Tom, in a fridge, and Smith Grind at Arena skatepark.

Tom Mcconnell's Fleetscene Questionnaire

Intro:

I thought it would be cool for Tom to do the Fleetscene questionnaire. He's the guy I ride with most in Exeter, and has a riding style which involves trying to make everything sound like a car crash. Also, I spent more time correcting grammar and spelling for his answers than he did writing them.

Jokes aside, he's a cool chap, good rider, and pretty funny.

Ben

Name: Tom Mcconnell

1. Where / what would you like to ride most?
I want to take my bike across America crashing in strangers’ houses and in fields. They have so much violence and crime and stuff it would be cool and scary to do. Also, it would be cool to ride in places that tourists don’t go, the little villages and stuff.

2. If you could have one trick, what would it be?
Dunno, to have steel wrists? Or nose wheelie for ever. On steel wrists.

3. What’s the best song, or use of a song, in a BMX video you’ve seen?
What a weird question. There are probably quite a few. All the stuff in Joe Cox’s videos is good. Really well put together. With the exception of Marv’s section in Voices. I bastarding hate that song. Amazing rider shit music.

4. If you were to have a full-length video section, what song would you chose to accompany it?
Would have to be a toss up between piss angel by pig destroyer, a good drum and bass track or some dj shadow song that I heard once and never heard again. I wish I know what that song was. Maybe I have heard it since and it just didn’t have the same effect and I didn’t realise.

5. Besides their riding, which riders do you admire and why?
I’m going to be honest and say that I don’t really know that many professional riders to be able to tell if they are good people or not. As for riders I do know, Olb cause it’s always funny riding with him. Dad cause he is so different on a bike to off it. Josh cause he constantly amazes me and is well funny. I don’t really know anyone (other than one person, no names) who I wouldn’t want to ride with cause they are bad people.

6. Who has the best style in BMX?
Me.

7. What is your biggest fear, related to BMX?
That one day, probably soon, I will be too old and broken to keep riding. Untill that happens I will just keep going. I can feel my old man knee giving up on me at the moment.

8. What’s your next banger? What have you got your eyes on?
Probably lunch tomorrow, I love lunch, other than that, I have to get back on rails, I took a bit of a slam on one a while back and lost my balls a bit. So probably the Northcott rail followed by something new. Oh, that and there is the fucker of all roof gaps at my old school in Wimborne (Dorset) which I’m going to have one day. Three storeys up and about 12 feet gap. Will make the best photo on earth.

9. BMX in the Olympics; good or bad?
Bad, what’s the point? Snowboarding in the Olympics is gay enough. It would probably just be racing.

10. What were your riding highlights of 2006? What are your goals for 2007?
To be honest 2006 was my first year on childrens’ bikes so it was all pretty FB. But probably my first rail and my first clicked turndown. As for next year, find some good street somewhere? I dunno, just ride and have loads of fun. Maybe watch Joshy start some fights, that’s always a laugh.

11. Describe your worst crash.
Christ, I have had a few. I’m just trying to think of the one I lost the most skin on. Ok. Years ago me and my mate boggy (R.I.P.) were on our mountain bikes ripping down this hill, on a main road. We were tucked up like road riders holding onto our fork legs ‘cause it was funny. Boggy was ahead of me and clipped his handlebar on the bushes beside the road. We were doing about 35 at the time. He flipped over his bars, I tried to go for my brakes but before I could get my hands to the brakes I hit him while he was still sliding along the tarmac. My hands were off the bars, I went straight over and lost ALL the skin off my hands knees and ankles. Plus a car almost hit us too. Nuts, about 8 years ago and I still have the scars.

12. Do you really push yourself to progress, or are you just happy to ride and not worry about it too much?
Nah, progression is for pussies. I hate feeling like I’m pressured to perform. If someone eggs me on to do a trick or gap that I want to do that’s cool. But if someone is pushing you to do stuff you can’t be fucked with then that’s completely gay.

13. Parts: new and radical or simple and trusted
I like my parts strong. Regardless of weight, stop being a pussy and hop harder. But I do like my parts to be well made. Radical stuff can be ok but just don’t go sacrificing strength or performance, Odyssey.

14. What is BMX / What does BMX mean to you?
Bicycle Moto-Cross

15. What the best thing you’ve ever done on a bike?
Had fun. Bikes are just such a means of escape. The best think I ever did with a bike was learn to ride one. If I didn’t have my bike I don’t know where I would be. I would probably be a nervous wreck.

16. What is your favourite memory of riding?
I love street these days but for as long as I can remember my favourite thing about riding has been chilling out on my bike with my mates at sunset, either at some trials or at the top of a good downhill run. Probably my favourite was back when all my mates were real close and everything was easy, sitting around at the crappy sandy trails in Ringwood forest in the summer as the sun went down. No-one had cars, no one went to pubs, no-one did drugs. Just laughed at Drew’s girlfriend and at his silky smooth pantenne pro-v hair. perfect.