The BMX In Our Blood

Paul Isbester is a great old school friend of mine that I'm fortunate to have in my life after all of these years. This past rainy Sunday we had planned on meeting up for a ride on a new/old Spooky June Bug mountain bike turned gravel bike that Paul found and built up for me. Since the ride had to be canceled, Paul being the ever giving friend, drove to my house to deliver the bike only to be surprised by my devious plan to record a podcast with him. The day was super special due to two podcast call ins, Eric Brownell and Whitey Williams, along with being the beneficiary of an amazing bike build that Paul delivered. I hope you enjoy the podcast as much as I did! Thanks once again to Todd Breau for the podcast announcement artwork! If anyone is interested in joining me at Foothills BMX in Torrington, CT I will be at Foothills on September 7th at 9am for my annual birthday laps followed by birthday road miles, 54 of each. Any money donated that day will go directly to Foothills BMX, a track that is near and dear to me as I am one of the founders of the track/organization. Contact me through IG at @gromdad2000 with questions or to shout out encouragement for the day! Thank you to Tasha Lindemann @tjl.creative on IG for the flyer artwork! Enjoy! Joe

Robbie Miranda was the perfect #thebmxinourblood podcast interview to cap off my quick 36 hour stop in SoCal a couple weeks back. Robbie is a true professional in every sense of the word. He took his sponsorships seriously and absolutely gave each company the best ROI they could possibly have. Instrumental in these sponsorships was Steve Buddendeck of 2B, DK and Verde fame (among others). Having Steve call in and reconnect with Robbie made my heart full! We talk about a bit of everything from the Vans Triple Crown, XGames and his days as an amateur and professional BMX racer. Afterward we got into his transition into his current job as a sheriff where he has worked since his last BMX race over 17 years ago. Enjoy the podcast and take a moment to appreciate Robbie for his service. We couldn't do without people like Robbie working hard to protect and serve the public. #bmx #bmxpodcast #robbiemiranda #dkbmx #1800collect #vanstriplecrown #xgames #nblbmx #ababmx

Episode 149 - Jerry Bagley With Biz Jordan by Interviews with the BMX community

I have a pretty cool podcast for you all this week! It came up as an impromptu opportunity that made for a recording that surprised me and Chris Moeller of S&M/Fit Bikes. My intention was to say hello and drop off two letters that Chris had written back to me in January 1988 in response to my requests to buy an S&M Mad Dog frame (a brand new company at the time) and to invite Chris to a trail jam at the Sunnyside trails in Connecticut. We also talked zines since Chris was putting out the Soul Zine at the time. What we ended up recording was a full hard goods production tour that was so interesting! Chris's passion for the shop and creating product is amazing. We finished the tour off with Chris reading the letters he wrote to me in 1988. It was a trip down memory lane for both of us! Just a couple of 17 year olds in love with BMX and dirt jumping along with side hustle passion projects to support our mutual hobby. Enjoy the podcast and look forward to two more from that day, Jerry Bagley and Robbie Miranda! Special thanks to Sean from Vans for providing a home base for me for my quick visit! Lastly, thank you to my son Joe Jr for letting me tag along for the cross country truck camper trip to his winter job way up at June Lake in the Sierras of California. If not for his adventures none of this would have happened. Love you Joey! If you would like to support the podcast please consider a monetary donation of any amount through my PayPal or Venmo. Message me through @Gromdad2000 on Instagram. Thank you! Joe

It's been a while since the last The BMX In Our Blood episode but as it goes, timing is everything. I am forever grateful to have been asked by Base Brooklyn (Enos Colombo) to be a part of what became more than a bike show, reunion and tribute to Eddie Rios at the Coney Island Brewery on Sunday October 22nd. Unbeknownst to him the event WAS Eddie Rios and it was truly amazing. Eddie has been a staple of the freestyle BMX community back to his days ruling Mullaly in the 80's, 90's and beyond. Everything I learned about Eddie through the mini interviews and conversations off the record were absolutely a testament to the love the NYC BMX community has for Eddie and Eddie's incredible personality. Although Eddie's time with us is limited he will have an impact on all of us for the rest of our lives. There was one sentence in Eddie's speech that was so emotional and so incredibly impactful in such a positive way, "I'll miss you guys but I'll see you." Listen closely and think about it as you look at the photo used for this podcast announcement (by Norman Blake) as Eddie raises his arms as the King of New York, one more time. Here are the interviews in the order of the episode: Enos Colombo Roy de Guzman Nito Brett Irrgang Eddie Haller Mike Ick Jimmy Mac Glenn Milligan Richie Poole Eddie Rios Ralph Sinisi Edwin DeLaRosa Bob Scerbo Tyrone Williams Robbie Morales George Gallo with Eddie Rios Until next time....

Episode 146 - Chill Phil Downell by Interviews with the BMX community

Waaaay back in October of 2017 I started this podcast and my very 1st interview was with Chelsea Wolfe, at that time Chelsea Fiets Godin. While planning my trip down to Swampfest in February I thought it was a perfect time to catch up with Chelsea 144 episodes later. Since our 1st meeting Chelsea met her goal of being an Olympic athlete and earned a spot on Team USA as an alternate, a huge deal! Enjoy the quick check in with Chelsea and also give episode #1 a listen by scrolling back or listening to the repost that I will have up shortly. Thanks for listening! Episode picture by @jeffzphoto (Jeff Zielinski) Announcement graphics by @nagooarts (Todd Breau)

"World number 3!" The phrase most commonly heard from Robbie Morales of Cult BMX when he runs into Greg Lanthorne! Why? Because he is the W3 pro from the 1987 IBMXF World Championships in Orlando Florida! Everyone loves an underdog and Greg didn't disappoint. There is much more to his BMX story that spans over four decades. Add in his job at Sparky's Distribution and there was lots to talk about and now for you to hear. The interview with Greg was recorded at Swampfest a few weeks back, what a crazy time! Enjoy the show and look forward to the last of the Florida recordings with Chelsea Wolfe. Always a great conversation with the Florida born Olympian.

Allie Wolfe may be the sister of a notable freestyler (Olympian Chelsea Wolfe)but she is absolutely her own self made badass! Coming from a family of all BMXers (parents included)Allie decided a bit ago to trade BMX racing with freestyle and has been having the time of her life. Recently she decided to move into her van and work remotely so she can do what many of us would love to do, go cross country and really see what this Stateside part of the world is all about. I give Allie so much credit for remaining as independent as she has always been but accepting help when needed. You never know where she will be as she lifts up her Florida floor mat and heads out to her next destination with a lot of interesting diversions along the way. Coming to a town near you! Enjoy the podcast and please like and subscribe, someone told me I should be asking for that small request. One last tidbit. Allie will be at the last stop of the @FLBMX skate park, April 15th at the Oviedo Ripping Riverside Park. If you in the area, don't miss it! Thank you @nagooarts once again for the Podcast announcements! #bmx #bmxfreestyle #alliewolfe #vanlife #workingremote #bmxgirl

Another amazing podcast experience was had with the latest BMX In Our Blood interviewee, Ryan Sher. I never stop learning and definitely won't anytime soon because I believe you never stop learning no matter where you are at in life. Ryan had some really thought provoking views on topics such as manufacturing, sponsored riders, events and the next generation of riders among other subjects. Ryan's role at Sparky's Distribution is pretty cool between his team managing to marketing and quite a few other roles he and others at Sparky's join in on. Interacting with Ryan was nothing but fun and interesting, I was a little jealous when I left there! Imagine a group of people that are all in a workplace for the right reasons and having fun doing it. The staff was also super welcoming, I really appreciated that! Anyhow, give it a listen and enjoy! **One small correction/addition. When reading off the brands under the Sparky's umbrella I forgot to mention Bone Deth, sorry about that!** The Sparky's brands also include Subrosa, Shadow Conspiracy, Rant and Shadow Riding Gear. Don't forget the Road 2 Recovery Jam on July 16th! Put it on your calendars and be ready for the best one yet!

Episode 141, Bethany Hedrick! Bethany was great to have back on the podcast. The last time Bethany and I talked was almost two years ago in my #thebmxinourblood podcast booth during a USABMX Freestyle contest at @woodwardcamp, a contest that Bethany won. She moved on to progress to the point of being asked to join the @gtbmxfreestyle team and also with @odysseybmx and @vans66 supporting Bethany as well, all late last year! We met up at @florideahswampfest a few weeks ago as she was wrapping up a week long trip with @thebloombmx and @gtbmxfreestyle Bethany used her youthful energy to hang out for an hour of rental car air conditioning before heading right back out there to ride more for the cameras of @jeffzphoto and @beabmx Thanks for the time Bethany and congrats on your huge progress! Stay tuned for another episode coming up next weekend with @ryanwood.stock of @sparkys_usa and their many brands, @subrosabrand, @theshadowconspiracy, @rantbmx, @shadowridinggear and @bone_deth Big thanks to @nagooarts for the podcast announcement graphics and @jeffzphoto for the Bethany pic! #bmx #bmxfreestyle #gtbmxfreestyle #odysseybmx #bone_deth #thebmxinourblood #thebloombmx

Swampfest was great to me. Not only was the event insane but I was able to spend time with seven different guests that were all amazing! Mark Mulville is the 2nd podcast so far. Keep an ear out for five more! I had a gut feeling about Mark Mulville and what he would bring to the podcast for all of you listeners out there. We didn't just cover all of his amazing video parts from Anthem II to Who Brought The Dicks or his long term sponsor @profile_racing We covered some real life issues of anxiety and depression that is pretty familiar to so many, myself included. We also talked quite a bit about the Casselberry, Pittsburgh, Connecticut and lots of places in between that helped shape who he is today as a rider and a man. Pretty crazy that Mark grew up a couple towns away from me in Connecticut, as a young pre-teen. Mark is also a pretty amazing photographer that loves to focus on the wildlife of Florida, especially gators! I hope you all enjoy this listen, it was beyond my expectations and I am so grateful Mark made the time for our conversation and a couple laps at his trails! Thank you Mark! You can find Mark's photography on his Instagram page, @markmulville Podcast announcement shot by @matt_coplon Announcement graphics by @nagooarts Thank you Todd!

The Bloom BMX is an amazing media platform that is and has been making a huge impact on the progression of women and girls in BMX. I have been attending and covering quite a few women's weekend events over the years so I was dying to get to know The Bloom (Beatrice Trang and Angie Marino)and learning a bit more about their goals and motivations. It was equally as important to me to help in any way I can to create an awareness of The Bloom so girls/women can find other girls/women that have the same passion. I would encourage you all, male, female or non-binary, to check out The Bloom through their media platforms listed below. I would also encourage the girls/women out there to submit any content you would like to share with The Bloom on their website. Thanks for listening! thebloombmx.com thebloombmx on Instagram thebloombmx on Twitter thebloombmx on Snapchat The Bloom BMX on Facebook @thebloombmx on TikTok The Bloom BMX on LinkedIn thebloommtb.com

Another pleasant surprise #thebmxinourblood podcast! I have had Ian Mcomber (@fakiemasta) on my radar for a bit so when I noticed a repost on @digbmx of one of Ian's fakie lines, I just had to try to get the podcast done! I'm so glad I did! Ian has a lot going on with his career in prosthetics and his artwork, aside from BMX. What Ian does for work is largely in service of people that have lost limbs or were born with congenital deformities. Ian uses his mechanical mind to help make this happen. Many have said that they love to hear the real life story of what BMX riders are all about off of the bike. Ian's interview is proof of how interesting a rider may be when you ask that question! Thank you Ian for trusting me with your story. It was my pleasure to be able to learn about all things Ian!

Eric Brownell is a close runner up to John Lee for the title of "the nicest guy in BMX". Incredibly respectful of everyone in bmx/cycling and so generous with his time and friendship. There was a time earlier on in the podcast that Eric was on my list but I just couldn't find him. Seems that Eric has been slow to the social media party and I couldn't agree with him more with his timing! In this episode Eric tells us where he has been and wow is it interesting and impressive. As some of you may know, I really enjoy endurance sports and am in awe of friends like Eric that are so accomplished in pushing their limits. He reminds me of Ari Sonnenberg, Tim Strelecki, Danny Bailey, John Badessa, Todd Wells, Sean Rudzinksky and more. The quality of the recording is a little low due to the location inside of a Starbucks but worked out great. If you hear me call Eric "4 inch Eric" that is why, I was keeping Eric within 4" of the mic for the best result. Thank you for listening and please consider helping the podcast by donating to the podcast. Message me through IG or Facebook and I will direct you to my PayPal or Venmo. The 400,000th download is coming this week thanks to all of you, guests and listeners! You are more appreciated than you know!

Hey everyone! It's been a while but fortunately I'm rolling again with Podcast Episode #136, Ben Achison. I threw "Night Digger" into Ben's episode announcement because I will always be in awe of his passion for trail building at whatever hour he can do it. As you will hear, Ben has worn a lot of hats, all of which are really amazing. From BMX racing to BMX State Commissioner to BMX trails to running to trail building, Ben doesn't stop. Enjoy the podcast and give those courtesy laughs to the dad jokes and genuine laughs to Ben's craziness! Thank you Nick Caporuscio for calling in to bring true stories that will make us all wonder, does Ben having food throwing issues? Anyhow, laugh and enjoy! If you want to support the podcast monetarily please message me through IG @gromdad2000 or FB Messenger at Joe Doherty. As always, thank you @nagooarts (Todd Breau) for the podcast announcement artwork.

Episode 135 - Brooks Manbeck by Interviews with the BMX community

Do you have the patience to get a bike park started in your area? How about 6 years of patience! Joe Lodato did, barely! The story you will hear in this podcast talks about the difficulty and the reward of persistence. Joe talks at length about how to make the dream happen and the challenges along the way...and why you should never send an email or message that was written under stress for at least a day after you write it ;) Congratulations Joe, the non-profit C.L.I.M.B. organization and all of the volunteers for a job well done in building a BMX park that will last for years to come! Learn more about the Percy Raynor Bike Park and CLIMB through the following links... www.percybikepark.org www.climbonline.org IG - @percyraynorbmx FB - Percy Raynor BMX Park

Episode 133, finally! Sorry for the long wait between podcast interviews. This one is worth the wait, Alan Foster. What an amazing guy. Alan has been involved in so many interesting layers of life that include BMX beyond what I expected. Alan is extremely modest so listen close and learn about the Cali transplant from Maryland and his trip around the Country which eventually brought him to my house for a great visit with his wife. We had a pretty good time and even experienced dinner in a local jail. 51 year old rebels. We aren't done yet!

What could be better than trapping Jay Dalton in a room to talk about all things BMX and Moto? Well, having Chase Pauza and Jamie Bestwick be the surprise call-ins didn't hurt! Jay is such a modest dude so when you flip through his Instagram it's pretty wild. He is an incredible bike rider and equally as talented on a 450cc motocross bike. Enjoy! A shout to Southside_bmx (Kyle Mcdonald) and Southsidebmx.net from Ireland for the podcast donation, much appreciated! Please DM me at @gromdad200 or FB Messenger at Joe Doherty. Any donation is helpful. If you are not able to donate, no problem! Please subscribe to the podcast and give a rating. Thank you in advance! Thank you once again @nagooarts for the podcast announcement graphics and @artvideophoto for the amazing shot of Jay! #bmx #bmxpodcast #bmxtrails #bmxfreestyle #ctclaimsjaydalton