Name?
Dave Clarke
Age?
52
Area you reside?
Originally Burton upon Trent but moved to York 9 years ago as my wife Michelle lived there.
When did you get into BMX?
A boy who lived near me had a dad who worked abroad. He bought him a Mongoose Moto 1 back from one of his trips. This was early 80s and nobody I knew had seen a BMX (hadn’t heard that name myself at that point) back then. I ended up buying it but parts were nowhere to be found (the bearings fell out the one-piece crank) so it sat rusting till a paper round funded a super tuff burner a year or two later.
First BMX?
Moto 1, Super Tuff Burner then a DP freestyler Frameset, I was hooked!
Current BMX?
A 2017 T1 Barcode and a Bicycle Union Prime Mover V2, the latter being the bike I ride mostly.
Favourite place to ride?
In the past, living in Burton we were central to a lot of places. Favs from back then and the people we regularly met at those spots were-
1. Birmingham Wheels, Regulars (Jason Hewitt, Andy Lawrence, Liam Ward (RIP), Ian Harrison).
2. Wicksteed Park, Regulars (James Beale, Daz Gascoyne, Stewart Paling, Brian Wills, Dave Colledge, Chilly, Glyn). Some great weekends there. Plus they had a halfpipe in Geddington I think?
3. Derby Alvaston Ramp, Regulars (Phil, Kaz, Big John, Chris Radford, Ads).
Nowadays it’s a toss-up between time/distance. A skatepark 10 miles away has had a vert ramp restored (Malton, North Yorkshire)so I’ve been riding there. Hull Rock City till they closed the bowl. York has a skatepark but it’s the usual council attempt so not much usable and usually full of scooters!
Top 3 BMX-related memories?
1. Pulling my First decade drop in on vert. It wasn’t a trick I could practice as I didn’t have access to a vert ramp. I spent a lot of time practising the motion on curbs till I took it to mini ramps. Then (I think Farnham comp) I pulled it. I’d slammed bad on a few previous attempts, so the feeling when I rode it out was amazing. To top it off Scott Carroll (RIP) came running over and shook my hand! That guy was a big hero of mine!
2. Weekends in Sheffield with the Carve crew, Chris Hardy, George (GSport Mastermind) Waddy, Ben, Dave Proctor. My mate Gaz Behan was staying at there’s and we’d go up, me, Mark Goring, Nathan, Pid and Derby crew. Chris really opened my eyes to street riding. They rode in the night and just a totally different mindset to what I was used to. The whole urban landscape became a ramp/skatepark. The Carve jams at the Kelvin Bank were awesome. The Mayhem Crew (Jim Thomlinson, Mad Jon, Critch, Jesse, Chris Hamer, and Harry (sorry if missed anyone)) all came over. It was a very rough area, so must have been a sight with all these guys jumping up walls, etc. as it was surrounded by high-rise flats.
3. The Southsea comps were amazing. I took a bad slam one year and missed a day as I had to stay in hospital (think the crash features on a BSD video). I misjudged a nothing over the jump box and landed face first. But the whole weekends were just such a laugh. Highlights were Brian Wills fast planting out the park and Geoff Catlow on Mic saying you’ll have to pay get back in! Zack Shaw’s transfer from the bowl to wall ride was sick! Dennis Wingham doing his stuff in Satan’s toilet. Jerry Galley on the mini ramp. He defied what was possible back then….I could go on…Genius.
Influences?
1. I think the first influence was seeing Glyn Lewis (hence the DP Freestyler I bought) riding bowls. Prior to seeing freestyle, I’d just raced/jumped stuff. Those pics blew my mind. I had experienced the feeling of being in the air but this opened up a whole new world. You go up, airtime and possibly a manoeuvre and back down. Then I saw the Pipeline stuff, Fiola, Dominguez, Blyther etc.
2. Chris Hardy and the Carve Crew….Make the most of what’s around. Street was in its infancy back then. Even when I’m out with family or whatever you unconsciously see potential lips, transitions, lines whatever…..It’s a blessing and a curse!!
3. Seeing that ride cover with Scott Malyon doing a fuf in the rafters made me go out and buy a bike after not riding for a few years. It just blew my mind, reminded me of when you’d have to work a trick out over and over in your
Who are your perfect people to share a deck with?
Anybody I’ve ever shared a deck with past or future.
Music?
Yeah, it’s a massive chunk of my time.I have a studio which I’ve built over the last 20 years. Love the heavier end of metal/drum and bass/breakcore/hardcore etc. Dabble in the heavy dub electronics when making my own stuff.
Favourite BMX Video Section?
The Head First vids and 2hip were literally all we watched back then. Any Dave Osato stuff still blows minds. Big fan of Sean Burns street riding, man’s got balls! Newer stuff the fast and loose crew.
Favourite single clip from BMX Video?
Any Matt Hoffman vids.
Other interests?
Music, go to a lot of gigs/festivals.
Last words?
I’d like to say a huge thank you to the Winfield family who put on the comps and Ripley club on weekends to help riders progress by letting them access ramps etc. I lived for those chances to ride the quarter pipes at weekends. Then you got to see the best of the best at comps.
Keep Rollin!
