Banter: A BMX Podcast

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Gary Pollak was part of the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania BMX scene and considered a quasi Plywood Hood.   Featured in early Dorkin’ In York videos & known as a great all-around rider competing in both AFA and 2 Hip Vert & street comps.   He is the inventor of  the Pinky Squeak. He rode for CW in the mid-80's and toured with likes of Ceppie Mays, Dizz Hicks and MacGoo.    He later rode for GT touring with Martin Aparijo, Josh White and trials rider Hans Ray. He also did the Dan Up! tour with Matt Hoffman, Dennis McCoy and Rick Moliterno! 

Now a family man and living in New Jersey with his wife and daughter and still riding BMX. 

Special Thanks to Shaun Jarvis for handling our socials. 

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Brandon Fentonn is a flatland lifer. He has a huge bag of tricks and a myriad of difficult breakless maneuvers and multiple whiplash variations? He currently residing in Toronto and is a regular at the DunBat hockey rink.

 Brandon has A PHD in Philosophy and currently works as a victim’s rights advocate at Aboriginal Legal Services and as a course director at Conestoga College. 

Special thanks to Shaun Jarvis for handling our socials.

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Join Jon and I as we talk BMX Freestyle with 3 ledgends of the sport Ron Wilkerson, Brian Blyther and Dave Nourie. Hear the inside scope from these iconic Team Haro members.

Please click this link if you want to learn more about the Back For More In '24 tour and help support the cause.

Special thanks to Shaun Jarvis for his work on the socials. 

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Few people have done as much for Flatland BMX, as Effraim Catlow.  He was:

•  Competing as early as 1986
• Amateur world champion in 1991.
• Pro World champion by 1994. 
• Competed X-games 7 times 
• And recently judging flatlands return to X-games in Japan, 2022

https://www.flatmattersonline.com/effraim-catlow-14-years-of-flatmattersonline?fbclid=IwAR2aO_z7LyHNmtQBSWuIFCqULZxjjcZgJrEZ6ATbDQoSBBg639hBUxvBSLc

Special thanks to Shaun Jarvis for handling our socials.

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Paula Marie is a Canadian, flatlander that hails from Southern Ontario. She spent a few years living and riding in British Columbia, She's a member of the Women of Freestyle. Has an impressive bag of tricks, Has traveled to numerous events and competed all around North America, Currently living in Georgian Bay Ontario and a mother of two little girls. 

• https://www.flatqueens.com/ 

Special thanks to Shaun Jarvis for handling our socials.

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Jody Temple is a flatland rider who's been a long time resident of Athens GA. He is one of the early. members of the Athens Family BMX crew. He's been featured in many videos over the years, but notably has some killer parts in the "Same thing dailey" video series by Dane Beardsley. He also has some stand out entries for the "Master of creativity" contest. He's baVled some health problems that kept him off his bike for long durations but has managed to come back & persevere. A man who insists on changing his socks frequently, We are excited to have our next guest join us.

Special thanks the Shaun Jarvis for handling our socials. 

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Bill Batchelor was an avid BMX rider during the early 80s, participating in racing and followed by freestyle. He was also interested in photography from a young age with black & white images being his preferred style.   Talented behind the camera and a world-class skate park in his hometown he documented 80s BMX with some amazing images.  After sitting in a box for decades many of these images have come to light for the first time in his book Concrete and Smog. 

Get your own copy of Concrete & Smog while supplies last:

https://www.billbatchelorbmx.com/

Special Thanks to our man Shaun Jarvis for handling the Banter socials!

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Maurice Meyer started riding BMX in the mid-70s.  In the 80s he was a part of the epic Golden Gate Park freestyle scene and a rider on the infamous Curb Dogs BMX/Skate team founded by the late Dave Vanderspek.  

 He rode for Kuwahara in 82/83 and started riding for Skyway in 1984.  As a factory Skyway rider, he participated in both the US and European tours along with Vanderspek and Robert Peterson. He placed 2nd to Dennis McCoy in the 1985 - 17 and over class in the Venice Beach contest. In 1987, he was working for Skywear Clothing and designed the 1987 Skyway jersey and the Eddie Roman street shirt.  In 1988 he left Skyway as a rider and did a brief stint as a salesman for them.

Special Thanks to our man Shaun Jarvis for handling the Banter socials!

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Kip Williamson is a Flatlander originally out of Angola Indiana, an AFA competitor in the 80s, and a Fat House member. 

He was known in the 90s as the “Video Guy”.  He created “Juvenile Trickery”, “Alternative Forms of Transportation” and UGP videos such as “Face Value” & “Mission of Nonsense”. As well as the GT Bicycles flick “Direction”. 

 A GT team tour announcer and held many other positions at GT such as Contest Team Manager & Freestyle Division consultant. 

Kip hosted the action sports TV show “54321” on Fox Sports, ESPN’s Dave Mirra Super Tour, and co-hosted and was a creative consultant on "Dave Mirra's Trick Tips Volume 1".  He was the Mountain Dew tour Announcer for 2 years (10 stops), and the X- games announcer when Mirra did the first double flip in X Games history (San Francisco 2000). 

Special Thanks to our man Shaun Jarvis for handling the Banter socials!

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This episode was sparked by the recent passing of Andrew Wickham.  Andrew was a talented flatlander and a friend of Jon’s.  If you take away one thing from this episode, please reach out to a friend or family member you haven’t heard from in a while.  

Here is a living list of whom we have tragically lost from the BMX world.  Please feel free to contact Jon Dowker or Anthony Berardi to add names to the list.

• Andrew Wickham
• Jason Brown
• Dickie Sanders
• Don Slepsky
• Dave Mirra
• Dave Burgess
• Paul Buchannan 
• Dave Vanderspek
• John Davis
• Shawn Burnham 
• Sean Spoelstra
• Robert Blondin
• Jeff Bowling
• Andre King
• Colin Winkelmann
• Jim Burges
• Benny Asa
• Paul Palmer
• Michael Zigmund
• Hiro Tsuchid
• Chris Bulvan
• Philipe Pereira

Mental Health Resources:

• https://www.helpguide.org/ 
• https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ (USA)
• https://www.crisisservicescanada.ca/en/ (CANADA)

Other references:

• UnClicked: Dennis McCoy https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/dennis-mccoy-episode-21/id1447198515?i=1000439748999 

Thank you to the following people who contributed to this episode:

• Bobby Carter
• Joe Cicman
• Brett Downs
• Andy Cooper 
• Sonni Brickhouse
• Keelan Phillips
• Shaun Jarvis  

Special thanks to Shaun Jarvis for taking care of the Banter socials.

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