Stupidly one night whilst consuming a fair few cans of Guinness I thought to myself what trick have I always wanted to do even if I only pull it once that has a decent amount of risk and I have no idea from the start how to do it. Thus the “Flair in your 50s challenge” was born.
Chip Akeroyd
Age?
53
Bike?
2012 WTP Envy Complete with Alone Hitchforks, 2 brakes with questionable stopping power and 4 pegs
Why the hell would you want to ride that?
It was donated to me by David Clarke 2 years ago after a few sessions @ Rock City Hull. I was riding my 1999 T-1 Barcode and he said I’ve got this WTP complete do you want it. I thought he was joking but next session he brought it and the rest is history. The only thing I had to change was the forks so I could run a front brake but other than that it’s stock With 21.25 Top Tube and 13.5 backend it suits my type of riding (Mini’s and Spine ramps). The weight was the hardest thing to get used to with it being half the weight of the T-1 but my back is deeply indebted to Dave.
Where do you ride?
Wednesdays at Flo skatepark in Nottingham there is a great group of riders there Alan Sibley, Brad and Will Ratford they have a great attidude to riding. Plus also Cong makes a guest appearance but usually just as I am going home.
How did you get started riding?
Back in 1981 I used to ride my 5 speed racer with massive cow horn handlebars at some local jumps in the woods. One day this kid turns up on a Team Murray BMX and was jumping higher and further than anyone else.
From that day I knew I had to get a BMX and that kid was local race legend Ben Cook. So I saved up my milk round money and went to the local bike shop and bought a Super Burner. Christ knows why as I had enough money to buy any BMX in the shop. Anyway it lasted 3 days before the downtube welds cracked at the bottom bracket but once re welded it limped along for a few more months and I was totally hooked on BMX.
Was that your first scene?
It was what I would call my first proper scene. We had a small local scene in the 80’s which revolved around me, Simon Smith and Nick Griffiths. We were lucky enough to build 2 quarters and a trick ramp in a tennis court near Nick’s house. With that setup we progressed pretty fast especially Si.
I entered a few BFA contests but just couldn’t be arsed putting the effort in to learn the compulsory tricks. It was at this point I released BMX freestyle was getting a bit too serious for its own good. I just wanted to ride and have fun. It wasn’t long after I fell out of love with BMX and stopped riding for nearly 10 years until I stumbled across REHAB one day on my way home from work.
That’s where I first met you.
Tell me a bit about the REHAB scene?
What place to have less than 10mins from home. I couldn’t believe how much things had changed from the early 80’s.
At that point I thought shit! I must be too old to be doing this again but at the tender age of 28. That’s when my next chapter of my BMX life started and what chapter it turned out to be.
Rehab had just the best mixture of talent, characters and attitude to riding combined in one of the best indoor parks in the country at that time. By that I mean we had Jamie Bestwick and Jon Taylor riding there regularly along with Lee Meller, Si Bennett and you.
We had Wakey Rob, Wolfman, Deej,Craig, YOB, Kev and Crackles keeping us entertained. Everyone had one goal which was to ride BMX to the best of their ability and have a whole lot of fun on the way.
There was some much talent in that place at any one time it was untrue. Nobody gave a shit about wanting to be sponsored we just wanted to have fun. Something which seems to be lacking in a lot of the younger generation these days.
Did the scene help your riding progress?
Totally – I could only do 80’s tricks when I started there. Tyretaps and Peg grinds seemed way too far away from what I was used to. But progression was fast paced espcially being able to ride 4 hours everynight and all day at the weekends.
After REHAB closed did you become part of other scenes?
When Rehab closed I thought that was it as far as riding went. They did open up a Rehab2 just up the road but that was the one of the worst places to ride period. I used to go every Thursday night after work and ride the Volcano with a young Loophole Mark. That must have lasted 2 months and we both agreed that we needed to find somewhare else to ride.
Mark lived near Barnsley so I suggested we could ride Derby Storm every Thursday night and I could pick him up on the way down. Storm was such a good park and we had ridden there lots of times in the past. The locals and staff were great they had there own scene going on which reminded me a lot of the Rehab scene. Plus it meant I could still catch up with Jamie and progess my riding. That place is really where I fell in love with riding spine ramps. The spine there was perfect and not a lot of people rode it.
Looking back. Do you think you caught a special time in bmx by being part of some key scenes during the 90s?
Without a doubt I caught BMX in one of its most progressive stages where most people were in it for the love of it. The fact that other scenes from around the country would come and ride your local and be stoked on it. The special moments of riding with Jerry Galley, Stuart King and the whole Union squad @ Rehab will always stick with me.
Also meeting Robbie Morales and he actually knew who I was from seeing the Ride spread of me doing the Hurricane on one of his T1 progression frames, he was so stoked I couldn’t comprehend it especially as I was just a Rehab local riding a BMX for fun.
Being there at the start of Owain Clegg and Alistair Whittons BMX careers and watching them progress.
Riding with Jamie Bestwick on a regular basis and being so stoked for him when he got the chance to go to the X games and show the world how good he really was.
Who are the riders that have influenced you over the years?
Each and everyone I have rode with over the years. But mainly all the Rehab Locals you know who you are. They influanced my life in so many ways even outside of BMX.
The Union for there attitude to riding at the time, the ability and style those lot had was amazing.
What do you miss about those days?
The Banter/Piss taking of each other, but the Ride On sessions are bringing some of that back.
The Friday and Saturday nights at my house after Rehab with all the boys eating Spenner’s Fish & Chips, drinking beer and dissecting the lastest BMX video releases and not having a care in the world.
Also the Road Trips – its not a proper road trip if you haven’t being Jon’d along the way or had to sleep in your car for days on end.
In response to your recent Ride On post – How do you approach riding now? Are you always looking to progress or are you happy with the trick bag you have?
I always ride to have fun, this is important with the older you get. To progress I need to ride more than once a week. But currently its trying to re-learn stuff to fill the trick bag.
Do you find it hard to re-learn some tricks? What have you found easy to get back and what have you struggled with?
Most of the stuff I had on lock have come back pretty quick if not as consistent. The Hurricane and spine 360 tyretaps are things that I want to get back but I haven’t done either in nearly 20 years and they do come with a higher risk of visting A&E. They may reappear one day if the time is right, it’s just a mind game with them.
Tell me about the “Flair in your 50s challenge”?
Stupidly, one night whilst consuming a fair few cans of Guinness, I thought to myself what trick have I always wanted to do, even if I only pull it once, that has a decent amount of risk and I have no idea from the start how to do it. Thus the “Flair in your 50s challenge” was born.
What’s been your progress towards this so far?
I have managed to flip into a foam pit. But that was last year and Covid-19 quickly put a stop to any further progression on it. I need to get back on it. The new Asylum skatepark has the setup to make it happen. I will be needing the expert tution of Brad from Flo though.
How long can you go on riding for?
For as long as possible even it means I just end up being able to do tyretaps and pegs grinds
How do you fit riding in with work/life/family/whatever?
Quite easily Wednesdays were the one free night I had and working in Sheffield meant getting to Flo was not that hard. But due recent changes in circumstances in my life I am looking to get out and about more.
It would be great to get the sessions back started with Craig, Kev, Digger Dave, Jiggers and the Wolfman @ Mags in Halifax.
Whats the story for you and injuries now that you’re an older dude?
I have found that you don’t bounce anymore and bruise like a peach. I have always been lucky not having to many injures in the past. This year I had my worse crash ever on the Ramproom spine. I badly bruised my pelvis and hip blacked out 3 times within 15 mins. All this 3 weeks before a skiing holiday…what was I thinking?
Do you do any exercise or stretching to help with BMX fitness and/or injury prevention?
Not really, I think I should do some sort of stretching but generally a few steady rolls along on my bike to get warmed up seem to work for me.
You seem to love 2 wheels all round. Do you find riding MTB helps with your BMX now that you’re older?
Im thinking from a fitness POV. It definitely helps with cardio and general fitness but on the flip side it was one of the reasons I couldn’t ride as much last year.
The damn MTB seems to have it in for me. Twice I broke my ribs and then serverly bruised my instep meaning nearly 6 months off in total. BMX is way safer and more predictable from a crash point of view plus there are no trees or large rocks in skateparks.
Any last words?
Remember age is just a number if you have the smallest desire to ride BMX do it you before you regret it.
Also I would like to thank my mate Jiggers (Paul Hutton) for being the person responsible for reigniting my passion for BMX in my 50’s.
To Dave Clarke your generosity is so greatly appreciated.
To all my close BMX friends thank you for your support during my recent shitty times it means a lot.
To you Waddy and all the Ride On members thank for providing the platform and content to inspire us all to carry on riding.
And Lastly Lee Meller put that fishing rod down once in a while and come out riding, Your skills and company are greatly missed.