Before I begin… A huge thanks to the people and companies that hooked it up including: Joel at Tip Plus, Odyssey, Fly Bikes, Verde, Alienation, Dan’s Comp, Maxxis, Demolition, Eastern, and Alfredo, Travis, and Phu at Epic BMX Shop.

Regular bike check info as per the ridebmx.com template. Additional questions by Ryan Fudger.

Name: Fat Tony
Age: 26
Location: Long Beach, California

Frame: Federal Notorious, 21″
Fork: Fit Shiv, custom powder coated
Bars: Federal Dan Lacey Signature
Stem: Fly Bikes
Grips: Animal Edwin DeLaRosa Signature
Barends: Plastic Animal that came with the grips.
Headset: Verde, integrated.
Clamp: Built-in.
Seatpost: Federal Slammed Pivotal
Seat: Verde Timber Pivotal
Cranks: Odyssey Twombolt, 175mm
Sprocket: Federal Street, 28t
Chain: Shadow Interlock V2
Brakes: Demolition Vulcan
Cable: Demolition Linear
Brake Lever: Odyssey Monolever, Small
Front Tire: Maxxis Grifter foldable, 20 x 2.10″ (Inflated to 90 PSI.)
Front Wheel: Fly Bikes hub, 36h laced with Odyssey spokes and generic nipples to an Alienation rim with electrical tape for a rim strip and no valve cap.
Rear Tire: Maxxis Grifter foldable, 20 x 1.90″ (Inflated to 90 PSI.)
Rear Wheel: Odyssey Cassette hub with one-piece 10t driver, 36h laced with Odyssey spokes and generic nipples to an Alienation rim with an Animal rim strip.
Pegs: Eastern Slit
Pedals: Fly Bikes Ruben Alcantara Signature

Modifications: So far just a zip tie to hold the brake cable against the frame near the headtube. I may do some other things like cut down the bars a bit after I ride it though.

Other: I always ride with Fox Overload Deluxe high top shoes, Fox digit gloves, and a POC helmet. Without those three things I’m not as comfortable on my bike and don’t feel like I ride as well.

Which parts do you go through the most?
Grips and brake cables, but even lately I’ve been good about those. I pretty much never break parts. (Knock on wood.)

Describe your bike setup and how you like your bike to feel…
I love it to be dialed and not make any noise, but that is kind of rare, especially with the brake cable slapping around. Hopefully this new setup lasts a while before things start to go wrong. I like the tires to be at 90 PSI. I like it to look good for as long as possible. I like it to be light (currently at just under 23lbs). I’m not too picky about parts because just about every part out there can hold up to my riding so the only thing I’m particular about is weight and color right now, haha. I’m pretty excited to try this bike out because I feel like my last few bikes have all been so similar and I’m ready to switch things up a little. I tend to get on other people’s bikes and like them more than my own, so hopefully this setup works out for me.

Do you remember your first “real” BMX bike?
Of course?that would be a Mongoose Menace with two pegs on the rear that screwed on the axle. It was black with purple-ish swirls?kind of like Odyssey’s new “purple rain” parts. It ended up getting stolen out of my friend’s garage though, then I got a chrome Schwinn Predator Pro.

- THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS ARE FROM RYAN FUDGER. -

Why did you want all white parts with a blue frame?
I guess it’s one of those things where I get an idea in my head and I can’t shake it until I make it a reality. I’ve never really had good looking bikes, so this time I wanted something that would make the kids at the spot start talking, haha. I had the idea and thought it would look cool, so I couldn’t lay off it until I got it done.

Where?s the red in the color scheme? Are you un-American?
The red will have to be in my wardrobe?Either my custom Nike AirMax shoes or on my Stereo Panda belt buckle. But yeah, sadly, I’m pretty damn un-American. I didn’t vote and I have no clue who our vice president is. Just kidding about riding in the custom Nikes though?you gotta be crazy to think I’d ride in those.

Your pegs have holes in them, did you know that? Do they whistle while you ride?
Yeah I know my pegs have holes in them. How else would you get them over the axle? No they don’t whistle when I ride, but I do. Sometimes at girls, even though I still haven’t perfected the loud-as-hell horse call, but mostly just tunes like techno beats. Techno helps me get pumped to ride.

What?s the biggest rail you think you can slide before grinding through those sheet metal pegs?
Well first of all, I’m pretty damn scared of rails. I think a mellow seven stair is my largest, haha. And I’ve only ridden with those pegs at one spot so far (the Venice Beach mini ramp) and they slid fast as shit. I actually think I’m really going to like the pegs. I’m not burly enough to ever grind through pegs though.

What did you chop off the bike or change or modify to make it suit your lifestyle better?
The only thing I’ve done so far is put a zip tie around the headtube to hold the brake cable. I wish more frames had a cable guide up front. I’m not used to the wide bars yet, but I’d like to keep them wide for a while before I decide whether or not to hack ‘em down.

You?re running a long straight cable, but you don?t do barspins. Explain?
A good friend just told me last night that I should learn to toss the b’s. I actually didn’t even realize my cable was that long though.

Has Fox sent you a new pair of sunglasses to match your color scheme yet, or do you have to wait a couple of weeks?
Well I already have the white Oakleys, so I think I’m good for now. I’m all about ornate accessories though and I love wearing sunglasses. However, you can’t wear shades while riding?you just can’t. I asked Fox for some new sunglasses last week though, so maybe I’ll have some red ones soon and that will kill two of theses answers with one UPS box!

If we both pedaled full speed at each other and ghost-rode our bikes into each other at the last second, whose bike would survive?
Both would survive, but mine would look better before, during, and after. But I wouldn’t do that until she’s a little more beat up. Gotta keep ‘er lookin’ good while I can, haha! First trip in that Ogio bike bag though and she’ll be beat to hell probably. Guess I need bubble wrap.

How has this new bike setup affected your riding wardrobe? Your red pants are going to clash pretty bad, man.
The Fox jeans are maroon, bro?get it right. I think they will match real well though. I’ll have to spend some time to pick out my best looking kit for the banger of my Web vid though, haha. I’m such a homo. I’ll let you know which jeans/shirt combo I decide on.

Where?s your stickers from all the companies that hooked you up? What about a Ride sticker? It pays your bills, you know?
I don?t like stickers all over my bike, but Federal hooked it up good this time, so I have one small Federal sticker on the bars. I wanted to put a Ride sticker on the bars, but we are all out of the smaller ones that fit?I have to settle for a small Transworld sticker on the helmet. I wanted to say thanks the companies that hook me up, so I planned to sticker up my helmet since I wear it every time I ride, but I don’t have stickers from all the companies. So for now Federal and Transworld are the only ones on the brain bucket.

Your last bike?s integrated seat clamp broke, so you ran your seat super low. Did this bike?s clamp break, too?
Correction again my friend: On my last bike, it wasn’t broken; I gave my bolt to Talem Cowart when his broke and I never got a replacement. For a while I could raise my seat post pretty high and it was snug enough to sit on. So when I filmed lines I raised it up and sat down so it was easier to pedal and film. This one isn’t broken and has a separate nut so if the bolt does break it’s easy to replace. I just don’t need a high seat for anything. That and I’m trying to follow the current trends and save weight, so that shit is slammed, homey!

When can the children see you getting all zoomy over some gaps?
Haha, zoomy? Well you’ve seen the blog posts, LOL. I’m working on a video part that will be done by the end of the year. Again, it’s strictly a personal project/goal. I’m a super goal-oriented person so I’m real excited to work on this one. And yeah, I’ve been in “gap mode” lately?just gotta get back to that ones in L.A. and LA, make those happen, then find some more! Keep your eyes peeled for me.

Who?s bike looks better, yours, mine, Mulligan?s, or Z?s?
Mine, duh. That’s a no-brainer. If you asked anyone else though, his answer may be different, haha. Yours and Z’s are too beat up and too brakeless and Mulligan’s is too racer-ish for my current taste.

Can I have some money for these questions?
Yeah of course, I’m all about helping other people get rich. I actually found a shit load of pennies in your car on the way to work this morning, so I’ll give those back to you.

Would you like to thank anyone?
Yeah, of course?all the companies that helped me build this bike including: Tip Plus, Federal, Odyssey, Fly Bikes, Verde, Alienation, Dan’s Comp, Maxxis, Demolition, Eastern, and Epic BMX Shop. Also, Fox, DC, and Nike for always treating me so well. And of course Ride for putting me in the position I’m in so I can weasel all this free shit out of people. And thank you Fudger for the interview questions so I didn’t have to interview myself and get made fun of even more. Oh, and thanks to the people I ride with and help push me. Riding in good company makes all the difference in the world.

I met a guy today at the Venice Beach mini ramp that introduced him self as “Bobby Brown, Godfather of BMX.”

He was a man of many words, and many old-school name drops. Before I could leave he requested I shoot a photo of a trick that “no one else is doing and has never been shot.” The name of the trick? “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

How could I turn him down?

Thanks to Kelly Bolton for the horns helmet.

Maybe this guy and Christian Simmons, another self-proclaimed “Godfather” should joust it out American Gladiator style…

After posting a few weeks ago that I’m working on a video part I got to thinking about the first part I put together back in college…

It sucked. But damn, those were some good times. My great friend Brock Gomez and I put together a Louisiana scene video called “Chronicles” that we released in 2004. It was all filmed with a one chip camera and it was the first time either of us had done anything video-related. It was during the filming of that video that I ended up fracturing my skull. It’s almost embarrassing looking at this video part compared to every Vimeo video online today with all the good ass riders out there, but like I always tell people, “There’s a reason I stay on my end of the camera.” Haha.

Here’s my part from Louisiana’s “Chronicles” DVD filmed in 2002-2004.

And here’s the part I put together with random footage collected from 2006-2007.

New video part (better than these two) coming sometime in ‘09…

Back in 2002 I was a sophomore in college, lived with a band called As Cities Burn, and drove a Honda Prelude show car. One day I left my apartment and got into my car after it had been raining. I opened the moon roof and some water fell from the roof into the car and landed on the center console next to my right arm. I looked down to see the splash had made the peculiar question mark shape you see here.

Luckily I had my point and shoot digi cam in the car (and not inside the console) and was able to snap this photo. I’ve posted a blog about this on MySpace before and feel like it may have been somewhere else before too, but I re-found the image on my hard drive last week and had to bring it back up again.

Another strange note?above the question mark shape, it almost looks like the word “evil” is spelled out.

If my house wouldn’t have been robbed a few years later or if my hard drive wouldn’t have broke a few years later I would still have the original high-res photo from the camera, but all I have now is a small, web-res picture.

While going through my photo archives recently I came across these 19 old photos of Terry Adams I shot while working on his interview for Ride UK. Some of these are serious shots that never got used. Some are second angles or tricks, and some are just down right ridiculous. However, all of them bring back good memories of a great time with my friend…

See here…

As seen on toddlyons.com.

When I was a wee chap I used to run around on inline skates, play street hockey, and even jump a small wooden ramp into the grass?I was too scared to land on the street. Now I am not a fan of fruit-booting or anything, but there is no denying that doing a 180 down a 12-flat-12 is absolutely insane.

Insane Yo-You Tricks

Little Kid Cup Stacker

Britian’s Got Talent…Connie Talbot. This six year old is amazing.

And again…wow.

This is suspenseful, then shocking, the funny, then sad.

And finally…thanks to Luis Panzone for introducing me to the best ass in the world?Keyra Augustina. Click the image for what turns up in Google images. No words to describe this, so just click.

The other day I posted this video of Josh Betley on the site. In the video there is a quick clip of Josh playing with a little wooden ball on a string game. I’ve played with these things before?once at Betley’s house even?but I had never seen anyone do tricks like that before…

So I texted Kyle Carlson who made the video, lives with Josh, and has the game. Kyle told me the game is called “kendama” so I decided to YouTube it and see what comes up. I was astounded to say the least at my findings. There are some really talented kendama players and it’s pretty amazing, but at the same time I can’t help but feel these guys have too much time on their hands and put too much time into this stuff… Check it.

This dude is a nerd and needs to get out of that bedroom…

This dude…um…Nevermind, I’m not going to make fun of a man of this stature, ethnicity, and tattooedness.

Oh yeah, Kyle also texted and said, “In your blog be sure to mention that I’m laying in bed with a woman trying to sleep but Josh is playing with the kendama in the living room and the noise is keeping me awake. Fuck kendamas.” Gotta love that guy. The only reason I’m a bit surprised at what Kyle said is because I figured a man of his extensive wealth, looks, and social position would have two women in his bed.

I’ve been in “gap mode” lately, meaning I’ve been really stoked on doing gaps, but these two mountain bike clips are just plain retarded.

(Spotted on bmxboard.com.)

Like many BMXers of my generation the movie Rad had a huge impact on me. The intro to the cheesy 80’s film was quite literally my very first introduction to freestyle bike riding and precisely what got me hooked for life. Who knows where I’d be in life if I had never seen this…

Damn, I need to learn cherry pickers…

Oh, and thanks to the “related videos” on YouTube, I found this gem from ‘86! Amazing!

Is that McGoo talking in the background?
[Edit: Yep, I emailed McGoo and he confirmed it is him...]