(Photos courtesy of Keith Romanowski)
I’ve been sitting here for 15 minutes trying to write a good description of Ian Schwartz and I’ve yet to come up with anything decent. Ian is hard to describe. On one hand he’s by far one of the most innovative and progressive riders of all time (every video submission I watch where some kid creeps up a bank fakie at 2 miles per hour and does a tailwhip attests to this), but on the other hand, he’s got pretty much zero pretense about him and he’s one of the nicest dudes you’ll ever meet. If you roll up to a street spot that’s been heavily sessioned with Ian, there’s a good chance he won’t ride it, but then you’ll be riding down the street and spot something nobody else would ever look twice at, and he’ll think it’s the perfect spot to film a clip on. I hit him up a few weeks ago for an interview and luckily he was down. Walk with me.
So Ian, how’s it going man?
Things are good, just been hanging out at home in Ohio for the summer.
I guess the biggest thing you’ve had going on lately was your Sunday part. It obviously got a lot of people talking since it spanned 2 songs and featured a shitload of original riding. Approximately how long did you spend filming for that part and are you happy with how it came out?
Yeah, I mean, as always there are gonna be lots of things I wish I could have done or changed. But I did the best I could on it. I was a bit weird about the 2 song thing, but we didn’t really know how to do it otherwise. We started out with a ridiculous amount of footage, so even what is in the video is after a lot of cutting things out. Basically I just couldn’t give up any of the clips that ended up in the video. They all had something I loved about em, whether it was the spot, the trick or something else.
A lot of kids online might have made the argument that it should have been condensed into one part… I don’t agree, but I’m sure you considered that option. Were you involved in the editing and did you consider that as an option, what made you go the other way?
In all honesty we weren’t able to be as involved in the editing as I would have liked, but that was no ones fault. It’s just the way it is when everyone is spread out around the country. But in general yeah we tried to figure out all the options for having so much footage and decided it was the only way to make it work. I don’t blame kids for thinking that way, I just couldn’t give up on any of the clips. Even the ones that didn’t seem like a big deal or anything, there was something in the spot or that day that was memorable to me and I wanted it in.
You spent so long filming for the Sunday DVD and now it’s finally out. I don’t really know of any other projects that your sponsors have going on, are you just chilling for a while or already working on filming more stuff?
No, I’m kind of taking it easy right now. I’m fortunate enough to have really laid back sponsors that don’t get into putting a lot of pressure on us. We’ve been talking about some Sunday trips, but other than that just kind of enjoying Ohio after a couple years of a lot of traveling.
What’s your mentality like when your sponsor tells you that they are doing a DVD, is it pretty much a necessity for you to go on trips to film or are you down to try and get stuff done locally?
It’s sort of turned into that in the past year or two. I’ve ridden Columbus my entire life so it can get really hard to find new stuff I want to do. I get a lot out of riding new spots and applying things I already know how to do to them.
Aside from your part… whose section was your favorite’s in the Sunday DVD?
I’m excited watching everyone’s part, because even though a lot of the stuff was filmed on trips I was on, there was so much filmed in the guys’ hometowns or whatever that I didn’t see coming. Everyone on the team has their own thing going on and its neat to see all put together.
So a lot was made out of your comment in your Ride interview that you don’t really like setting up street spots or jumping into grass. To me, I thought it was pretty obvious that you were just saying that those were things that you, yourself weren’t into not that you felt any sort of way about other people doing it. Did you anticipate that statement becoming so heavily discussed?
No I really didn’t think about it. Maybe I should have expected it more, we all know how things get blown out of proportion in BMX or any social scene I suppose. But, honestly, I was just answering the questions I was asked in a natural way. Those are the same things I would have said bullshitting with a friend on the sidewalk. Its just the way I like to look at riding, its what works in my head. It has nothing to do with what the guy next to me is doing.
BMX has definitely changed a lot since you first started to get recognized… what would you say the biggest changes have been?
Its hard to step back and really say. I guess its just the usual progression. The things you only joked about 5 years ago kids are doing their first trip to Woodward. It can be hard to relate to, but I appreciate it none the less.
After you left Mosh, it seemed likely that you’d get on pro for another parts company soon after, but that didn’t happen. Any reason why, or anything in the works?
No particular reason why that I know of, it just didn’t happen. Odyssey and Animal are always really helpful and generous; that’s enough for me. I’ve been working with Cinema (Steve Buddendeck and Cory Muth’s wheel company) ever since Mosh. They’ve got a lot on their plates, but we’re hoping to get things up and goin soon. I’m gettin by, traveling plenty, and doing everything I hoped for in BMX.
While everyone else in BMX has seemingly dramatically increased their barspins and tailwhips over the past few years, you’ve laid off of them. What happened there?
Just a mix of things really. With the barspins, I broke my scaphoid in my throwing hand and it never healed. So, now I have little movement and it makes my throws really unpredictable. I have the same issue in my other hand from 5 or 6 years ago, so I can’t just learn em the other way. As far as tailwhips go I just got sick of em. Though I feel I’m largely self motivated and influenced in my riding, part of me is still effected by what everyone else is doing around me. After I did some tailwhip stuff that I had always thought about, I really just lost interest in it. Especially because I started making a habit of twisting my ankle when it would slip off the front pedal. I did that way too many times. I got sick of doing them and really sick of seeing them.
I know for years you were working with Mosh to try and design a freecoaster and it never panned out. Have you been working with Cinema on that idea still or is that idea over with for now?
Yeah we’ve been trying. We wanted to at least have the prototypes made in the U.S. but things are moving really slow and communication with the machinist has been a problem. We’re just gonna do our best and see if we can get it out.
If you had to end this with one sentence, what would it be?
It’s just my opinion.
Previously: The Catfish & Ian Schwartz Story.| Fremont Promo (2007)| Ian Schwartz Fires Back!