Somehow this comment doesn’t seem to quite add up coming from someone who broke up a marriage with a kid involved. On the grand scheme of evil deeds, I think that screen capturing a Facebook status falls slightly below what you did, buddy. Would you feel this way if you weren’t the one being exposed? I can’t take you serious, I’m sorry. More after the jump.

UPDATE: It’s been brought up multiple times in the comments that perhaps I did something wrong by posting this. I’m sure you’ll assume, and you’re correct, that I think that’s stupid. There’s a good thread going here where I explain how I came to the decision to post Catfish’s comments and Ian’s response. Personally I don’t give a shit what any of you think and totally respect the fact that people disagree with me, but it’s an interesting discussion to have either way.

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“This is out of place here (sorry mike) but I wanted to post it where it would be read. The internet is doing bad, bad stuff for BMX; anyone over 15 years old knows it. And the posting a few days ago about personal stuff going on in mine and another BMXer’s life is a new low. I’m embarrassed. I’m embarrassed that something like this would be brought to a BMX website instead of between who’s involved. I think anyone who rides a bike should be embarrassed. Anyone who goes to this website should be embarrassed. The only reason I’m writing this is because I hope to embarrass the guys below, too, if they‘re not already. I won’t post anymore or follow the comments, so they can feel free to go back to saying the same shit they’ve been spewing for the past six months. But, if nothing else, this just makes me feel slightly better about it.

Are you happy now? Are you happy now that kids all over the world can read about the personal issues between two white trash guys in Ohio?”

Ian Schwartz, Part 2 from SundayBikes.com

Ian Schwartz, Part 1 from SundayBikes.com

Ian Schwartz moving on from BMX is sort of a bittersweet moment. On one hand, it’s good to see Ian moving on with his life and following his heart. On the other hand, it is sad to know we won’t be privy to Ian’s trademark creativity and style that he has always exuded through his bike riding. One thing is for sure, Ian’s mark has definitely been left on BMX and it is one that won’t soon be forgotten. I decided to put together a look at some of Ian’s most memorable BMX moments.

NOTE: I didn’t have a ton of time to write this so if I missed anything or you want to chime in, please do so in the comments.

Personally, I was first introduced to Ian through his Props bio, but before that section and before Ian became a household name in BMX, there was his part in A Day Late And A Dollar Short. Although far less refined and stylish as Ian’s riding would later become, it was certainly obvious that Ian was something special.

Soon after, Ian’s Props bio dropped a bomb on BMX. His style was one that BMX had never seen before; no pegs, no brakes and a freecoaster. If I were to list off every notable trick in this section, I would probably end up listing off just about every trick. But some clips that stood out include the pedal feeble to hard way 180, rail ride to 180 bars both ways, the fakie to truck driver and the fakie to fakie tailwhip. The voice tracks that were laid over parts of the video let the viewers learn a little about Ian and see that he was a humble and simple yet intelligent guy having fun on his bike.

Ian’s next section was his split part in the System video with fellow Ohio local Chad Shackelford. Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” set the soundtrack perfectly and Ian laid down more classic clips with a heavy focus on creative pedal grinds. He and Chad’s riding fit together perfectly. Ian was more technical while Chad took care of the simpler handrail and hubba ledge clips. It’s hard to put into words how perfect this section is, you’ve just got to watch it and see for yourself.

Ian laid low for a while after his System part but then made another splash with his section in the Lotek mixtape. Although not as jaw-dropping as his Props or System parts and filmed mostly on the perfect street set ups of of Southern California, Ian still managed to put together a stellar section of creative stuff.

Ian’s next video part came in the form of his Sunday web video entitled “Gone Fishin”. Although it consisted mostly of leftover clips from his upcoming Sunday part, it was still trademark Ian with much less of a focus on pedal grinds and more weird, flowy street lines full of high speed fakie hops and half cabs. This video part was made to promote his signature Sunday frame which was the first BMX frame with a built in Pivotal post, an innovation that would become commonplace on many frames soon after.

Ian’s final opus came in the form of the ender part in Sunday’s “Up, Up & Away” DVD. Spanning 2 songs, this part proved Ian wasn’t content to simply ride out the name he had made for himself from his earlier video parts as he focused less on tricks and more on taking advantage of oddball street spots he came across on the many trips he went on for this part. Although it received criticism from the BMX critics for being long and somewhat masturbatory, anyone who had been paying attention to the evolution of Ian’s riding saw that this part was the next logical step in Ian’s progression and that all the clips were worthy of being included.

Assuming the Up, Up & Away part is Ian’s final BMX stand, it was a fitting sendoff for a rider who always let his riding do the talking and expressed his quirky, eccentric personality through his bike. I somehow doubt Ian will ever really receive the praise he deserves (BMX has a notoriously short attention span and most kids already seem unaware how many tricks that today are commonplace came straight from his brain) but I am glad to have had the opportunity to get to know him and am appreciative of his contributions to bike riding over the years. Thanks for everything, Ian.

Really wasn’t expecting this one especially with there being no mention of it in his TCU exclusive interview. Check out his statement after the jump. Interested to see who takes his spot on Sunday Pro…

“Quitting riding to be a farmer is definitely an odd choice but not as odd as Day Day quitting riding to play Farmville full time.”

About 6 months ago I reached a point with riding that it just didn’t feel the same as it used to. Although its been a dream come true and I would never trade any of it, I’m certain it’s time for me to move on.
I was raised on a family farm and enjoyed it as a kid, but lost interest as I grew older and found other things. Well a couple years back I started to find enjoyment in the goings on of it again and began to read and learn about it. I’ve been able to meet and work with many area farmers and found an entire world of ideas and opportunities to explore. My family has allowed me to lease a small 17 acre field on our farm and I’ve begun implementing my ideas for responsible, respectful and productive food growing. I hope to grow (but not too big), either on our farm or on my own somewhere else in or around my hometown of Lancaster, Ohio.
I still love riding, and will continue to ride, just not in the same way as I have for the past 4 or 5 years. I appreciate the kids that have had nice things to say online and in-person, and I’ve had an awesome time with the guys on the team.
Take care,
Ian

(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.

Colt Fake in Banned 3: This was honestly the first part that came to mind. It has been posted 3 times on the site already and has gotten over 200 comments collectively. Colt’s section is different than most of the other parts listed because Colt was virtually unknown a year ago and doesn’t make a dime from riding. That may have something to do with the fact that this video part is almost… suicidal? I think that’s the word. You just get the idea from watching it that he doesn’t have much regard for his own life. This is the kind of part that you could show anyone -a flatlander, a strict trails rider, your mom, the pope- and they would be astonished.

Garrett Reynolds In Nike 6.0′s “Writing On The Wall”: Everyone knows Garrett is more or less, the most skilled bike rider on earth and he keeps proving it over and over by winning every contest he enters. This part is a monster- he does so many things that nobody else is capable of. It’s almost to the point where you can’t even compare this kid to other riders. “Hey, has any truckdrivered that set?” “yeah, but it was Garrett and he can truck anything”. I think the only thing that might hurt this section’s chance of winning is that Garrett is already so much better than he was when he filmed this section. His clips in the newest Nike web video, which he filmed in only a couple of days, shit on some of the stuff he filmed for this video. But really, that’s just nitpicking.

Dennis Enarson in Nike 6.0′s “Writing On The Wall”: Is this part better than Garrett’s section? I’d say no. But it does have the benefit of probably the craziest single trick that happened in the past year as it’s banger. That tailwhip is so unbelievably scary that I think everyone who watched this section’s opinion immediately shot up a couple notches upon seeing it. It’s so crazy that I honestly think Dennis is really just straight up ignorant for not wearing a helmet for it, but fuck it.

Joey Piazza In AM:PM’s “Con Queso”: To be sure, I don’t think there’s any way in hell this section actually WILL get more than a couple votes, I just personally think it was one of the best of the year. Joey does so many creative tricks in this, rides the weirdest set ups and his section just makes riding look more fun than any other part listed here. The fact that every clip was filmed in New York City is a bonus for me, because anyone who lives here knows you’ve either got to work hard to find spots that aren’t blown out (which Joey does) or just be really, really good to do new tricks on old spots.

Charlie Crumlish In BMXFU’s “FUTU”: This one won’t win either but man it’s good. Charlie’s always been a super creative rider but with this section, everything really came together. He combines silly tricks that you probably haven’t done in years like ET curb endos, with ridiculously hard tricks like half cab handrails.

Ian Schwartz In Sunday’s “Up, Up & Away”: I doubt this section will come close to winning, but in my eyes it was definitely one of the best of the year. Ian does loads of creative tricks here and a few of the tricks towards the end, namely the backwards rail ride against the wall, are things we probably won’t see anyone else do for a very long time. Ian’s part hasn’t made it’s way online yet (that I am going to link to) but here’s an edit of some leftover clips from the DVD.

Chris Doyle In Kink’s “Safety First”: Doyle is good at putting together a video part, but he really outdid himself with this one. He does all the usual monster tricks at skateparks and then dials in some incredible street moves too.