Re-Up: Andy Shohara interview (UK Ramp Riders special)

Dec 06, 2014

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 12288 times

Name: Andy Shohara
Occupation: Construction Superintendent
Hometown: Mililani, HI.

First of all, how did a family from Hawaii end up living in England?
Andy Shohara: My dad got a new job at an Air Force base near Banbury and moved there with the rest of my family at the end of 84. I stayed back in Hawaii to finsh my senior year of high school. After I graduated there was a lot of drinking and smoking going on along with a lot of surfing, but a whole lot less of riding. By Christmas of 85 I new I needed a new environment. I flew to England for the holidays and they surprised me with a new half-pipe in the back yard. I officially moved to England on the day of Mon's 2nd jam.

How hard was it to get used to the British weather compared to the Hawaiian sunshine
Andy Shohara: It was brutal. I was used to riding all year long,

50* seemed like a cold winter in Hawaii. I remember when my brother and I tried to ride our half-pipe when it was covered in snow and ice, that lasted about 5 minutes. Thank god for Mon's barn.

Where in England did you stay?
Andy Shohara: I lived near a small town called Brackley. It was about a 20 minute drive from Banbury.

How did you get into riding?
Andy Shohara: I was riding my brothers Huffy behind our house when a friend from school rode by on his bike. He said he was going to riding and jumping with some other people so I tagged along. I think I was hooked from that point on, I bought a used Robinson acouple of weeks later and registered to start racing. That was the end of 83.

Was it hard to find people with the same interest?
Andy Shohara: When I started riding ramps I found myself driving solo quite a bit. Most of my riding buddies were still racing and doing flatland tricks.

When was the first time you rode a vert ramp?
Andy Shohara: I guess the first real quarterpipe that I rode was the Great Outdoors bike shop 7' ramp in Hawaii in 84. They sponsored me for racing and would let me go to their warehouse and ride the ramp after work. Then I found out about Joe's ramp on the other side of the Island, 8' high and 16' wide, built under a huge tree.

What magazines did you read back then?
Andy Shohara: BMX Plus, Bmx Action, and Freestylin'

You received quite some coverage in the English magazines. Do you still have those mags?
Andy Shohara: I have one complete magazine, the rest are cut out magazine pics. I have found a few pictures through other people that I had never seen before. Nick and Action bike were good to me, they even gave me full page shots on my skateboard.

Any parts that you kept?
Andy Shohara: Nope, given all away.

You were sponsored by Town & Country for a long time, how did that work out?
Andy Shohara: Town and Country were great. They would always hook me up with great gear. They would flow me stuff before contests to give away. Linda introduced me to Tack, the main distributor and the T in T&C. He gave me a huge cart and showed me into the warehouse, then he showed me where to get another cart if I needed it.

What contests did you ride in the UK?
Andy Shohara: BMX Beat, holeshot and whatever UKBFA contest I could between '86 and '87.

Was ramp riding more your thing than street riding?
Andy Shohara: Yeah my bmx riding definitely revolved around vert. I lived away from town and any structure. If I was street riding I more than likely had a board under my feet.

What did you think of the London crew that started getting into street riding?
Andy Shohara: I thought it was great. I spent a lot of time street skating and could totally relate to the fast plants and grinds, the disasters and gaps and bank riding.

Was Mon's ramp your favorite?
Andy Shohara: I can't say Mon's ramp was my favorite ramp, but it was the best place to session and have parties. The transitions were a bit mushy and each section of the ramp seemed different. I don't think I ever got much higher than 6' out on his ramp but I could do every variation at 4'. It definitely ranks in the top 3.

Till when did you ride?
Andy Shohara: I rode a bmx from late 1983, stopped competing in the end of 1988, but continued to ride now and then until 89.

When did you pick it up again?
Andy Shohara: My first time riding a bmx again was on June 29th 2006, in Oxford England. I skated all day with Mon, Tim and Sean Goff, then went to the Oxford park where I met a few guys from RADBMX. I rode Geoff Cain's bike for the last 20 minutes before they closed the park for the night. I went down to Carlo Griggs' house the next day and hung out and rode with Carlo for two days. I didn't get my own bike and ride again until August 2007.

Where do you live now?
Andy Shohara: I live in a small town in San Diego county.

A bit more sunshine than England?
Andy Shohara: lol, yes. When I lived in England it seemed there were only a couple of weeks-worth of clear, sunny days in one year. The rest of the time it was overcast and grey or raining. Here in San Diego it seems that we only have a couple of weeks-worth of overcast or rainy days in the year. The rest is clear skies and warm.

What parks do you ride at on a regular basis?
Andy Shohara: I ride Clairemont skatepark in San Diego and the Etnies skatepark in Lake Forest. Most of the time I ride with my son in the backyard. I've got a q-pipe, some jump boxes and a dirt bowl with a couple of hip jumps.

What bike are you shredding these days?
Andy Shohara: My old school freestyle buddy from Hawaii, Kevin Lau, gave me one of his Blacklightning copper-plated frames for my 40th birthday last year

How much longer?
Andy Shohara: I'm not sure. The passion for riding is definitely there, and tempered with work and family, burn-out shouldn't be a problem. I look forward to going to the skatepark like a kid does to Christmas. Hopefully I can stay healthy, right now I feel I could ride for another 10 years easily.

Any shout-outs to finish off this interview?
Andy Shohara: I have to thank my son Ethan for convincing me to get a bike and ride with him. Big thanks to Kevin at Blacklightning, John Povah, Mike Parenti, Radbmx, OS-BMX and all of the guys in the 40 and over club.