Thank you for your support!

I’m sure almost everyone that tricks on a fixed gear knows who you are, but go ahead and introduce yourself anyway.
My name is Edward LaForte. I’m from Staten Island New York, and I’m 20 years old.

I know you’ve said it before, but why fixed, not BMX?
Umm, one man moving machine, period.

Hah good answer. Do you even own a BMX bike?
Yes I do I have a FBM Howler all laced up, but I recenly passed it off to my 10 year old brother.

So, on the subject of BMX, do you think that with all of this progression our bikes are going to end up nothing like track bikes and more like big bmx bikes?
Well, that’s already happened. Take a look at the top rider’s bikes; 40c or above, BMX
cranks, half link chains, yeah we’ve gone there already.

I want know about a bit about your bike. What size tires, gearing, how wide are you bars? I heard you run really short crank arms too.
I run 160 profile cranks on my BMX bike and my fixed. I never cut my bars and I run 39/15 with 47c tires.

Those are some big tires. The Kilroy fits them pretty easily?
You can fit up to like 52/53 on the Kilroy. The back end is WIDE!

That Kilroy seems pretty solid. You’re on a production model now, right?
Numero uno.

Nice. It’s been holding up well huh?
BOMB PROOF GUSSETLESS.

They’re pretty expensive though, you think a lot of people are going to get behind them?
I know a few people have ordered one. I mean, you pay for what you’re getting. It’s all Columbus tubing specially made for what wer’e doing and the bike’s beautiful.

You were in Tokyo recently, correct? I see a lot of strange looking set ups and some really fast riding going on over there. What do you think about the Japanese style?
I think there riding style is really cool, but they need to take it off the ground more.

About style…A lot of fixed riders just copy what everyone else is doing. Are you working on anything that hasn’t been seen yet? Any new lines?
Just watch Death Pedal 2. I’ll keep my lines to myself.

Ha, fair enough.

It seems like some people are only into one type of riding. I feel like it’s important to have a diverse style that’s a mix of BMX inspired riding and riding that uses the fixed drivertrain. What do you think?
I think all of the riding is fixed drive train. Everything is inspired from something. F*ck a diverse style I’m gonna do whatever I feel feels good.

I see a lot of kids getting props for hitting tricks that are way sketchy. You think they deserve it? Even if the trick is new/fresh?
No trick is fresh until you land it fresh. Don’t put it out if you land all wobbly.

It seems like a lot a of the big names in the ‘sport’ have been getting away from the fakie side of riding. What about you? What do you think about it?
I never rode fakie and I’ve been saying fuck riding backwards, shit is weak!

Is there anyone that you look up to for their riding? Who are your favorite fixed freestyle dudes?
Um, I started a while ago so I guess my friends. Tom Lamarche, Sam Miller and my best friend Torey. I dont really look up to anyone. Oh hell yeah, and Tyler Johnson

The Banks are closing soon right? You ride there a lot?
I ride everywhere in NY a lot

That’s good. Riding just one spot would get boring. What’s your favorite type of stuff to ride?
Handrails

Yeah? You’ve hit some?
Just two, but recently I’ve figured some things out so you’ll see a lot more, pegless.

That’s awesome. Do you grind driveside?
Yessir, righty

Me too. It’s weird for me to think of a pegless driveside grind on a rail.
You’ll see.

Will I see it in DP2?
Nope. Maybe in a Wrahw exclusive.

What do you think the 2010 holds for fixed freestyle? What do you want to see in 2010?
Road trips, make new friends and have a great time.

Any shout outs or thanks you want to give?
CHARI AND CO, THE ILLEST ONLINE SHOP/SHOP ON THE PLANET.

Shea Hardacre, putting in one-wheeled work and dodging the Michigan winter.

Photo credit – Tim K.

Mike Schmitt, of RVA Fixed!, has been putting Burro’s foot retention system to the test. His riding proved to be a little much for the straps. Not to worry though, Burro is sending a pair of their revised and more durable foot retention out to Mike very soon. Be sure to visit again in the near future for a full review of the new jams as well as exclusive photos of Mike thrashing on them.

Here

How long have you been riding and what got you in to freestyle fixed in the first place?
I have been riding for a little over two years.
I dont remember what really got me into it, but i know that i was familiar with MASH for a while before i started riding. I used to watch that one trailer over and over again… What sealed the deal though, was in the spring of 2007 when i visited NYC for the first time. I saw dudes zooming through traffic in Soho, and after seeing the fun and aesthetics surrounding the riding, i knew that i had to get in on it.

Most people will agree that you have a uniquely developed riding style. What influences your style? How important is style when it comes to riding?
My influences come from all over. I follow all of the major extreme sports out there, seriously. I know tons of skaters, bladers and BMXers, and a lot surround each of the sports. Overall though, I am really into the creative side of any sport, mostly because it never gets boring… Why do the same thing when you can look at your surroundings and things of that nature, and come up with a completely different trick or situation? Im totally into the more thrash, speedy, side of things as well. I try to fuse the two of those things together, creativity and speed, to fabricate my own style.Go fast, get wrecked, have fun.
In terms of style, i feel that it is a key factor in most things in general. It divides you from the rest, and with it, you can be your own deal. A lot of people dont know this, but i am totally a fashion geek. Maybe that has something to do with my thoughts on all that…

What other riders do you look up to? Who, in your eyes, really brings style to the table?
As far as my favorite riders are concerned, my top six in no particular order (and with some biased-ness) are Wonka, Nasty, Tyler Johnson, Tom Lamarche, Tom Mosher, and John “Prolly” Watson. I think, hahaaa. That question is odd.
As far as style goes, Wonka is killing it. I don’t know, if you ever ride with the dude, the energy that he puts off, whether it be in traffic or at any session, is amazing. He gets me pumped to ride, no matter what the situation is. Things are pretty wiley (thrashy) with him, but at the same time, there are some graceful points.

What are you thoughts of the progression of freestyle fixed and what the future has in store?
I think that our sport is doing well at the moment. Wonka and i had a conversation recently at how many companies are coming into freestyle fixed and how many bikes are being produced. It is all pretty nuts. Besides all of that though, I feel that only a phew people are really pushing the sport trick wise, although, everyone has a slight hand in it. We are at a little plateau, but after a phew of these new full lengths come out, people will definitely go out and step up game. Ive seen some stuff done in the past phew months that no one has ever seen. It is ridiculous! I promise you that much.
As for the future, who knows? Hopefully everyone continues to push themselves in their own directions. That is the only way that our sport will develop. Fuck what people think about what you do, or how you ride. If you like it, do it.

Do you have any plans to travel or participate in any events in the upcoming months?
I am in school, so i am not doing much traveling at all. Wonka was trying to get me to come out to Europe, but there is no way. Schools first. Hahaha!
I am planning on hosting a WRAHW exclusive trip this summer. I have invited a good amount of riders (Travis you are invited of course) to come to NYC to partake in a bangin mini trip. Hopefully it works out. After joining the GOrilla family, there are some summer trips that are in the works with them as well. SoI am stoked about all that.

You’re riding for GOrilla now. Congratulations. What’s the story there?
Well not a lot of people know, but i was going to be on GOrilla flow,way before I was sponsored by anyone. Thomas came to NYC to meet Wonka, and I met Thomas and we were going to work some things out. Long story short, i got picked by another company before GOrilla was fully solidified and so I ran with that, while still being friends with Thomas, and Wonka of course. Wonka wanted me on GOrilla from the start, and has always joked about me getting on and being his team mate. This summer, after some things changed with some of my sponsors, Wonka and Thomas both agreed that I would be a good addition to the family. I was stoked then, and I am stoked now! Hahaha. Thanks again, guys.

Any ‘shout outs’ or thanks you’d like to give?
My mom, sis, and family support me and my oddities, so thanks for that. Thanks to all of my friends on and off the bike… Wonka is my best boy and he looks out for a dude, always. So, for sure, shout outs to him. Tom Briggs and everyone in the Skitch/Revival family, I love you dudes. Honestly. Thanks to all the supporters of my riding, whether you helped out a little or a lot, its all relative. NYC represent, for sure! Lastly, thanks to you man, for asking me these questions and getting me to think, even though school strains me to do so always. Ha.

Why don’t you give a little insight into who Kareem Shehab is and what Death Pedal 2 is about.
Hey Travvy, well in a nutshell I’m a 23 year old Engineering Graduate Student at the Georgia Institute of Technology who grew up rollerblading and making skate videos. I broke my leg and tore my acl blading a few years ago and that’s why I picked up fixed gear. In my free time I like to smoke dust and kill animals.

So, what sets this video apart from Death Pedal and the other videos on the market?
Death Pedal 2 is a continuation of the Death Pedal Saga. What I’m trying to do is bring some diversity to fixed gear movies by using my background in skate videos to make a bike movie. DP is all about getting tricks and having fun.

Who’s going to be featured in the video? Any fresh faces?
Welllll…. yes. Eric Puckett, AJ Austin, Congo, and Matt Spencer are getting their first video parts in this video. We are also revisiting some old riders from the first video as well parts on Torey Thornton, Wonka, and Corey Vulture. I feel like the lineup pretty much speaks for itself.

Where can viewers expect to see riding going down?
Los Angeles, Houston, Austin, Macon Georgia, New York, Seattle, San Diego, Europe, Japan…

Why is it that you don’t shoot in HD? Are there any other defining characteristics of your shooting style?
It’s not that I don’t like HD. I just don’t think I can get the feel I want in my videos with an HD camera, although the new nike video “debacle” has kinda swayed my opinion recently. Basically, all my favorite skate videos growing up (all the Rejects Videos, The apple series, Baker, especially deathwish) are Raw and in your face shot on VX1000′s, GL’s, or the like. They’re all about the tricks and the people in the video. To me these videos are timeless because they have PERSONALITY and really give the viewer a sense of what the people who are featured are like. They have a lot of replay value and they don’t need an expensive HD camera to achieve this. Time lapse clouds/cities and slow mo shots of people riding/skating are cool and all but seeing that doesn’t get me pumped to ride or whatever. I think shots like that are quite beautiful but I think its very important to be able to give the viewer an insight to all the crazy personalities of your riders
cuz they’re all a bunch of kooks!

As for my filming style, I’d say I’m very into handheld shots, good fisheye work and long tracking shots. Straight cuts are a must. I try not to take myself too seriously which is why you’ll see a lot of humorous interludes.

For the most part you travel to the locations, film, edit and produce everything yourself, correct? How is that working out for you?
Its dope. Getting a chance to travel all these places in person gives me the opportunity to show people firsthand what its like hanging out with the riders in their cities. What I really aim to do when I put a section together is give the viewers a window to the hearts and souls of these avant garde individuals who walk the razors edge every day! Just kidding… but not really…

Do you have a projected release date for the video? What about a price?
If all goes as planned, I’ll be wrapping up with Puckett and AJ next week and then going to new york to finish up torey and wonkas parts. dvd’s will be somewhere around 60 or 70 bucks.

Anyone you’d like to holler at or thank?
I’d like to thank My girlfriend Katie, My family, my new pet cat Shanaynay, Everyone who is in the video puttin in work, Leader Bikes, Velocity Wheels, Fixkin hubs, VagX, Gost, FRSH, Loose Nuts, Fyxation Tires, Sean McCormick, Lingo, Mash and Maca crews for putting out some dope videos, Velo Cult, Adams Ave, Ye Olde Bike Shop, No Brakes, ODB and the WU, all my frooty booty friends, and anyone who enjoyed one of my videos. GG lives… Shazam!