The BMX In Our Blood

Gabe Sharp of Shadow Riding Gear and Standard Bykes was another great surprise of my quick trip to the Wheel Mill a few weeks back. It is so much fun to learn about people you never would have known if not for people appreciating people. Gage was suggested for #thebmxinourblood to me by Ron Bonner of Shadow Conspiracy, Subrosa and Shadow Riding Gear. Ron couldn't have been more perfect with his su...

Nina Buitrago rules! Not much else to say, you just have to listen to Nina's stories of living and taking chances in every part of her life. We talked about her many adventures, her career, the Olympics and her continued support of the women's BMX scene. I could interview Nina each year and come out of it charged up and educated on living the best life. If you can't get enough of Nina you can look...

I really lucked out with a few awesome guys and an amazing woman for The BMX In Our Blood podcast this weekend at the Welcome Jam at The Wheel Mill. Jamie Thayer was one of them, and what a pleasant surprise he was! Big thanks to Ronnie Bonner for connecting me with Jamie and Gage Sharp (in a future episode this month). Jamie was great....and ended up winning a good handful of cash courtesy of the...

EP 128 - Jesse Gregory With Joc313 by Interviews with the BMX community

Episode 127 is all about giving back and Carley Young exemplifies giving back more than most anyone I know. This podcast interview was recorded during Women's Weekend at Ray's MTB Park in Cleveland Ohio. A busy weekend to say the least! Carley and Nina Buitrago killed it. Ray's was packed all weekend long with women supporting other women while learning through clinics put on by Carley and Nina. I...

Here you go, Part 2 of the Darren Meenan interview with The BMX In Our Blood (@thebmxinourblood)! A lot of conversation about Darren's business, The 7 Line and motocross racing. Darren is absolutely determined to succeed when taking on a challenge and these two topics are no exception. Apparently Darren has taken on the challenge of winning our Supercross Fantasy league as well because since this...

If you don't know Darren Meenan you will know him well after this 2 part episode. Darren is one of those types of people that when thrown a challenge or taking one on by his own drive, he works at it until the goal is reached. The 7 Line in particular is such an amazing story that I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't witness it myself at his office/warehouse on Long Island during this recording...

Josh Guyer of DWA4130 is one modest dude! Josh and I were able to meet up at the recent Oakwoods Chili Jam in Massachusetts last Saturday. It is a pretty relaxed conversation with a guy that is juggling more than most and you would never know it. One of the balls in the air of this juggling act is raising money to give back to the trails and the riders. It is pretty impressive as Josh does this fr...

The TRA BMX race never disappoints! So many people that I would have loved to record but as a huge fan of BMX I had a hard time stopping watching! I was still able to grab some great conversations that I hope you enjoy! The weather, the invite list, the track conditions, the Gentilcore family, Darryl Nau announcing...It was amazing! Huge congrats to your winners, Vic Behm, Nick Fix and Matty Cranm...

EP 123 - Olympian Payton Ridenour by Interviews with the BMX community

What a great couple days with the Road2Recovery Jam on July 25th and the opportunity to record Mike Aitken for #thebmxinourblood I'm pretty sure either of us could have fallen asleep at any given moment as midnight closed in but we got it in! Kind of like right now as I write this! I think you BMX In Our Blood fans will like this one. Lots of fun talk and real talk about traumatic brain injuries a...

Episode #121 - Shannon Gillette, what an interesting conversation with a guy that clearly knows his way around the United States because of his childhood as a military brat and BMX. If I remember correctly from this interview, Shannon has been with USABMX for about 25 years after starting as a CDL driver for them and worked his way right up the ladder to marketing. It was really nice to give Shann...

Bonus EP - Bobby Iovinella Dedication - Tri City's 40th Anniversary by Interviews with the BMX community

Have you ever meet someone that gives you a renewed faith in humanity? Christian Arehart is one of the rewards of patience. I'm not saying I was heading toward quitting the podcast but it is a challenge sometimes that can get you feeling that way. Christian is a fantastic conversationalist and is great at articulating his experiences and gratefulness. You do not find that as often these days in 18...

The Woodward East stop of the USABMX Freestyle series was amazing! Aside from Woodward being the best BMX playground in the world they had the perfect setup for the contest. All the way from lodging to a huge variety BMX terrain to ride, Woodward does it right. When you add the incredible staff of USABMX Freestyle to the mix you end up with a perfectly run event with great judging, efficient sched...

This episode has a couple things going on. Most importantly I was able to interview Rich Vatalaro, one of the most dedicated volunteers I have had the fortune to work with at the annual fundraisers that I put on. Rich is such selfless person that just loves to have a good time and help the cause each year. In addition to that Rich is a blast to ride with as we gently age. The other focus of the po...

I first met Kevin Robinson Jr. at the Find Your Fight Jam in 2018. The night before that jam Kevin and I were working on a Hoffman bike that Mat Hoffman had sent Kevin to start riding a level up on. Three short years later KRobJr is riding competitively all around the Country and riding for Ron Bonner and Subrosa! It is absolutely crazy how fast Kevin has progressed. His 1st flair was around a yea...

Just In Time Justin Loffredo! There is so much that makes up Justin's incredible life experiences and so many that I wasn't aware of! If there is one message that I hear the most often prior to sitting down to interview it is that the subject of the podcast doesn't feel worthy. I will keep plugging away and put these people of BMX history to accept that they have made a difference and accomplished...

Episode 115 - Dave "Whitey" Williams by Interviews with the BMX community

Another step out of the box for The BMX In Our Blood, an interview with John Badessa based on his book, Fit2besick. John is a former BMX racer and World Champion from Rhode Island that had the mindset of a champion. As you will learn through the podcast, champions suffer too. When John faced unexplained exercise fatigue after years of endurance sports he thought the answer and solution to the prob...

It hasn't always been this way but I'm a bit less hesitant with podcast interviews with people I don't know much about. Thankfully people like Chris Childs are out there because he exceeded all of my hopes and expectations by being one of the nicest and most comfortable conversations. Huge thank you to the ever humble Chris for your gift of time for all of us to listen to. Special thanks to Matt C...

Words can't describe the emotions felt by everyone involved in making this happen starting with Jenn Lyman of Foothills BMX. This was quite possibly the most moving experience I have had outside of my family. This was all BMX family in it's purist form. Thank you Roger Plaskett for towing the line and taking our little project to levels neither BMX sanction have seen up to when you took the progra...

Most of what I do in life are spontaneous yet thoughtful moves, this interview with Jane is one of them. I first zoned in on Jane McCarthy's work as an RN during the pandemic when I read a few of her Facebook posts that were, we'll say, written under extreme stress during the late winter/early spring of the rapid onset of Covid. She was accurate in her reasoning and frustrated at the lack of conce...

This was and is a tough one for all to say the least. Roger Plaskett has been an absolute on going legend in Connecticut BMX. His on the track leadership as well as his amazing NBL National announcing is nothing short of amazing. Roger has unfortunately been given the news that he has an incurable illness and most recently two strokes. Roger is a fighter and is probably pushing his was out of medi...

Everything you have heard about Ekim King, it's true. He is one crazy dude with more talent and passion than most any two of us combined. There isn't much more I can say aside from what you are about to hear. Thank you Ekim and the Catty Woods crew for your years of hard work. A special thanks to Garrett Byrnes for the call in! As always, thank you Powers Bike Shop for sponsoring the podcast.