One thing I did pick up from riding with the other Hoods is, It’s not about how good you are, it’s about how hard you’re trying.
Brett Downs
HOOD
Age?
Just rounded the bend on 52 years. My knees are about 82.
Location?
Outside of Philadelphia, PA, USA for the last 24 years.
Years riding?
When asked that question I generally say “All of them”. I asked my mom when I put the board on the cinder block in the back yard and she said 1972. I’ve never stopped and think I might have the unofficial record for constant BMX. Just trying to make it to 2022 for an even 50 years.
Bike?
I have a few different bikes. My park bike is a Subrosa Matt Ray MR1 because I work for Subrosa and after meeting Matt, he seemed like a good guy and I wouldn’t hate repping his name. My flatland frame is a custom FBM that I designed to be the flatland/street/park hybrid with the dream of settling down to one bike eventually. I try not to pigeon hole myself as a rider and that bike was planned with that thought in mind.
Who do you ride with these days? If you ride solo a lot how do you motivate yourself?
I moved out of York in 1991 and haven’t had a regular flatland crew since then. In the 90’s I had a great group of park/trail riders where I live but life has gotten in the way.
Currently, I’ll show up at the park and session with anyone who is there and the local teens gave me a sticker for their crew. That was awesome. Honestly, I like riding alone because it is concentrated. When I get around people, I talk as it’s my social time or catching up with friends. Solo sessions of 90 minutes can be way more productive than three hours with friends at the spot.
I always look forward to your edits. Has the accessibility of digital video making helped keep bmx interesting for you?
Thanks for that. I noticed a few of my friends like Scott Towne, Steven Hamilton, Michael Steingrabber and others would post often and it always got me stoked. I decided to do that and maybe inspire others to get out or just share the daily sessions as if we rode together.
It’s amazing to have that little box in my pocket where I can shoot, edit and upload from anywhere. It keeps it fun to share the excitement of whatever I’m doing. I don’t go out purposely to shoot anything usually but my enthusiasm gets the best of me and I pull out my phone. It’s also good to get some laughs. A couple of years ago I started Double Decade Day on October 10 (10/10) and it blows my mind how many people worldwide will contribute. Anything that unites the community is good. Plus one day when my grandchildren ask why I have a cane, I can show them the video.
What’s a standard Brett session like?
A typical session for me is after work, the last two hours of sunlight before dark so it’s not so damn hot, or mid day in the winter when it’s warmest. I load up my drink bag, pedal a couple hundred yards to my flatland spot and warm up with three pinky squeaks 5X. After that, I just let my mind wander and see where I end up.
Sometimes it’s making up new things, sometimes it’s doing tricks I learned in the mid 80’s. I ride anywhere from 1-2 hours and head home. My spot really sucks but it’s so close and convenient I keep going back. My skatepark sessions always start off with Aggro intent but sometimes I’m cruising more than blasting. It’s just whatever I’m feeling that day. A session doesn’t have to be anything more than that. That’s the benefit to being past your prime, it’s back to being fun like when we were 14.
Are you always looking to progress or are you happy with the trick bag you have?
Progression, as in learning new tricks or connections is always fun but admittedly, I don’t do it often enough. After 35 years of flatland, my bag is pretty deep so I generally stick with what I can do and build upon that.
As far as street and park riding go, retention and not getting hurt are the priority. I ride a tricky park so being smooth is a priority. Smooth=Safe, Safe=Fun, Fun=Try Harder.
How do you fit riding in with work/life/family/whatever?
I’m going to be honest with you here and it’s uncomfortable to admit. I’m divorced with three teenage kids. They spend most of their time at their mother’s house and I don’t see them anywhere near as much as I’d like. They are only a half mile away but very caught up in their own lives, as teens are supposed to be.
The choice is sit around being lonely or go out and ride. I ride. Riding is my meditation, my exercise, my recreation, my social time, as well as not costing me any money to do it. Why not ride as much as my time and body allow?
Do you sometimes feel a little lost in the modern bmx world?
Ah, I was waiting for the salty old man question to come up! Yeah, the marketing and media of BMX is for the younger generation. We old heads, while being fewer in numbers, actually have money and will spend it. The 35 and over BMX demographic is formidable and should be considered. It’s just good business sense.
Seeing an experienced rider who has crafted his style over years is way more interesting than seeing a kid do the trick of the month moves everyone else is doing.
I’d also appreciate it if the media would focus on educating the riders as far as all the things we have learned about the technical aspect of bikes and parts. Every time I see a kid on a too long frame with bars that are way too big, I cringe and think how the media is failing these kids. A proper fitting bike with a set up to compliment the way the rider rides, makes the experience better and safer. It’s that way in racing but the freestyle end is slacking.
You’ve been involved in BMX since the early days. What is the single biggest change that you seen in BMX?
The Rawness of BMX is tougher to find. Trail riders are holding it down well. Street riding has occasional bursts of “Holy shit!” moments but is so tech and trend oriented, it can get predictable. Flatland and park riding has gotten so technical and contest style oriented that riders sometimes blur together. When you see someone busting out, it’s an undeniable expression. Lines don’t have to be long and complicated in a park or flatland but they do need to be punctuated with an explosive move.
How do you find working in the industry? Does it sometimes create a BMX overload for you?
I work as a sales rep for Sparky’s Distribution (Subrosa, The Shadow Conspiracy, Rant, Bone Deth) from home so my day is phone calls and emails. I’m BMX all day every day. While I’m really stoked to contribute to a good team and be a part of the industry, it’s not the dream some would imagine would be all glory, inside info and fun.
Bottom line, it’s like any other job so there are good days and bad days at work Luckily, I long ago discovered that working in the industry has nothing to do with actually riding a bike so even when I’m sick of bikes from work, I can hop on one of my bikes and still blow off steam and enjoy it. I also ride my CX bike, MTB or my 3 speed coaster brake bike when I need to get away from BMX. I learned to enjoy simply pedaling around again without having a mission. Luckily, the rough days are few and far between. Sparky’s makes good stuff and has a great crew so that makes me happy to be a part of a positive part of BMX and bicycles in general.
Do you still see and ride with any of the Hoods?
Kevin and I are the only ones who ride with any regularity, and yes, he still busts out at the master level with flashes of genius in his riding. Mark Eaton lives about 15 miles from me and we talk all the time. When he gets on his BMX, I’m always there to ride with him.
I actually ride with Gary Pollak quite a bit and he is riding better than he has in years. Mike Daily just came to PA for the first time in about 15 years and we rode together. The other guys generally show up at the York Jam and ride with us. These guys are all my brothers and you know how family is. You may not see each other often but when you do, it’s like nothing ever changed.
When the whole Dorkin/Hoods Videos started to blow up did you ever feel overshadowed by Kev and Mark?
Of course I was overshadowed by those guys! Who wasn’t? It never bothered me because their riding was way beyond anything I have ever done. I was just talking to Mark last week about Kevin not getting into the Hall of Fame again. We are both kind of bummed. I told Mark he deserves to get in for both his riding and industry contributions. Chase will always be on a whole separate level from everyone.
It was odd growing up and riding with those guys as the bar was always way over my head. One thing I did pick up from riding with the other Hoods is, It’s not about how good you are, it’s about how hard you’re trying. Kevin and I tried every bit as hard even though his riding abilities are beyond mine.
While I’ll never accomplish what my friends did riding wise, I was a part of the videos, the tour, a show pro riding flatland and ramps with several teams, supported up and coming riders, worked in the industry, ran the York Jam, and designed BMX frames and products. I’m more of a peripheral guy in BMX. I was there, on the side, doing stuff even if you don’t know I was. Just look down at your Odyssey fork cap and realize that I drew that up for Jim C at the Sunday Skate Shop and told him to give it to Odyssey.
I did the Big Daddy frame with Kevin and the Haro Flatland Master with John Buultjens. I also designed an early 650b wheeled MTB for Fuji but that’s a whole different topic. I thought up the Roller Coaster hub and the Un-bike. I’m also pretty sure I’m the only guy to have dropped in on Hoffman’s giant quarter pipe with a coaster brake.
I’m happy with my contributions to BMX in all the different facets of which I’ve been a part. I don’t mean to brag but I feel I’ve contributed and fulfilled a responsibility to give back to BMX and that’s what I continue to strive to do. All of us at Ride On need to give back.
Do you think modern bmx acknowledges the impact that the Hoods had on bmx? Or do you think the kids these days don’t really care about the history of bmx? (And if so, should they care?)
No, I don’t think BMX acknowledges that we were an independent team that had our own zine, did shows and contests, ushered in the video industry, did our own tour, changed the way people ride, invented the trick lexicon, invented the Jam concept, designed frames and parts. Hell, Eaton and I (with the rest of the Ramp Up the Jawn crew) organized the first BMX reunion in 2002. I don’t think the younger guys need to know that stuff.
Personally, I’m perfectly happy being known today only as the old kook on the BMX bike. It would be nice for the Hoods to be recognized in the HOF one day but I’m not holding my breath. Kevin told me a story once about a little kid that would come by and want to learn tricks. Kevin took him under his wing and got him started. Then one day, the kid pulled a BMXPlus! magazine from his back pack and told Kevin “I know who you are, you’re famous!” Kevin said everything changed with the kid then. He didn’t need to know Kevin made up the hitchhiker, just that he did it. It’s more important that guys are still out there doing Eaton’s steam roller or Kevin’s hang 5 than the getting credit. Though it would be pretty cool if everyone that did one of Kevin, Eaton or Chase’s tricks paid them a dollar royalty per trick. Until that happens, credit doesn’t matter.
Things are very different since the days of Aggro rag and early VHS bmx edits. How do you think digital culture (and social culture) has impacted bmx for the positive and the negative?
It’s amazing how I can do something in my parking lot and post it and then within three minutes get a cheers from guy in Australia. That is amazing.
I also love how the digital culture has let me see what was going on in the UK in the 80’s and 90’s that we missed here in the states. Guys like Rob Ridge and Nick Watts would have fit right in with our crew and I’m glad we get to share their past and current riding. BMX is so well interconnected now it’s wonderful.
The negative might be the need to “produce content” that is felt by everyone. Life has enough pressure without worrying about getting a clip or photo with a lot of likes. Admittedly, I post a lot of my riding but it’s not to try to be relevant in some artificial society. I post because I’m stoked on what I’m doing at the moment. I recently posted a clip of a no footed can-can endo just because I hadn’t done one in ages and it made me smile. Hopefully, the people that liked that got the same smile.
Do you do any exercise or stretching to help with BMX fitness and/or injury prevention?
A couple of years ago I got into going to Yoga class about 5 times a week. I did it for a couple of months and learned enough to practice it on my own. Nothing has made me feel 23 again like Yoga. Sit ups and leg lifts for my core. That really helps with the lower back issues we get these days. When my back does go out I take it a bit easy and do what I need to do although the only thing that really seems to fix it is a good slam where every vertebrae cracks. Then I feel like a million bucks!
What about Eating and Booze? Do you try to watch these so you can keep on riding BMX?
I don’t eat well enough but I try to limit what I consume. I much prefer drinking (anything) to eating. It fills you up so much faster and is less clean up in the kitchen. As far as alcohol goes, I don’t really drink. I really enjoy beer but I only have maybe two or three a month. I’ve seen too many people get ruined from drinking and drugs that I just won’t go there. Getting drunk is rare as I always figure I’ve got shit to do tomorrow and don’t want to be hungover. Eddie Roman once explained it to me as if you need booze or weed to enjoy something, you aren’t enjoying what you are doing, you are enjoying the booze or weed. I enjoy riding BMX.
Any last words?
If this is where I give the shout outs, I’d like to thank my kids and my GF Monique for being all around awesome. A big thanks to Todd Lyons, John Buultjens and Joe Hawk, Mat Hoffman, Jon Byers and Ronnie Bonner for the work. The Plywood Hoods, Ramp Up the Jawn, and the Rockledge crew for being solid riding buddies. Steve Crandall and Joe Doherty for doing their own things to make BMX better. Neil and everyone at Ride On who keeps the wheels spinning. I’d also like to point out the younger riders like Trevor Watring, Alex Leibrock, Nikita Duccaroz, the Hallahans and KRob Jr. for pumping me up and being friends with a geezer on a little bike.
I honestly believe, if you are riding you are an important part of BMX and I appreciate your efforts. Thanks to everyone who has read this and supported the Plywood Hoods over the years. And I promise I will make it to ROM before I die. Thanks for keeping it going over there.
Oh and before I forget. Have you ever seen “Dorking in Yorkshire”?
Nope, but when I get there, I’ll be happy to help with Dorking in Yorkshire II !