FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Nate Wessel and Tom Stober have formed a company called Team Blowin It. Their first product is a knee pad that goes under the pants. They've taken the good ideas from other pads they liked and put everything together in their first product. They've been working on the pads forever just trying to get them perfect.

Features:
-Kevlar outer cover for durability and to prevent tearing jeans
-3mm foam cover over plastic cap to prevent tearing jeans 

The after party was taken care of by the people who organized the Rebel Jam but right after the contest on Saturday and right before the party that night, wethepeople brought out the cow. That’s right, the “Jump the Cow” contest was on. Steve Crandall and the Props crew were all over it and Steve gave orders to some of his riders to win some beer money for that night. Wethepeople had put up 100 Euros to the rider that was going to clear the highest and they’d brought some cranks and pedals for those participants that would bend theirs. The take off ramp was about a foot high and “Brenda the cow” itself was about 4 ft.

After some warm up rounds over the cow straight to the concrete it was on! A big crowd had gathered to see Danny Hickerson (T-1), Aaron Ross (FBM), Tony Hamlin (FBM) and a couple of German riders clear the cow and the height pole. Before the bar was raised to a ridiculous height, some money (50 Euros) was gathered for the first 360 over the cow. FBM’s Ross took that.

With the qualifiers from Satuaday turning out to be the final results, it could have looked all different if all the riders had another go on Sunday. Would Clint Millar have repeated his perfect qualifying run with a hangover on Sunday? we will never know. It rained all day Sunday so the finals were skipped. What I do know is that Ben Hennon drank so much coffee in the morning because he went so high over the spine it was ridiculous. Nice one!! Made me think of Dave Voelker at the first BS contest in Dallas where he showed who was boss by blasting a big no hander over the spine.

Sergio Layos’ absence was made up for by Daniel Penafied’s presence. The Fly rider from Madrid (actually Sergio’s riding buddy) did the raddest flat spin 360 over the spine I’ve ever seen. As he’s a young rider he of course has all the downside and regular tailwhip variations down also. He couldn’t quite pull his cross footed tailwhip flyout to cross footed landing but if he had the chance to ride on Sunday he probably could have shown everyone.

Day one wasn’t over yet. After the Berlin City Tour it was time for the opening of the photo exhibition at the Mellowpark. The location is superb and the lighting is great. With a DJ and some drinks it was an awesome way to end the first night. The photos were nothing short of amazing and I was very surprised to see my own photos on the wall. Super stoked on that. I went back the next day to take some shots of the photo art show. Enjoy the work of David Ulrich, Kay Clauberg, Ricky Adam, Ryan Guettler, Sandy Carson, 

The Berlin City tour on Friday night was something a lot of people looked forward to. How often do you go to a contest and all you see it the airport/rental car, the venue and the hotel bar. Not at the Rebel Jam. For the second time in a row the city tour busses stopped at the Mellowpark to show the riders and media what Berlin has to offer. The city has got so much history that it would be an interesting lesson for everyone who hopped on the bus. 

The Rebel Jam started off with the Amateur Mini contest on Friday afternoon. It was the same mini with spine and sub box as last year so no changes there. The riders field was pretty international and there were a lot more riders than last year which was good to see. It seemed like people had heard about the comp and didn’t want to miss it this year. It is always tough to decide who belongs to ride in the “no-pro” class. It there are three classes (expert - master - pro) it is easier to split up the group of amateurs. It has never been any different that the better riders could have ridden a class higher than they entered. With last year’s prize being a trip to Woodward and this year’s am winner getting a customized Rebel Jam/wethepeople frame-fork-bar set, it makes it even harder to decide who belongs where. As long as there is no 150 page IBMXFF freestyle rule book anybody can do whatever they want.

Tailwhips have become a standard trick for everyone to learn and that includes the am-mini class riders.

The FAT-JAM is happening next week. Maybe you can help spread the word as we don't know how to do that. The FAT-JAM will be low-key as you're used from us. If that is your style, we will see you on Saturday. You're welcome to bring your own booze and your own barbeque and make sure you bring your friends too. There is no time schedule so even to slackers will make it on time. The music will be plugged in around one o' clock on Saturday 19 August so take that as the official opening of the FAT-JAM. Bring your favorite CD's if you want, or maybe someone has one of those i-pods with some good shit on it that we can plug in. Don't expect Mat Hoffman, Todd Lyons or Jay Miron to be here this year. Those times have long gone. If you want to ride your bike on some small trails, you have all day to master the doubles. There will be no one sending you off because you don't have the right wristband or did not register. 

We are having a Jam at the Belchertown Skate Park this Saturday, August 12th starting at 1:00 and we would love it if you can come. We just finished building a new rythym section, a street spine, a curb-to-wall ride, a vert wall, a new ledge, and a new grind box-- the park is awesome! We are located off of Route 202 in Belchertown, Massachusetts behind the police station. Everyone is required to wear a helmet due to some trouble we have been having with the police lately. If you have any questions or need more detailed directions, just let me know by phone (413) 687-5704.  Cost is $5.

Nashville Pussy played at the Red Bull Elevation contest in Vancouver, Canada. They were pure rock 'n roll and gave it all they got. After the concert it was off to the next party and before I knew it we were walking the Whistler streets with the band. We started talking and one of the band members' dad is actually from The Netherlands.  Even better, they were going to do some shows in Holland soon. I asked them to send me a mail with the locations because I wanted to see the band play again.

I did receive an e-mail from Ruyter Suys , the guitar chick from the band. They were actually going to play 5 minutes from my place in Lierop. A few e-mails later Paul and I were on the list for the Nirwana tuinfeesten. Once again they were rocking hard, even after spending a few days in Amsterdam with no sleep. Whatever gets them going, make sure to go see them next time you have the chance.

BdJ

Okay, you're having a brother and he rides too. That's cool. Now figure you have two brothers and the both ride. That's even better. What if all three are actually good enough to all enter Pro Dirt at a major BMX dirt contest? We shot a photo of Leo Forte, Kye Forte and Toby Forte at the BMX Masters in Cologne. All three of them were doing lookbacks over this same hip. We're running a new poll on FATBMX to find out who you think has the best lookback in the Forte family. The three brothers just won all three Style awards at the Rebel Jam in Dirt. Before you vote for their lookback, watch this Empire of Dirt movie.