I meant to do an interview with Allan a while back when he lost a bunch of sponsors but kinda forgot. Just recently he landed a new gig with Haro so I got at him to find out about his new job, taking off his brakes, why he isn’t gay and what exactly a “Cookeback” is. Walk with me.

So first off, how’s it going and what have you been up to lately man?

Things have been good, my wife Mary and I just had a little girl on the 1st of the year, being a Dad has been so fun. I took my brakes off a few months ago to see what all the hype was about, I get it now. Then put a Freecoaster on and have been having more fun on my bike than I Have in a long time. I think I ride more now than ever.

Are your brakes staying off? Are there any tricks you don’t mess with now that you don’t have them?

I think the only reason that I would put them back on is if I am riding real big trails or the Mega Ramp. The only things I don’t do anymore are the obvious ones, fufanu’s, wall taps, stuff like that.

So you’ve been in the news lately… first off because you parted ways with a bunch of long time sponsors, how did that go down?

For the most part it’s this tough economy right now, Boost and Specialized dropped there BMX programs because of the lack of funds. After 10 years at Fox it was just time for a change, when DC gave me an offer to ride for them for clothing as-well as shoes it just made sense for me to do it.

I stated on the site that you were “dropped” from Fox but you said you actually just ended up riding for DC for both shoes and clothes, sorry about that. What made you want to make that decision?

10 years is a long time to ride for a company, it had gone through many changes over that time and most of them were good ones but the last couple of years I just started to feel like someone that the TM had to deal with being on the team and not a part of the team. DC gets real involved with it’s riders, our input is valued to them, I just felt like I was wanted on the team and that is the kind of place I want to be.

So now you’ve got a new position at Haro, could you explain what exactly you’ll be doing for them?

I am The new Brand Manager. I will be doing everything from working with the product guys to come up with new products to hiring riders to building and and executing marketing plans. Im real stoked on the job but even more stoked to be doing it for a company like Haro.

You’ve been doing the full time rider thing for a long, long time now. Working a more traditional job, how do you see that affecting your ability to compete?

Yeah its been 12 years of competing for me, I am starting to realize that I can’t ride for ever and I would rather spend my remaining time on my bike just having fun and doing things that put a smile on my face. Don’t get me wrong I love competing but kids are getting younger and the tricks are getting more crazy every year. Im still going to compete for a while but I wont have to worry about it being how I support my family, if I get to a contest and all I feel like doing is kicking the back end out than than is what I am going to do. Chances are I could do even better at contests, I always do my best when I am just having fun.

Everyone knows it’s a recession. And it seems like a lot of riders, yourself included have been losing some sponsors, has it gotten a lot tougher to be a pro rider over the past year?

Being a pro to me never had anything to do with sponsors or money, it just means to me that your main focus is to ride bikes and progress. Sure sponsors and money help make that possible but my mentality never changed when sponsors started to go away. I ride bikes to have fun, sure life gets more complicated when money and sponsors start to go away but when I am on my bike it’s always the same, a good fucking time.

(Allan asked me to include this photo with the caption “Responsible Parenting At It’s Finest”, haha)

You’ve lived in Greenville for a while now, but Haro is located in California. What are your feelings on moving out there?

I was born and raised in California, I am looking forward to being closer to my family but I will miss my friends and how convenient riding is in Greenville. I have lots of friend in Cali to though, it’s going to be sweet.

Managing characters like Nasty and Nyquist has got to be a pretty intimidating task, do you think you’re up to it??

I have known those guys for ever, they are who they are because they have been allowed to be themselves. Im just going to let them be them and all will be good.

Did you see Nastazio’s new site, and if you did, what was your reaction upon watching all those crazy ass videos?

Man, Cory is a one of a kind, I get what he’s doing, he can’t ride for ever either. He is trying to get a reality T,V. thing going, I respect that,, I can’t think of a better guy for something like that. Cory is going to be Cory no matter what, I respect him for that.

In this day and age it’s really easy for kids to talk shit about pro’s in the comments of a site like mine and have thousands of people read their opinions. Does that shit ever bother you?

Nah man, that stuff entertains me just as much the people talking shit. My phone # got on the BMX board once, so funny. The usual “you’re gay” stuff got a little lame but for the most part kids were pretty funny, I would just listen and laugh but sometime we I would have a conversation with these kids, I have even sent parts to kids that called me to talk shit but ended up just talking to me and found out that I am an ok guy, All I can say is keep it coming but be original for crying out loud.

What do you think the biggest misconception people have about you is?

From the looks of the comments on your site is that I am gay. I am married, to a girl and have a kid. But I guess so was Elton John at one point. I think people take me a little to serious sometimes. I am not into BMX for anything but the good time, sure there are times when I get serious at comps and stuff but its fun for me to be pushed by my friend and find out what I am capable of.

I don’t know much about the nuances of turndowns and lookbacks but I’ve definitely heard the term “cookeback” thrown around, have you heard that one? I seriously don’t know what it’s about, but I figured it’d be good to get your perspective on it!

It came from me doing shity turndownd and lookbacks, I heard somewhere along the way that Ryan Sher came up with it. I feel good about the tricks now though, if Sher did come up with it we should do a contest on your site. A photo of a turndown, lookback and a 360 turndown and let people decide, maybe it will change to Sherbacks and Sherdowns. Probably not, but it could be fun.

After being a pro for 12 years, winning X Games gold medals and filming solid video sections, is there anything left that you would really like to accomplish in your time riding BMX bikes?

Just to continue having fun on my bike, traveling and making new friend along the way. This new job at Haro supports all those things so I real stoked on what the future holds for me right now, and to be a good Husband and Dad to for my wife and kid because without them I would most likely still be at 519 without them. If you don’t know what 519 is go to Greenville, you will find out.

Any last words?

Thanks to everyone, to the people at Haro for believing in me, to all my family for there nonstop love and support, to everyone who has as much fun as I do riding bikes, thanks. Thanks to you for doing this interview, its a rare chance to speak my mind where people actually pay attention. Peace!!!

Previously: Allan Cooke Off Haro.| Dave Mirra & Allan Cooke Off DC.| Haro In Israel.