SS: I always rode bikes around the neighborhood with friends growing up, and building little jumps in our driveways before we even knew what bmx was. Later, I remember seeing a B3 contest on TV one day. That was in the summer of 98' and it blew my mind seeing dudes like Rob Nolli and DMC doing the craziest shit. Dudes really went for blood the way they rode back then, and that always stuck with me id like to think. I immediately started to beg my parents for a bmx bike, and i was a spoiled ass kid. On Christmas morning that year, my life was changed forever when I got my first bmx bike, I just didnt know it yet. It wasnt until a year or so later that i even realized there were other dudes in my town that rode bmx, so when i met them they became my best friends overnight. Some of those first friendships are still some of my strongest today, all these years later. Shout out to Rex Righteous, Billy Kemker, and Adam Knotts wherever that crazy fucker ended up! Those were the dudes that made sure I knew what i was talking about so I didnt get picked on when I rode with the older riders. The O.G. trailbosses: Donny Maze and Dustin Venable (a.k.a. Doeboy) were the leaders of our scene, and those dudes have both taken me under their wing on countless times in my life, whether on the bikes or off. Being from Cville sucks when you're young, period. There is nothing recreational, so you have to choose between Baseball, Religion, Drugs, or bmx/skateboarding. I chose to ride.
HG: What was your first legit bmx bike?
SS: 1998 GT Performer with an arched top tube, 3 spoke mags, front brakes and entirely flat black. Loved it dearly.
SS: Ive always been into instant gratification, doing stuff that was more of a mental challenge than being so much difficult. Lately ive actually been learning alot of new tricks. I think that's been a result of riding with really good dudes who are really tech. Troy Merkle, Tony Cherry, Gremlin, Ryan Howard.. the list goes on, pretty much everybody i ride with can do a million things i cant so its gave me a wider perspective on new stuff to try. My favorite thing to do is just look for interesting setups and trying to figure out a way to ride them, helps me see more of my surroundings.
HG: How has moving to Dayton helped you as a rider, and in what ways?
SS: Moving to Dayton just made alot of sense for me and my girlfriend. Its harder to stay motivated as a rider if you dont have good spots, and that was the main change factor for me. I can pedal around my neighborhood now and ride way more shit than all of connersville has to offer. On top of that, I get to ride with a great crew every time, and we actually film. Theres nobody from back home that could legitly film riding, so it made it hard to get anything done. Id have to take weekend trips whenever possible to meet up with my friends that film, but now i can pedal to do that instead of driving an hour and a half. Its not like Im not willing to ride hard without a camera around, but when you do something big or scary, you want the clip of it. You also want to know what youre sending yourself for is going to look right in the end. Cameras can definitely motivate any rider when the time is right.
HG: Do you currently have any sponsors?
SS: Ive been getting stuff now and again from Giant the past 2 years or so, thanks to Troy Merkle and Tony Cherry. They put a good word in and got me a Giant frame. The T.M. at Giant, Chris Arriaga is an awesome dude Ive always looked up to, and now were friends so it feels pretty cool! My friend Gremlin also just started a new parts company, called The Daily Grind. He has samples of bar ends and hub gaurds that are very clean and dialed! There are pedals in the works as well as a few more things, so im excited to see it unfold and just support what hes doing!
HG: What can we expect from you this summer?
SS: Ive got some trips planned to finish filming for the DVD weve been working on with Arriaga. It was originally planned to be a video for Giant, but there have been a few changes during the process. The video is now going to feature sections from more riders, and every one of them are heavy hitters. We all have high hopes for the end result, and I know everybody still has some last bangers up their sleeves that need to be filmed. The deadline is around the corner or so, and the pressure is on so we will just have to see what all we can cross off of our "fridge lists".
SS: Enjoy every second, welcome to the fountain of youth!
www.ridegiantbmx.com
www.thedailygrindbmx.com
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