we did them in Oberhausen, Germany in the infamous Gasometer and the third one was in 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. Do you think with flatland out of the X-Games and not in the Dew Tour that events like this were important to keep flatland going?
Andy Zeiss: Oh yeah – In fact one of the main reasons we did COB was the fact that Flatland didn't get the right attention and respect from media and other major contests. We wanted to create a flatland only event on a high level so
everybody gets to know the lifestyle of flatland better – the huge media distribution of the event helped a lot and I think since then Flatland got more and more independent, which is great. I do think that COB had a big influence on Flatland today, maybe it even had a keyrole - take a look on all the great events, formats and other happenings in Flatland after 2002. 
Can you give an indication on how the footage of the events was distributed and how much coverage the events received? Andy Zeiss: Unfortunately not 100% - all media exposure was distributed by Red Bull Communications inhouse. But I know they did an amazing job, especially in 2002. Our goal was to open borders and to reflect Flatland in different media channels. Sports, Art, Music and lifestyle were the main categories where we distributet the footage in. We had a lot of great coverage, TV, Web and Print – the mediabook where we captured everything in was 4 inches thick.
Was it important for Red Bull to do something with flatland? Andy Zeiss: Oh yeah, for sure. I mean lets face it – Flatland is an amazing sport with an amazing lifestyle. There are big connections between Flatland and Red Bull, Flatland is independent, edgy, artsy, full of passion and dedication, determination, physical and mental power and control, etc. These are all facts behind Flatland and Red Bull. COB was the first and perfect kick off for Red Bull in Flatland activities.
Which flatland riders are sponsored by Red Bull?
Andy Zeiss: The first one was Viki Gomez, then there are of course Martti Kuoppa, Terry Adams and Ryoji Yamamoto. These are the main four I guess.
Flatland riding can be used for shows pretty much everywhere. Does Red Bull use their riders for shows on a regular basis?
Andy Zeiss: They dont “use” them but there are events where a show or demo is a nice thing. Flatland riders like to express themselves – doing shows is very normal to them. Sometimes even the riders come up with the ideas to do a show tour like the Bike'n Mic shows with Viki and Martti. Red Bull of course supports that in either way.
Are there any specific plans for the future when it comes to BMX flatland? Andy Zeiss: Nothing really worth talking about already. There are always ideas here and there but I think it's a pretty interesting time at the moment as so many great and crazy (in a positive way) things are happening in Flatland. We'll see where it brings Flatland in future.
As for Circle of Balance – nothing is planned so far.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.