four Walls Falling etc, Who Brought The Dicks? with The Misfits, Buzzcocks, Distillers, Iggy and the Stooges, Dead Kennedys...need I go on? I'm so sick of seeing mincers in their sisters pants doing barspins to fucking Kanye West. Bring back the punk rock, the thrash metal, the real hiphop.

3. The fact that being a brakeless 'street rider' used to be rare and fun. I know it sounds a bit lame, but the brakeless thing and the 'street' style used to belong solely to those who learned to ride in carparks and city centres. This seems to have now gone out the window, as every little meff who learned all their moves down the skatepark on their tech as fuck featherweight bike has now ditched their brakes and started to do 180s and barspins, essentially ruining it for those who have always rode street and learned everything that way. This doesn't concern myself too much as I'm not big on learning tricks anymore, but i know alot of riders who are probably overlooked because some little park-trained fruit is whipping down 500 stairs or something. Not that these lads give a fuck about being overlooked anyway...
But yeah, this recent trend has kind of ruined the feel. So kindly take your progression and fuck off so this lone fair-weather rider feels a bit better about things.

4. Taking it too seriously. I think myself, and Jack from Wrexham, got our first videos finished about a year before the start of the 'web video' boom, so I didn't really keep up with this until it really got going. When me and my friends were making that video, I never could have imagined that people would be arguing, or even bothered, about people filming the same tricks at spots and whatnot. I've heard so many people moaning on websites about 'footage poaching' or whatever that I wouldn't be surprised if people starting asking you to fill out fucking forms before you get your camera out. RELAX.

5. All of the above, coupled with the obsession with platinum-plated new era caps and girls pants (a completely rinsed subject, but an issue that can't be raised enough. dads need to get strict) and the fact that almost everyone on these web vids I'm seeing is apeing the exact same style, means that while BMX is progressing at a faster rate than ever before, it bores me to death. I may be speculatiing a bit, but it seems to me that filming videos and taking pictures for the internet is probably a bigger concern for BMX kids these days than just chilling and talking crap with your mates at a good spot on a nice day. While I probably seem irrationally concerned about BMX issues that may appear trivial to you, the latter was, and still is most definetly the main agenda for me and my friends.

More moaning probably to come when it enters my head. Watch Dave Parrick's classic NOWHERE FAST.