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Hanson Little has become a pretty great friend over the past few years. If you’ve followed BMX at all, then his name might be familiar, having ridden for Mutiny and T-1.
While his days of “being pro” are behind him, he now spends his free time on a road bike, BMX or MTB, shredding trails, hips, ditches and the steep hills here in Austin to get his kicks.
I’m not going to lie. I’ve spent a fraction of the time I usually spend on the computer this week because Tracko’s in town but when I caught wind of this, I had to post it up. Seriously. Empire BMX‘s Bad Idea fucking killed it and Collateral BMX just posted Tom Smith’s section.
PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND CHECK OUT COLLATERAL BMX HERE!
I love watching Kevin Porter ride almost as much as I like getting in arguments with Empire BMX on Twitter. Kevin’s style is one of the most unique in BMX and I’m sure he was stoked to get out of Chicago for 48 hours. Bummed I missed you this time man!
I’m still wondering how the hell Bad Idea didn’t win an award at this year’s Nora Cup. It is so good! If you haven’t bought the DVD yet, Empire uploaded Sean Sexton’s part.
Empire‘s rider Kevin Porter reminds us that life’s about the pursuit of happiness and one way to do that is to have fun on your bike.
Empire‘s team is on point. Here’s the latest from rider Tom Smith. That last clip is huge in person. Damn! If this isn’t entertaining enough for you on your Friday afternoon, you could always engage in Empire’s Twitter.
The long-awaited Empire video is finally complete. Just in time for a premiere in Long Beach on June 16th. Be there!
Every clip is a banger here, don’t miss out on Tony Cardona’s video for Empire BMX. Seriously, you have no idea how big some of this shit is in person.
Empire‘s Bad Idea opening credits may just be the best intro ever. Check it out as the team thrashes the storefront and stockrooms.
Puckett’s back in Texas after an 8-month hiatus in Louisiana where he lived in a trailer and worked his ass off at a factory. People’s lives often go through cycles but hanging with this dude the past few days has been fun. Oh and the Empire bowl is scary as shit. I need to practice BMX more.
Vans has historically been tied to BMX and skateboarding, so it only makes sense that they would support one of the biggest companies in the industy. There’s no comp when it comes to Empire BMX. This is Texas after all. To commemorate general badassery, the guys designed the Empire BMX Ruark shoes to smoke bowls, dirt, street and parks alike.
Featuring a canvas upper, Vans BLC cupsole, Vanslite midsole for fewer bruised heels, the WaffleGrip outsole, and a vegan-friendly construction, the Ruarks are a large improvement from the standard, off-the-shelf Vans. I went up to see these in person yesterday and photographed them at the newly constructed Empire BMX bowl.
Pick these up at Empire BMX for $59.95
Check out more photos by clicking the photo above or here to open in a new tab.
Minutes after I posted my Recent Roll photos, Tom from Empire sends this over. Austin fucking rules…
“We celebrated completion of our new bowl with a little party, featuring riders from Mutiny Bikes, Terrible One, Etnies, and Empire BMX. filmed by Ryan Navazio and Joe Simon. Edited by Joe Simon. Thanks Corrigan and crew!”
The old Empire BMX bowl was legendary. So many videos and photos took place behind their old spot off 5th street and since they moved up on north Lamar in Austin, their bowl was in shambles. Various radii of ramp laid out in the rain, mixed in with remnants from Texas Toast and other jams, until Ryan Corrigan submitted drawings for a bigger, better ramp. Months later and this sprawling bowl is complete but it took a lot of work. A few weeks ago, I headed out to shoot some photos with my 15mm fisheye on my AE-1. Trust me, these photos don’t do this ramp justice.
Click the image above to launch the gallery or click here to open a new tab.
Cult just posted this up on their blog:
“Everyone is invited to join us for a free show on march 17th at EMPIRE in Austin, Texas for the official release of the JAPANTHER/CULT tshirt…Ninjasonik and Japanther will preform starting at 1 pm in the back, outside…tshirts are limited, photos coming soon…”
Be there Austin and get outta the SxSW downtown shitshow.
