LITTLE DEVIL.
Garret: I got into racing when I was 13. My first sponsor was Little Devil--I rode for them for about five years, I think.
DEMO.
Van Homan: This photo is from a demo Garrett Byrnes and I did in 96. Vet Stadium is now gone, so this photo of Garrett doing X-Ups during the 7th inning stretch is pretty priceless
Garrett Byrnes en tailwhip à Glissexpo Anglet en couverture du Soul numéro 6 de novembre 1999.
Nice Profile on East Coast shredder Garret Byrnes in Props #35 january 2000.
Jason D., www.notfreestylin.com: This issue will be remembered as the Garret Byrnes issue. The riding for his interview was great, but then to notice he is pulling off all those grinds pegless, it becomes amazing.
FREEDOM COVER.
Freedom #33 june 2000.
PROPS.
On the cover of Props #35 winter 2000.
Garrett is now riding for Etnies.
COVER.
Dig #18 september october 2001
Interview by Brian Tunney in Dig #23 july 2002.
Though he’d have you believe otherwise, it seems like Garrett Byrnes has that little thing called life just about figured out. Live everyday to the fullest and have fun along the way. It might seem a bit simple as a creed to live by, but Garrett’s never been one to make anything too complicated. No, he seems too happy enjoying life to even worry about complications of any kind. This is the Garrett Byrnes interview. Garrett’s a wise person. Read it with an open mind.
What age are you… and all that stuff?
Garret Byrnes: I’m 22 and I’m from Beechwood, NJ but I say I’m from Toms River cause no one knows where in the world Beechwood is.
You’ve been all over the world, but you always come back to New Jersey. Why is that?
Garret Byrnes: My parents live here. Free rent, so I hang out with them. I’m really, really big on friends and family. It’s the most important thing in my life. I’d have to say that friends and family really keep me here.
You don’t ever see yourself leaving NJ then?
Garret Byrnes: Umm, I don’t know. It depends. I’ve seen so many cool places that I’d like to go. I’m sure I’ll leave someday, but for right now, it seems to be a really good spot for me to stay in. It has everything I need.
How’d you end up meeting Van Homan?
Garret Byrnes: I met Van through racing. Me, Van and Gary Thorpe used to all race together. I started hanging out with Van when I was about 16, and I’d always go to his house or he’d come to mine. We’d always just ride together and things just progressed. We were really into riding together and having fun.
Is the shaved head your new permanent hairstyle?
Garret Byrnes: I don’t know. It’s hard, once you shave your head; you just don’t want it to grow anymore. You feel like a superhero when you shave your head. You can tell differences in heat. You can tell when someone is behind you.
Where do you buy your shirts?
Garret Byrnes: Anywhere from the hospital shop in Toms River to vintage shops in Liverpool.
You ride BMX, but at the same time, you don’t seem to limit yourself to just riding bikes. How did that come about?
Garret Byrnes: I started skating pretty much before I got into riding. I’ve always skated and always had fun. Now, I ride all the time. But it’s good to have a different outlet to have fun with. It gives me the best feeling cause it’s like learning how to ride all over again when you pull a new trick. Just even cruising around is the best thing in the world.
Do you take any influence from skateboarding and put it into riding your bike?
Garret Byrnes: Definitely. I watch skate videos more than I watch BMX videos. I just like the style and speed mostly. I’m very influenced by the speed and skateboarding. Speed is good. The faster, the better.
How’d you get into riding so fast?
Garret Byrnes: Watching old skate videos, watching Chris Senn is good all the time. Things look so much cooler when you’re going fast. I just try to hit stuff as fast as I can and see where it takes me.
Your bike setup, with the low drop nose seat and no pegs, has been copied by a lot of people lately. How did that setup evolve for you and how do you feel about it being copied by other riders?
Garret Byrnes: At first, I wasn’t really into pegs just because I wasn’t into grinding stuff. I just had fun cruising around and manualing stuff. I wasn’t into doing rails or anything like that. But then it came to the point, lately, where I can go to pools, I can go anywhere I want and nobody bothers me. They see I don’t have pegs on my bike and know that I’m not wrecking things. That’s a huge part of it now, just knowing that you can have fun and not be bothered by people complaining about me wrecking the pool coping. People having the same setup, I mean, I’m guilty of the same thing when I was younger. I’d see people with bikes that I like and do it myself. It just happens. It’s the way things evolve.
You always seemed to be into having a light bike setup too. How did that come about?
Garret Byrnes: I was never really into it. It was just from trying different things. Now, I have a bike with a seatpost built in, just to try something different. It was an idea from an old bike company in Europe that did it in the 80’s. I remembered seeing that and thought it was really neat, so I thought we’d give it a try. It seems to be working good. I don’t think you could ever reproduce it in large amounts because no one wants to run their seat at the same height.
Because you never ride pegs, you figured out other ways to grind though. Where did that come from?
Garret Byrnes: That was pretty much from seeing old photos and just watching old videos of people doing gear grinds and pedal grinds and all kinds of weird stuff. So I messed around with that. But lately, I haven’t even done any grinds. I’ve just been having way too much fun just doing the carve. I’d have to say, ask anybody who rides a lot, that’s the best thing to do. Just doing a big carve on anything.
So if I asked what your favorite kind of riding is, would it be carving?
Garret Byrnes: Cruising, just cruising.
You seem to have a ‘charge ahead’ attitude towards your riding, like you don’t ever think negatively when you approach something.
Garret Byrnes: I don’t know. Peter Adam has been changing my mind lately, cause he seems to find the worst possible thing that could happen on anything and points it out right before I’m about to go up to it. OK, I’m gonna try this 180 down fifty steps. What if your pants get caught and you smash your head on the last step? Peter Adam, what are you doing? Why do you need to say this? And Pete will say, “Oh, you just need to know in case this happens so you can get off early.” Peter Adam, you’re nuts.
Anyway, before Peter Adam. How do you get in the mindset of doing some of the crazy shit you’ve done?
Garret Byrnes: It’s just more or less, in my head, that anything is possible. Ruben, Van, Alistair, all those guys that are seriously pushing things, they just show that anything’s possible. And even if you think something’s not gonna work, it might work. You might as well try it. Just go for it Peter!
You seem to have a ride when you want, don’t force it attitude. How did that come about?
Garret Byrnes: Doing so many things in a week, you only have a certain amount of time to ride, skateboard, hang out with friends. I try to fit in riding whenever I can, but if I’m not feeling it 100%, I don’t ride. It’s the type of thing that I want to feel good when I’m doing, not just riding to ride because I’m supposed to. It’s not training. It’s how I relax.
Are you anti-contest?
Garret Byrnes: I’m not really anti. I think times are changing a lot and it’s always been that I want to go and hang out. A lot of the contests lately, like the Backyard Jam and the La Revolution contests are really good. You can just tell that everyone’s having fun.
it.
OFF LITTLE DEVIL.
Garrett has parted ways with Little Devil after five years of support.
COVER.
Garrett Byrnes dans la piscine d'Ashbury park en couverture du Soul hors-série spécial photo de juillet 2003. Photo par Guedz.
Garret Byrnes upside down in Carbondale, Colorado on the cover of Dig #38 june 2004.
www.databmx.com, february 2005: La famille Fly Bikes continue à s'agrandir avec l'arrivée de Garret Byrnes. Il reste bien sûr chez T1 et participe à la tournée Fly en Nouvelle Zélande.
COVER.
Garret en couverture du Soul #39 de novembre 2005.
Garrett Byrnes launches roof and ramp while the great ball of fire rises over the Atlantic on the cover of Ride BMX US july 2009. Photo by Mulligan.
