Photos stolen from Facebook, FBM and RyanHoey.com
FuckBMX: so your teeth all good?
John Lee: yup, i had a cleaning last week and no cavities and today i had a perodontical charting to check the condition of my gums
FB: so i guess we can start this with the typical 'how long have you been involved in bmx' question?
JL: geez, thats a tough one, i been jumping a bike ever since i learned to ride one, but i guess i started riding around 92-93
FB: what year did you start racing? around the same time?
JL: nope i started racing later, when i first got into riding i was racing R/C cars down the street from shorehame in wading river. There was a hobby shop called Latest Hobbies and raceway i would go there every sunday to race and one day on the way to racing i asked my mom to stop into bmx track to look at it
JL: but it wasn't unitl my friend brian waller and i went to track in 94-95 that i did my first rookie race
JL: shoreham was crazy then, my first race in 14 beginner has 1/8ths
JL: i didn't even race the main because it was midnight and my mom had to pic me up from the track and they were still running semi's
JL: plus my friend brian crashed over the doubles on the last straight and ripped the head tube off his MCS
JL: after that i didn't go back to shoreham for about a year and then really got into racing
Endwell.
FB: wow that's crazy... i thought you had started way earlier since Oak Park was already crazy by the time Shady Bunch came out in like '98.... How long did it take you to move up the ranks in racing?
FB: (after you committed to it)
JL: um... i moved up to novice locally after i got the 5 or 7 wins that you had to do. And racing nov at shoreham tuesday nights was fun, i did my National year as a novice,
FB: back then novice was an actual class i suppose, now it's kind of just a big joke... When did you start digging at Oak Park?
JL: man, novice was crazy then, i mean my first novice race i remember clearly. you had to be able to pick up and speed jump the camel into the first turn in order to be in the game,
JL: and everyone was pedaling over the first roller
JL: in beginner if you could jump the last doubles you could take it anytime, in novice everyone could do that. And open wheels at the time was really crazy
JL: As for oak park the earliest footage i have of that place is around 92-93, but i think i started digging there in begining of 92, it all started because Chris watson took me to sterits in patchogue after school one day and when all the older guys weren't looking i tried to jump a roller and case so bad that it turned heads
JL: they guys there told me i should build my own jumps to learn to ride, so i took there advice
JL: Originally Oak park was Chris watson and myself, chris got his learners permit and stop riding and at the same time James Zylowski, Ron Jones and Brian Waller started riding with me and we all built at oak
JL: When James, Ron, and Brian faded, Matt Vietch and Reid were right there
FB: That's pretty wild that it started because you essentially got kicked out of other trails... and then turned out to be a few years before it's time
FB: did you guys just like pedaling and going as far as possible?
JL: i guess it was being kicked out but it was done for the best, build at your own pace and build exactly what you like to ride and its all smiles
JL: at the time with oak everyone built practice tracks in some form, and we just liked to go fast and far, so you had to pedal
JL: 45/16 was my gear of choice then, 5th gear wide open
FB: haha sick
JL: but if we had a down hill when we started oak, we would most likely have still cranked and just gone farther
FB: haha, thats how it was back then though because everyone raced anyway
FB: what year was it that you got picked up by TNT and fell in love with the stove pipes?
JL: i never rode for tnt, but i always thougth the stove pipe was cool looking since i saw one on a tnt long fellow frame. Terra had bike with stove pipe, it might of been his chrome tnt, or the teal one, it was bad ass. But I worked at sayville bike works and we had a great working relationship with tnt, and when they decided to do a dirt jumping bike (KOD) they gave me the prototype to ride and it had a stove pipe.
Fresh.
I'm pretty sure this isn't even the stovepipe frame, dude just likes life.
FB: i think most people on long island know you because of sayville (myself included) how long did you work there for before disappearing tot he unknown?
JL: I started working there when i was in tenth grade so that is about 94-99, then i went away to college and worked there summers and holidays from 99-02, then when i move to bklyn, i would work at the shop on the weekends from 02 - 06, so that 12 years of shop time
JL: Working at sayville bike works was awesome
JL: Jeff is such an amazing guy. He is a great boss, but more important a great friend and like a second father in ways, not to get all emotional and what not but he is a big infulence in my life has always had my best intrest in mind.
JL: even through he set me up with z-tec, his heart was in the right place
JL: ha ha
FB: hahaha
FB: yea, to this day the only shops i ever go to are jeff's and bird's... the atmosphere in there hasn't changed a bit.
JL: i haven't gone to birds shop, but you know bird use to work at sayville bike works
FB: bird worked at tonys forever too, and that was my local shop, so he was someone i grew up around
FB: were you a big part of all the random parts that were produced? monkey and local bars, woody cranks, the 2 eddie frames and the infamous FUF's?
JL And speaking of Bird, that dude is amazing a hugh influcence on the LI scene
JL: Ya i am guilty of some of that, the monkey bars weren't suppose to be like that,
JL: but fabweld wasn't able to do a dual radius bar, but we didn't know that until 50 pairs showed up
JL: shoe did the local bars, i was away then
JL: and the woody cranks were and big eddie frame i had a part in
JL: the frame i did the geometry, but jeff was really wanted that gnarly gusset on it
JL: which was a bit over kill, but a head tube never popped off
FB: haha yea, and it was also like 1999... i mean... i bought one...
JL: the frames were made by a place in PA, smoresbourgh, and that dude made high end stuff, so the quality was there
JL: you should ask jeff to see the prototype of that one
JL: its a monster! ha ha, It took Ron Harters help with drawings to get it to look like a bike
JL: Ron Harter does inspection at shoreham some time, he is another smart dude with his heart in the right place
JL: ron helped a bunch with the race frame, Fast Eddie
JL: which was a great race frame, in my opinion
JL: I could go on and on about the fun we had at Sayville bike works, i do miss turning wrenchs at that shop, and the amount of bmx stuff we did, but it also got me to appreciate all bicycles
FB: yeah, i have a complete fast eddie in my basement, and Ron Harter designed the race frame that Lofreddo rides now ?I'm pretty sure
FB: So where did you go when you disappeared for a while? where did you go to college, what kid of degree did you get?
JL: Ron also helped Hyper with there race frame
FB: brb i have to run down to 40th st for a minute
JL: nice
JL: i never really thought i dissappeared. I moved away from LI because i was going to school full time at Dowling college and working full time at sayville bike works, digging, riding and between all that i wasn't getting a "college" experience. I wasn't meeting new people, i was going class, making money and feeling like i wasn't getting what i was suppose to out of school. so i transfered to Suny binghamton graduated in 02 with a BA in History and a concentration in Africian Studies
FB: word... what was the deal with you running stirctly gold rims for a while... it was like your signature back when...
JL: Do you remember ross bicycles?
FB: yeah
JL: they were based on LI and had hugh warehouses, Well they called us up and found boxes of 20inch rimes, in gold, blue, and red. they were single wall rims like araya 7x but made by sumo. Sayville bike works bought almost the entire lot of them because they were 2 dollars for the pair and came with an unsealed hub that needed to be rebuilt.
JL: i would relace it onto the sealed hubs i was running, but at first i would just rebuild the hub and run them until they quit on me
FB: haha
FB: how long did they last? how many sets did you go through?
JL: well you had to keep your self smooth with single walls and they held up great until i started riding skateparks. I would go throught a pair a year
JL: my moms basement i still have 2-3 pairs
JL: of just gold
FB: haha
FB: any plans to resurrect them?
JL: no need, John Wells at Sun ringle hooked me up with the last pair of gold big city rims he had and i put them on the new bike, so its back to gold
FB: haha i defiantly saw that and didnt even notice them
FB: so since you seem to turn up in everyone from long island's top 5 riders.... who are yours? past and present
JL: yes i saw i made it on a few and wow i am floored, to be considered in a top five with jay bone, joe rich, and bf is an honor
JL: Is this just riders from LI? or in general
FB: in general
JL: past: Drew Jenkins, Keith Terra, Robbie morales, Mike Griffin, chris moller
JL: present: Keith Terra, Chase Hawk, Brad Simms, Chris Hancock, Clint Reynolds
FB: I'm pretty siked to see Hancock on that list.
JL: Dude, i can't even begin to tell you the magic of chris hancock
JL: he is urban legend status
JL: kinda like Gaska
JL: mythoical
FB: haha thats pretty believable. he can handle a bike better than most
JL: he is great ti ride with
JL: you should have scene when he won one of the ECT la rev am contest
FB: word on the street is that you do the best no footed toboggans of all time... what's your secret witht hose?
JL: oh wow, i haven't done one of those since Darren called me out at the Powers Jam
JL: i dunno really, grap the seat and dip it
Feet still on, but certainly dipped.
FB: are you gunna bring one or two out this summer at belmar?
JL: i am not jumping that belmar jump
JL: i spent about 8 years pedaling full speed at the oak park doubles like 50 times a day. i am over it
JL: but i am sure going to watch the chaos
FB: haha
JL:this years belmar is going to be wild, its the last one we are doing so you gotta go
FB: i am going
FB: i told shoemaker i would sponsor him
FB: you guys need to spread the word that it's the last one
FB: on the topic of "you guys" how long have you been at last call for now?
JL: It has been 3 years in janurary since i been working for FBM/Last Call
FB: in that time, Nice! has started up... I heard a rumor that you were a big influence on that company name... can you verify that for me?
JL: Ha ha, its a group effort, but iw ould say Chunk should get the credit
JL: he would always nice and it kinda stuck
FB: haha, i have to say, when i saw the post saying you lost your nice guy status, i was pretty upset. minutes later though, i saw that you immediatly worked your way back up and took it back.
FB: i think the only question i have left, aside from the thank you thing, is asking about your addiction to mexican candy.... where did it come from, and what qualifies as mexican candy? can it be found in places that are no mexico?
JL: let me set the scene for you...
JL: i went on the first props rock n road fools and it ended in Austin at the T1 ramp. i got to ride the ramp earlier in the day with a couple dudes before the heavy hitters showed up. I went to a little bodega by T1 to get a drink and some snacks and they had a lollipop that looked like some corn on the cob.
JL: I am all for trying new types of candy, so i picked it up and went back to the t1 ramp. Imagine sitting on the ramp and watching Joe Rich, Taj, and chase shred the ramp. while sitting there eating the best/worst candy ever.
JL: It is sweet and spice at the same time
JL: and sends your mouth into confusion
JL: the last time i got a big score of mexican candy was in bklyn on Canton ave
JL: across from the soccor fields
JL: on the weekends
FB: haha, so do you fiend for the stuff now, or just enjoy it when it comes around?
JL: right now i burned out on it. People just kept sending more and more to fbm and i went crazy eating it,
JL: Hoey gave it a go when he was up here last week
FB: so it's almost time to leave work... thank yous and such?
JL: As for thanks, i would like to thank the entire LI bmx scene of past, present, and future,
FB: cool. thanks for taking the time to do this while running the distro
1 comment:
john lee is the man. long island should thank him
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