When I went out to England this past September, aside from drinking until I almost died and laughing at Mike Taylor’s jokes til I puked, I got to meet Scott Summerhayes, the owner of Crucial BMX. I was pretty impressed that someone in their early 20′s had started a bike shop and mail order that in 3 short years had already taken over such a large part of the mail order business in England. Even more impressive was how big the BMX scene was in Bristol where Crucial is located. It was a pretty clear sign of how much a local shop can do to make BMX bigger. A few weeks later, Scott hit me up and told me he wanted to carry The Come Up’s shirt line overseas and I was obviously stoked on that. I figured as long as Crucial is the exclusive retailer of TCU shirts in Europe, it would be good to get an interview going so you could all learn more about him and his operation.
So first off what’s your name, where are you from and how did you get into BMX?
My name’s Scott Gary Summerhayes, I’m the owner of Crucial Bmx Shop and currently living in Bristol, England. I got into BMX from a motocross background, I started racing from a very young age and every weekend used to consist of early nights and chasing the all-important Championship! By the age of 16 I was more interested in chasing girls and spending my nights in the local discotheque. BMX was motocross I could do off my own back, with friends, when I felt like it.
When was Crucial established?
Crucial was established just over 3 glorious years ago.
What made you decide to start a BMX shop? Was the plan to have the mail order be a large part of the business from the start?
The decision to start a BMX shop happened once I finished my two years at college, I either had to go to UNI (Higher-education, Degrees and that for the USA guys) or get a full-time job. Problem was that I really didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life at that point, I enjoyed riding loads and I wasn’t really cut out for UNI. Putting two and two together I realized that I could get a full-time job doing something that I loved, I quickly began talking with my parents for the “backing” and about 6 months later Crucial Bmx was born. A couple of years prior to Crucial, a local mountain bike shop attempted to do a “BMX only” shop and failed miserably, I knew I could top that with my eyes closed.
Mail order has always been a top priority for us from day one. Nowadays the Internet plays such a large role in everyday life that it’s a necessity to have. We pride ourselves on a great customer service, next day deliveries and up-to-date products!
When I visited Bristol this Summer I was surprised by how many BMX’ers there were, both grown, sick riders and young kids pedaling around on completes. How much has the scene changed since you started Crucial?
I personally think the scene has change drastically, it used to be small “gangs” of riders that would do their own thing and keep it all on the down-low. Now I see a much larger “network” of riders, people happy to share spots and skate parks. Generally a lot less “saltiness”.
I think social networking/Flipcams/web-edits and bloggers have helped to mold BMX into something more than a bunch of guys riding bikes, it’s a great experience that we should all share.
What is your arrangement with TwoAnd8?
Twoand8 is a Bristol based clothing company that we will always support; they have their roots firmly in the Bristol and surrounding area. Adi, the owner, has done more than his fair share to help the shop and I cannot thank him enough.
Who are your competitors in terms of the English mail order scene and what sets Crucial apart?
Everyone knows who the competitors are; all you need to do is open a copy of Ride UK! Like I touched on before, we really do pride ourselves in providing the best customer care and service. My employees and myself are more than happy to spend the time with our customers, making sure they get exactly what they want/need. Nothing sucks more than a load of parts turning up that aren’t going to work with your setup. It was a pet peeve of mine when you used to phone up a mail order company and speak to someone that quite clearly has no idea about the parts they were selling…
CrucialBmx also provides FREE NEXT DAY UK DELIVERY on all order over £50, and a flat rate of £3.50 for anything under. I know kids can’t wait, so we get it out as quickly as possible!
I also spend a lot of my time keeping the website bang up-to-date with the latest product, again I think it should be my job to inform people of what’s new. Not the other way round.
I know you guys hook up a crew of locals, who is the team and how did you end up with them representing?
We have a team of 5 guys, including myself. Levi Rogers, Tom “Dom” Hill, Tom Skuse and Nick Hayes are the main lot but we also flow a couple more.
I really couldn’t ask for a better team, I wouldn’t want anyone else representing my shop. The four guys above have come to be some of my best friends, not only within BMX but life. They are always up for a good time, constantly making the best out of everything. They are all darn good behind the bars and deserve all the help they can get.
The team came about out of luck and destiny, at no point did I sit down and pick out riders because they could do the best front flips or X-games results. These are the guys that I’m psyched to ride with on a daily basis, isn’t that what a teams all about?
Explain what Dean Lane is and how it factors into the Bristol scene.
Dean Lane is the closest skatepark to the shop. Dean Lane is one of the oldest skateparks in England. Dean Lane is raw. Dean Lane is built on a crazy hill. Dean Lane is the epicenter for BMX in Bristol. Dean Lane is somewhere you will not understand. Dean Lane is a good place to get over gary induced hangovers. Dean Lane is the starting point for any street mission.
Over the past few years, a lot of new English brands have popped up and a lot of American companies like Fit, S&M, Shadow etc have started to put a lot more effort into their UK teams. Do you think all the US brands and the distros are representing their riders well enough in England?
I think for the most part yes, it’s great to see USA/UK brands getting behind UK riders. It has done a whole lot of good to give BMX a must needed boost over the last couple of years, I would definitely like to see more of it in the future. I know that BMX is viewed totally different in the USA, as it is in the UK. I think that the UK guys can learn a lot and vice versa.
How has the Seventies/4Down split affected the scene out there? Has that drama died down or is there still some tension?
In my eyes the drama is over, it all happened before Crucial BMX was around and I tend not to get involved. To me, we now have two kick ass distributors rather than one. I‘m sure that Stu and Ian have their differences but I would rather leave that up to them! I have personally met them both and know they are trying as hard as possible to push BMX in the right direction.
How important do you think all the UK street jams that go down over there are to the scene? I know a lot of different places do them now but for a while it was like the UK’s trademark. Who are the UK riders everyone should look out for that are coming up right now?
UK street jams are awesome; they bring everyone from all round the country together, all the networks of riders in one place causing loads of chaos and havoc. Good shit always goes down, a great time to be had. I have heard that certain people get pissed that all of the best spots get shown to everyone but I personally don’t feel like that’s a bad thing. It should just encourage people to step up and do something amazing.
I’m really the wrong person to talk to about up and coming riders, I’m totally blinded by products and advertising that I rarely get chance to get up to date with particular riders. Levi Rogers is one to watch out for, riding for Crucial/Profile/Subrosa and Vans, he has the skills the world just needs to witness them.
Crucial just recently became the exclusive seller of Come Up shirts in the UK, what made you want to start carrying the shirts?
After you came to visit in the summer I realized what a massive following you have not only in the USA but also in the UK. I know that it takes a while to order and receive shirts from the USA so it seemed silly not to take the opportunity to work with yourself and take the UK by storm! Everyone needs to checkout the next issue of Ride UK Magazine (April Issue 138) to see the Crucial/TCU double page advert featuring some very nice girls. Along with that we also have Tom “Dom” Hill who rides not only for TheComeUp but also CrucialBmx, I will be working closely with him to get a web-video out in the coming future, after our Crucial Malaga Trip next week.
Have you, at any time, considered starting a Gary distribution network through Crucial?
I have thought about it, we will see how things plan out over 2010. Fingers crossed we won’t have to resort to that!
Any shout outs or thanks?
Massive thanks to my parents for all the help and backing! My girlfriend for putting up with my shit. BS3 Boys. Put a donk on it. Anyone that is directly involved with the shop. Verde Bikes.
Previously: Crucial BMX Skatepark Session.| Crucial “Digging For The Truth” Shirt Design.| Crucial “Escape The Rain” Malaga Web Video.