For me personally, social media been an amazing motivational tool. Having the support base of like-minded rider’s from around the world is something I dreamed of in the early days.
Nick Watts
Age?
43 years young
Location?
Melbourne, Australia
Never stopped, New Starter or Comeback King?
I guess I’m the comeback kid then! Hahaha. I started riding in 1988 after seeing the movie RAD at the cinemas with my older brother’s. I’m not sure if it was Jonny Farnham belting out his tunes or RL Osbourne and Martin Aparijo’s radness but man I was hooked. Thunder in your heart baby!
I rode really hard for a good 13 or so years until slowly fading away from the scene by around 2003. I can’t give any clear answer to why I stopped as there were a number of contributing factors, but I’d say the main reason was good old fashioned “burnout” caused by no longer harbouring the self-belief that drove my success in my early days of riding.
I know it sounds cliche but I really did stop believing in myself and constantly questioned my abilities and directions in riding. I just wasn’t having fun anymore. This was also at the point where chronic tendinitis in my elbow had started shutting me down from riding for weeks at a time. Instead of getting help and seeing a specialist though, I used it as excuse to keep off the bike for 15 years.
It wasn’t until late in the summer of 2018 that I decided to dust off my bike and give it another real shot. The funny thing is the tendinitis that started to hold me back all those years ago doesn’t really bother me much any more!
Bike?
A nice and shiny chrome Deco Jackpot 19.5”. I do often stop riding, place her down, take a step back and marvel at her beauty. Hahaha
Where do you ride?
Almost exclusively at home in my backyard or garage.
The garage floor is nice and smooth with a modest 5x5m surface area. It’s bloody slippery but I think I have it sussed out!
The concrete area is much larger at around 12x5m. I had it layed in the backyard for a kid’s play area around 6 years ago. It was always playing in the back of my mind as being the ultimate riding area if I ever got back into the game though.
Riding at home is a great way of still hanging with the family and riding at the same time. Multitasking at it’s finest! The memories playing with the kid’s out there are priceless and I’ll always look back with gratitude and smile.
Do you mostly Ride Solo or in a crew? – If Solo -then are you happy with that or is to just that there’s no-one your age nearby to ride with?
Solo. I’m content riding alone so long as there’s some tunes belting out in the background for motivation. There are some great guys to ride with in the area but I’m kinda lazy and rarely make it out with them as often as I should.
Only having to walk out the back door to ride works well for me.
As AUS is such a huge country is it hard to connect with other riders (especially now your a bit older)?
There’s a healthy flatland scene in Melbourne so it’s not hard to find people to ride with. It’s really just more about scheduling time around family commitments to catch up for a session with the guys these days.
How often do you ride?
If the body’s willing and that’s a big “If”, I usually try fit in around 60-90 mins after work. Any more than that and I’m doing myself more harm than good. Besides, living with a family of five and running a video production / time lapse business obviously takes up the majority of my time. It’s often hard to strike a healthy balance with work, riding and family life.
Things were so much simpler in the earlier years gone by, but hey, I still wouldn’t have it any other way! At the end of the day family time is all that matters and will always take priority over my riding (most of the time!).
I know many people won’t have been aware of you until recently (digital age) – Did you feel the whole AUS scene was largely ignored throughout the 80’s and 90’s?
I don’t believe we were ignored as such but it was difficult to get your name out there regardless of talent. Even to this day, a lot of the guys I rode with never really received the recognition they deserved. If they had we would have seen a lot more of them sticking with riding instead of burning themselves out and never really receiving the love they deserved.
I was riding with a lot of guys that were really pushing the limits at the time. Guys like Simon O’Brien, Chris Thresher, Brett Mason (Stumpy), Arthur Kypreos, Chris Carver and may others were all killing it doing their own unique thing in the flatland scene.
Simon O’Brien was the only flatlander that really went for it and got himself out there. He rightfully blew some minds in the States. Even though he’s achieved so much and his trick bag is endless, I still think he is kind of underrated in the grand scheme of things. I still prefer watching his older stuff than a lot of the modern spinning flat that’s current today.
I did however make 5 full videos in a series called “PIM (Poetry in Motion)” from 1991 until around to 96. They featured good old fashioned freestyle with flat, street, ramps and a lot of fucking around for good measure. I was trying to emulate the great vibes and inspiration we drew from watching the “Dorkin’” vids.
I firmly believe that if they had made it over to your shores you guys would have been blown away with the quality of Australian riding. It’s a shame that one of the biggest reasons they were never seen was because of a technological barrier.
The whole incompatible (25 and 30i) frame rate thing we had going on with the states made it extremely hard to view each other’s VHS videos. Once that barrier was broken and online videos were the norm, things defiantly changed for the better.
Did the riders in AUS previously feel “cut off” from the rest of bmx?
Yeah, well personally I did. I believe it was a good thing for being creative though. The disconnect from the US in particular gave us the blind opportunity to path our own styles and tricks. We weren’t as easily influenced by the riding going on in the US and abroad.
Prior to digital, what were the sponsorship opportunities in AUS like?
Pretty much non-existent. Well for me anyway..haha..Still is! Oh actually, I do have to thank Kenny Lund from PhD Tees for throwing some sick tees my way! Thanks man!
Has the rise in digital culture helped showcase and connect the AUS bmx scene?
It’s so much easier getting exposure by using Facebook and Instagram than the limited avenues at one’s disposal like back in the day.
How has the rise in digital culture changed the AUS bmx scene?
Yeah for sure! Well for the street, park and dirt riders anyway. Seeing other Aussies killing it in the X-games and other big comps abroad has really become contagious. It’s defiantly given some of the up and coming guys the confidence to really go for it.
Ive seen your video edits from the late 90’s. They are amazing! Did you ever regret not being able to live/ride in the US to compete?
Thanks mate. Yes and no. The Yes part of my really wished I’d made the trip over there. Not necessarily to compete and try to win contests but hopefully to just hang out and ride with the best guys in the world at the time. To me that was the Plywood Hoods. I’d always imagine how sick it would be riding with Kevin and Chase back then.
Had I chased the opportunity to ride with them, It would have been interesting to see where that may have led. Hopefully it would have helped pushed me to realise the untapped potential I knew was still laying dormant somewhere there within me.
This is why I’m sure I never reached my prime. I’d lost the fire and never really felt inspired to push harder.
The No part of me realises that everything happens for a reason and I wouldn’t trade what I have now for anything.
What part does social media play on your riding and motivation?
For me personally, social media been an amazing motivational tool. Having the support base of like-minded rider’s from around the world is something I dreamed of in the early days.
The overwhelming positive response I received from the old school videos I posted last year lit a flame under my arse for sure. The funny thing is I only posted them out of chance too, not really knowing the impact they would have on me and other rider’s.
Having the founders of the plywood hoods Mark Eaton and Brett downs reach out to me and let me know I would have fitted right into their crew was the icing on the cake! I finally had the affirmation of the guys I idolised growing up. I honestly felt relieved, like I had some closure on a little bit of the resentfulness that I always felt in the later years. This could finally be put to rest.
If I had access to social media back then the opportunities that would have arisen from my riding would have been drastically different. That may not have necessarily always been a good thing as I believe a large part of my riding stye has evolved from not having been influenced by what other riders were doing at the time.
These days I try to release a weekly online vid to keep myself motivated and hopefully push myself to learn something new every week.
I really do feed on the positive feedback. Hearing that I’ve inspired others is the best compliment I can ever hope to hear.
Not gone brakeless then???
Nah. Brakes are all I know and I’m too old to ditch them now! Besides, I don’t want too! Some say I was cryogenically frozen in the early naughties and brought back in 2018 with brakes still intact.
Love your garage flat spot!!! Was it on a “must have” list when buying your house?
Haha..nah not really as I wasn’t even riding when I purchased the house back in 2006. It’s actually very modest in size and fitting two cars in there would be a tall order for sure. I’m defiantly comfortable riding small spaces though as back in the day I rode for years in an outdoor style kitchen with a marble floor that only measured around 4×4 metres. It forced me to refine my style to short and snappy links.
Much of the brakeless flatland we see online can get a little “samey”. Do you think that’s been key to your popularity on social media? (ie doing things tricks that many others don’t do?)
Yeah I think so. I’ve always made a conscious decision to try not to clone someone’s tricks. Obviously we are all borrowing from the pioneers like Kevin, Chase, Pete, Jesse, Dennis ect.
A large part of my style was formed through isolation too. I wasn’t as heavily influenced by other rider’s as I would have been if I had lived in the US. I also try to speed things up cause I’m an impatient. I like to get shit done quick. That and the fact that I’m not 21 anymore. I don’t have the fitness level to keep links going for minutes at a time!
What do you love about modern flatland riding?
The speed and consistency of the riding in general has improved from the mid-school days. I like that.
What do you dislike about modern flatland riding?
Pumping is great when it’s done right but I can’t stand when it gets a bit funky and looks really awkward. There’s also an inevitable predictability that goes with brakeless riding where bike direction and flow are sometimes influenced by the lack of brakes.
There seems to be some self-imposted rules I’ve seen in some circles which could really limit creativity. There is nothing wrong with the scuff. It’s more graceful to my eyes than some of the pumping I see.
Who do you look to for influence these days?
The older dudes for sure. Guys like Simon O’Brien, Marton Szilagyi, Pete Brandt, James McGraw, Dennis McCoy, Brett Downs and so many others have proved that age is a mere number.
Whats the story for you and injuries now that you’re an older dude?
Holy shit. You opened a can of worms there! Don’t know where to start! Right now I’m nursing a cracked rib, a left shoulder that keeps dislocating, gout that keeps resurfacing in my left knee, a torn groin muscle and an elbow that looks the size of a golf ball! No shit!
I always laughed back in the day with mates how fucked up our bodies would be when we were in our 30’s. How right we were! Hopefully I have a few more years in me until I have to give it away.
Do you always pad up?
Not enough. I did exclusively when I started getting back into it last year but the stench started getting annoying so I mostly dropped using them. Thinking about it now, no-one likes to see a middle aged dude with shredded shins so I should probably wear them again.
Do you do any exercise or stretching to help with BMX fitness and/or injury prevention?
No, but I probably should! Especially with my style of riding.
I started riding again with a mid-school mindset (2000s). I believe that style is much harder on the body than the modern brakeless flavour so I’m very conscious of the fact that I’m on borrowed time.
It’s the only way I know unfortunately so If I want to keep on going I’ll have to change my approach at some stage.
Do you sometimes struggle for motivation to get out and ride?
As many people know, I put out a shit load of edits to social media! I try to get them out weekly to document my progression from getting back into the scene last year. It’s my main source of motivation and keeps me focused on trying to learn or relearn new tricks or combos.
If I didn’t have this outlet to share my riding with others I’m sure it would be tough for me to stay as motivated.
What about Eating and Booze? Do you try to watch these so you can keep on riding BMX?
I eat really well that hopefully compensates for drinking too much! Haha
What do you miss about the BMX scene of times gone by?
Just hooking up every weekend with friends and having a laugh really. It’s that simple.
What’s next for you?
Hopefully to keep on keeping on until my body says enough. I’m going to try on focus on links and combos that are less demanding on the body. Self-preservation will be the name of the game for sure.
Any last words?
Obviously I’d like to thank the wife and kids for putting up with me trying to re-live my youth. Finally a massive thank you to anyone who has reached out on social media and given me the confidence I needed to get back on the bike.
Never too old!