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It simply was the best trip I have had so far!

Why did you get to go in the first place?
Tom van den Bogaard: Last year I competed in a Dutch television show called 'The Freestyle Games'. It was some sort of talent show with a lot of different freestyle sports like: skateboarding, freerunning, freestyle basketball etc. At the end I took the win at that tv show. The price of this show was a one week trip to somewhere in the world I want to go for filming a video.

Was it easy to decide on the destination in the USA?
Tom van den Bogaard: After I won the Freestyle games I couldn't think of going to another place than California! I always wanted to go to the states, especially California because of the good weather and all the spots and skateparks. The timing was good as well because the weather was still really good for the time of the year in Cali. And the weather in the Netherlands was really bad that week!

Who traveled with you?
Tom van den Bogaard: I traveled with Roderik Patijn.

Was he a big help?
Tom van den Bogaard: Yes he helped out me a lot! He sorted a lot of things out for me and drove me to every spot! Not to forget that he filmed so many good clips and made a really sick video of it! Thanks again Roderik! You're the man!

Name three things that stand out of things that are different in the USA compared to Ale Blie?
Tom van den Bogaard: The landscape is completely different compared to the Netherlands. In Cali there are a lot of mountains while in the Netherlands the whole landscape is completely flat. The big roads and big curbs everywhere. And on every main road you will see so many fastfood chains! Within 10 minutes on one road you will see the same fastfood chain 4 times.

You visited 7 parks in 7 days. Which one(s) did you like most?
Tom van den Bogaard: I really enjoyed every skatepark we have been to and filmed some clips. But I really enjoyed the skatecross track at the Clairmont skatepark in San Diego! These jumps are soo fast and big! Such a shame we only had half an hour to ride there before it got dark!

What other BMX-ers did you meet while in the USA?
Tom van den Bogaard: I have met a few really good riders at the Vans Skatepark in Huntington Beach: riders like Kris Fox, Ryan Guettler, Dylan Stark and a lot of good local riders. Unfortunately at most skateparks there were no bmx riders or just a few local riders.

What was your favourite place to eat?
Tom van den Bogaard: A restaurant in Huntington Beach. I think it was BJ's restaurant but I'm not completely sure. We almost ate there every evening!

Nicest car you saw while in the USA?
Tom van den Bogaard: I'm not really a car person but I really liked all the typical American cars everywhere!

What song did they play on the radio way too many times?
Tom van den Bogaard: We didn't listen to one particular song too many times because we always had the radio on a channel with a lot of good rock music! Some of these songs made me even more pumped to have a session!

Did you feel any pressure of having to film an edit just in a week?
Tom van den Bogaard: Sometimes a little bit because we only had one week to film and there are so many good spots to ride in California! And it's wintertime over there as well so it was getting dark at half past four! Not every skatepark has lights so we didn't have that much time to spend at every skatepark. Especially at Woodward camp because we only had one and a half day to spend there. The first day the hangar was closed en the second day it opened at 5 I believe. That was just before we had to go back to Los Angeles because I flew back the next morning. And my body was completely sore and had no more energy left after the whole week so that's why we didn't film any clips at the indoor skatepark at Woodward camp.

Are you stoked on the way the video came out?
Tom van den Bogaard: Yes I'm really stoked on how my edit came out. Could not think of a better way to turn out. Roderik did an amazing job behind the lens and made such a sick video of it! I'm stoked!

Thanks to: Thanks to omroep BNN for the setting up a tv show about other sports then just soccer! And for the amazing price of course! Roderik for everything he has done for me before, during and after the trip! Jerry Badders and Andy Zeiss for the tour around the Vans Headquarters in Huntington Beach and the pairs of shoes! And I want to thank my sponsers for believing in me! Cheers!

Screenshots by Roderik Patijn