Vert. By Plywood hoods original Brett Downs

Oct 24, 2011

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 4916 times

From the looks of Brian's ramp, when I started vert was about 2". Brian had the first quarter pipe I had ever seen in real life. I had no idea how to even jump that kind of ramp. A few Minutes later, Brian slipped on his Vans and blasted about four feet out, turned in the air and dive bombed back in. It blew my mind and I couldn't wait to learn how to do it myself. Eventually we stole enough wood to build a proper 8 foot quarter and named our team the Plywood Hoods.

Riding vert has always been a challenge between danger and confidence. I always said it's easy to go high, it's just the landing that is tricky. Vert is an acquired taste much like

flatland riding. Every rider toys around but eventually some get to a point when it all clicks and the addiction is created. Every session is a chase toward an endless perfection. You can always go a bit higher, come in a touch smoother or tweak your trick a bit further.

I have been lucky enough to ride with some of the greats and learned a few things. Watching Garrett Byrnes shred I realized Vert is like riding trails: going fast, pumping and nosing in the landing. Dennis Mc Coy taught me to let the ramp do the work and ride the whole transition. Dave Mirra taught me to use the whole ramp. Jamie Bestwick taught me it's more important to go high and land smoothly before you start trying tricks. Mat Hoffman? Well, we have all learned a lot from him but the most recent thing he taught me is to drop in as soon as he pops out. That way everyone is looking at what they just shot on their cameras instead of noticing how much you suck.

I have never been a great vert rider, peaking out at about 5 feet but I'll never pass up a chance to ride a big ramp. Stop neglecting that behemoth of a ramp tucked in the back of the skatepark. You don't even need to get out to enjoy it as you can see in the nose wheelie photo. One of the purest feelings in BMX is getting out of a ten foot plus ramp and coming in smoothly. Go try it and find out for yourself.

-Brett Downs