No less than 400,000 euros. That is what it costs to properly renovate the oldest skatepark in Europe, located on the recreational lake Het Hulsbeek in Oldenzaal. A lot of money, as initiators Jos Wissink and Marko Matic know. “It is an investment in youth.” They hope for help from the municipality of Oldenzaal. How much money should it make available? And who else can contribute? With their plan they want to convince the political groups in Oldenzaal to think about the renovation of the old skatepark on the recreational lake Het Hulsbeek. Jos Wissink and Marko Matic do this with dedication. “Skaters from all over the world came to Oldenzaal to use the skatepark at Het Hulsbeek. The job had a kind of international allure, a worldwide status,” says Matic. “There is little left of that at the moment. The park requires a lot of maintenance. It's a kind of patchwork.”
At the end of 1989 we got a little dirt spot in our home town of Aarle-Rixtel, NL. We decided to add another FATJAM to the schedule early in the year to open up the outdoor season. It was later dubbed the Mini FATJAM, a smaller version of the summer edition. This past Saturday the Mini FATJAM took place for the 29th time! One can say that the local council got their money's worth on dropping some truckloads of dirt at the Valkendijk. Once again the Sugar Hills locals did the digging and final preparation of the trails for the big day. With loads of rain last week, it was great to work on the sandy trails and when Saturday came around, it was a sunny day. Not only riders came out, but also the locals with their Bavaria's and even the AAA (Aarlese A-sociale Amerikanen club) did a drive by with their American cars.
Russian Kostya Andreev grabs win at 040 Invitational Spine Ramp contest in Eindhoven, Netherlands
The E-Moves festival in Eindhoven, Netherlands once again brought BMX fans together for the second edition of the 040 Invitational Spine Ramp contest. The 040 BMX crew set up a new version of the massive miniramp in the middle of the city for the invited riders to shine. 12 riders made it to the final where Kostya Andreev meant business with back to back tricks including 3-whips to tuck over the spine and flairs to tuck no-hander. James Jones from the UK was ripping and did many variations over the spine to get second place. Belgian Kenneth Tancré rode well to get the last spot on the podium in Eindhoven with third place.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.