It sounded like a good idea at the time, throwing a jam, and guess what, it turned out better than expected for the Zonder Pardon crew. Getting off your asses doing stuff is what we can support. There's nothing wrong with getting the community together for a good time but they don't show up at the same time all of a sudden. Action needs to be taken, preparations need to be made, things need to be organised. Ideas can pop up, but they need to materialize and often it's easier said than done. But oh boy, did the community show up and did the ZP BMX jam turn out good.
Area51 was chosen. A smart choice as organizing an outdoor event in The Netherlands in December isn't the smartest thing to do. A very long low rail was welded, poles were made for the high air comp on the quarter and out of the bank, the spine was still there from previous week's Dutch Champs, a kicker was made for the long distance jump and a rail with a raised end was put together for a session as well. Anyway, it wasn't going to be a regular Area 51 riding session. Riders from France, Germany, Belgium and the Dutch (street) scene rolled in for the evening jam. The Park section was turned into a stage for the bands and DJs and the bar was open!
For whatever reason the lights went out during most of the night, even during the sessions, but the riding went off regardless. Photo-wise it became difficult at this point shooting without a flash. Even the ISO button couldn't solve the issue, but we already had taken some during the warm-up when the lights were
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.