Mat Hoffman

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Took a quick ride before trick or treat time…

This is the video leader I made before the hard trick section:

Going to Orlando to produce the spring run of my AGGRO CIRCUS.  It runs at Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios Orland April 2 – 29.  If you’re in town stop by.  Here’s the Pre Show I run while everyone finds a seat.  This is a collection of highlights I’ve collected through my career and I edited together.

March 25th 1989

HERES TO THE 9”

LOVE

Night Session – riding the deep bowl at MH Action Sport Park OKC

Back in mid-August last year, I got the opportunity to ride the Infamous Pink Motel Pool.  Jeff Tremaine was shooting Weezer’s “Memories” video, so he rented it out all day.   The call time was around 3p, but I had a flight that was leaving at 4p, so I got there in the morning and had a solo session.  It was so surreal.  I was introduced to this pool when I was 15 years old, through the animal chin video in 1987.  Now, 24 years later, I get a private session.  I’m the luckiest man in the world!

I got a good hour in, but I found there are thorns all over the outside of the pool and got a flat, so I spent a couple hours of valuable riding time searching for a tube.  Once I got back people started showing up.  I got to ride for about 30 min while people started flooding in and Weezer set up.  Unfortunately, I had to bail before the shoot got on its way, but here are some photos of me trying to air the legend.

Most photos by Sean Cliver.

Here’s the video.  I found a fun gap line into the pool.

It’s time to auction off our Grammy-ified Helmets (along with the bikes)!   I painted these helmets on the balcony of my hotel. The Grammy inspiration turned into “Industry and Money chasing the Talent and Rebellion.”  I thought if we are on stage chasing each other in circles not doing any tricks at least we could represent and express this, subtly.

The green and blue helmets are Industry and Money  (hence the 1 cent and $O) and the red and yellow helmets are Talent and Rebellion (hence the #13 and 43).  Also, I had the helmet cam, so when I rode by the band (Arcade Fire) I knew I would have the back of my helmet facing the audience (hence the happy dead face on the back of my helmet).  This is also a tattoo I’ve given many of the BMX greats in our community.  This stands for LIVE LIFE TO DIE HAPPY.

All proceeds go to Mike Vincent, so please give all you can.

thanks,

-Mat Hoffman

This is the clearest video we could find to post of both Arcade Fire performances….

Consequence of Sound is a New York- and Chicago-based, worldly influenced music blog that seeks to cover the music world.  Features news, reviews, mp3, and festival outlook

Watch: 2011 Grammy Performances by Arcade Fire, Dr. Dre, Bob Dylan,.

Spike Jonze made a film with Arcade Fire while we were making the Birth of Big Air.  Spike put some suburban kids riding their bikes and playing around in the film.  About a week ago, Arcade Fire and Spike thought that would be cool to have bikes riding around while Arcade Fire played at the Grammys.  So, Spike gave the Arcade Fire peeps my name to supply them with some bikes.

I got an email from them and thought people like the Grammys…. I could give them some bikes and then auction them off and raise some funds for something good in our community.  Then, of course the first major need I’ve wanted to help with is Mike Vincent’s tragedy and the doctor bills that keep climbing.

So, I sent some bikes out to Arcade Fire and packed up to go on vacation in La Jolla with my family.  We got to La Jolla and Arcade Fire contacted me again, asking if I knew of anybody who could ride around the band as they played.  Grammy’s denied any ramps or tricks, they just wanted some casual bike riders rolling around for ambience.

This is where the randomness begins.  I checked in with Voelker, Rooftop and Tabron to see if they would be interested.  When we met up with Arcade Fire the only rule was there weren’t any rules, so we all got along great.

Originally, I wasn’t interested because I was on vacation, but I happened to be on vacation an hour and a half from the Grammy’s, and after recruiting my friends and nobody knowing what to do, including the band, I thought I better get their backs and figure this out.

We weren’t there to try to upstage anyone, but to be a part of the flow. This wasn’t a BMX show, this was Arcade Fire’s show.  So, I thought I could use this to portray BMX, not as something you have to do unbelievable stunts to be a part of, but to ground it to be what anyone could do if you had a bike.

We did a dress rehearsal in the morning, it was complete disaster.  So, in true BMX fashion, we went out in the parking lot at 4:45p, 15 minutes before the Grammys started, with a broken boom box and put together what you saw on the Grammy’s.

I couldn’t believe the Grammy’s had stooped to our level!  Hahaha!  I was proud to basterdize the Broadway performances with a little adlibbed sketchy last minute BMX randomness.   I guess the world needed a little randomness…