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Well after coming here and expecting Jeff to blast Ant into outer space, I’m stoked to see he remained calm. 😀
I’d like to touch on something that Jeff did mention and that is how a lot of things in BMX always tend to turn towards personal agendas. I got accused of that with the whole CJBMX site thing, which is sorta weird ’cause I’ve known the people who own CJ’s land probably longer than anyone on this site, the njbmx site or almost anywhere. Be that as it may.
The whole purpose of this site was to remain neutral and unbias towards everything BMX in NJ. In fact, one of the first things that Jeff said to me when I volunteered to come back into the scene was, “It’ll be good to have you around, you have an unbiased view on everything”.
At the risk of inflating my ego like an a** I have to point out a few things I see in BMX that lead to our current problems.Parents…. Parents….it’s not you racing out there, it’s your kid. Don’t yell at him, intimidate him, don’t sit there and tell them how to do something…unless you, yourself race and even then, take our advice as older riders, discuss the track, work out the problems, be a compatriot. Every time one of us older guys sees someone yelling at their kid…..mmmmmm…if you only knew
Volunteers…Thanks for your help, you rock, BUT. Just because you marshall a corner or do bike inspection doesn’t put you into a weird position of power. We’re just having fun racing bikes, don’t take the fun out.
Track Directors…You have to realize that no matter how long you have been into it, people are gonna come up with dumb questions, some may have ‘tudes, be irritable….whatever, you’re the person in charge of BMX there, you’re OUR face. Ya gotta be humble…to a point and I’ve heard about those problems as well…and ya know what, when it gets there, ask US older guys to help out.
Riders…Talk up the sport to EVERYONE. Bring people to the track, when you don’t like something, don’t bitch, find out who is in charge and help them. Trust me they’ll come around.
Older riders… Do more than race, HELP…Everywhere, guess what guys, we’re the ambassadors of BMX in NJ. People will listen to mortgage guys, businessmen, who still race BMX bikes. You matter a lot more as spokesman now that you are older.NJBMX Board of Directors: We need meetings. Real meetings. Open meetings. The fighting is done. I’m gonna be there. No ONE is gonna yell about BMX. BMX is my generations kid, we grew up with it. No “adults” are going to yell at our kid. Why have meetings? So we can say…(insert cool thing here) is being done to grow BMX in NJ.
Jeff… You let me in and well..here I am, LOL. I do all this stuff for nothing. People have come on here and finally see someone doing something because they really love BMX, not because their kid is racing or because they happen to be “the best” at the moment. You saw me when I was doing the ramp-park in S Plainfield…I was already 13 years into BMX at that point….5 racing, 8 freestyling. All I know is how to do everything I can for as little as possible. I have learned as of late that I am a true anomaly in this sport, my only agenda, to get as many people stoked on BMX as I am. Also, I’m not a quitter. I stopped being involved a few years ago because I felt I had nothing to contribute, I came back and saw there was only 3 tracks, no real enthusiasm for anything, it was depressing to someone who helped raise all aspects of this sport…like many of my generation.
When you really love something, you’ll do everything you can for them for nothing. It’s like having a kid, ya work your butt of to get that kid what it needs to survive in the world and if anyone messes with it…well…any parent can understand where I’m going with this.
BMX is like my kid…I go to work, think of ways to promote it, buy equipment to better get stuff out there to promote it, try to find people who feel the same way I do about it, make stuff that I give away, just to make people feel like what they are doing is special in BMX. lol…ask some of the guys who have known me for awhile…Craig, Adam, Rodney, even motormouth Ant Dog, it’s what I do.
Asking for people to “contribute” and saying no one ever contributes…well, I always welcome contributions…most people don’t (thanks Bill for the stuff in the new issue of the zine!)
BUT
I love BMX so damn much that I take time to make all the contributions myself. So when you take the responsibility for something you make that commitment to it. Everyone asks why the njbmx site isn’t updated, or why it isn’t changed, they can’t do it. You took that responsibility, their looking to you to step it up. I get this site up and hosted for $116.00 bucks a year..small price to pay to get the word out to whoever I can about NJBMX. You’re a rebel like the rest of us Jeff, read more of the site and you’ll find a lot of people who have said many of the same things you have told me on several occasions.
An agenda with a just cause is worth all the effort you can put into it.
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