YERRRR! We out here in NYC busting wheelies and tearing up the streets with RRDBlocks, Lucas Brunelle & Ed Wonka and a bunch of other homies on our way to the A$AP FERG launch party. FERG teamed up with Redline to create a signature wheelie boy bike, and it’s fire. Plus it’s yellow. Shout out to the Bicycle Film Festival for giving me a reason to fly out to New York. The planets aligned with this one.
We shot this video back in 2011 when Ed “Wonka” LaForte first moved to the West Coast. San Jose was the Meca for FGFS for a hot minute and had a gravitational pull that brought in riders from all over the country. Ed Wonka was one of those riders. Not only did he crush it on two wheels, but he played a big role in bringing the FGFS community together in the Bay Area.
You can’t show up to NYC without paying respects to the fixie godfather Ed “Wonka” Laforte. First thing I did when I got to town was give him a call, and to no surprise he already knew I was in town. Ear to the pavement I guess. We cruised over to Chari & Co, met up with Jason Sellers and Terry Barentsen, grabbed a loaner bike and hit the streets rollin.
It’s good to see that Ed still has his explosive barspins in the bag. There are few dudes that ride as aggressive as he does. Press play on the video above and see for yourself. Terry always delivers the goods when it comes to quality, and this one day video is no exception.
Originally released on 04.20.2014, here’s Ed “Wonka” Laforte’s section from the TURF Bikes full length video, Word Is Bond. Now that most of the clips are 2-3 years old, we decided it was time for this footage to resurface and get released section by section over the next couple of months. Keep your ear to the ground and enjoy the first section in Word Is Bond, or check out the full length video below.
It’s hard to tell how difficult some tricks are when they’re being blasted one after another, and you don’t have a chance to fully digest what happened. It’s an editing style that’s common in action sports and will either drops jaws or glue eyes to the screen. After I watch video part that’s almost too impressive it makes me either stoked to go out and ride, or throw in the towel and call it a day. So in an effort to humanize the whole experience, we decided to slow things down a bit and rewind some old footage from the last year.
My 35mm camera has lived in the bottom of my bag ever since I got it back up and running a few weeks ago. I’ve already developed a hand full of rolls since then, and have been really enjoying having it back in our arsenal. I rode by the developer after work and picked up these photos we shot during the 4th of July video TURF released earlier this morning. Read more below to check out other photos we took throughout the day. Shot on 35mm Ilford 3200 Black & White film.
In celebration of our Independence Mike Schmitt, Ed Wonka Laforte & I met up in SF to ride, film, light off some fireworks, and get a quick haircut from Mr. Laforte himself. Check out this video that MTS pieced together of our afternoon out on the town and read more to see some screenshots below. WHEEL TALK X TURF BIKES
On the weekdays the Financial District is a complete bust. It’s packed full of people traffic, and guards who watch the security cameras religiously. But on the weekends it clears out and opens up some of the most well protected parts of the city. Here are some photos of Ed “Wonka” Laforte & I roaming around the neighborhood earlier last week. Check out more photos from this day below.