Saturday, December 6, 2008

Flatter than a watered down Pepsi...




...People were stoked on the Old School Nuno post so I thought I'd go back into the archives and bring back another Blast from the Past... 'Flatter than a watered down Pepsi' was a caption in an old Bmx mag describing one of Robbie Morales' Table Top pics, maybe it was in 'Go' the Riders manual, I don't remember exactly. But anyway I had been riding Bmx pretty much all my life, even before I even knew what Bmx was. My earliest Bmx memory was about in the 1st or 2nd grade (circa 1981-82),I was riding around the 3-block radius that I was allowed to ride within with my best friend at the time, playing cops and robbers, Tommy was the cop with the cap gun and I was the robber trying to get away. Long story short... Timmy Martone a 4th grader (Right about now This could be an episode of South Park) stole Tommy's cap gun. We chased him, the Cop and the Robber. We chased him all the way to the Methodist church trails at least 15 blocks out of our allowed radius. We came upon something that somehow I already knew existed in my subconscious, Bmx Jumps, about 15 pre-teen or teenagers hitting the infamous "car seat" jump. A semi-buried car seat and a line of kids blasting off it onto flat ground. 

Life would never be the same.

We caught Tim Martone and he gave Tommy his cap gun back. I went home and told my parents what happened and  where'd I'd been. They said I could never go back there again it was too far away.

I went back everyday 

Years passed and now I was about 12 years old (circa 1988) and my freedom and riding privileges had grown substantially. And that was when I had my 2nd most profound Bmx experience, I was riding down 'Littleworth Lane" in Sea Cliff and this Bad Ass guy comes out of nowhere doing a stand-up Power Wheelie through a pile of leaves.Three-Quarters of the way through, his back wheel kicks out and he eats shit straight to his face. Melted half his cheek off. Blood everywhere. Stunned I ask 'Are you Ok?" he gave a thumbs up and said 'Yeah" picked up his bike and carried it inside of Belmore Floors.Within the next year I came to know this guy as Robbie Morales.
That same year DB and I started racing Bmx. We had one of the countries' most famous top Bmx racers in our hometown, he started off as a Superhero and an Idol to me, and over the years as we grew up he transformed from those things that really don't exist, superheros and Idols, into something that matters way more, a friend, and an older brother that I never had.

I'm not going to lie, Over the last 20 years there have been plenty of times where I haven't exactly seen eye to eye all the time with the guy and I'm sure we both talked our share of shit on each other. But I think that, that little bit of friction we had, had had more to do with me having to 'Come Up' in the same place as someone that is already in the spotlight. No matter what jump I hit, section I got through at the trails, race I won, or trick I learned, there were times when it was hard to get out from behind that shadow. That was hard sometimes. When we were both young doing the same thing in the same town with the same friends.

To make this long story short once again. Time passed we both went on different paths doing our own things in different parts of the country, all the while, both still riding Bmx. And those lil differences seem so funny now. Its weird, cuz now I run my own small business and I have to deal with keeping people happy (screen printing customers) everyday on a small scale and it sucks. So then I hear people saying Rob-'s shady or he doesn't return calls or whatever. And I'm like Fuck man, this guys dealing with people just like I'm doing except multiplied by 100 times, and now I can't do anything for the guy except stand up for him and give him respect for what he's accomplished on and off the bike.

He's a Homie who's got my back and I got his.


Nac Nac at Sevs, Turndown at Sterits, Flatter than a watered down Pepsi at Push in Pittsburg PA

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why can't everyone have this much love and respect?

Anonymous said...

RIP PUSH trails and the mid nineties bmx scene in the 'burgh.

Anonymous said...

sometimes i wish bmx was still like this...

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