Lane 8 BMX Podcast

I was excited for this interview and I think you can tell.  Todd Parry is a straight winner. When he lines up in the gate you automatically know this man isn't there for anything less than crossing the line first. We did this interview on Sunday. It was interesting to get his perspective on his start in the sport, winning his first national in Stockton, California, being the 2005 ABA World #1 Vet Pro to winning over 150 main events between 2010 - 2016 and becoming a world champion in 2017. After taking nearly seven years off he's back to race the 2024 World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina. We talked about his preparations for the race, his mental game and what bikes he's riding. This interview will be released in two parts. So, enjoy this hour long conversation from one of the best in the sport. 

I was excited for this interview and I think you can tell.  Todd Parry is a straight winner. When he lines up in the gate you automatically know this man isn't there for anything less than crossing the line first. We did this interview on Sunday. It was interesting to get his perspective on his start in the sport, winning his first national in Stockton, California, being the 2005 ABA World #1 Vet Pro to winning over 150 main events between 2010 - 2016 and becoming a world champion in 2017. After taking nearly seven years off he's back to race the 2024 World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina. We talked about his preparations for the race, his mental game and what bikes he's riding. This interview will be released in two parts. So, enjoy this hour long conversation from one of the best in the sport. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

I feel like I made a new friend when I got to speak with Papa G. Not one of those acquaintances but a real friend. He has that way of making you feel like you've known him for years and we actually talk all the time. He was just cool and funny. Papa G to me is one of the most well known and liked people in BMX and he isn't even pro. For years I heard about him and everything has been good. I'm like I got a podcast and I need to talk to this guy. I'm glad the St. Louis, Missouri native accepted the invitation. If you remember Papa G had a really bad crash at Grands last year. He's still recovering from that leg breaking situation. During this interview we talked about his recovery, family, BMX in the St. Louis area, how he got started and why he plans to continue. I hope you enjoy this interview because I surely did. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Todd Kay is celebrating 40 years of BMX. He recently was inducted into the Omaha BMX Track Hall of Fame. Kay is originally from Long Island, New York. He raced mostly NBL. His first race was at Newbridge BMX Track and from the first time getting on a track Kay says BMX was his sport. He raced as much as he could. Kay remembers well piling his friends into his 75 Chevy van heading out to local and national races. Once out of high school Todd would go to college and continue racing on the weekend. He would eventually leave school and start working at an ice rink. That ice rink was built on the very spot where the Newbridge BMX Track used to be. Kay would eventually meet his now wife Gail at the ice rink.Getting to Nebraska and eventually moving there was as simple as visiting family and buying a house. Once moving to the cornhusker state Kay's racing and volunteerism ramped up. He would eventually become a track operator for seven years at Omaha BMX. To the present, Kay is racing BMX, mountain bikes and riding gravel events with his wife Gail. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Holly Dunn is originally from Colorado. She started racing around 1982. Her Brother chad raced and she soon followed. Her first race was at Boothill BMX. Soon after she started racing her family moved to Arizona. Moving to AZ really kicked off her racing. The first team she rode for was Bike Barn. Dunn says she raced the boys most times. She says it was normal for her and her brother to hit three local races each day on weekends.  Dunn says hitting the national circuit soon followed. Her first factory team that sent all over the country was called ESP. Literally Dunn says she hit every race she could. The one thing she told she never worried about was burn out. Leaving ESP she went to Pedal Power for a short stint and eventually landed on the all girl team Titan. Eventually Dunn walked away from BMX. Before coming back in 2015 she would have two kids with freestyle legend Jim Burgess and living a bit of life. By 2018 Dunn said she enough is enough and moved on from BMX again. But like I say "Once BMX is in your blood it's hard to stay away." Dunn is back racing again on a part time bases. She even qualified for worlds this year. In this interview we also touch on her friendship with Robert Raymonde, losing Burgess, and her desire to continue racing. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Colin Stiles is one of the most colorful people in BMX. He's well known for the Transit videos series which I would think most of you world wide enjoyed. If I look in one of my bins in the garage I can guarantee you I would find probably two or three Transit videos. Stiles is the man behind "Stile Industries" with the cool t-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts. He also has a long history of running BMX clinics all over the country. What you may not know is that Colin is a former A Pro and Vet Pro racer from right here in the Sunshine State. Colin has his own opinions about BMX and what I like about him is that no matter if his opinions are right or wrong he stands by them. This interview I really enjoyed and it's quite lengthy so I'll do this in two parts. Enjoy. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Colin Stiles is one of the most colorful people in BMX. He's well known for the Transit videos series which I would think most of you world wide enjoyed. If I look in one of my bins in the garage I can guarantee you I would find probably two or three Transit videos. Stiles is the man behind "Stile Industries" with the cool t-shirts, hats, and sweatshirts. He also has a long history of running BMX clinics all over the country. What you may not know is that Colin is a former A Pro and Vet Pro racer from right here in the Sunshine State. Colin has his own opinions about BMX and what I like about him is that no matter if his opinions are right or wrong he stands by them. This interview I really enjoyed and it's quite lengthy so I'll do this in two parts. Enjoy. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Anthony Cox is originally from Australia. His first move to Japan was in 1992. Before he even flew over he studied the language for four years. He stayed for four years and went back home. He says it took him till 2008 to return to Japan and live for good. Cox says he simply feels more comfortable living in Japan. He says his values are more in line with the culture. Cox says the BMX community in Japan is relatively small. He says there's about twelve racing tracks throughout the entire country. Cox says surprisingly there are no tracks in Tokyo. He says the racing is growing quickly. Local races at one time would bring in around a hundred riders and now he says the number is up to three-hundred. Here's something you may have not known, Cox is the sole importer and distributor for Redline bikes in Japan. Alfonso Giganti, that's right, "Papa G," is helping with that situation. Cox returned to racing after thirty-five years in 2020. In 2023 he finished 2nd in the 30 and over division. He's planning to better that standing in 2024.Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

I think it would be ok to say that Matthew Pohlkamp is a jack of all trades or rather a renaissance man. He went from having a great BMX career to becoming an established actor in Hollywood. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio he began his racing career at 11 years old. His dad bought him a Huffy bike from a grocery store. The first track he hit was River Star BMX. Pohlkamp got second in his first race. By the next year he was racing state races. When he turned expert by his own admission Pohlkamp says he got waxed. Hard work saw him eventually get picked up by the iconic brand S&M. Throughout his career he would ride for companies like DK, twice, Schwinn, Kuwahara, to Dan's Comp. Before his career ended Pohlkamp would race in the XGames and become a world champion. Pohlkamp got the acting bug after a friend encouraged him to take an acting class. From that day he's never looked back. He's done commercials, movies, and he recently finished work on the show "Grey's Anatomy." The episode is expected to run in April of this year. So, when I first said Pohlkamp is a jack of all trades I wasn't joking.  Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Tom Johnson calls Palm Coast, Florida home. Daytona BMX is his home track. At Grands in 2023 Johnson accomplished one out of two goals that season. He came away from the greatest race on earth as NAG #1 in the 56 and over class. He skillfully made it happen even after suffering a horrific crash that left him with broken ribs and blood clots weeks before Grands. He believes the rest he was forced to take actually helped him in Tulsa. I can't argue with that statement. Johnson says he started racing in 1981 at the age of thirteen in Connecticut. Johnson says he wasn't a natural at the sport but hard work pays off. He says he raced up down the coast from Connecticut to New York, New Jersey to Pennsylvania. Johnson would eventually stop racing in 1985. He would join a band and play guitar. Before he jumped back into the sport he would get married and have kids. In the 90's he would get back on the bike and eventually turn pro. Yes, he turned pro for SE Racing at the tender age of 30 years old. Johnson would eventually reclassify. A year out of the sport meant he would ride his bike but no racing. Around this time he moved to Florida and his racing would kick in. This guy has raced for some really cool teams like Standard, Yess, and now SSquared. This season Johnson is focused on one goal and that is two #1 plates at the end of Grands. I believe he's going to get what he's striving for. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

August 11th 2022 Connor Fields announces he's retiring from BMX. He says it was a difficult decision to make. He says literally his career ended on a body board. He suffered a traumatic head injury during the Tokyo Olympics from a crash. Connor told me it's not the way he envisioned the way his career would end. He said there was a moment he considered coming back for one more race. In the end he decided the good didn't outweigh the bad. So, Connor decided it was time to move on with life. The three time Olympian says he learned multiple life lessons from sport. He says he's able to use those lessons in his daily life now. A few of those traits he uses daily are discipline and focus. At the moment he's working as the host of "Outdoor Nevada." The show is on the PBS station in Nevada. He says it covers various topics like a waterfalls, old abandon ghost towns to mountain biking . Connor says they shoot for a three month period all over the great state of Nevada. He also is working as an agent, doing some public speaking and coaching. On an elite level he's working with young pro Joey Leto. Connor says BMX came naturally to him. He won Grands in his first year. He says he was all skill till 18-19 years old. He then was able to build that power to balance things out. As an amateur he won two NAG titles plus a NAG title in cruiser. Before he even turned pro he won a World Cup at 16 years old. At the moment Fields says his sponsors, Chase Bicycles to Monster Energy drink continue to support him. Plus he's still working out to stay fit.  Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Jason Donnell is one of the most impressive racers in the history of BMX. It's rare to say someone was talented at BMX from jump street but he was.  Donnell's career spanned more than two decades. He raced on some iconic teams like GT, GHP, Redline and CW to name a few.  In this episode of the "Lane 8 BMX Podcast" Donnell and I talk about the beginning of his career, the travel to burnout several times that nearly ended his career. These days he's helping his two boys with their cart racing, riding a mountain bike and simply enjoying life. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Christopher Diaz has been racing for a long time. He started racing in the 7th grade in New Jersey 1989. His first race he got second. He loved it he says. Diaz raced mostly local and state races with the occasional national.He says at the time he was more power than skill. One of his favorites races from back then was the NBL's Christmas Classic. Diaz says he eventually turned expert at seventeen. He admits for a while he did sandbag for a season. He wanted to get his state number one. Diaz says the transition to expert was difficult. financially Diaz says he couldn't get to many nationals. Things began to change when he started working for TNT. He says working at TNT was his best and worst job. Eventually the owner of TNT put him on the factory team. This allowed him to race two and a half full seasons of nationals. Then one day he called it quits. He says racing began feeling like a job. So, he moved to Arkansas with his wife at the time and didn't think about. But as the saying goes, "Once a racer always a racer." He started racing again and eventually moved back to Jersey.  He eventually began racing for TNT Bicycles and that's where he's been ever since. Now he's living in Colorado with his fiancé Susie Levan and his mom. Yes, he's still racing. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Tracer Finn started his racing career in 1975 with his older brother Mike. His first assigned number was #480. Finn and his brother would race on a regular basis at Desert Surf and Williams Raceway back in the day. He says he wasn't very good when he started. His first sponsor was his dad. His first idol was a racer by the name of Sam Meek. Finn started lighting up the tracks around Nevada. At one point he was ranked #2 rider in the nation for the now defunct NBA. At the same time he was ranked #1 in Nevada in 16 and over expert. With this kind of stature his good friend Mike Miranda put in a good word for him to get on the famous CW racing team. He was always known for his jumping skills. Finn had many "Hot Shot" features in BMX Action. Finn turned pro in 1983 but was already working in show business which is the family business as a lighting expert. For a while he promoted and ran mountain bike races, Police athletic league events, and even owned a bike shop. For four years Finn was the team manager for specialized. He says working with riders during the X Games gave him a chance to live his childhood all over again. Today Finn continues to work in show business. Plus, he's in the National BMX Hall of Fame. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

20 year old Jesse Asmus is a determined young man. He clearly knows what he wants to do in life and BMX. He told me in order for him to become the best he's going to have to leave Australia. He says Sam Willoughby has inspired him to strive for greatness. Presently Asmus is ranked 4th in the world for U23. Last year he won the Oceania Championships and the overall Australian National series. Crazy to think it was his first year doing international racing. Asmus says the bigger the race the more pumped he gets to succeed. In 2024 he's working on his gates and first straight. He's planning to do the World Cup Calendar and spend some time here in the U.S. racing. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Factory Full Tilt is a dope team. The team got their first number one factory title back in 2018 as Full Tilt Bike Co. Since then the Minnesota based team has been under the guidance of Jim Buchanan.  He's taken that team to five straight titles including one in 2023. When I spoke with Buchanan he was at his shop. He told me there were times last season that he didn't think the team was going to be able to keep the streak alive. By the time Grands rolled around he says they won the R.O.C. and Grands. Damn! Buchanan says it's really a testament to the parents and kids who travel all over the country to make it happen. In this interview Buchanan and I talk about organizing a team, how he picks riders for certain races, picking riders for the team, and the misconception people have about the pressures of riding for the best team in the nation.Here's an interesting little fact about Buchanan, he restores old cars for a living. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

It is the first day of 2024 and this is the first episode of the new year. Leading us off is a young man from Switzerland, Arthur Claessens. We did this interview at the end of 2023. At the time Claessens was in the middle of his military service with the Swiss Army. Sitting down with him and doing this interview I quickly realized I liked him. Claessens is intelligent, motivated, and humble at the same time. While doing his military service Claessens is working on his 2024 preparations for the new season. He's hitting the gym and literally riding on tracks in the dead of winter in Switzerland. He told me they have to shovel snow to ride tracks. In 2024 his focus isn't what you would think it would be. He's not concentrating on the Olympics but rather the World Championships and World Cups. He's looking further down the road to the summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.He finished his season at the prestigious St. Etienne BMX Indoor race. He made it as far as the semi on Sunday. Truth be told, any and everyone I've spoken to about that race has told me the fields are stacked and the racing is fast. Crazy thing is he's raced St. Etienne for 14 years.Claessens comes from a family of BMX racers starting with his dad Vincent. In fact his dad started one of the first BMX clubs in Switzerland in 1983. Out of six kids in the Claessens family four are currently racing. If you don't know is sister Zoe Claessens you've been living in a cave. She's dope. Arthur, I wish you the best of luck in 2024. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Charlie Williams has a long history in BMX. He's raced for such iconic teams as Robinson, Hutch, GHP, and currently Zeronine. Lately though he's known more for the incident that unfolded at Grands with Harry Leary. He took an elbow to the back right after the finish line from Leary. Over the next month things went viral with Leary's response to the incident on social media and an interview with this very podcast. For his actions he was dropped by Factory Daylight and given a suspension from USA BMX. Since Williams was on the receiving end of the elbow by Leary I thought it best to reach out to him and get his side of the story.  He graciously agreed to do an interview with me. Not only did we speak about Grands but also about racing for Hutch and his recent move to Florida. I rather enjoyed this interview not just because of the Grands stuff but getting to speak with Charlie on all things BMX.Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

By now everyone has heard or seen what happened at Grands between Harry Leary and Charlie Williams who rides for Factory Zeronine. Leary says it's been an on going thing between him and Williams all season and it came to a head with an elbow to the back at Grands . This interview with Leary took place on December 7th while he was driving. I wanted to hear from him and get his views on the incident, the backlash, and losing Daylight Cycle Co. as a sponsor. In the end he's been suspended by USA BMX and under the same circumstances he told me he'd do it again. Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Michele Tomizioli is in the process of preparing for the 2024 season. He recently ended his season at the famous St. Etienne Indoor race in France. Just for reference St. Etienne is about an hour or so outside of Lyon. Tomizioli is from a town called San Giovanni Lupatoto it's not far from Verona, Italy. The 25 year old elite rider is coming off a difficult season. It all started with a back injury from the 2022 season. Right after racing the Verona European Cup in 2023 he had to pull the plug for two months. It took him a minute to get the thing straightened out. Once he got going it was like playing catchup the rest of the season. Tomizioli has made some much needed changes. He's changed from an Italian to a French coach. This means he'll be spending more time in France next year. He thinks the change will help him when it comes to the technical skills on the bike. Literally we did the interview when he'd just come back from France from having a training camp. Surprisingly Tomizioli's focus next season will primarily be the European Cup series, selected World Cups and the European Championships which are being held in Verona, Italy. Dude is cool and a fun interview. I hope you enjoy our talk as much as I did.  Fit, Healthy & Happy Podcast Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify