Brett, www.vintagebmx.com, october 2004: I started jumping when I was five in '72 and didn't know about BMX until '82 when a friend gave me a box of BMXA's that his dad was going to make him throw out. I learned 3 years worth of mags in a week and was hooked.
Brett, www.bmxfreestyler.com, november 2004: Back in '84 Mike Daily, Brian Peters and I were in the school cafeteria with the other BMX misfits and decided to start a team. Half the guys would race and the other half would do tricks. Mike was a racer and Brian had one of the only quarter pipes in York. I had never raced but could do basic tricks and jump anything that popped up in front of me. Eventually, the racing side of it never came to be so we just did tricks. It was easier than going to the track. Mike had the ambition and wanted to do shows. He was and will always be the Captain of the team. Kevin Jones, Mark Eaton and Dale Mitzel went to a different school but were quickly added to the team because they were great riders and good friends.
Brett, www.global-flat.com, december 2006: I always rode flatland but it was weird back in the day to ride with Kevin and Eaton. While everyone was biting their tricks, I was riding next to them and felt weird if I was trying one of their tricks too, so my flatland was pretty weak. Later they told me that they wouldn’t have cared. Damn!
No footed can-can and nothing.
Brett, february 2005: One day in 1985, Kevin Jones was following me in the skatepark doing whatever I did. I tried to stump him doing every jump I could think of. He did them all including a no footed can-can and a nothing. This was about a month after Freestylin' showed a picture of Dominguez doing the first no footed can-can. We might have been the first to do those two tricks on jumps but I have no verification.
Brett, february 2005: Reading skatepark in Pennsylvania killed nearly all the Hoods. Mike Daily got a hip pointer and was on crutches for a month. Kevin got about 30 stitches in his arm when his bars snapped. I broke my leg there. Eaton broke his hand there and got a concussion.
Brett Downs ,www.notfreestylin.com: Back in the 1980?s websites were called "zines". They were mini-magazines put out by riders to represent their scene or viewpoint. Perhaps the most famous of these was one called Aggro Rag. While most zines were about ten pages, Aggro Rag was over fifty and full color. I used to work on the Rag with my buddy, Mike Daily.
Gary Pollack.
Brett, february 2005: A young Gary Pollak used to ride goofy footed when he did lookbacks and one footed inverts on ramps. He did it because he ran a coaster brake and could tweak the tricks better.
Brett, february 2005: Craig Campbell told me he only crashed once all summer. He was trying a 540 over a 6 foot gat between two quarter pipes. He got up and pulled it the second time. Amazing that he could tour all year and only fall once.
Brett, www.global-flat.com, december 2006: Kevin Jones and I drew up the Big Daddy on his parent’s pool table. The design was pretty much 50/50. I wanted to make a few updated versions and though Kevin said he didn't mind, some other issues come up which prevented it. I have one built up and about 3 more. For those of you that would love an updated Big Daddy all I can say is it could happen ?
Expert flat was stacked with talent from all over the country. Plywood Hood Brett Downs showed up on a We the People Pony, with Rooftop shoes, to nab 11th place in qualifying. Yes, most people know Brett for his backflips, but he also still rides Flat, complete with a coaster brake and lots of stylish footwork.
Brett, www.bmxfreestyler.com, november 2004: I broke my leg for the second time in November of 2000. I think I was riding great at that point on both ramps and at flatland. That injury has slowed me down because my ankle can't take another break so I try to be smoother and not so ballsy. My crazy bits days are behind me but I still improve everyday I ride. It's tough knowing you can do things and not doing them because you can't afford to get hurt anymore.
Brett: I am spending the summer teaching dirt jumping and flatland at a summer camp near me. I have three kids who I spend a lot of time with. I ride flatland and skatepark every week. I spent the last two years staying at home after my wife had twins. I don't know what I’ll do after my summer job is over. I just keep trying to progress and learn new stuff while avoiding injuries and boredom.
Brett, september 2007: I’m still riding all the time and have taken up BMX racing as well. Just getting all I can from the bmx experience