Tell us a little about yourself
Well, my name is Jason Schwinabart, but people in the bike world call me Schwinny. I’ve been called different versions of that, but Schwinny really stuck when Travis Pastrana put me in his Nitro Circus DVDs as such. I’m currently 49 years old, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, but I’ve been living in Bentonville, Arkansas, for about four months now and plan to stay for at least a year. I work as a booking manager for an action sports agency called Dialed Action Sports Team. We specialize in action sports entertainment for school assemblies, fairs and festivals, large-scale events like NASCAR, and corporate engagements like Walmart, Bell Helmets, Huffy, etc. We offer BMX, MTB (Trials), FMX and Moto Trials shows nationwide.
How long have you been riding bike trials? What is your riding level?
I started riding bike trials when I was about 17, so it’s been well over 25 years. I competed through the 90s and into the 2000s. I began in the intermediate class, moved up to expert quickly, and then competed as a pro for a while. Along with the competition side, I also did a lot of demos.
How did you discover bike trials and how did you get started? What age were you when you started?
Well, I was 17 when I discovered bike trials. It all started when I found an old mountain bike in my dad’s garage – an old Schwinn hardtail, which had belonged to my stepbrother. I grew up skateboarding and staying active with sports like football, running, snowboarding, and, of course, riding my bike everywhere. I was always in the dirt with it, but I didn’t realize mountain biking was a sport until I turned 17. After finding that bike, I started riding it hard, bombing down hills – even ones without trails – like something out of an old snowboard movie. I always had a song by Ministry playing in my head like I was in one of those snowboard videos! Eventually, I decided I wanted to buy a better bike, so I went to a few shops and stumbled into this old repair shop just outside of Baltimore, Maryland, called Cycle Works. It was run by Roy Tower, a pioneer in mountain biking and trials, and another guy, Scott Webb, nicknamed Scooby-Doo. Scooby was essentially a pro BMX rider, downhill racer, and trials rider who seemed to know everyone in the sport. They had a couple of trials bikes at the shop: an Ibis 26/24 and an Eastern Woods Research built by Jay DeJesus out of Bethlehem, PA. I bought a mountain bike at a different shop but destroyed it almost immediately, so they offered me a job at the shop. While working there, I noticed this strange bike with no seat – an Eastern Woods Research 20” mod – and asked about it. That’s when they started teaching me about trials. At some point Roy brought in an old Monty 20” mod with a triple clamp fork. That became my first real trials bike! Cycle Works also had a magazine called Dirt Rag Magazine, which had a trials section written by Jay DeJesus. Looking back, I realize I stumbled into the perfect shop without even knowing it. It was right up the street from my house, and it connected me to some of the biggest names in the bike trials community. Roy and Scooby took me under their wing, bringing me to competitions like Candytown, and Motorama, an indoor comp on the East Coast, and introducing me to people like Jay DeJesus, Jeff Lenosky, and many others. Through them, I became part of the East Coast scene – and eventually the entire U.S. bike trials community.
How would you define or describe bike trials in your own words to someone who’s never heard of it?
Well, what I usually say is, it’s an obstacle course on a bicycle. The objective is to get from point A to point B over a series of obstacles that could be man-made or natural – rocks, logs, cars, boulders, concrete, structures – and the goal is to do it without putting your feet down. Every time you put your foot down, you get a point, and the object is to get the least number of points. Although the rules have changed nowadays, so I guess that’s not the most accurate way to describe it, but it’s the simplest way to explain it to someone who has no idea what trials is.
What type of bike trials riding do you prefer? Favorite places to ride?
That’s a good question. I really prefer natural riding – riding over rocks, logs, and steep hills. I’ve always loved big gap moves, particularly big pedal gaps. I enjoy technical obstacles where you must straddle the front and back wheel or side hop onto something, landing with your front wheel on one point and your back wheel on another. It’s all about precision, and I love that feeling of barely being able to grip something and then getting that pinpoint accuracy.
Back in the day, I had a crew from South Jersey and Westchester, Pennsylvania, and we used to ride at a place called St. Pete’s in Pennsylvania. It was this incredible, endless boulder field in a riverbed, with water flowing everywhere, waterfalls, and just rocks everywhere. The possibilities for lines were literally endless – there was so much epic riding, you couldn’t ride it all. We went there a lot, and I really loved that kind of riding.
I also love riding on logs – there’s something about them that’s just fun and challenging, plus they don’t beat up your bike like other obstacles. Urban riding? I’ve done a lot of it, but I don’t prefer it. I’d much rather ride in the woods, on rocks, and in natural terrain.
I used to ride solo all the time when I was younger, often for eight hours a day. I was super motivated to push myself on my own, and that helped me get good at it. But as I’ve gotten older, I prefer riding in groups. It’s motivating to ride with others, and Bentonville is great for that – there’s a weekly group ride that I really enjoy.
As for bikes, I really like riding on full-suspension mountain bikes now. I love the bigger wheelbase and the suspension. Growing up, I mainly rode a mod bike, and now my only trials bike is a 24-inch Czar street trials bike. It feels a lot like my old mod bikes. But more and more, I’ve been enjoying doing trials on a mountain bike – whether it’s a 29er or a 27.5. The bigger bike and suspension make it so much fun. Also, I’ve been messing with E-bikes a bit and that’s super fun!! I want one so bad.
I’m fortunate right now to be just a mile away from Bike Fest in Bentonville, and I have a world-class trials course right next to my house. So, I get to ride a lot there. There are also plenty of places with rocks to ride on, which I love. I also enjoy riding our demo equipment since it’s low risk. I’ve always loved hitting kicker ramps too, popping up onto stuff and using little kickers to get there.
Why do you ride bike trials and what keeps you motivated to keep riding?
Why do I ride trials? I mean, from day one, just the bike alone – it was such an interesting-looking bike. That mod bike with no seat, or just a small one, and the big fat rear tire – I was so curious right away. Then, when I saw people doing it and I tried it, it was like, the first time you see it, you’re like, “Wow, that is so cool, I’ve got to figure that out.” And it just becomes an addiction. Learning how to track stand, learning how to grip on things that are seemingly impossible – things you shouldn’t be able to ride on – was incredible. Seeing people basically levitate and hop up onto things from a standstill – it’s just amazing, and it still is. That feeling, it’s so cool to watch, and so cool to be able to do. The challenge of learning it is still there.
I’ve gone through times where I didn’t ride trials, but I always come back to it. I’ve made the decision now that I’m never selling my trials bike again – I’m always going to have one. Every time I get rid of one, I think, “Why did I do that?” I’m not entirely sure what keeps me motivated to ride, except that it’s just so addictive. It’s such an addictive sport to figure out and play with, and you can do it anywhere. When I first started, I was riding inside the shop every day. I’d track stand in the shop and had a little course set up in there. It’s something you can do in minimal space, and it’s always challenging.
I think all of us who ride trials are a little bit geeky or nerdy about it, to some degree. It’s about the technical science of figuring out how to do moves, how to put them together, and the timing. And then when you do it, when you progress, it just feels so good. It’s so satisfying to ride over things, and it’s almost like being a performer – people love to watch it. You have an audience pretty much anywhere you ride, because they’ll look at you and say, “Wow, that’s so cool,” just like when I first got into it.
What kept me motivated back then was curiosity and the fun of learning and progressing. As I got older, it became about making it into a career – I didn’t want to have a ‘real’ job, and I was trying to make it my living. Now it kind of is. What keeps me motivated now is, as I get older, being able to still do it when a lot of people my age are falling apart and can hardly walk – that’s pretty satisfying. It’s also an awesome skill set to have in the mountain bike world. As a big mountain biker, it’s great to have the ability to teach others skills that help them with their mountain biking. It’s a fun and cool way to stay active, and trials works a lot of muscles that you wouldn’t normally use in everyday life, so it keeps you fit overall.
What other styles of cycling do you do? How has trials helped you improve your skills in those other bike disciplines and vice versa?
I ride anything on two wheels. I’ve even ridden motorcycles a little bit, though I haven’t done motorcycle trials yet – but I’d really like to try that. As for cycling, I ride road bikes, gravel bikes, all different types of mountain bikes. I do trials on mountain bikes, and I also ride e-mountain bikes. I ride hardtails, full-suspension bikes, enduro, and cross-country bikes. I really like riding cross-country, race-style riding – 30-mile, hard, long, fast race-type riding. Of course, I ride trials, and I have a street trials bike. My core in trials was competitive riding on a modified 20-inch bike. That was my thing; that’s what I did.
I really like riding trials on enduro bikes, full suspension bikes, and e-bikes, and creating content. I think creating cool content, like Pat Smage, Chris Akrigg, Lance Trappe, Jeff Lenosky, Charlie Rolls, Duncan Shaw, Danny Mac, Jack Carthy, Toni Bou – I could keep going on and on. There’s a bunch of guys riding e-bikes and full suspension bikes and putting out great content and I love that and want to put that! It’s just a lot of fun, and I love watching that stuff. I really feel like there should be some competitions on full suspension mountain bikes, like Enduro-style big hit trials, Moto-style trials riding on mountain bikes.
I also dirt jump – though I’m not great at it, I can backflip. I don’t really do any other tricks besides that, but I’m into dirt jumping. I grew up around guys who were jumpers and BMX racers, so I’ve always been into that. If it’s a bike, I ride it. I even have a beach cruiser and love cruising around the beach.
Trials has helped me a ton in all these other disciplines with balance, bike handling skills, braking, and overall body awareness. You develop good body language on a bicycle through trials because your body becomes the suspension system on a trials bike. It teaches you how to grip the pedals with your feet without being clipped in. I really believe everyone should start riding bikes without SPDs, just so they can learn how to grip a pedal with their foot. Trials riders learn how to wrap their foot around a pedal like no one else.
So, how often do you ride trials? What sort of routine do you have for practice vs. riding for fun vs. making edits, etc.? And how much time is dedicated to each?
Well, I’m not going to say I have a strict routine right now. These days, I’m probably riding once a week. The group ride is what gets me out most of the time. Sometimes, I’ll do some stuff in my garage or by myself, or head to the trials course down the street. But honestly, right now I’ve been focused more on work. I get on a mountain bike way more than a trials bike, and I ride that a few times a week – or sometimes even every day. I may do some trials when I’m on the mountain bike, though.
It’s the dead of winter right now, so I’m spending a lot more time at the gym than on the bike. When I do go out, the group ride lasts a few hours at a time, so that’s a good chunk of my riding. I do try to do some edits here and there, and I want to do more of that, especially on the mountain bike. This spring, I plan on doing a lot more edits on both the street trials bike and the mountain bike. I really want to start putting out more content, especially with where I live now in Bentonville.
So what’s the bike trial scene like near you and how many other riders are there? Do you have a regular group ride?
So yeah, I kind of answered that already. But yeah, Bentonville, Arkansas, has a decent little scene here. It’s cool. We’ve got Ryan Bratton, and he runs an Instagram page called NWA Trials. There are a few other guys in the group. I’d say off the top of my head, there are probably five or six of us, which is cool. Because, you know, it wasn’t like that. Over the past 15 years or so, I didn’t have anyone to ride with. Before that, I was deep into the scene, but moving here and suddenly having a group ride on a regular basis is awesome. Big thanks to Ryan Bratton for putting that together. It’s super cool, and it seems to be growing.
It’s mostly guys on mountain bikes learning trials, but there are a couple of us with trials bikes – Ryan’s got a trials bike, and this other guy, Dave, has a trials bike. So it’s definitely a trials group ride, and it’s a lot of fun. There’s also one big comp here that’s world famous, Bentonville Bike Fest. I don’t think I need to tell you about that, it’s just a mile from my house. So yeah, the scene here is cool.
How do you manage fear when doing new or bigger moves or lines?
Let’s see. That’s a good question. I’ve always been kind of a risk taker. But calculated risks that I took after weighing the all the factors and preparing through training, and practice, etc. Then facing the fear and trusting the training. Even as a kid, skateboarding, I learned how to fall, I learned how to jump off things. I was a launch ramp jumper as a kid on a skateboard. I was also a football player, and I learned to take a hit. I was in shape and knew how to stay in shape to take hard hits. I also learned how to get back up after a hit. My coaches in football, it was like, “Get up, unless you’re dying, you better get up.” That mentality was instilled in me early on. I thrive on that kind of pressure. Once I try something and the adrenaline gets going the fear goes away most of the time. However, if I’m not feeling it I will save it for another day. There’s a difference between taking stupid risks and calculated risks. Both are dangerous but one is just not wise.
What are your personal goals with respect to trials, near-term and long-term?
Well, near-term, honestly, I’ve been getting back into it over the past year or so. My body was in rough shape. Once I stopped doing demos a bunch of years ago, a lot of my injuries from over the years caught up to me, and I was starting to hurt bad to where it was hard to walk. I spent a lot of time rebuilding my body, then got a trials bike and have just been learning to ride trials again and getting my mind to catch up with my body and vice versa. Like, my mind remembers a lot of things and wants to do them, but it’s taken a while to be able to do them again. So, just kind of learning how to ride again, getting the basics down and having fun are kind of the short-term goals if you want to call them goals.
Longer-term, I don’t really know outside of my career, which is, you know, the booking manager stuff. My long-term goals are to grow this company, sell more shows – BMX, MTB, and FMX – and stay in this business because I love action sports in general, not just trials. I love that trials got me into the bigger arena of action sports. I’m not just a trials rider. I’ve never been. I started out as a skateboarder in the 80s. Tony Hawk, the Bones Brigade – that was my deal, jumping launch ramps, skateboarding, snowboarding. I still love that stuff to this day. I don’t really skate anymore, but I snowboard. I love being in the action sports world. I can’t imagine having to get a real job and not being in this world. So, I love that trials has allowed me to do that. Chris and I have some side projects and ideas like working with athletes and helping them with their careers, etc.
Long-term, I just want to stay in this industry. However that is, and it’s not going to be by riding my bike.
Who are your bike trials heroes and influences, and what are your favorite trials videos?
Who are my bike trials heroes? I mean, Hans Rey and Jeff Lenosky are the original OG’s besides Ot Pi, who obviously created the sport with his family. But in America, Hans Rey and Jeff Lenosky paved the way for people to make a living riding their trails bikes. They found ways to bring in outside sponsors, with Hans Rey bringing in Swatch watches, and Jeff Lenosky with Toyota. They created a business model with demos for their sponsors – a scalable, reusable model, a blueprint to do demos on boxes with the sponsors’ logos. It was brilliant. We all just copied it! They made a way for everyone to make a living and add value to their sponsors. So, those two guys are awesome.
And then, of course, Ot Pi, who created the sport and was a phenomenal rider. We all watched him and Cesar Canas growing up because they were the best, and we wanted to be good, so we watched the best – they dominated. But now, there’s so many great riders. There were always the guys I rode with – Anthony ‘Pogi’ Tortorice from South Jersey, one of my best riding friends and one of the smoothest guys in the business with his BMX background. He was Trek/Volkswagon’s demo rider. Lance Trappe, Volvo/Cannondale when we were coming up. We rode with so many great guys – JJ Gregorowicz, our national champion, unbeatable for so long. Mark Brooks, Jay DeJesus, Jason McLean, Mike Steidley, Chris VanDine and Mike ‘Death’ Hain, one of my best riding buddies on the East Coast – the list goes on and on.
Poji was one of my best friends and someone I spent at least a decade traveling and riding with. As I mentioned, he was the Trek Volkswagen JBL demo Rider for a long time, and I was learning from him and traveling, announcing his shows, learning to ride in his shows, and eventually became a Trek East Coast demo rider myself. We rode for Ernie Martin who was the East Coast manager for Trek Volkswagen and JBL. We had a blast and Pogi is definitely one of the best in the business, he’s also the 1987 New Jersey BMX state champ. So that dude is super smooth and has a lot of BMX influence in his riding. I can’t say enough about him. He’s one of my best friends in the business even though we haven’t seen each other for a while.
Influences back then and now. Chris Akrigg (I think I mentioned him), and Pat Smage – if you haven’t watched him, he’s incredible. Pat and his brother Phil, but Pat is an unbelievable motorcycle trials rider, and when he gets on a bike, he can do anything on any bike. I love watching all the European guys, too. I had Andrei Burton stay at my house for about five days recently, and we’ve become buddies. He’s one of my favorite riders right now, just an outstanding world-class professional, and beyond his riding, the dude’s a class act. Andrei’s a powerhouse rider – he does things that would literally kill you if you made one mistake. While he was here, he climbed on top of something that was like eight stories high, and the drop was over 80 feet. If he fell, it would have been over. So yeah, Andrei Burton, for sure. He and I are going to Bermuda in April for some shows I just booked!
The list is huge. I have to add some names. Danny MacAskill has changed the sport forever, and whether you love or hate him, that dude is phenomenal. Duncan Shaw – I love watching him. All the street trials guys, like Big Hops Fortner, Ali Clarkson – man, so many, too many to list. Plus, there’s all the non-trials riders who have influenced me along the way.
And I also must add Lloyd Bailey. He was our trials riding friend who just showed up one day. Lloyd was a freaking awesome trials rider. He’d show up on our group rides in Philadelphia and pretty much all our comps. Lloyd had a whole other life that he was modest about. He didn’t even tell us until we had gotten to know him. We found out later in life that, while he was riding bike trials with us, he was a pro street bike racer – and good at it. He won everything. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, Lloyd passed away while getting ready to race at Daytona in Florida. A lot of my friends were close with him – JJ and Lance were close with him – and Lloyd was a great friend to me. In fact, he helped me out about 15 or 16 years ago, when I started getting back into trials. He hooked me up with a bike for like 300 bucks – a stock bike. Lloyd was one of my heroes – not just because of who he was as a rider, but because of his character and work ethic. While we were riding trials in the ’90s and 2000s, we didn’t even know about his larger-than-life career in the motorcycle scene. Later, when I got to know him better, I went to see him race, and I realized how incredible he was in another world. He was a rock star on the track, winning everything, yet he treated everyone with respect. Everyone at the track loved him. He worked so hard – he was a truck driver by day, driving constantly, and would race with little support. He’d fish tires out of dumpsters – used tires – and still win. He’d drive from Florida to West Virginia overnight to race, be his own pit crew, and never complain. He treated everyone like they were family, would give you the shirt off his back. Lloyd Bailey is definitely one of my heroes.
What are your favorite trials videos?
My favorite trials videos. Well, there are a ton, but I’ll start with some classics. All the Reid-Merschat videos from back in the day were incredible. Of course, Hans Rey’s Level Vibes, and Chain Reaction by Don Hampton. Don had some great stuff with trials in it, from DH Productions. The Martin Ashton stuff is always going to be classic. But then there’s also our stuff – most people don’t know about our crew, but we were making videos on the East Coast.
We had a crew, and within that crew were the ringleaders of a cult classic trials video series called the Death Trilogy. It started with Death 1, then Death 2 The Unholy, and finally Death 3. The character at the heart of these videos was Mike ‘Death’ Hain. He got the nickname ‘Death’ because he was so big that he used to break everything he touched when he was a kid. He started out as ‘Thor’, but they turned him into ‘Death,’ and that became the character for these trials videos.
The videos weren’t just trials; they had mountain biking, BMX, flatland, and a whole lot of mayhem. They were produced by Alex Greenblatt, with Matt Kerry involved early on, Joe Hiddleston (Toy Machine Skate) later, and of course, Mike ‘Death’ Hain. They were into Star Wars, so Darth Vader was the character, “Death”, and made appearances in the videos – doing flatland and trials, among other things. These videos were not PG. There was nudity, chaos, hotel room trashing – it was wild. Trials, at the time, was tame and family-oriented, but we were the bad boys in the scene. We’d be partying, drinking, smashing things, burning stuff down, and just getting kicked out of everywhere. Death would carry around a bullhorn and use it indoors, we were ridiculous.
I have the DVD set with all three Death Trilogy videos and extra footage. A lot of great footage in those movies – some fantastic East Coast riding, along with top riders from around the world. There’s footage from European riders like Ot Pi, who would come to town and destroy us in competitions. It includes a lot of old Motorama indoor footage, Candytown, as well as from the NEPS-Northeast Point Series, NATS footage, and highlights from some great riders like Mark Brooks, J.J. Gregorowicz, Sean Miller, Scooby, Mark Bowman, Doug White, Randy Vancil, Mike Steidley, Lance Trappe, Jeff Lonosky, Chris Clark, Pogi, Jason McClain, Alex Cubbage, Tim Moffett, Aaron Faust, Llyod Bailey, Vaughn Micciche, Shawn Deller, Jay DeJesus, Christiano Santos, Libor, Nigel Koering, Alex Cubbage and more.
There’s so much good riding in these videos that a lot of people haven’t seen. I’ve been ripping footage lately and posting it on my Instagram as short Reels if anyone wants to see.
What are your perspectives on the trials biking scene in general and in North America in particular?
My perspective on the trials scene is that, even though I’m working in action sports and selling bike trials shows, I’m not deeply connected to the current scene. I’ve just recently started getting back into it and living in Bentonville has brought me a little closer to the action. But honestly, I’ve lost touch with what’s happening in North America and in trials globally. The level has changed so much, and the European guys have pushed it to a level that’s just unattainable for the average person. I honestly think trials should be an Olympic sport – it’s absolutely insane what these guys are doing now.
One thing I believe is that the world-class athletes in trials, especially the Europeans, should be making serious money. What they do is insane, and the amount of dedication and time they put in is mind-blowing. Andre Burton is a perfect example. These guys should be making millions, especially if a golfer can make that kind of money. I just don’t know if it will ever happen. That goes for all action sports athletes. They get taken advantage of all the time because they love what they do and would do it for free.
I love that Dialed Action Sports provides a way for riders to make a living. If you’re a rider who wants to travel around doing shows, hit us up – we need trials riders. We provide the rigs, the demo equipment, and book the shows. As a rider, you can travel, get paid, and not have to worry about the logistics. I would have loved this opportunity when I was coming up in the sport. I would have jumped in a Dialed Action rig and never came home!
What would you like to see in North America in respect to bike trials?
I’d love to see an old school reunion, you know, a reunion event or comp series. Like a Northeast event or series – I’m not sure. I miss the old days with events in Pennsylvania and the Northeast. Those were the best times – Motorama, Candytown, Hidden Valley, Seven Springs… so many great competitions. Those events really shaped the scene, and I think it’d be awesome to revive that kind of energy.
I’ve been wanting to get all the old riders together for a weekend, where we all ride, film, and just reunite. It could be a competition, or maybe it’s just a jam session. Either way, I think it would be amazing to reconnect with the community. If anyone wants to come out to Bentonville while I’m here this year, I’ve got a guest room, so hit me up!
Any interesting, funny, crazy bike trial stories or experiences you can share?
Oh man, where would I start? Well, if you want to see some of them, they’re in Death 3. There’s some embarrassing stuff in there. Honestly, there’s stuff I probably don’t even remember, and a lot of it’s probably not PG, so I can’t talk about that! But we had a good time, I’ll tell you that. We had a lot of fun. I’ve got a lot of good memories with a lot of good friends.
I was a mess! However, I wouldn’t change anything because I am who I am now because of it all but I burned a lot of bridges and acted in ways I’m not proud of. Coming to faith 16 years ago is what started to change my life for the better. It’s been a hard personal journey that has resulted in an awesome life so far and I’m just getting started. But I did things the hard way. Some of it was kind of funny but a lot of it was like dude, what were you doing?!? Anyway, that’s a topic for another day but I don’t hide my past by any means. It is what it is and my future is what I’m looking at now. I love the quote, “Your windshield is bigger than your rearview mirror because your future is bigger than your past!” Or, where you’re going is bigger than where you’ve been!
One of the coolest things about trials, though, is what it did for me personally. It introduced me to people outside of my home bubble. When I was 17, my parents were getting divorced, and I was trying to figure out who I was as a man. Trials showed me that there was more to life than what was going on at home. I could travel, compete, and meet people from all walks of life. I met these guys who had like minds, and we bonded through trials and mountain biking. They became my lifelong friends, and they’re from all over the world. How else would that happen but through a sport like this? It’s unique in that way.
Action sports creates this bond that’s hard to explain. It’s high risk, and that bond is formed by overcoming challenges together and trusting each other sometimes with your life. When you’re competing or just riding with others who are willing to take the same risks, there’s a shared understanding that creates something like a brotherly bond. That’s something that lasts a lifetime and transcends distance.
Take Andre Burton, for example. We just met last year. He stayed at my house for five days when I moved to Bentonville, and we did shows together. We rode, we bonded. Now we’re like brothers. We’ve shared experiences that were crazy things that could have gone wrong, but we did them together. And that creates this unbreakable connection. He’s back in England now, and I’m here, but that bond is there for life. Trials and cycling in general has given me that. I’m so thankful I found it. When I think about all the amazing people I’ve met, I just think, where else could that have happened, but through trials?
And on top of that, what trials has brought to my life goes beyond the riding itself. I got a crash course in everything business – marketing, brand-building, running a business, daily operations, you name it, I learned it. I had to book events on my own, pursue sponsorships, and manage partnerships. I learned about exercise techniques, nutrition, personal development, relationship development, communication skills, and even social media, brand development, copywriting, and the list goes on. I literally learned every aspect of building a business, marketing it, and selling it. The financial side, too. I had to learn it all, and I learned it the hard way. Looking back, I now have a skill set that allows me to make a living in any sales position and in any business, really. But especially in the action sports world, I’ve built a unique skill set that’s hard to find elsewhere. You can’t go to school for a lot of this. Some of it, sure, but much of what I’ve learned isn’t something you can find in textbooks. It’s been an incredible, one-of-a-kind journey. So, yeah, thank you, trials.
So, tell us more about your history with the bike trials community and some of the people who’ve influenced your journey.
Well, I mentioned Jay DeJesus earlier, he was a huge part of my journey. I was introduced to Jay early on, and I used to scam rooms off him. He used to scam rooms, and I used to scam his rooms. Basically, I would just show up at comps and crash in his rooms all the time. We were all just bike bums, man – surf bums on bikes. I’d show up at competitions with no place to stay, no idea where I was going to stay, and barely any money. Somehow, I made it happen. I even went to California a couple of times with no place to stay, no rental car – nothing – and still managed to make it through.
Jay kind of took me under his wing, like he did with a lot of people. Jay had Eastern Woods Research, which made custom mountain bikes and trials bikes. Killer frames out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He was also the editor and writer for the trials section in Dirt Rag Magazine, a contest organizer, and just an all-around trials OG – a pioneer in the sport. A great guy, super creative – he was like an artist with words, a poet. Jay was the one who handed me the reins to write for Dirt Rag. I don’t know why, but he just started letting me write for the trials section. I ended up writing for Dirt Rag for quite a while, doing product reviews and bike reviews.
In addition to that, I had my own small trials magazine for a while called Original 13. Jay Schwartz from Pekasie, Pennsylvania helped me come up with that name. Thank you, Jay! It was called Original 13 because of the 13 original colonies on the East Coast, and it was an East Coast mag. We published four issues. It wasn’t PG at all! My influences were Big Brother Skate Magazine and The Black Flies. I came from the skateboard world, so it was edgy to say the least! It was rough and raw. I wish I had copies of it – if anyone out there does, that’d be amazing.
Our magazine was pre-iPhone, pre-digital stuff, so it was all done old-school. We put it together on legal paper, cutting and pasting pictures, articles, and artwork. Then, we’d Xerox the pages, fold them in half, and staple them. We’d distribute the zines to whoever would take them. I was running around with a camera shooting pics all the time and coming up with content.
But yeah, Original 13 was not your typical trials magazine. We were rowdy, we had a good time, and we had the Death Trilogy video going. Fun memories for sure.
Then, in addition to all that, I had some crazy experiences with Nitro Circus. I was in the Nitro Circus before it was on MTV – actually, I’m in some of the MTV pilot footage. I lived with a guy named Jim DeChamp for several years, and I worked for Travis Pastrana, building some of the slip and bleeds at his house and doing whatever random stuff had to be done. It was where I learned how to backflip, and it was a blast. A lot of crazy stories from those days.
Travis and his whole family were huge inspirations in my life at a time where my drinking and lack of discipline were taking me nowhere. I was looking around at these people and they were pushing us daily. They were unbelievable examples of character and work ethic. I was constantly seeing what was possible and I knew I wasn’t living up to my full potential as a man. That’s when I found my faith and made some major changes. Or at least I took some first steps. I’m so glad I did but I’m not sure everyone understood, and I miss those guys a lot. That experience changed my life forever!
Just a side note along those lines. Giving up alcohol, coming to faith and working on personal development have been the greatest and most important changes in my life thus far. I can clearly see the difference those things have made, and I hope others see it as well. I’m a work in progress!
There have been countless others who have invested in my life along the way, friends, mentors, etc. I spent several years working at the Under Armour campus in Baltimore where I met some amazing, talented people. I learned a lot from them! I also helped manage a corporate DJ named DJ Kopec for at least 10 years. We did all of Under Armour’s corporate and private gigs along with some Ravens Football stuff and a ton of high-end events for the top event planners in MD.
Even today I have a mentor who I meet with once a week. He’s an ex-CEO of a well known company and a strong spiritual leader. It’s so important to have those relationships. I seek them out wherever I go. Surround yourself with people you aspire to be like.
I realize some of these experiences and people aren’t related to trials specifically, but they were crucial in my journey and development as a man.
For people who aren’t familiar with Dialed Action Sports, tell me briefly about the company and the role that Trials plays in the company’s mission?
So, I touched on this a bit earlier in the interview, but Dialed Action Sports Team is an action sports agency that was originally founded by Brian Cunningham as a BMX demo company. Later, Chris Clark came into the picture. Chris is a North American Trials rider from the New Jersey/New York area, and he’s the one who brought Trials into the mix. I met Chris early on in my competition days, and we’ve stayed in touch over the years. He always rode with Jeff Lonosky and Lance Trappe, and those guys would come down to ride with us, or we’d go up to ride with them.
When Chris joined Dialed, the company had been focused on BMX shows, but with his addition, they started adding Trials demos, FMX and Moto Trials. Now, we do school assemblies, fairs, festivals, and larger events like NASCAR, and corporate engagements for companies like Walmart. We also do shows at racetracks, like the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Our current mission is our ‘Get Out and Play’ initiative – encouraging kids to put down the screens, get active, and ride bikes.
Trials plays a big role in that mission because it’s a great way to engage people. We market it as a mountain bike stunt show, and as you know, you can use anything as an obstacle, and it fits in small spaces, whether indoors or outdoors. It’s a perfect way to communicate and engage with people, especially since the rider is mic’d up and can capture the crowd’s attention. It’s a great platform for delivering whatever message we’re trying to convey.
So what advice would you give to someone who wants to start bike trials or has just started?
Well, if you want to get into bike trials, it’s simple. Just slam your seat down low, make sure you’ve got good brakes, put it in a low gear, and start learning how to track stand and balance. Just go out in your driveway and start learning to balance and mess around. Watch videos. Now, there are so many resources. I mean, SuperRider TV, Aaron Lutze – who I forgot to mention – another rider we grew up riding with. But yeah, Aaron Lutze. Watch him. Watch other riders. There are so many resources now. Just watch the best and learn from them, mimic what they’re doing. Find people who are better than you and ride with them!
Who should I interview next in the North American bike trials scene?
Man, there’s so many riders I could suggest for an interview, but here are a few that stand out. First up, you’ve got to talk to Jeff Lenosky – he’s a legend in the sport. Lance Trappe is another must, of course, and JJ Gregorowicz. JJ is a huge figure in trials, and his insights would be invaluable. Mike Steidley could be a great one too – maybe you’ve already done him. Chris Clark is someone you should talk to, and Jason McLean, if you can find him. No one really knows where he’s at, but he’d be an amazing interview. Mark Brooks, Scooby, Vaughn Micciche (he races rally now), Pogi, Death, the list is long!
Jay DeJesus is another must-interview. He’s a wealth of knowledge and a big name in the trials world. I can help you get in touch with him if you want – he’s on Facebook. Doug White was one of the OGs back in the day. He rode in the Cirque du Soleil with Lance Trappe for years and was also a pro demo rider and competition organizer. He’s someone to talk to.
On the West Coast, Aaron Faust was a big figure, and Randy Vancil is another one to consider. Randy competed and organized trials competitions for years, and he’s got tons of history and stories to share. Alex Cubbage is a name that many might not be familiar with, but he’s got a lot of experience and insights from his time in the sport.
Aaron Lutze might be another good one, but I’m sure you’ve already got him on the list. And Tim Moffett is also someone worth reaching out to – he’s been around for a long time, and he’d have some great stories and knowledge to share as well. There are some guys from NYC and I can’t think of their names at the moment. Mike Nickleson. I’m sure more names will come to me as we talk, but those are a solid starting point.
How can people find you on social media?
You can find me on Instagram and Facebook. My handle is @Schwinndiesel on Insta and my full name on Facebook. I also have Tik Tok, but I just started that. As for Dialed Action Sports, we’ve got Instagram, Facebook, and a website as well. You can follow the team there for all the latest updates on our events and programs.
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