Is There Life After Youth?

Is There Life
After Youth?
-
Photos of BMX after the age of 30
- André Maia -

Is There Life After Youth? 3
Is There Life After Youth?
Photos of BMX after the age of 30
- André Maia -
Kicked In The Teeth Publications, 2014.

Is There Life After Youth? 5
On Front Cover: Érico Melo, Barcelona, 2013.
On Back Cover: Renato Silva, Aveiro, 2013.
Thanks to
-
Érico, Mika, Renato, Bjorn, Pedro, Edu and David for the photos and
inspiration.
Vasco for the graphic design.
Isi and Mike for the tips and english corrections.
Tiago and Nuria for the suggestions and tips.
Stay young.

Is There Life After Youth? 7
Think of salad days
They were folly and fun
They were good, they were young
_
Young Marble Giants
Mike Beyts and a young dude, Barcelona, circa 2010.

Is There Life After Youth? 9
“Is there life after youth?” I once read
this question on the back-cover of a book
I bought while travelling. I immediately
got shivers all over. It’s one of those
short, straight to the heart questions,
which makes you think about so many
things at once.
BMX has always been my true passion, and
the long-time sought after Fountain of
Youth. Apart from all the fun and joy
that I got from riding, I can say without
a doubt that BMX completely changed my
life: the out of the box thinking; the
urge to explore; the music associated to
an alternative culture; the amazingly
talented, humble, and kind friends I’ve
met along the way; the conscientiousness
about not living a normal life... All of
these have helped me to develop into the
person I am these days.
As kids we never thought that the distant
loom of adulthood on the horizon could
ever reach us one day. It comes without
warning and most of us are not well
prepared for it. The responsibilities of
daily life; the little time to do what
you most love, the increased pain on
crashes, the longer time to heal injuries
and the difficulty in progression. All
of these things make you feel as if the
safe ground you had underneath your feet
is gone, and you don’t know what to do.
I will turn 30 next year, and that
scares the shit out of me. It feels like
a leap into the unknown, even though
it’s just a mere number. So I decided to
ask a few wise BMXers that already went
over the edge, how is a rider’s life
after “youth”?
The riders that contributed to this
project are exceptional people that
started to ride for a very simple
reason: Fun! Despite all their great
skills on a bike, none ever made a
living out of riding. All of them had
to find a way to buy their daily bread,
by splitting their precious riding time
with a grown up occupation.
They started to ride in the 90’s, when
BMX was not “cool”, and no major company
had yet dared to relentlessly corrupt
the minds of these kids on 20 inch
bicycles. Girls, money or fame were
things far away from the BMX world, so
the only “prize” you would get at the
end of the day was some bloody shins and
a smile on your face.
Three pictures were taken of each rider:
a portrait after 30, a picture riding,
and a picture of an injury that will
always remind them of youth.
Fundamentally, they were asked the
question: is there life after youth?

Is There Life After Youth? 11
Michael
Tenner
_
Mika, 30 years old from Neubrandenburg,
Northern Germany, started to ride in 1996
because he wanted to do an endo on one of
these little bikes. He got a Stratos with
pegs screwed to the axles. With this he
spent his days getting air from a small
curved quarter to landing bank and learning
new tricks. He and his buddies hung around
watching BMX videos over and over again,
getting motivated to ride.
Nowadays Mika is an engineer, living with
his girlfriend in Berlin, riding “one of
those frames that everyone rides”, and
on a monthly basis, hitting the Berlin
mini-ramps and inner city street spots,
motivating himself by grabbing some flow from
a transition and surprising himself with a
good feeling while doing a new move. Small
talk with the people at the park or meeting
new people while riding also makes him grab
his bike and go out. “There are still a lot
of fun people in the scene. There’s still
the crazy guy with the sketchy moves, I like
what people are doing in BMX”.
If there was no bike in his life, Mika
would build one, but apart from BMX, he
does many different things with his life,
getting focused lately on discovering the
environment by running and climbing.
Mika taking a break, Berlin, 2014.

Is There Life After Youth? 13
“I crashed on a vert ramp doing an air
trick. It knocked me out and smashed my
clavicle totally. Still have some problems
with it. I had a heavy brain concussion but
luckily I had a helmet. I hate to remember
this day.”
Is there life after youth?
_
“Nice try! Bringing me all through this,
remembering moments. Life is a natural
thing.
I think you didn’t ask this question just
to hear from another person that there is
a life.
Life is everywhere and anytime and even
with the focus on BMX it is still there
if you work a 40 hours per day job. There
isn’t a lot time to spend your thoughts in
only BMX. And this BMX-thing does needs
ones attention. The most important thing is
that you do it for yourself. Even if there
was this one bad injury which reminds you
to turn the volume down. It’s still fun.”

Is There Life After Youth? 15
Up up and away, Volkspark Mini Ramp, Berlin, 2011.

Is There Life After Youth? 17
Érico
Melo
_
One of the native BMX wonders of Praia da
Luz, in Portugal, is Érico Melo. Currently
33 years old, Érico started to ride in 1990
after he bought a Huffy Thunder from his
cousin. Being bored with the strict rules
of athletics that he practised, he decided
to quit and started to ride his tiny bike,
wherever and whenever he wanted to, rules
free. Loaded with the energy of a 10 year
old kid, Érico would ride every single day,
easily up to 12 hours during the endless
days of holiday. His first local spot were
the trails made by the Praia da Luz locals,
and of course, the square in front of the
Church. Back then, motivation could be
found in the amount of fun one could get
from BMX, the good friends, the exploration
of the infinite possibilities and by doing
something different on a bike, the fruit of
your own imagination. However, following
what was happening in the scene was not
easy and only one magazine was accessible,
so going to the competitions was basically
the only way to keep up with what was going
on.
Far away from the warmth of his hometown,
Érico now lives in Helsinki with his wife
Maija and their newborn daughter. He works
as a gerontologist, and, despite all the
grown-up life obligations, Érico can still
find 2 or 3 hours a day to ride. His ,not
100%, indoor “Elisa Spot” is his safe
flatland shelter for the rough Finnish
winters, but Érico also rides street all
over town and Kontula and Sokeva Skateparks
for indoor riding. When asked if he
identifies himself with the current BMX
scene, Érico replies that he never really
felt identified
with the scene
in a mainstream
way. Things like
alcohol, drugs or
competitive spirit
were never his
thing. Concerning
motivation, nothing
really changed since
1990, and due to
time limitations,
he gives more value
to every moment he
is on his bike. The
will to go out and
ride every day,
to go beyond his
limits and evolve
and explore new
ideas, developed
in Érico this kind
of dependence that
brings him more
benefits than harm:
“sometimes, to learn
a new trick I take a
long time, but the
joy I get in the
end when I land it,
it’s something very
special”.
Apart from his
beloved wife, BMX is
his only passion,
but some new hobbies
like snowboarding,
cooking and
travelling are a
reality in his life.
Érico in tourist mode, Barcelona, 2013.

Is There Life After Youth? 19
“This injury happened when I was 20. I was
teaching a friend of mine how to double peg
stall on a mini ramp and on one of the runs I
did an air and hung up on the coping, flipping
over the bars and landing hands first. On that
moment I didn’t think it was serious, even
though two of my fingers were a few centimetres
shorter than the rest. After waiting for
several hours in the outside the hospital
urgencies (and after a seagull took a shit on
my broken hand), I went under surgery and I
stayed in the hospital for 5 days. I skipped
military service due to this injury, but the
doctor also told me I would never be able to
ride anymore. During the 4 months after the
surgery I rode flatland with only one hand,
and after some months exercising my hand, I
was able to be back riding with both hands on
my bike. Nowadays it’s still not perfect, but
in general ways it doesn’t limit me on almost
anything.”
Is there life after youth?
_
“As I have been lucky enough to keep in quite
good shape, and never stopped riding, it is
still hard for me to realize the limitations
of my “old age”. But I believe that if you
take good care of yourself you will be able
to enjoy life almost throughout all your
life span. I know I won’t be able to ride my
bicycle the same way I do now when I am 50 or
60, but maybe I will be able to cruise around
the park doing a few tireslides or play around
with flatland tricks in the parking lot and
still have a lot of fun with it. I am also
quite sure I will start snowboarding more in
the future as it is a bit less demanding to
your body and also super fun.”

Is There Life After Youth? 21
Two broken fingers didn’t stop Érico from blasting
some tricks on a borrowed bike, Barcelona, 2013.

Is There Life After Youth? 23
David
Martin
_
David Martin, 31 year old rider from Mataró,
a small town in the warm and cosy Catalonia,
31km away from Barcelona. BMX passion
sprouted in David 14 years ago when he
first got a Specialized TJ Lavin Pro Model;
he started to have fun with his friends,
learning new tricks and progressing along
on a healthy BMX scene. Daily riding was a
golden rule and he followed what was going on
in the scene as much as possible, even though
it was hard to find videos or magazines.
His local spot was the unique Lost Trails,
founded by David and his friends a few years
after he started riding.
Nowadays, David still lives in Mataró with
his beloved girlfriend (they met 14 years
ago, same time David met his lifelong
passion), he is a gardener by profession and
the Lost Trails are still his second home
where he spends most of his time digging,
riding and taking care of that special place.
The back-in-the-days golden rule of daily
riding had a small change: riding his S&M
BTM can vary from once a week, to 10 or more
days a month, depending on the season and
the visitors to the trails. The motivation
never went away because having fun, finding
new people and new trails, digging new lines
and flowing around will always be there,
justifying his true love for BMX.
David also claims that nowadays he doesn’t
follow up very much on what is going on the
current BMX scene because “it changed a lot
and there’s only street”. Nevertheless, the
Trails scene has also changed a lot and
it’s now “a completely different world from
the current world of BMX”, which makes him
identify more with the new trail scene that
he adores.
David before hitting the big line at Lloret Trails, Lloret de Mar, 2014
David confesses that he developed some new
hobbies such as digging, photography and
landscapes, but when asked what he would
do if there was no bike, he says that “as
long as there is a place to dig, there
will be a bike…honestly I don’t know what
I would do…Trailife is my big passion, my
way of life”

Is There Life After Youth? 25
David testing new dirt, Lloret Trails, 2014.
“I had a crash at the Lost Trails, went
head first and knocked myself out. I still
have some sight problems due to the crash,
I don’t know if I will ever recover from
that or if I will have to live with this
for the rest of my life…”
Is there life after youth?
_
“Of course there is, and it’s much better.
You enjoy the pleasure of riding, when
you are young you don’t really know how
to appreciate it. You ride less, but the
quality is better!”

Is There Life After Youth? 27
Bjorn
Eulink
_
The golden warrior,
40 years old,
definitely a true
old school soldier.
He was born in
Oldenzaal, East
Holland, and started
to ride in the 80’s,
when bikes’ quality
was poor and would
easily break. By
exploring Rap music
and Breakdancing
during his youth,
he thought while
spinning on his
back, there was more
he could do, so he
got a skateboard,
and there was no way
back. After that,
an old Batavus made
out of spare parts
donated by one of
his best friends.
Bjorn was fortunate enough to grow up
in Oldenzaal, home to one of the oldest
skateparks in Holland, built in the 70’s.
Riding there on a daily basis with his
friends was a must, despite the security
guard that didn’t allow bikes on the
snakerun and the broken parts, that would
make him wait for days until the arrival
of new spare parts. Motivated by exploring
and learning new things, he definitely found
his escape from boredom and incapability of
being sat down for a minute. He connected
to the BMX world and local scene through
the dutch zine Fat BMX.
Fast forward 20+ years, Bjorn is proud
of the small Dutch BMX scene and still
loves BMX like day one, even though he is
currently heavily into origami and he would
have been a secret agro ninja if there was
no bike. He lives in Driebergen, has a
girlfriend and is self-employed, working
as an illustrator from time to time,
collecting and selling records and if there
is less work, he renovates and decorates
houses. He tries to ride once a week at
the local indoor park, but his beloved
bowl in Utrechts’ Griftpark will always
be his local spot: “riding my bike after
a day full of grown up stuff clears my
mind”, says Bjorn, who still takes his bike
everywhere in order to meet like minded
people and visit and explore new places.
“It gives you always something new”
Bjorn, Amsterdam, 2013.

Is There Life After Youth? 29
Is there life after youth?
_
“Slayer!”
“I dislocated my shoulder with
skateboarding 10 years ago. A few times
a year it will pop out and in. I do some
training to keep it steady though.”
Well known trick at a well known spot, Marnix Bowl,
Amsterdam 2013

Is There Life After Youth? 31
Edu
Garcia
_
Edu feeling good at home, Lost Trails Mataró, 2014
Edu Garcia is a 34 year old rider from
Granollers, Spain. Around 1997, after
some years riding MTB and following his
childhood fascination for bicycle stunts,
Edu wanted to try something new and decided
to ask for a borrowed BMX bike from the
brand he was riding for at the time. That
was his turning point: MTB was gone and he
bought himself a HB Condor.
In the beginning, Edu and his friends used
to ride the local Granollers Bowls on a
daily basis, every time they had time,
they’d be there. Good mood, good laughs
and riding with your friends was the only
necessary ingredients for having the time
of their lives. Since videos, magazines
and anything related to BMX was so hard to
find back then, those precious goods were
shared inside the community, tightening up
the sense of unity of the BMX kids.
Fast forward 17 years, Edu earns his daily
bread by being an industrial mechanic and
is still riding his BMX with the same
passion as before. When he was around 30,
he stopped riding for a couple of years,
but he couldn’t avoid going back to BMX:
“the sensations you have by riding your
bike... You just forget everything for a
moment! And specially the good moments one
spends with the friends at the trails”.
Nowadays, Edu, David and 3 more friends run
the Lost Trails, and that’s where he spends
more time riding and having a good time
with his friends and visitors. The “riding
every day, every time” philosophy is a bit
different today, and riding time spans can
go from riding a little bit every day to
riding once every other week, depending on
the motivation and work schedule. Edu also
likes to ride Bowls
a lot, together with
the friends that
he started to ride
with.
When asked about
the BMX scene
nowadays, Edu says
that today it is
easier to follow up
what’s happening
everywhere, but
essentially he cares
about trails news
and videos. He also
says that nowadays
the BMX scene is
different: back in
the days, riders
used to ride a
bit of everything,
but today BMX is
heading towards
a specialization
of the different
genres, together
with the
differentiation of
the way of living
different genres.
If there was no
bike Edu says that
there are a thousand
beautiful things
to do in life, that
you could become
interested in and
dedicate your free
time to.

Is There Life After Youth? 33
Is there life
after youth?
_
“After so many years punishing my body, my
back is where I feel more pain nowadays. It
is normal right? I spend times when I suffer
quite a lot, without being able to move
myself or riding. Then I do physiotherapy
and it gets better, and swimming has helping
my back a lot.”
“Certainly there is.
Every period of your
life has good and bad
things; you just need
to set aside the bad
ones and care about
the good ones. Once,
a very dear person
told me: Edu, after
30 is when the life
is better.”
One Foot Table, Lost Trails Mataró, 2014.

Is There Life After Youth? 35
Pedro
Melo
_
Pedro Melo, 30 years
old, born and raised
at Praia da Luz, in
the sunny and pretty
south of Portugal.
Pedro started to
ride in the summer
of 1994, when he was
10, on an old BMX,
because he loved
Motocross. Due to
heart surgery, he
couldn’t practice
team sports; so
he decided to give
it a go learning
how to ride bikes.
His proving ground
was the rough and
slightly downhill
square in front
of the local Luz
church, where he
learned how to
blast all his
flatland moves and
it soon became
his second home.
Pedro rode every
single day, finding
strategies to escape
the hot summer sun by riding very early
in the morning and late in the afternoon.
Motivation was found in the unrest state
of mind to learn new skills on his bike
and share them with friends. He followed
what was going on in the scene by reading
magazines and going to skateparks.
Twenty years have passed since the summer
of 1994 and Pedro is now a tourist guide
showing the visitors of Algarve the wonders
of his own little corner of the world.
He still rides his bike everyday, and the
square in front of the church is still his
second home, knowing it better than his own
hands. When asked why he still rides, Pedro
says “without a doubt rowing against the
good old “calçada portuguesa” and all the
“velhos do Restelo” that are there to pull
you down...and motivation can be found in
this long lasting search for the unknown and
struggle against ones own fears”. Nowadays
he doesn’t follow what is happening in the
BMX scene and he confessed that he never
identified with it, claiming that it was
very hardcore orientated back then and very
fashion orientated nowadays. Pedro and his
friends had their own scene and it was where
that they were happy.
Being very interested about his homeland
when Pedro isn’t riding you can find him
reading and learning about the nature and
culture of Algarve, surfing at his secret
spot or taking care of mint smelling garden.
If there was no bike, Pedro would most
probably skate and surf more or be involved
with culture preservation projects at Praia
da Luz.
Pedro at the church, Praia da Luz, 2014.

Is There Life After Youth? 37
“A classical mistake to be made
when riding...I tried to grind a
handrail that apparently would be
easy with a not so easy entrance.
I crashed three times riding it,
and after the last crash I felt
my knee growing up too fast. So
before it was too late I gave it
a fourth go and crashed again.
Happened that the knee was already
broke and it didn’t react for the
bunnyhop, so I ended up breaking
my teeth and getting a shitload
of stitches, adding it up to the
broken knee.”

Is There Life After Youth? 39
Is there life
after youth?
_
“As I’m trying to answer your question I realize that I’m not
really good with words, I would definitely use my bike if I could.
When you are a bike rider you learn to follow your guts and shape
your own lines, you teach yourself how to be safe in dangerous
soil, and you understand that some of the Earth laws were meant
to be broken. For so many years I have been pedalling against
the beautiful old “calçada portuguesa” and a bunch of “velhos
do restelo” that always have told me I was not gone make it.
But what do they know about the future? What do they know about
tomorrow when they were not even ready for yesterday. Man, there
is a lot more than life after youth, it’s up to you to know if
you have been following your heart,taking enough precautions to
be safe in grown man’s world. Make sure you live for today, and
maybe I will see you tomorrow.”
Pedro and one of his many tricks up his sleeve,
Praia da Luz, 2014.

Is There Life After Youth? 41
On Front Cover: Érico Melo, Barcelona, 2013.
On Back Cover: Renato Silva, Aveiro, 2013.
The photos shown in this book were taken between 2011 and 2014 at
different skateparks, trails and local street spots in Portugal,
Spain, Holland and Germany.
All photos were shot in 35mm film with my beloved Yashica FX-3
Super, except for the photo on page 14-15, shot with a borrowed
Lomo LC-A+.
Thank you for keeping BMX young and fresh.
Tiago chating up some girls, Barcelona, 2013.

Is There Life After Youth?
“Is there life after youth?” is a photography
project about the importance of youth in a
BMXer’s life.
Six riders that already went above the age
of 30 talk about their life and how they
passionately still ride their little kids
bikes, keeping in mind what they truly believe
and love.
Kicked In The Teeth Publications
2014