Jam Swag

T and I spent 4 hours at NEID Studio 122 screening shirts, jackets, hoodies, patches and bandannas for the the upcoming bmx jams. We're headed back tonight to get more work done and start on some TYRANT signs and a hand-painted vinyl banner (which may or may not be done by Saturday's jam). Lots of work done and lots more to be done! Be sure to bring some spending money this weekend, I've got lots of merch to move!

Rock TYRANT 80's style, sew these patches on anything!












Same shirt designs, new dope metallic blue ink!

Stratford Jam - THIS SATURDAY!!!

This Saturday is the Stratford Jam, so get your a$$ down there! The original forecast of rain has been changed and they are saying partly cloudy and 50 now...rad! I will have some stuff for sale so bring some extra spending cash! I'll also be donating a bunch of stuff for a Product Toss or Prizes...whatever the locals decided to do.

T-Shirts - $10
Hoodies - $20
Track Jackets -$25
Pint Glasses - $5
"F Ups" - $5 (shirts that got messed up during screening)
Punk Rock Style Patches - $1
(Sew 'em on anything and rock TYRANT 80's style!!!)
...and lots of FREE stickers!














Directions to the park from Central CT area:
- 91 South to 95 South
- 95 South to Exit 31
- Left at the bottom of the exit ramp onto South Ave.
- Follow South Ave. to Main Street
- Turn right on Main and follow for 1.6 miles
- Turn left into South Beach Park / Dorne Drive
- Park the car and get on your bike!

1st Saturday of Spring

T and I took a drive down to scope out the Stratford Park where next weekends jam is taking place. The park is small, but has a lot of potential and it should be a fun day. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather. Right now the weather man is saying 75% chance of rain for next Saturday! After Stratford we headed to Macisco's shop to get T a kayak and some boating accessories. Mike's shop was jamming, which is great to see! Lots of BMX kids visiting the shop and tons of other customers. While waiting for Mike I helped out hustling a few repairs up from the basement and installing a wedge post and new seat on a BMX bike flashing back to my Pedal Power days. Thanks for taking care of us Mike and staff! This afternoon I picked up Arnwine and we sessioned Newington for a few hours before heading to Clinton to meet up with the Baklik brothers. Bryan was going off at Newington manualing the box rail, pulling out downside fastplants, tailwhips, and other ninja moves. Steve B. is off to hike the Appalachian Trail for the next few months which is totally rad and he's trying to get some solid riding time in before he leaves. Don't be fooled, Steve may be rocking a huge beard these days, but it doesn't weigh him down! He was boosting Clinton's mini-ramp! Arnwine found a hurdle and decided to test his ups...and he's got 'em! The sun was shining, it wasn't too cold, and lots of fun was had! Spring is here and I'm stoked to be riding and spending time with friends!

Today's Photos: CLICK HERE

New Hats!!!

Check out the new TYRANT lids! None of that poser punk, West Coast wanna-be, flat brim, wankster sh!t here! You can take your $50 "New Error" hats and shove 'em! These FlexFIT caps are black with a white embroidered outline of the original TYRANT logo and will be available in sizes S/M and L/XL. These hats will be in stock in the next few weeks and are bound to sell fast! Get on it and contact me to pre-order yours today!

FlexFIT TYRANT Hats - $20.00

More Jam Donors!

A huge thanks to Vic at Circuit BMX, Bill & Gary at PEDAL POWER, Mike at FAT TRAX, and Ben at STAMPEDE for donating some FREE swag for the SPRING has SPRUNG jam! Click on the links and check these guys out! I'll continue to update the flyer as more donors offer to help out.

The Streets of M-Town

We rounded up a crew and rode some street in Middletown this evening. Bikes and bros wasting the night away...super fun! We made our way to Spear and the Harbor. Some guys were considering heading up to Wesleyan but we heard rumors of a bunch of guys getting chased by public safety earlier in the evening. Like I always say, stay away from Wesleyan!

Tonight's photos: CLICK HERE

Manther with a rack-pick

Spring has Sprung!

Spring officially starts tomorrow and I'm going to kick-off the riding season right with a jam next month to celebrate. Come ride bikes and have fun!















I'm waiting to hear back from a bunch more companies about "FREE Swag" donations to a huge product toss. As more companies sign on I'll update the flyer.

What Goes Up Doesn't Come Down!

Thanks to PLEGs, which I recently put on my bike, I've been doing a whole lot more grinding. Having the ability to slide aluminum, raw concrete, wood, and any other surfaces metal pegs would bind up on is opening a whole new realm of riding! All this new peg trickery has also helped me discover that I am a complete wacko! I am scared sh!tless to go down handrails, mainly cause I don't want to fall on my face again...but I've found I can go up them pretty easily? I've never been a rail guy, but I have 3 up-rails under my belt in the past 2 days. I have a few spots I want to hit up this week and with the Spring-like weather here night time street riding sessions are going to begin. Go buy some PLEGs and come ride!

XI

Shawn Hebrank and Albie Rock are at in again collabing on some madness! Save your lunch money, collect cans, do whatever you have to do...just get to 11. For a mere $11 you can rock the hotness. Head over to Shawn or Albie's site to get one of these shirts!

Best of 2008

I decided to do a "Best of" photo series from last year since I had a ton of photos of Arnwine and "Tiny TYRANT" Brandon. Check out the "Best of 2008" sets over at the TYRANT Photo Page.

Roadtrip Anyone?

As T and I were driving around the Manchester, Vermont area while on our ski vacation last week I noticed some ramps out of the corner of my eye. I found an entrance to a town park and sure enough there before us was a pretty rad wooden park with some big ramps. One of the lines here reminded me of the Mullaly Rink set-up in NYC. There was a 6 foot quarter to drop in on which lead into 2 back to back street spines and ended into a huge bank to slant wallride. I'm thinking we need to roadtrip it 3 hours to Vermont this Summer and ride this park along with a few others on the way there. Check out the Bondville Skatepark! This is 15 minutes from the Manchester Park, but I heard they are cut throat about the "No Bikes" rule. Maybe we can sneak in an early AM session? Either way, we need to head North one weekend this Summer!

Manchester, VT Park: CLICK HERE

4 Parks in 6 Hours...solo!

Today was amazing, the ideal Spring day (even though Spring is still 6 days away!). It was in the low 50's and I rode for 6 hours traveling to 4 different parks. T was in Rhode Island for the day and Arnwine and Schmidt were busy, which left me and my bike traveling around CT for the day solo. I started out at the Bristol Park watching "Tiny TYRANT" and his friends kill it. 7 stair set 180's and 360's, free coaster madness, and I even witness a skater break his nose taking a mean digger. Somebody please explain to me how this helmetless kid only walks away with a broken nose and every time I fall on my face I lose teeth, require stitches, and get concussions...and I have my helmet on! That ain't right! The man, the myth, the legend, "The Hammer" showed up to skate the bowl and was killing it. He has a wife, 2 dogs, and a new home, but the dude finds time to skate...priorities! I made a quick exit from Bristol as droves of kids flocked to the park between 1-2pm. I hit up Newington, Wethersfield, and the Cromwell Park, each for an hour and then headed home. My whole body hurts, my left knee is the size of a grapefruit, and I have a vicious blister on my right pinkie. Damn I love riding!

Today's Photos: CLICK HERE

Reed Zacharias boosting the hump at Wethersfield

More Decals

More vinyl window decals are in, this time rocking the old school font like I had on the back of the Chee years back. If you want one of these 12" decals for your vehicle contact me...and I'll install if for you! These are white all weather vinyl decals with an outdoor life of 5+ years. That's 5+ years of showing some TYRANT love. Get on it!

Tiny TYRANT's Compund

Arnwine and I headed over to Tiny TYRANT's place today to ride his backyard set-up. Lots of people showed up, nobody got hurt, and everyone had a great time. Those kids are getting so good...I felt like an old man! A huge thanks to the Begin's for having us over and a special thanks to Pops for building us a plexiglass wallride and treating us to pizza for lunch. THANK YOU, WE APPRECIATE IT! I'm signing off for a few days, headed up to Stratton with T for some skiing action and relaxation. Talk to everyone late in the week when we return.

Check out today's Photos: CLICK HERE

Stratford Jam update...

I just got word from Mike C. of the CT Pedal Mulisha that the Stratford Town Council is supporting the jam which should make for a fun, hassle free day. For all of us that are not Stratford town residents, YOU NEED TO FILL OUT A WAIVER. In addition the city asked that we follow a few basic rules, they're all common sense...respect one another and the park! NO FIGHTING, NO SWEARING, NO STEALING, NO ALCOHOL, NO DRINKS ON THE RAMPS, OBEY ALL STAFF MEMBERS, NO LITTERING (TYRANT will be supplying trash bags!) and HELMETS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES!

If you're going to start sh!t about the helmet rule, STAY HOME! Mikey Aitken almost died because he didn't have a helmet on.
NO HELMET=NO RIDE=NO EXCEPTIONS!!

CLICK HERE, PRINT THE 2 WAIVER PAGES, FILL THEM OUT, AND BRING THEM TO THE JAM

Stratford Jam

I was contacted by some of the Local BMX Crew and asked if I'd like help support a jam at the Stratford Skatepark on Saturday, March 28th from 11 am till dark. Mark your calendars! I'm gathering up some troops and hoping to have a few car loads leaving from Pedal Power around 10am that Saturday morning, come join us and follow the caravan down. The park is one of those metal set-ups but it looks pretty fun and I'm always down to ride new places with new faces.

NOTE: This is Stratford, down past Bridgeport, not Stafford up by UCONN!

BRRRRRRRRRistol!

We rode the Bristol Skatepark for 5 hours yesterday and it was a really fun time. My right hand almost froze and fell off while shooting photos, but other than that it was a great day.

Bristol Photos: CLICK HERE

Matt Barchus with a big icepick

Stickers are in!

Hundreds of black vinyl stickers arrived today!













also, a new shirt up at the TYRANT Store

Feb. Haven Rental

Last night's Haven rental was pretty wild and crazy. We had BMXers, fixies, flatland, MTB, a little skateboarding, and some freestyle walking going on. Just like last month, the vibe was really chill...which you never get a regular skatepark session. It was good to see Vic from Circuit BMX and some of his buddies head down from Rhode Island. In addition, some of the Scorchers made an appearance again and appeared to have a good time. Thanks to everybody who showed up! I'm shooting for 9-midnight next month, a 3 hour session.

February Rental Photos: CLICK HERE

Reed Z. spine to wallride

Guest Artist Shirt: Jason Patrician

Jason got me his shirt design late last night and it's really rad. Jason incorporated a photo he took a few years ago at the TYRANT Jam with some illustration work creating a flowy piece. Head over to the TYRANT Store to grab one of these limited edition shirts.

Guest Artist Shirt: SHAWN HEBRANK

Shawn's shirt is now available for purchase at the TYRANT Store. Get on that! Mr. Hebrank always has amazing ideas and this "Raging Rhino" is pure awesomeness!

DropOut 80s Jam

LAST NIGHT WAS NUTS, in true 80's metal fashion!
People were going off, Rob Clancy rocketed over a 41" high bar to take home the bunnyhop title, some lunatic kids slid under a 36" bar to take home the bicycle limbo, and all in all it was a rad night!

Last night's photos: CLICK HERE

Guest Artist Shirts

So I'm a little behind schedule, but the first 2 guest artist shirts are going to hit with a bang soon! Shawn Hebrank and Jason Patrician both have shirt designs that will being going up on the TYRANT Store next week. Stay tuned!

ROCK OUT TONIGHT!!!!

80's Jam / DropOut 1 Year Party
Tonight 6-Midnite
Haven Skatepark

Rock Out!

I printed up a ton of new Ghetto home job stickers and will be chucking out hundreds of them tomorrow at the DropOut BMX 1 Year Anniversary 80's Jam at Haven. Come to the event, get your 80's metal on, show your love and support for a rad BMX shop, and grab some free TYRANT swag! 6pm till midnight, be there!

End of an Era

Over the past few weeks a few local riding spots have bitten the dust...

After 5 years of madness and mayhem the "Whipple Basement" is no longer. The ramps have been disassembled, but the memories will always remain! Dean was kind enough to offer me the ramps and I'm doing everything in my power to get them rebuilt somewhere where they'll be well used and well loved. Long live the Whipple Basement...I think we all suffered a concussion there!


The "K-Mart Rail" in Cromwell was removed last month. Nobody understood why there was a 2' high rail down a handicap ramp, but we all loved it none the less! I'm pretty sure the K-Mart rail has been there all my life...and it was the first handrail I ever did on my bike. RIP!

Photo by Lolli

Got Plastic?

So after seeing Tiny TYRANT grinding everything in sight yesterday with his plastic pegs I decided to put mine back on. I bought G-Sport PLEG's last Summer but my MacNeil Titanium Pegs were lighter so I kept running them. The Bristol Skatepark requires riders to have no pegs, plastic pegs, or peg caps and after seeing how many lines, ledges, and rails that park has I needed to conform and go with the plastics. So psyched to ride that park next weekend! Hope the rest of the snow melts away!

Plastic in action at the Bristol Park

V-Day!

We showed our love and rode all day! We rode Edgewood in New Haven, the West Haven Park, and then headed back North to ride the new Bristol Park. Brandon and Bryan were going off, they're both getting better each time we ride! So rad! Tons of photos, CLICK HERE!

Kill Cupid!

Thursday Night Bikes!

Dope Haven session tonight!
See for yourself, CLICK HERE

or watch this....

Dome Protection

My birthday is the 20th and I got an early gift today, the Bern Watts 8-Track equipped helmet. This helmet is a rad baseball cap style and this model has a winter liner equipped with built-in headphones. So dope! This is my new lid for skiing, riding, extreme sledding, etc. HA! I typically don't listen to music while I ride but this helmet retails for $100 and was on sale for the same price as the non-audio equipped one. No brainer dude, get the nicer model!!! The goggle strap is removable and the helmet also comes with a Spring/Summer liner to keep your dome cool. NIIIIICE!

UPDATE: Damn, all along I thought I got the Baker helmet and its really the Watts. The Baker has no vents, the Watts has top and rear vents to let out the heat! So hott!

Stick 'em Up!

I haven't had stickers made in a while so I just placed an order for some new ones. I reverted back to the original TYRANT logo and kept it ultra simple and murdered out, all black! Part of the cheap price is 123Sticker.com putting their "www.123stickers.com" in the lower right hand corner of the sticker which I will be covering in Sharpie! Oh well! I should have these stickers in a few weeks.

Glow like Whoa!

T and I were visiting family in Rhode Island today and made a point to stop by Circuit BMX to say hello to Vic and grab some goodies. I scored some rad glow in the dark Twisted Pedals and T and I both got Circuit hoodies to rock back over the state line in CT. Support your local small business man, support your local bike shop! The next time you have a day off or are in Rhode Island be sure to take a spin by Circuit and show some love! That shop is stocked with ALL the latest and greatest stuff!!!

Thanks Vic, the shop looks great!

Late Night @ Haven

Thanks to everyone that showed up to the first Pedal Power Haven Skatepark rental of 2009 last night....good times for sure! It was rad to see some old friends come out and some new faces as well. Some of the Scorchers on fixed gears, mountain bikers, a rollerblader, a flatlander, and a ton of BMX shredders all going off. The highlights of the night were the fixed gears guys jumping the pyramid and Todd and CT Drew having a freestyle walk-off. Bonkers! I shot tons of photos, CLICK HERE to check 'em out!

Bryan Arnwine throwing down the tailwhip over the pyramid

Back on the BMX

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm heading to Haven to ride BMX for the first time in 6 months!!! I've been scared since my August crash and now that I got my mouth guard its time to get back on the steed. Woo hoo!

Cora

So my best friend and his wife are the proud parents of a 8 lb 8 oz baby girl...who was a week overdue. That officially makes Spencer at Pedal Power a grandpa. Congrats everyone! This little lady will be rocking TYRANT real soon!

Scoot, Scoot

WOW, scooters are pretty lame, but this is mind blowing! This kid is bonkers!
I'm going to see if he wants to rep TYRANT :)


REviseddd TPC part from matt mckeen on Vimeo.

Coming from the Westside...

So Craig Samuels hit me up via e-mail to let me know that this full length fixed gear flick is going to be coming out this year. Craig has been putting in some heavy time behind the camera and on the bike to make this project a reality! Rumor has it the premiere is going to be off the charts!...and TYRANT might be making a guest appearance on the West Coast for it! Check out this trailer for a taste of the hotness to come!


MIXTAPE VOL. 1 NO CASSETTES from FonsecaFilms on Vimeo.

LOTS FOR SALE!

Check out all this stuff for sale!
Clothing, shoes, parts, road bike, etc.

CLICK HERE!

2009 Update

So the New Year is here and it doesn't feel any different than last year. My New Year's resolution is to get back on my BMX bike sometime in the near future. It's officially been 5 months since I've ridden. Still shaking out the cobwebs from my Summer '08 crash and trying to muster up the balls to hop back on the bike. I got my mouth guard last week to protect my already busted grill, now I just need a new helmet. I'll be down at Haven riding sometime this month...

Tiny TYRANT has been shredding, the Winter cold and snow aren't holding him back. Brandon has been shoveling off his backyard ramp in between snow storms and when he's not riding that he's at Haven or the Bristol Park. I see he's been messing with some footplant trickery...nice!



Schmidt has been doing all kinds of stuff in the past few months, but he's been dedicating the majority of his time to beard growing. When not trying to impersonate Grizzly Adams, Schmidt has been terrorizing West Hartford/Hartford on his fixed gear and hitting the ramps down at Haven.



The TYRANT Store is doing well. I had a number of orders for the holidays and I'm currently in the process of finishing a few new designs. T's shirt design should be up sometime this month and I've been in touch with Shawn Hebrank about a design. 2009 looks to be a good year!

Ride bikes, have fun!

Happy New Year...go ride Bristol!

So as of January 1st bikes are permitted in the new Bristol Skatepark 3 days a week. I'm not sure what the exact weekdays are but I know Saturdays all day are fair game. I'm heading over to Bristol on Saturday to ride with hopes of meeting up with Schmidt, Tiny TYRANT, and dragging Arnwine out to shred. Come ride!

REMEMBER: NO PEGS, unless they are plastic and STAY OUT OF THE BOWL!

Another New Skatepark in CT!!!

So Killingly, CT has built a new free-form cement skatepark that looks rad as all hell! Check out this quick video I stole from the Trails Rule Blog. I'm pretty sure that is Daily Grind Chuck in those photos?

NOTE: This is Killingly out near Norwich, not Killingworth right near us!

Back to the Grind

Sadly, I'm back in the states and back to work after an amazing trip to Ireland. I shot hundreds of photos which you can check out HERE. I brought back a harsh cold...what a great souvenir! No riding for me this week, resting up and getting well!

Apparently the Bristol Skatepark meeting held last Tuesday was somewhat successful. Word on the street is that bikes are going to be permitted into the street section of the park 3 days a week, but no metal pegs are allowed. I would of liked to see bikes be allowed everyday, but at this point anything is better than nothing. Read the Bristol Press article HERE for all the details. Remember kiddies, no bikes in the bowl and get some plastic pegs!!!

Headed Over the Pond

T and I are off to Ireland! I'm not sure if I will have internet access at all overseas so this may be the last post for a few weeks. I'll be stopping in a few local bike shops dropping off some stickers and swag hoping to spread some TYRANT love over the pond. I'm psyched to check out the scene in Dublin and the few local parks they have!

In other news...
Jake Lineberry messaged me to let me know that MSX is still alive and well, but heavily covered in leaves. Winter is almost upon us!

Snow Cross

Wow, I was complaining about being cold watching the cross races Saturday, check this out! Near blizzard conditions in Belgium and the race still goes on. Look at all those lunatic spectators! Kick a$$!

Superprestige Cyclo-cross Hamme-Zogge - C1. Hamme-Zogge, Belgium, November 23, 2008

Jonathan Page on the run-up

Photo ©: Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net

Arctic Cross

Yesterday was the CT Cyclocross State Championships and I'm still thawing out from an insanely cold day! Lolli gave 'em hell in the Cat. 4 race, milkshake costume and all. Doug J. gave cyclocross a whirl for the first time racing the Cat. 3/4 race on his singlespeed 29er. All in all it was a fun day of cross action...but it would of been so much better if I could actual feel my hands a shoot more film! The few photos I did shoot are posted, CLICK HERE.

Riders Unite!

Great to see so many riders show their faces at the Bristol Skatepark meeting last night...too bad the town blew smoke up our a$$ and prolonged any action until December 2nd. The positive part of last night was the fact that the riders are being listened to, the town is giving them a chance to be heard, and is taking the riders needs into consideration...in a week and a half! I was also stoked that the Bristol Press and Channel 3 News reported on the issue in favor of the riders! Both news outlets recognize that the riders are being discriminated against and a change needs to be made.

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

The next week and a half is going to be huge for the BMX riders in Bristol. This is your time to shine, your time to show utmost respect and build your strength in numbers. Keep clear of the park until the December 2nd meeting! If respect is shown now, respect will be earned in the long run! I realize it is far to easy to get into a shouting match when you have dozens of uninformed skaters shooting off at the mouth, but walk away and save your aggression for the December 2nd meeting!

December 2nd @ 5pm @ Bristol City Hall

Sadly, I am going to be in Ireland when this meeting takes place, but I'll be doing my part in the meantime.

Bittersweet

So today was bittersweet, some good and some bad. I found out today that I have a pulled quandricep and IT Band Syndrome, which will be ending my 2008 cyclocross racing. I'm going to be going to physical therapy a few times before I leave to Ireland in hopes that some ultrasound and massage eliminate my limp. I'm so bummed! Honestly, I could of cried when I was told to stay off the bike and not race the Connecticut State Cyclocross Championships this weekend. I'm passionate about my riding and my competitive spirit is second to none. Sitting on the sidelines sucks! Guess I'll have to resort to my alternate outlet Saturday, my camera.

OK, that was my rant of bad news, now the good stuff. T and I headed down to Haven tonight to meet up with Schmidty and Jay. I was supposed to be riding the park tonight, but instead I gimped around and shot some film. It was a chill, low-key session. About a dozen riders going off and having fun! T brought her bike and rode a bit, her first time on the steed in 4 months or so. Stopping by Haven for a few hours helped ease me up.

Check out the photos I shot by CLICKING HERE.

Schmidt taking a spin on the curved wall

EARS ARE OPEN!!!

We've got their attention and the newspaper has recognized our cry for action!

READ HERE!

The City of Bristol in willing to "consider" options for bicycles at the new skatepark or potentially a new area. It isn't what we want, but that fact that ears are open and willing to hear us out is a start!

TOMORROW NIGHT IS HUGE! PLEASE SHOW UP!

LET THE BIKES IN!

The City of Bristol has been saying for years that bikes would be permitted in their new skatepark. The time has come, the grand opening has taken place, and bikes are banned! Cops were at the park writing tickets all weekend and threatening to arrest riders at the grand opening yesterday. Show your support, bikes belong! Come out the skatepark meeting Wednesday and voice your opinion against the close minded officials holding riders down!

When: Wednesday, November 19th (2 days from now!)
Where: Bristol Town Hall - 1st Floor Meeting Room
When: 6:00 PM SHARP!
Why: Cause riders shouldn't be shut out!

Letters have already been written to the Mayor and Parks & Rec. The Park & Recreation Director was confronted on the matter and he walked away like a coward. He knows he screwed up not informing the pubic that a last minute decision was made to ban bikes! It isn't fair, it isn't right, and riders aren't going to stand for it! Riders have worked toward getting a park in Bristol for 6 years, and now the door is being slammed closed in their face!

E-mail the Bristol Park & Rec. via the link below and tell them how you feel. Let them know that bikes belong!

BRISTOL PARKS & REC.

PLEASE NOTE: If we want respect we have to show respect. Refrain from using profanity in any message sent or at the meeting! Keep your cool! Knowledge is power! If we slap them in the face with cold hard facts...they have to listen!

Mike Aitken Jam @ Haven

WOW, the Mike Aitken Jam was amazing! Literally hundreds of riders from the East Coast showed up to show their support for Mike and shred Haven. There were thousands of dollars in prizes and lots of free swag given out. Check out the photos I shot, CLICK HERE.

Evan Huggerd invert!

NEW SHIRTS ARE MINT!

I received my first shirt today that I ordered off the TYRANT Store and it is dope! The direct printing method is so clean and the detail is precise! I'm so psyched and I'm sure "Tiny TYRANT" will be when I'm wearing him around tomorrow at the Aitken Jam. HA HA! Support TYRANT, click that store link and order some merch. Plenty for the dudes and a few for the ladies!

Aitken Benefit

I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU HAVE PLANNED SATURDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING....CANCEL IT! Everybody should be at Haven at the Mike Aitken Benefit...show your love for BMX and support for a fellow rider!

Blast from the past!

A blast from the past, the TYRANT Truckers hats are back! The last run of these was the camouflage ones back in 2004...and Schmidt stills rocks his! I'm going back to the roots here, back to the original TYRANT Trucker hat originally printed in 2002. Rock out this plain and simple old school hat with the original TYRANT logo circa 2002. Rumor has it mesh trucker hats are no longer cool! All the more reason to wear 'em! It's hip to be square!

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE

"Smile and enjoy the ride!"

Taj has a really well written post up on his Transworld blog. The end of the post really hit home for me, especially since I've been hesitant to get back on the BMX bike after my August crash. Take a moment out of your day and go read the whole post. Afterward, take a moment to reflect on how fortunate you are to be able to ride and how fun riding truly is!

"The beautiful thing about BMX, Freestyle, Stunt Riding or whatever you call it is that it’s yours to do what you want with. There is no definition. Don’t loose the magic of riding for the sake of a fad, a trend or a pay check. If Aitken, LeVan, Steven, Jeff Crawn or countless others can get hurt so badly, then any of us can. So, run a few checks on your conscience and make sure you are ok with what you are doing and why since you just never know what’s around the corner. And then, with that out of the way, smile and enjoy the ride!"

I'm sitting here with a toothless ear to ear grin thinking about the end of the work day and the opportunity to ride...and how fun it is going to be! Love life, love your bike, love to ride!

Trails Progress

I started making a lot of progress on my trails late Spring/early Summer this year, but a busy schedule and my crash in August put a halt to that. I spent the whole day Sunday clearing the East Haddam property of leaves and cutting up 2 huge trees that fell across the trails area. I'm so psyched for Spring and its still 4 months away! I'm keeping the trails clean and clear of leaves in hopes that the winter cold, snow, and rain will have direct access to the soft forest floor helping it pack down and toughen up. I'll be back at the house this coming Sunday finishing up the leaf removal, cutting up some more trees and obstacles in the way, and raking rocks and roots from a new 100 yard section of trail that I cut yesterday. Come Spring, I should have a BMX, MTB, and cyclocross friendly trail system on the property with a jumps section, a few wooden bridges, some freeride drops, and a 3/4 mile hiking/riding trail around the property. Should be fun, but its going to take time and hard work to get there.

Girls! Girls! Girls!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Web Store Q & A

I received several e-mails yesterday with questions about the new TYRANT Online Store that I set up. This post is going to serve as a "How To" and hopefully make things run smoother.

If you'd like to order some TYRANT merch click on the link above. Browse through the various items available, click on an item to view it larger or view the logo larger, then select the item you'd like to buy, select a size, and order away.

Now to field questions:
1. Sizing charts are typically offered when you click on an item. Look up in the right next to the price and quantity field. Some shirts are tighter, trendier fits than others. I wear a size large in most of the stuff and I'm 6' 3" and 185lbs.

2. Yes, some items are available in multiple colors, look for the "MORE COLORS AVAILABLE" line below the item photo.

3. Yes, CafePress does accept all major credit cards and they do offer returns. See their site for details.

4. Some tee shirts are more expensive than others because they have printing on the front and back. Double sided printing is more expensive and like I said, CafePress has some steep fees!..but is very convenient and has fast turnaround times!!!

5. Sorry, bulk discounts are not available through me. Contact CafePress, I have no say.

Thanks a ton for all your interest and support! I'm hoping to post a new shirt design each week and check back for guest artist works from Shawn Hebrank, T. McCurdy, Jason Patrician, Ryan Schmidt, and "Tiny TYRANT" Brandon B.

Trendy New Tee

As our MySpace page says, "trying not to get caught up in any trends, not trying to set any either"...well I've succumbed to the pressure! Today I released the "tiny tyrant" Trendy Tee which is available via our ONLINE STORE. The graphic features "tiny tyrant" Brandon Begin tweaking a table on his backyard ramp its printed on a US made skinny fit tee. This is the perfect compliment to those skin tight jeans all the kiddies are wearing now days. Rock out and get yourself a shirt today! Make "tiny" proud!

Selling out until further notice!

My schedule has been nuts trying to balance work, riding, racing, and living a "normal" life. I have put very little time and effort into TYRANT over the past months, cause I've had little free time to dedicate. Instead of letting TYRANT die out, I sold out and opened up a CafePress account. For the next few months you can order tons of clothing and accessories online and I don't have to worry about scrambling to get them done for you. The prices are inflated, only because the printer charges a steep fee and takes a HUGE CUT for their quick turnaround! All the shirts are printed with Direct Printing. CafePress prints direct-to-fabric with no transfers. The result is a matte image that moves with the garment because the ink is actually embedded in the fabric for ultimate wearable comfort. That means greater image staying power. The few bucks I make off of each shirt goes directly into the sticker fund to get more vinyl made up and stuck up all over the East Coast. I'm sure there are a few peeps out there who are going to b!tch at me cause I'm taking away the "home job" aspect of TYRANT, but I promise you its only temporary! I'll still be making the bleached out shirts when people order them and as 2009 and Winter roll in things should slow down a bit allowing me time to get some screens going at home. Thanks for understanding and as always thanks for the support!

TYRANT's NEW STORE - CLICK HERE TO SHOP!