q & a with bootleg sessions

byn: when and how did bootleg sessions started?
Burd: Tom and I started talking about doing this thing in mid-August, and now, only four months later, it’s done. It’s amazing how fast it all came together really, huge props to all of the riders for rolling up their sleeves and making this thing happen.

byn: how long have you guys been riding for?
Burd: Assuming you mean fixed, about 4 years I guess. Lots of other types of stuff for years before that, mostly BMX.
Tom: BMX since I was 11 or 12? Track bikes since ‘06.

byn: who is the team leader ?
Burd: We don’t really have a team, and there is no leader per se…

Tom: It isn’t about leadership.

BYN: what is bootleg sessions all about?
Burd: The first thing I’ll say is that Bootleg Sessions is definitely not a “film.” It’s not a film school project. We weren’t even remotely concerned about making it look pretty. Almost all of the parts were filmed entirely by the riders themselves. What we wanted to do was to show how several different riders that we really like do their own thing on their own time in their own spaces.

Tom: For me it’s about friends, pushing the limits of riding these bikes, and relaxing.

BYN: what are the 10 commandments for the group ...
Burd: One commandment… relax and have fun. Or maybe that’s two commandments…?

byn:where can we get the dvd ?
Burd: The DVD will be available starting in mid January directly from our website (www.bootlegsessions.net), and from some shops like Trackstar in NYC, R.E. Load in Philly, Super Champion in Vancouver, and some others that I’m forgetting. We also have distro set up in Japan through janmarket.net, in SE Asia through hkfixed.com, and in England/Europe through fingerprintdistribution.com.

byn ; what was the worst injury the group got?

Tom: Tony knocked out some teeth when his fork broke, and my back got wrecked from hoping 2 cinder blocks into a bank.

Burd: I busted my hip really bad and couldn’t ride for about three weeks, but I think Tony probably got hurt the most. He seems to get hurt all the time. Dood is nuts.

byn: 720 tire tap ...god damm.....

Tom: Ha ha…

Burd: Yeah man, and that’s not even close to the craziest thing Tom pulls in the vid.

BYN: what you think of bike gangs?

Burd: I didn’t even know there was such a thing…?

byn: what made you guyz start riding?

Tom:  Wanted a form of transportation that was fast, clean and didn't rely on depleting fossil fuels.

Burd:  I was one of those kids who got into bikes during the great freestyle BMX boom of the mid-‘80s.  Been kind of obsessed with bikes ever since.



BYN: When do you guyz feel satisfied?

Tom:  we’re always satisfied… but if one of us lands a killer trick we get pretty psyched.

BYN: what you guyz think of bike blogs ....

There are a couple that I really like… trackosaurusrex.com of course, and also a Japanese/English blog by a guy named Kyoichi Ozaki who lives in Tokyo (www.afromania.org/~k-ozaki/diary/).

byn: what you think of the up-and-coming riders?

Burd: At this point I think everyone is an up-and-coming rider. This whole thing is pretty new still. The industry is becoming more and more aware of what’s going on though… Tom and I, along with Keo and Dustin, are all sponsored by Profile Racing, which is pretty huge for us. And Tom has about 500 other sponsors too. So, it seems to be getting bigger and bigger.

byn: what do you think of the flashy colored bikes?
Burd: I’m personally not into them, but I don’t have a problem with them. I don’t really have a problem with anything. Lots of people seem to be more into having a problem with other people’s bikes than with riding their own…

Tom: Velocity must be making a killing…

byn: where is your favorite place to ride?

Tom:  FDR, Volcano, Brooklyn Banks.

Burd: Red Square in Seattle. I can’t imagine a better place for an FG session.

byn: when is your favorite time to ride?

Tom:  Whenever its light out.

Burd: Since it’s below freezing and the roads are covered in snow here, I’m going to say “summer.”

byn: what is your favorite beer?
Burd: Am I supposed to say “Pabst?” Because I’m not going to, ha ha.

BYN: what is your favorite drug?
Burd: Advil. I’m in pain pretty much all the time now.

byn: would you like to say anything for the coming up riders...

Tom: Get on your bike!

byn: whats next for the group?

Tom: Volume 2…

byn : any last words....
Tom: RIDE/RELAX.

http://www.bootlegsessions.net/