Bart, Ride BMX UK june 1993: FAT Mag is something that my brother and I started against another Dutch mag called 'BMX Trickx', and FAT means Freestylers Against Trickx, the other mag. We did that because Trickx wasn't good anymore, they didn't give freestylers coverage, it was all about racing, and we started to make a 'zine of our own, us freestylers, we wrote a lot of crap about Trickx, it was pretty silly. After we did the first, people started asking about a second, we didn't really want to do a second issue, but, it was just for a joke, but people liked it so much we had to do another issue.
Staff & contributors: Bart de Jong, Ralf Maier, Matt Pingel, Paul de Jong, Kay Clauberg, ...
Ride BMX US, december 1992: Fat is possibly the best and longuest running 'zine around.
Chapman, www.ewirezine.com, march 1999: Bart de Jong has been doing his `zine, FAT, since as long as I can remember. Why is it called "FAT", you ask? Each issue was huge -- the fattest `zine around -- packed full of riding stuff (contest reports, interviews, stories, opinions, drinking stories, etc.). Bart's discovered what I found out a couple years ago: it's a pain in the ass (and expensive) to do a printed `zine. And thus, FAT has found it's was onto the Web.
Cover: Josh White. We thought that if we take all the be st pictures of all the magazines around and put them in one 'zine, we would have the best magazine. Josh White's inverted no foot one-hander definitely deserved the cover of the 00 issue of Freestylers Against Trickx (F.A.T.).
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, february 2008: Issue zero was fueled by the fact that a Dutch BMX magazine (Trickx) started putting more racing and international freestyle riders in their magazine instead of the Dutch riders. That's actually where the name comes from: Freestylers Against Trickx (FAT). It wasn't a goal or plan to make a total of 34 issues but after issue 00 came out the Dutch scene wanted more. Anyway, the "Try-MAG!!!" is mostly in Dutch but that will change soon in the issues to come. It all started in 1987 and we were young and stupid. There were no computers in sight and the internet had to be invented for most of us. Markers, scissors, photocopies, rulers, the typewriter, these were the things you had to slap a 'zine together. Compared to now the quality was shit but at least you had something in your hands that you could relate to. Issue 00 already had a free sticker page. It actually came with two free stickers; one of the Freestyle Force (or Freestyle Freddies as Carlo Griggs used to say) and a FAT sticker. Please note that these stickers were handmade by Paul and myself. The time we were watching TV at night was shared with making stickers.
Issue 00 had the following content:
-Streetstyle skate contest Nuenen
-Hit the street (Paul and I in skate mode)
-World BMX Freestyle Championship England
-RAD-LAME list (in 1987!)
-We got a little aggressive on page 16
-Hulsbeek, Oldenzaal check. The spot is still there.
-Muenster, Germany spot check. The Titus Ramp
-Believe it, or not!? news section
-Graffiti page
-Street style
+ tons of misspellings, stolen photos, more skateboarding and other bullcrap.
Cover: Mike Loveridge. Paul took this picture on his first USA trip. Mike is reading issue 00 of FAT on the cover. We thought that was way cool. Also issue one came with a free handmade Freestyle Force (FF) sticker. Lots of America reports from Paul including the 2-Hip King Of Vert in Washington, DC.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, march 2008: After the first "Try-mag" the feedback was so good that we decided to continue with the FAT-'zine project. Paul had just got back from the USA where he stayed for a few months and visited the 2-Hip KOV in Washington, Mount Thrashmore skatepark and the Powerhouse Bike Shop in Hampton, VA.
Issue 01 had three stickers, one FF sticker, one Powerhouse Bike Shop sticker and one Skeletor sticker that Paul found on a roll in the $ 1 dollar shop. Mike Loveridge got interviewed and street riding is starting to take off. Paul and I used to do BMX freestyle demos and placed a full page ad in the FAT-'zine. Or maybe it was just a filler, who knows. Some things that made it on the RAD list were: Town & Country wear, Club Homeboy, Fingerboards and Centerpull brakes. Yes, these were the eighties (1988). Things that made it on the Lame list were: The Del Mar killers, Grabber seats, Dyno shoes and Lee Chi brakes. Some of this makes me laugh. Scooters were still hot (in our eyes) and we even had a page on Snowboarding (the next cool thing to do). Robert Moeller got introduced as the first German FAT-'zine correspondent and we also took a trip to an LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim and Public Enemy concert in Amsterdam. Memories........
Cover: Paul, Bart, Mr. Peters.
Scooters were hot in the late '80's, same with skateboarding. BMX was down but the core riders kept it alive. Issue two had a rad/lame list, the believe it, or not?! news section, UK news from Dave Beveridge (letter posted in the mail) and a Just-Ice & Human DMX concert report.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, march 2008: Starting from issue two we had a little theme going. We had regular sections such as the Believe it, or not!? page where we could make up news and leave it up to the reader if they believed it, or not. We actually still have that going today just to cover our asses in case someone is coming after us with an axe. We also had the RAD/LAME list which was liked and feared at the same time. The free sticker of issue two came from Lageja skateshop in Eindhoven. A shop that supported us though thick and thin. The rap concert report this time was from the Just-Ice & DMX concert in Den Bosch. Good times, good times. More and more English text so by now you should be able to read most of the FAT-'zines (if you don't know how to read Dutch). There's a report from the skate contest in Belgium which was also a good time. Scooters were still hot (in our eyes). Remember, we were living in the year 1988. There's a German scene report by Robert Moeller and a report from the UK by Dave Beveridge. Paul writes about his last contest in Hampton, Virginia and of course there is some grafitti art by Speed this time. Mini interviews were published with skateboarders Marcel Jansen and Floris Mansvelt-Beck.
Cover: Jeroen Hoogaerts, illustration by Joachim Mulkens and Bart. It's 1988 and we have a report on the banks of the University of Duesseldorf. Yes, the ones who have become popular lately after the Euro roadfools visit. Also a Doug "Wheely King" Domokos report (R.I.P.), and two contest reports, one from Antwerp and one from Eindhoven.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, march 2008: It was rough at times to do a 'zine. Photos were received by post and then photocopied. The original photos were returned and you had the paper to work with. You made a layout of the page and started typing on the actual page. The space you had available was the space you needed to fit your story in. The pages got stuck in the typewriter very often which caused major headaches. The typewriter ribbon faded out after a while too and finding a new one for the old typewriter was a challenge in itself. The page numbers were added at the end with a number mold. The pages needed to line up and all of you who have done a 'zine before know that this did not always go smoothly. But it's 1988 and issue 3 came out. It had the following content:
The cover was shared by Jeroen Hoogaerts (RIP) and Bart on the skateboard. The issue had lots of art again, made by Joachim Mulkens and Speed One who showed up with new drawings during school breaks. We visited a secret spot in Germany which is not so secret these days: The University of Duesseldorf with all those brick banks. 1988! Freestyle comps were visited in Antwerp, Belgium and Eindhoven, we went to Mookhoek to ride Albert Moonen's miniramp. Sterling Ruby and Albert Moonen received interviews, Paul and Frans Swinkels hung out with wheelie king Doug Domokos (RIP) in Amsterdam. The free sticker came from Seaflex, we went to the Piazza to do a report and Kees Lemmens got a photo too. Hit the magazine cover to flip through issue 3 of FAT-'zine.
Cover: Showtime! We used to do skate, scooter, BMX shows for some "Friet met Mayonaise". If we got a free "frikandel" on top we would go nuts with our Oakley blades on. Charlie Sportshop did not allow us to get the extra snack so we thought they sucked and let them know. Issue 04 had a Dave Vanderspek interview.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, march 2008: Issue 4 of FAT-'zine is more of a skate issue. BMX Freestyle was at an all time low so we did some fun things next to it. It kept us on the streets and the ramps that we had placed at the end of the street could be used for everything. It was the time when we did shows with the Town & Country crew. Bert, a T&C distributor was a crazy guy who organized demos for us at some of his dealers. We loaded up the ramps, did some demos and received dinner at the local snackbar in return. When one shop did not want to give us the gas money or some decent food, it was time to do some anti-promotion. Charlie Sport sucks! Haha, funny shit.
Vert ramps were hard to find back then but we found one in Rotterdam. The hiphop concert review of issue 4 is from the Stetsasonic concert at De Effenaar in Eindhoven. A free sticker came from Seaflex again Charlie Sport did make it on the Lame side of the RAD-LAME list (of course).
We had an interview with Dave Vanderspek and mini interviews with Elger Blitz and Dan Archer. Find a photo of Bart doing a cancan on a scooter wearing pink Oakley blades, pink/blue T&C pants and a pink T&C backback and win nothing. Sniper Frans Swinkels was getting rad on his Zorlac representing Vision Streetwear in 1988 and Mario Scheepers was the FAT FAN of issue 4. He had the FAT logo shaved in his hair. We took some pics and then the camera got stolen. Damnit! Paul was cruising around town on his pink GT Zootscoot with real Skyway tuffs. BMX freestye was at an alltime low indeed.
Cover: Ron Wilkerson. Pat Wirz sent in this picture of Ron doing a superman. Pat was our first USA correspondent, the only guy who replied on a letter that I sent in to BMX Plus! that got published. Interviews with Carlo Griggs, Dave Slade, Steve Giberson, Chris Potts and Jeff Cotter. Tizer World cup report too.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, march 2008: It was 1988, the year after the Tizer World Championships in England and the IFN had called for the Tizer World Cup. My plan was to get a ride from Robert Moeller after the Trier contest but while over there they told me there was no space for me in their car. I bought a single train ticket to England from Trier, Germany and had 10 pounds left for food. Luckily I got the leftover bag of bread from the contest so I did not starve. My sleeping bag was the bike bag again so I wouldn't have to pay for my bike on the train. 14 hours later I arrived in Manchester. Read the contest report in issue 5 of FAT-'zine. We have interviews too with street pioneer Dave Slade, Carlo Griggs, Steve Giberson, Chris Potts and Jeff Cotter. They've got some funny things to say. The 'Zines scene was getting big and we have reviews from Euthanasia (Jamie Cameron), COW (Mike Rose), Crucial Mania, Totally Intense (Effy), The 'Zine (Pat Wirz), Damage (Dave Slade) and Decade 'zine (Thomas Fritscher, Bresie, Thrasher and Geisser). The free sticker was provided by FAT-'zine. Yes we had stickers back then. Joachim Mulkens, Speed and Ollie took care of some great art again. Paul writes about his freestyle activities in 1982. We did a contest report on the Kenn/Trier event. Check this. I went by train to Duesseldorf first. We shredded the city there all afternoon and then took a train to Trier. Axel Reichertz picked us up and we went street riding in Trier till 01:00am. And they didn't evensell RedBull back in the day...
Cover: Carlo Griggs. Jamie Cameron took the picture. Jamie did the Level Vibes flatland report for us last month. Long time contributor to FAT! Dennis McCoy had an interview in this issue as well as Rick Allison and Robert Moeller. Dad's Lada took us to Bonn for a contest organized by Mathias Rechenburg. That guy ruled.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, april 2008: The colour of the cover changed with every issue. I sometimes checked on the cover color before Joop started photocopying but at times I couldn't be bothered and found out when the 'zines were done. It's still 1988 and Carlo Griggs scores the cover. Jamie Cameron took the photo and 20 years later Jamie is working for Carlo over at Proper Bikes. Nice one. The 'zine is starting to look professional with an official editorial page, contents page, and articles. Interviews in issue 6 come from Tommy Guerrero, Dennis McCoy, Rick Allison and Robert Moeller. There's a photo of Axel Reichertz flatlanding with a fullface. Paul, Menno and I did a Coca Cola commercial and made easy money. Frank Peeters reports about the Titus Cup, Le Clip provided the free sticker, we went to Bonn for a contest at Mathias Rechenburg's place, we cruised over to Den Haag for a sk8 contest, we visited Tropica in Germany and also discovered the banks at the University of Duesseldorf (1988!). The Stokebros are starting to make a presence and Olli contributed a nice drawing of Alf.
Cover: Ilja Probst doing an abubaca on the hood of the Renault 4 at the first FAT-JAM. Full coverage of the event and even a How-to (destroy a Renault 4 with a washing machine). Ifma trade show report, Cologne contest coverage and Matt Pingel starts contributing pictures and stories. Matt would turn out to be the main help regarding pics for a while.
Ilja Probst, march 2006: The abubaca shot was done during one of Bart de Jongs famous FAT-Jams, I believe in 1988. Bike on picture is a March Badlander which I also used in the Tizer contest (1987 worlds) and still own and again ride.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, april 2008: We made a lot of them 'zines back then. There was no plan really but this was issue number 7 and it is still 1988. It's the issue that covers the first FAT-JAM. Riding street in 1988 was a new thing. Having a car on the course was exciting for the street guys, and thrashing it afterwards was a good time. Check the sequence at the end of the issue. Joachim Mulkens came through with more incredible artwork that he finished during regular school lessons. So good. He's a cop now but could have easily made his money doing comics or whatever. Issue 7 has an interview with Sander Nieuwenhuis who still is our best Dutch vert rider. Pat Wirz contributes a report about the AFA Masters round 6 in Ohio where Joe Johnson did a tailwhip on a quarterpipe 4 feet out! Matt Pingel went to London and visited Southbank. We got a free General Bicycles sticker this time. Jeff Hedges gets a BIO, we visited a MC Marvellous and DJ Cash Money concert and made a trip to Cologne for a contest. It must have been our first time as it took one hour to get from the train station to the Jugendpark.
Cover: Albert Moonen fakie footplant, Thomas Fritscher rope-a-roni and Jason Hassel with a stylin' cancan in the UK. It's still 1988 so this is the 8th 'zine of the year. How's that for dedication. Run DMC and SNFU concert reports, a write up on the contest in Villeneuve d'Asq, France and a Joe Johnson interview.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, april 2008: Issue 8 is the 8th issue of 1988. Not bad at all after the first issue (in 1987) was made as a joke. # 8 had 52 pages and on the cover were Albert Moonen, Jason Hassel and Thomas Fritscher. Frans Swinkels and I went to France this time for a contest in dad's Lada. The Germany posse mede it too. Paul went to see a MDC/SNFU & Afflict show in Eindhoven. Dave Vanderspek died in 1988 which shocked everyone. Lars from Mars wrote down his thoughts on a rainy and sleepless night and sent it in. It showed up on page 18. Pingel went to England and visited the Chingford ramp. Ralf Maier reports from a contest in Bern, Switzerland and Albert Moonen went to the 2-HIp King of Vert in Washington DC and brought us all the latest news and gossip. Back in the day there was no internet guys! Issue 8 had a Joe Johnson interview. On the question "What do you hate" he answered: "When I am staying at Dennis McCoy's house and I have to fix his bike for food." Haha. We took another trip to Amsterdam with the Divorze posse to visit a concert. This time RunDMC, Public Enemy and Derek B and DJ Scratch. Yoyoyo! Matt Pingel itw too and the RAD-LAME list. Good times....
Cover: Bart, wallride in Amsterdam. Bank to wall to flat. I guess I could take it 12 years ago. Suicidal Tendencies made it in FAT as well as B.D.P.. It was Paul doing the hardcore stuff, me going HipHop you don't stop. Ron Wilkerson and Jeroen Hoogaert interviews in issue 09 and a 1988 review which seemed to be a good year.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, april 2008: Did you ever have a cover of a magazine? Yes I did, FAT-'zine issue 9 right here. Putting yourself on the cover is pretty lame but what the heck, make your own (maga)zine and you have that control too. The photo was taken at an event in Amsterdam and "street riding" was a new thing. We got plenty of cool artwork again from our friends at school. Somehow they never got caught. The StokeBros sent over a few pages and again we brought the news in the Believe it, or not!? pages. It's 1989 and a photo caption says that Paul is back on the freestyle scene. A comeback in 1989! Paul also went to see Suicidal Tendencies twice and reports about it. Issue #9 has 'Zine reviews (Sketchy, Fractured and Zenith) and Lars from Mars also wrote a story that you can find on page 18. We did a lot in 1988 and have 7 pages covering the places we went. The free sticker page was filled with a terrible Airwalk freestyle team sticker but hey, it was free. We went to a BDP concert in Eindhoven (P. 29-30) and went back to the University of Duesseldorf to ride the brick banks. The year was 1989. Jeroen Hoogaerts (RIP) and Ron Wilkerson both got interviews. We did Another RAD-LAME list, Matt Pingel contributed more stuff and we went to the EnergieHal in Rotterdam for a session.
Cover: Lee Reynolds sky high in Paris France Megafree. The challenge of getting into events for free had started. Paul bought a 50 cents business suitcase at the swapmeet and made it inside the Palais d'Omnisport in Bercy, Paris with a homemade press pass. When he opened up the suitcase backstage, a bag of potatoe chips and a bottle of coke rolled out of it when he wanted to grab his pocket camera. Sweet.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, april 2008: Lee Reynolds made the cover of issue # 10 of FAT-'zine. He had not seen it until recently when he found it online. That's why we're putting these things on the internet. Those who did not save anything from back in the day still have a way to flip through the pages; digitally. It's 1989 and we made it to the Mega Free event in Paris. We started working the "press pass scam" to get into places for free and to get backstage. Paul brought a suitcase, long jacket and a baret to impress the security guards and it worked. When he opened up the suitcase backstage his bottle of Coca Cola and bag of chips rolled out, but he was in! That game never stopped. Back to the issue:
Carl Inkpen reported from a competition in Farnham, UK, Pingel went to Rom skatepark. We had 6 'zine reviews (Liberty, ACK, Spazum, Shred Zone, Mayhem and R.A.H.F.). There was no Photoshop back then but there were scissors and glue to make a double air on page 15-16. We traveled to Roncq, France for a contest and had a good time as usual. Our local rap group was called Divorze, read the interview on page 22-23. Lars From Mars (BMX Masters MC) wrote another story for FAT and we interviewed Eric Fischer. If Shaun Allison rings a bell you must have been interested in the UK street scene back then. The drawings we posted in FAT are still awesome to this day. Just check page 31. The MegaFree report in Bercy takes up 9 pages to prove that we were actually working over there and not just drinking coke and eating potatoe chips. Ice Motherfucking T made it to Eindhoven for a concert. The taperecorder and camera were hidden in the underpants again and we got a sweet photo of Ice T on page 42. We made another trip to Duesseldorf and found a midi ramp and some dirt jumps. 2 free stickers on one page. A Martin Herrick interview, EnergieHal report, Rad-Lame list and issue 11 preview finish up issue 10 of FAT-'zine.
Cover: Rolf Seiler, John Yull, Mike Canning and Dave Beveridge. Freestyle world's in Paris-issue. Spent a night in Dad's Lada at the event and then got invited by the Germans to sneak in their place. Also interviews with Stephan Prantl and Scott Carroll (RIP).
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, may 2008: With 48 pages this was a skinny issue of FAT-'zine. We're still in the year 1989 and we went to Paris, France for the BMX Freestyle World Championships. The pages got messed up a little. It was pretty tricky to put the pages in order and then Joop had to be on top of it too when he stapled the 'zines together.Kees Lemmens wrote a report about a session in Den Haag, Erlangen, Germany was covered by Matt Pingel,and Haluk did the Tropica contest. We had an interview with the very talented Scott Carroll (RIP), and Lars from Mars wrote a story about bikers and skaters riding together. We drove over to Uden fr a street skate contest which was won by Dirk Winkelman. We checked out De La Soul live in Eindhoven and this report was followed by the Paris World's article. Stephan Prantl was interviewed (page 42-43) and we had an anti-drinking campaign sticker (Drank maakt meer kapot dan je lief is) in issue number 11. Still a lot of stuff was put onto the 48 pages and like every week you get to flip through it page by page.
Cover: Andreas Althaus with a rolaid. Once again a free sticker came with it. Issue 12 had the Dave Vanderspek Curb Dog 1964-1988 memorial page with RIP sticker. Interviews with German shredder Bresie and "No-Yo" Ryan Moniham.BMX took us to Sedan, France, Rotterdam, the Lieshout fullpipes and the '89 Bones Brigade tour.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, may 2008: Issue 12 had a green color. In the beginning we picked our color but after some issues we did not care. As long as it wasn't the same color as the previous issue it was okay. The cover photo on the green paper came out nice. Issue 12 had the infamous Believe it, or not?! news section, a reader photo section and also an MBL concert report. We used to have some ramps at the end of our street that we set up differently all the time. It was our ghetto skatepark but it worked for us. We also rode our scooters there, see page 9 and 10. RAD-LAME list, of course! Entered a Talent Show at school and won! One DJ, one rapper and me flatlanding on stage. We got a trophy and a day off. Sweet. 2 Hip King Of Nothing (Rotterdam) report where they stole my camera. Bad news it was. Free Dave Vanderspek Curb Dogs sticker in this issue. RIP Dave. Yes we rode fullpipes back in the day. 19 years ago in Lieshout. Take that. Tony Hawk did a demo in Eindhoven and we were there. Ryan Moniham interview, Dynamo Open Air '89 report, Bresie interview, Miniramp pics, Pingel art, Open Dutch vert skate championships, and a freestyle contest report from Sedan, France. Another road trip it was and we rode on carpet!!! That about sums it up.
Cover: Gerrit Koornwinder/Little Eck. We started to play it smart by simply putting two issues in one when we could not repeat the 8 issues of 1988. 88 pages made with a typewriter, glue and some markers still wasn't bad. Kees Lemmens, Rene Hofman, Albert Retey and Andreas Althaus had their interviews in FAT's first double issue.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, may 2008: The first double issue of FAT-'zine. With 88 pages it was also twice the size of most 'zines back in the day. Issue 13+14 featured over 150 photos. The quality was terrible but at least it brought the message across. The typewriter was still doing its job but the ink ribbon was fading. I loved freshly new ink ribbons as it also had a white line up top that you could use to correct the typos. But more than once the machine got stuck behind a photo and the letter didn't line up correctly and you had to bring out the Tipp-Ex to change things. It was horrible compared to the computers we use today. FAT-'zine was getting a structure with an editorial, contents page, news section, staff list, RAD-Lame section etc. and the double issue had the following features: Lageja contest, Freestyle contest in wherever, Bart & Martijn Deijkers interview, free VANS sticker, Kees Lemmens interview, Phantasialand report where some American riders were doing shows, Incertitude concert review, 8th Muenster Mastership report, Albert Retey interview, Amsterdam skate trip, Tropica and StokeBros write-ups, Rene Hofman interview, Trier/Kenn freestyle contest (1989) where we stayed in the concrete pipes, second FAT-JAM report where the FIAT 127 got thrashed, Andreas Althaus interview, we went to Spain to do a demo with David Quesada in San Sebastian and the ETA got loose. Sean Coons did a comic and we already had stuff lined up for the next issue.
Cover: Albert Moonen, footplant by Klaus Dyba and a backpacking Frenchie, Valery Boteteme. We hooked up with Jason Ellis (got an interview) and Mike Canning when they were doing shows in Eindhoven with Circus Krone. King Of Concrete in 1990, annual Koeln comp and a Divorze posse concert report. Educate the racist.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, june 2008: It was the late '80-s when issue number 15 came out and these items made it on the RAD side of the RAD-LAME list: Bresie'Z, Robert's graffitied Renault 14, Speedfreaks video, Vla, Divorze Posse's Demo Tape (that's a cassette by the way....), A Full PO Box, Watching Jason Ellis cutting Mike Canning's hair, Prantl's 360 at the Energie hal, English riders visiting the Leiden freestyle contest, DP's Black Medallion, Advertisers, D-signs designs, On Edge Apparel, DJ Kid Sundance, Tye Dye shirts, 'zines, Lambert's Harley, Mini-ramp Hengelo and Double seatpost clamps. Man, most of these things aren't too hot any longer but back in 1989 they made it on the RAD list. To see what made it on the Lame side, turn to page 17. We have a Jason Ellis interview in issue 15, a street sk8 comp in Eindhoven, 540 sequence of Albert Moonen, the Circus came to town and brought 2 BMX-ers from England, The Cologne contest Number 2 took place at the Jugendpark, Merijn Bonte got an interview, Free Converse sticker, Divorze Posse live, we had an article about miniramps that were the new thing at the end of the eighties, Matt Pingel had his fair share of contributions in the issue and Martijn Deijkers wrote a scene report on Adelberg, Germany. Andreas Althaus got an interview as well, we had a report on the King Of Concrete, concert report on the Bad Brains and a wrtie up on a demo in Uden. Dude, what a list!
Cover: Ralf Maier at the Domplatte in Cologne. Price of the 'zine moved up from fl 2,50 to fl 3,= guilders. Never made a penny on the whole endeavor but we now have a nice diary. 'Zine reviews became a regular article in FAT because at this time there were plenty around. Mike Golden, Gerrit K, Vic Murphy and Raller had an ITW.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, june 2008: Cover boy Ralf Maier is turning 40 next week. Fucking 40! I had many good trips with Ralf Maier. Most of them are covered in the issues of FAT-'zine. Ralf got an interview in issue 16 and so did Vic Murphy, Mike Golden, Sander Cornelissen and Gerrit Koornwinder. Back in 1990 you sent a letter to the other side of the world with the questions you had. You were hoping in a few weeks you would see a reply. Vic came through with the answers and I typed them out. He even put some pics in the envelop so I xeroxed them and then sent the pics back to him. Gotta love the e-mail of present time. Matt Pingel contributed a lot of pages and went sandboarding. We had reports on a skate comp in Valkenswaard, a freestyle contest in Leiden, the Wath Jam, Spanjer's skate comp in Hengelo, and a concert report about the Digital Underground. The free sticker came from Invert magazine (UK, now RIDE). We checked "The U" which was a crazy dirt spot where you rolled down a huge hill and did a fly-out at the end. We reviewed the following 'zines in issue # 16: UHS, RIDE -'zine, RADAzine, Albert 'zine and Mental Chaos. Remember those? Pages 51-63 show a review of places we visited in 1989. Looks like we were nomads back then already. Enjoy the issue. It's the last 'zine on the Smith Corona. We invested in a new typewriter. Check the difference next week.
Cover: Matt Hoffman (two TT's at the time) doing his first flip in public in Bercy, France. Look at the height on the flip. Insane. More interviews with 2-HIP's Kevin Martin, Klaus Dyba and Thomas Fritscher. Sugar Hills were born. Sunny Cali report from Ralf Maier and lots of StokeBros stuff. Second double issue.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, june 2008: With 92 pages we were allowed to call this a double issue. Most 'zines at that time did not have more than 48 pages and FAT was establishing a name for itself in the underground BMX media world. Mat Hoffman made the cover and rightfully so. He had just performed a trick in Bercy that noone had seen before. A backflip on a quarterpipe! And not a low one either. Way out of the top of the Coca Cola quarter pipes. Sick! We're getting more American stuff in the 'zine so from now on the FAT issues should become more interesting for our American visitors. Ralf Maier and Frank Schnuetgen did a Cali trip in the winter of '89/'90 and showed what it was like down there (page28 - p33). Vic Murphy wrote a story about the 2-HIp comp at Trend. Mark and Chris Noble sent some Cali stuff from their trip and we also had an interview with 2 Hip announcer Kevin Martin. The other interviews in the double issue are with Klaus Dyba, Thomas Fritscher and Patrick van Wolferen. We sat on our asses too long and had collected lots of material for this one. Divorze posse live, Lageja '90 contest report, a Life's a Beach, Ack 'zine and SKY HI sticker, contest info, 'zine reviews, Stokebros, Mookhoek mini, rad-lame list, Tropica DM, Skatehouse visit, Zoetermeer spot, BMX crosswords, ...
Cover: Stephan Prantl turning down on his March bike in Aarle-Rixtel. # 19 came with a: "Zonder helm, Kop kapot" poster, a no smoking sticker and a RAP X one. We're living in 1990 at this point, skateboarding is still hot and we are starting to make more trips abroad to visit local freestyle comps.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, june 2008: You know what I like about all these FAT-'zines? it gives me a nice timeline of things that happened years ago. I couldn't really remember when we started putting on the extra FAT-JAM to start off the season. Now I know. 22 April 1990. This means we've done a "Mini-FAT-JAM" for 18 years now. It was dubbed Mini-FAT-JAM as it was a smaller version of the actual FAT-JAM. Mario Schepers seriously messed up his ankle by going Sky Hi after being towed by a moped to get some extra speed. It was nuts and the pictures show it. We still talk about it every time we hang out at OJA and the pics help remember. What else did we have in this issue? 6 airs by Mat Hoffman on that Coca Cola quarterpipe in Bercy and boy did he go high. Frans Swinkels got an interview, and we made a photo trip around the world starting in the USA and ending in France. We went to Nantes, France for a contest, and the Pingel-Maier duo took care of the Tropica Contest #2. The poster was a fold out promotional piece to wear a helmet. Zonder Helm, Kop Kapot. Some Germans still remember that one as their favorite Dutch. Lee Reynolds and Dirtbro Jimmy Arrington have an interview, Matt Pingel took care of some pages, we had crosswords again, the Rad vs Lame list and the Believe it, or Not!?-news section. The free stickers came from RAP X and a NO SMOKING campaign. Flip through it, you'll find a photo and will say: "No shit!"
Cover: Robert Moeller at the FAT-JAM. Crazy summer. Went to the Jugendpark comp, followed the VANS Euro tour with Steve Van Doren on the MIC, World's in Germany, flew to the KOC in Southsea, went to Slagharen for the BMX race and had a lakejump session to cool off. Packed issue of FAT with 76 pages.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, june 2008: Let's start this review by a quote from Vic Murphy who was a regular contributor to the FAT-'zines back in the day. "I ride to get better. Not to get money. Not to impress anyone. Not to improve the envirenment. But just to see how good I can get riding from one place to another. Some people don't understand me. Well, I don't understand them. Ride to death." Vic Murphy. D.B.I.
Issue 20 of FAT-'zine came out in the fall of 1990 right after we had finished another FAT-JAM (report in #21). We traveled around in the summer and visited the World Championships in Trier, a few VANS shows in Germany, went to the ECC in Slagharen, and we had a few lakejump sessions when it got really hot. Interviewed people this time were Jason Jessee, Joop "Sloop" Smulders, Raymond Tabak, Frank Schnuetgen, and Dan Hubbard. We also had reports from the UK King Of Vert, a street jam in Aalborg, Denmark, the 2-Hip comps in the USA, and a full report from the contest in Cologne, Germany. It's the first issue on the new typewriter.
Cover: Vic Murphy at the MTS in Palm Springs. First time to the USA. It was all I had hoped for. Riding sessions with the Dirtbros in San Diego and Mexico, MTS contest in the desert, Sheep Hills and lots of partying. Maxed out on luggage on the way back home.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, july 2008: We've arrived in 1991 with the FAT-issues. #21 has 104 pages and includes all stories from my first trip to the USA. It was the best. For year I'd been reading the american magazines and now I was there, in San fucking Diego! Before I had put my bike together Vic Murphy called to see if I wanted to go ride some street. Hell yeah! 20 minutes later Knock knock, who's there? Vic Murphy, Pete Augustin and Kaarlo Wik. Damn, is this for real? I hurried getting the re-welded HARO Master together to hit the streets. Wow, this was good! Places visited were Mission Trails (daily session?), Ron Wilkerson's spine vert ramp, the San Diego Home Ave ditch, Imperial Ditch, backyard pools, rode some flatland at Mission Beach, went to the Nude bowl, the 2-HIp meet the street in Palm Springs, Balboa Park, a ditch in LA, the DirtBros mini, and much more. It was a great time and you can read about it in this issue. But there's more. Interviews with Alexis Desolneux and Eng San Kho, reports on the FAT-JAM, a trip to Longjumeau France, UK KOV report, KOC report, the Lageja '91 comp and of course free stickers and stuff. Go back in time, when riding real street was just being developed by the DirtBros.
Cover: A handplanting Dennis Wingham. Hip trick at the moment (performed by a.o. Ali Whitton, Martyn Tambling, Ruben Alcantara and Jim Cielencki) but Dennis did it at the King Of Concrete in 1990. FAT is going international with reports from Denmark, USA, France, Germany, Holland and the UK. Still produced on typewriter.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, july 2008: 1991 was the year I had to join the army. Everyone had to back in the day and it was my turn. Had my personal UZI 'n shit and made it to the Corporal rank in just one year, whatever that's worth. The best part of the 12 months in the army was that I managed to pass for my truck drivers licence. I rented a room so I did not have to live on the military base and could ride a bit after "work" and still manage to do the FAT-'zines. The pace had slown down to only a couple of issues per year but they were stacked with stuff. Just like issue #22:
-Did a commercial in Gran Canaria for ProSpecs shoes in 1991
-Reported from the Trier contest
-Rode the Vogelsang dirt spot in Cologne
-Went to Abbeville in France for a contest
-Was there a contest in the Jugendpark every 4 months or something? -Mini-FAT-JAM Aarle-Rixtel
-Christmas Jam report from Denmark
-Muenster Monster Mastership
-Skate comp in Erp
-ECC report
-Primo's house in California
-Julian's backyard ramps in Vista
-Scheveningen minramp comp
-Ripley UK comp
-Skate comp Eindhoven
-Roubaix contest report
-Tour de USA report by Frank Peeters
... and much more; Favorites 23's with Vic Murphy, Kaarlo Wik, Pete Augustin, and Jimmy Arrington, stickers from Odyssey, Lageja, Keine macht den drogen, and Airbourne (Peanut Brown), and of course the StokeBros contributed. Being in the army allowed you the weekends off so that was okay.
Cover: Party wildman Geoff Martin. Geoff used to come over to Europe from Canada to travel to all the events by train. If you're reading this Geoff, get in touch. Wanna know if you made it as a techno DJ. 96 pages with more USA stuff, Effraim Catlow interview, Tourcoing comp report, Skatehouse in Essen, Carlo Griggs etc.etc.
BS round 1, Texas.
KOC.
BS round 2.
1991 Worlds in Aalborg.
Effraim Catlow interview.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, july 2008: The new typewriter is doing its job making it possible to read the text in issue 23 which has Geoff Martin on the cover while doing some flatland riding in front of Hamel's in Mission Beach. This issue has a lot of USA stuff in it. We visited the first Bicycle Stunt contest in Texas with the GT team, we also made it to the next round in Glendale, Arizona. Sheep Hills looked different in 1991 and we also checked out a Todd Anderson/Eddie Fiola trick show. Jimbob reports about the East coast of the USA in two stories and we also covered several European events like the King Of Concrete, the Tourcoing France contest from March 1992, and we had a pictorial of the 1991 World's in Denmark. We were pretty international back then with a Barrow in Furness jam report (UK), Axel Reichertz' roadtrip to Spain, European team championships in Abbeville, France, an international contest in Eindhoven (NL), and a skatehouse report from Essen, Germany. I wonder how we did it all but somehow it worked out. Mario Schepers, Alan Peterson, Barker Barrett and Effraim Catlow got the interviews.
Cover: The famous Dave Voelker cover that got me the GT job. I showed this cover to Richard Long (RIP) at a trade show and freaked out the whole GT booth. I even dared to ask for a temporary job at GT USA and got it. Jesse Puente, Jay Miron and John PC interviews, Slagharen report and a huge Believe it, or not?! section. 86 pages FAT.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, july 2008: If there is one issue that stands out to me it's issue number 24. It basically got me a job in the BMX industry, or at least the first steps were made. I showed this very issue to GT Bicycles president Richard Long at a trade show in Germany and asked if he (GT Bicycles) wanted to advertise. When he saw the cover of his team rider Dave Voelker flipping off the camera and not wearing a helmet he was not amuzed. When Richard Long turned over the page he started reading the contents page. He noted the following: "He hates GT, but still rides 4 'em" and turned to the Jon Peacy interview on page 65. The discussion was long but he got to hear what was wrong with the GT brand at the time. I felt strong about it because I had spent some serious time with the GT riders over in California. When I left the meeting GT was advertising in FAT, they provided stickers for the free sticker page, I was offered a new Dyno Slammer and it was okay for me to get a temporay job at GT's headquarters in the USA. I seriously wasn't expecting all that. Anyway, back to the content:
-Jesse Puente interview
-Jay Miron interview
-Jon Peacy interview
-Sean Yarroll interview
-Schabau Cup, Cologne
-5th anniversary of the FAT-JAM
-Freestyle contest Slagharen
-Jugendpark contest Cologne, Germany
-Freestyle contest Trier, Germany
-Hastings miniramp report
-Fold-out Mongoose DMC poster
-European Challenge Cup 1992
-and a huge Believe it, or not!? news section.
Cover: Matt Hoffman (in 1992 it was still written with two T's) tailwhipping in USA shorts in Budapest, Hungary. Wildest party ever in front of the cabin. Super good summer with the FAT-JAM, World's, KOC, Titus World Cup and a trip down South to Malaga, home of Pablo, Ruben Alcantara, and McGyver. 86 pages again.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, august 2008: Man, this issue is bringing back some more good memories. One of my favorite contests of all time was the World's in Budapest, Hungary. I could go on and on about it but you just check out issue #25 and read the party-part about it. Sheps actually gets the contents page doing a nosepick with front brake. Only poor bastards that could not afford a front brake did toe jams at that time (Jon Talyor?). When we went to the USA and there were no jams anywhere, we organized one ourselves. At Mission Trails. The Boost jam was born. We went to the KOC in Markus' van and had a blast. From there I got a ride with Kay Clauberg in his VW Golf (4 people, 4 bikes) and we visited Tim Ruck's area (raced at Exeter's BMX track) and then went to the Rider Cup in London. More good times. Also did a trip to Malaga after the World's. Man, no worry in the world at that time. What else can you expect this week? A Mat Hoffman interview. We are talking 1992 so keep that in mind when you read it. Kai Uwe Lohff got an interview, we went to the Muenster Monster Masterships in Germany, there's a report about a GT show in the USA, we went to a freestyle contest in Belgium, and wrapped up issue 25 with a report about a KOD in Cologne in some barn. Nothing but good stuff from 16 years ago.
Cover: Bad boy Ronnie Farmer. Bought a new typewriter and it showed. It was actually possible to read stuff. Collected a lot of material on another USA trip. Interviewed Ronnie F, TL, The Noble's, Matt Pingel and Vincent Ranchoux for issue 26. The last three were magazine related interviews. Roni contributed illustrations.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, august 2008: Ronnie Farmer on the cover, yeehaaw. While in San Diego we rode Mission Trails on a daily basis with the Dirt Brothers. Ronnie Farmer was one of them. He was born in East SD and the Dirtbrothers house was on the edge of that shady area. We have not heard from Ronnie in a while an really hope he is doing well. He sure knew how to stretch them no-footed cancans. Internet sites did not bring the news back in the day, FAT-'zine did. The Believe it, or Not!? section is huge, full of news. We traveled to Phoenix for a Bicycle Stunt contest in our 1970 Buick Estate Wagon which had a 454 engine and was hella fast. We made it over there too. Ronnie Farmer gets a full on interview in FAT-'zine. Maybe the only interview he has ever had. Read it. We were doing Magazine reviews in issue 26 with Matt Pingel (BMX Freestyle magazine-Germany), Mark Noble (RIDE BMX magazine) and Vincent Ranchoux of Tracks BMX Power mag (France). Todd Lyons scored an interview which starts on page 43. We went to an NBL national in Las Vegas with the S&M crew. Jean Paul Rogers was selling RIDE BMX magazines for some extra income at the race. Mongoose provided the free sticker and I also went to England and checked in with a contest at the Spitalfields Old Market in London. GT provided another sticker. Free stickers are good. While in London I also got a ride from Paul Roberts to a KOD comp at the Slough track. Read about it in this issue.
Cover: Matt Pingel flying away. Another packed issue. Magazine interviews with Losey, MacDonald, James Hudson and Hal Brindley. Also talk with Keith Treanor, Dave Voelker, Thomas Stellwag and reports on Slagharen, Trier, GT show, the BackYard Jam, Dorkin' in York, a China report, dirtspots Dover, Honda Hills, Mission Trails, Hoover and 6th St. FAT!
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, august 2008: Matt Pingel was a big contributor of FAT and to show our love to him we gave him the cover of number 27. You must have heard of Jerry Galley too. He's on page 2 shredding the ramp in Dennis' backyard. We got a free STD foundation sticker on page 4. Six pages of BMX news and another freesticker (Big Boy). Thomas and Moni Stellwag get an interview. Greg Higgins contributed some art. Wow, another sticker: Mutation. We did a report on some SoCal trails: Honda Hills, Mission Trails, 6th Street, Hoover and Dover. RAD-LAME. Did you make it on the list? Backyard Jam 1993: Tom Lunch, Keith Treanor, Aju, Steve Geall, Grotbags, Congo, Grace and the Maddog. The mag interviews were with Brad McDonald (sitting in his "office"), a flatlanding Mark Losey, seatless Hal Brindley and going backwards James Hudson. The Lord (Dave Voelker) gets an interview on page 45. Nico Does gets the Bizznizz interview that starts on page 50. I went to China for some demos. Crazy but good times. Read the report. Freedom BMX Magazine provided another free sticker. We did an interview with Keith Treanor, wrote a story about GT Bicycles (another free sticker here), had a Dorkin'in York report up and we went to Slagharen for another good race and KOD. A GT show (USA) and a contest report in Trier (Germany) finish up issue 27. Loads of stuff here.
Cover: One of my favorites. Our $ 650.= USD Buick and our bikes in the back. Cali in the wintertime ruled. Trip number three. Summer of 1993 consisted of the regular events (World's, KOC, FAT-JAM, Cologne contest) and irregulars. BMX got you around, that's for sure. A ride from your friends and a space on the floor was all it took to travel cheap.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, september 2008: The cover of issue 28 shows what we were all about in 1993. In fact, it hasn't changed much. Road trips are the best. We brought you the BMX news in 1993 and we are still doing it now. 7 pages of BON in issue 27 and you were up to date of all the BMX news. We received Huphter and Rabbit stickers for the free sticker page. Achim Kujawski received an interview and then we're moving on to oiur annual Mission Trails jam. When noone was putting on a jam at SoCal's best dirt jump spot we took things in our own hands (again) and had a good time. I missed the 1993 world's in Limoges, France but got some pics from Ralle and printed the results. Your pro champs? Retey, Hoffman and Wilke. A 6-page Paul Roberts interview follows. He must have said something funny in this. Hope you can read it as the text is small. The UCI BMX race world's took place 30 minutes from our place. We went there and even organized a KOD on the first straight. We also had a Las Vegas session at "The Pits". The 1993 FAT-JAM can be looked up for the record books. Will Smyth and Ralf Maier get an interview and talk about magazines. Free VANS sticker! Iwan Kutin gets interviews, we have a free Wombat Tattoo, did a great road trip in the UK (KOC, Leigh On Sea), got another GT sticker for the free sticker page, did a report on the Eurobike show (More GT stickers) and the 'zine was finished off with a scene report (Moenchen Gladbach) and a Hard Volume Music page.
Cover: Leo Dumlow, contributed by Brad MacDonald. Brad was making RIDE magazine from his bedroom at the time. He now has around 10 employees and a big office. FAT is still being made from home by a few people crazy enough to spend so much time on it for next to nothing. Oh well, some things never change. # 29 rocked. 84 pages.
Woody Itson interview.
Markus Wilke interview.
Moreno Valley, BS #1 (february 1994).
Backyard Jam (june 1994)
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, september 2008: Issue 29 came with a bunch of free stickers; Mutation, BMX PARTY (Mental Jimmy'z), Forbidden Planet, VANS Off the Wall and a Gatorade postcard featuring Mat Hoffman doing a backflip. These little items were nice extra's that came free with the 'zine. Webmaster Jos sent me a copy of page 4 a few weeks ago. Read it and smile. 8 pages of BMX news followed. Then the report about the trip to Copenhagen for the X-Mas jam followed by a Solingen miniramp session report. Woody Itson gets interviewed and we went to the Phoenix Winternationals in the back of Chris Moeller's pick up truck. Back to Holland for the first NK of the year. Also covered in issue 29 is the BS contest in Moreno Valley, California. Those comps were fun. Thomas "Tarzan" Hansen gets interviewed, Axel Reichertz and Jay Miron get sequences. We posted the I-punkt BMX comp results, did an interview with Mike Daily and Cruzin' Chris, went to another race in SoCal, and also Markus Wilke gets an interview. Just read it. We did a demo in the 1. FCK football stadium in Cologne to promote the worlds and got attacked by bottles (damn hooligans!). Lawan Cunningham also gets interviewed and then we went to Las Vegas for a comp at the local park and Vic Murphy's wedding. Showtime in Berlin. Looks like I got around back in the day...... Went to the European Championships of BMX racing in Holland (round 1) , also visited the Backyard Jam in England, attended a Schwinn demo in Germany and gave Gido Hinz a photo in the 'zine so he would stop complaining. Happy 40th B-day Gido!
Cover: Cheesy Hundertmark and a cancan feeble grind. Also on the cover is Ian Morris' 30 step handrail in Aarle Rixtel from Props Video magazine. Still every time I pass that rail I think of that moment. Issue 30 is another nice collection of events that happened during the summer of 1994.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, september 2008: Cheesy Hundertmark is in the business somewhere. I got an e-mail from him some time ago and he sure does remember getting the cover of FAT-'zine issue 30. Also on the cover in small video grab pics is Ian Morris doing a humonguous rail in our hometown back in 1994. It was a good year. Ice Money popped up in Cologne and later in Munich, Germany and England. Even in the Lageja ad! The Editorial is still accurate. I do have a car now though. Free stickers this time from KDL, BigBoy, Busy P and GT. Huge new section. I hope to see some of these guys in Vegas next week at the Nora Cup. At the Trierer Cup we almost got blown away by Hurrican Ike. The tent took off but the Chevy stayed on the floor. Paul Osicka got an interview that starts on page 22. AK Helmond race report. Freestyle World's in Cologne. The real world's, none of that LG fake World Championships stuff. VANS Cup in Amsterdam. Dam right! Wateringen trails report by Petrik de Heus. Bartman comic by Deamer. Magazine interviews with Marco Massei, and Freedom BMX. The 1994 FAT-JAM was one of the best ones. Read the report on pages 49-54. De Bokkelulle went on tour. We organized a BMX museum in Helmond in 1994. Imagine how old that BMX stuff is now! Dave Mirra has an interview in FAT-'zine # 30. One of the questions was: Is Dennis McCoy getting too old to stay on top? Dave answer was: "He's an old man (laughter). Naaa, he's more healthier than anybody else it seems like so that's cool. He'll be in it for a long time. He always tells me he's gonna be riding longer than me, so he probably will." Read the interview, it's funny, shows you where he's coming from. KOC report also in this issue, GT show at Eurobike, Freestyle contest in Eching, Eurobike trade show report: Grinddiscs, Cannondale BMX bikes, Full suspension BMX bikes and other goofy stuff. Tarzan sequence doing a handrail. Comp info and the Hard Volume music section finish off another issue.
Cover: Trevor Meyer, Brian Foster and Mark Losey. I made this cover during one of my GT working periods in California. I got the chance to work on a computer instead of my typewriter back home and took every free moment, that I did not have to paint ramps or sign Hans Rey posters, to figure out how to cut and paste pictures on a computer.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, october 2008: Mark Losey has shot many covershots in his life. This time he makes the cover himself, mouthguard and all. Brian Foster had just discovered the freestyle scene and puts his aluminium Schwinn to the test by doing a 300 X-up in Chicago. Third rider ont he cover is Trevor Meyer. Has anybody heard of him lately? The year is 1995 and I just got my first computer and played around with Coreldraw a bunch for this issue. For once FAT had different fonts, different font sizes and more of that stuff that did not work on a typewriter. The news section was big again. We went straight into the S&M warehouse ramp followed by a Robo interview. Megafestatie report, free Haro sticker, and a report about the Chicago BS comp followed. The Sjappi Jam in Maarssenbroek was always fun. Dirt , Vert and Lake jumping this time. KHE provided a sticker and then we went on the Jinx-tour. One of the best trips ever. We had to smuggle Jay Miron across the Spanish border in order to do a show. Read all about it in issue 31. We had a session in RL Osborn's backyard. Rode some pools in the USA. Went to the ABA Grands. Had a free Webco sticker and visited Hoffman Bikes in Oklahoma. It had been ten months since the last issue had come out so we had loads of content. We went to Kampen for the first round of the Dutch BMX championships. We printed a scene report of an Italian park in Lignano. Of course we had a Mission Trails report, a Mutation sticker, Bartman comic, KOD report from the ABA Grands and a free Vans sticker. Soo wrote about the A4 trails and then it was straight into the Brian Foster interview. TL won the ABA race in Reno, read the report on page 78-79. Evel Knievel made it to the FAT-JAM and I wrote a little report for Gearhaeds 'zine on the GT AirShow. Flip through it and enjoy.
Cover: John Parker at Eurobike trade show, Germany. Bought myself a computer to make FAT even look better. We asked criminal KOP what to do to prevent bike theft. He said there was no solution because he can open any lock. Great. DOME skatepark, Eurobike, Dutch race championships, BS contest OKC, Interbike, German Open and the FAT regulars.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, october 2008: We are almost nearing the end here of the FAT-'zines that were made between 1987 and 1996 before we got involved with that WWW. John Parker got the cover of issue number 32. Again GT hooked it up with a free sticker on the inside cover. The computer was doing its job and made it easier to read the text. No more fading typewriter ribbon. The BON section has always been a big part of the FAT-'zine. Read it, it will make you go: Oh yeah, I forgot about that. The Beerfelden comp is one to remember. We bring it up every time we run into Alex Reinke and Detlef Richter. Good times. Read about it on page 12. A terrible accident on the way to the KOC in Kalle's dad's car did not stop us from getting there as planned. It was a close call but we survived. The car was a write-off though.We had a Rob "Ninja" Sigaty interview before people started calling him Sarge. BS Comp OKC report by PdJ who also provided a free Paul's Boutique sticker. Iwan and Choq went on a trip in a 2CV. Read all about it in FAT-32. Free Vans sticker; check. A4 trails report, Sprocket Jockey tour report, Dutch BMX race championships, 1995 tradeshows; Intercycle-Cologne, Interbike-Anaheim, Eurobike-Friedrichshafen. We also had video reviews. VHS tapes were still the way to find out what sort of riding was going on worldwide. Wilco Groenendaal got an interview, we had another Bartman comic, we went to the German BMX Freestyle championships at the Northbrigade, did some CD reviews, a Dome Ramp Park spot check, an interview with professional bike thief KOP and a little race report from the AK in Veldhoven.
Cover: Andrew Faris. We all went out in Vancouver. Andrew didn't go. When we got back (wasted) he was still pracitsing that one trick in the garage. I promised him the cover if he would pull it. He did. It's 1996 and another succesful winter was spent in the sun instead of the cold. ABA Grands and Reno report, Florida BS finals, and the Bartman comic.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, october 2008: The cover of issue 33 is one I remember well. Jay Miron, Mark Losey and I made a trip from Huntington Beach to Vancouver. We stopped in San Jose where we visited the Garcia family, had a tour at the Skyway factory in Redding, rode Burnside early in the morning and then cruised on to "the Basic house" in Vancouver. We had nothing but rain all week long and did not much else than drink and play fuSball. Every time we got back from a club Andrew Faris was still riding his bike in the garage downstairs. He was working on a new trick and I promised him the cover of FAT if he pulled it. Well, he's on the cover isn't he? 12 years later he turned up at the Nora Cup party in Vegas. It was good to see you Andrew. Anyway, back to the content. Taj on vert on the contents page. This was 1996. Bicycle Stunt finals report (Florida), Andrew Faris interview, ABA Grands report + KOD, DIG sticker, VIDEO reviews, Brad Blanchard interview, 10 memorable places where I spent the night, Bartman comic, Dave "Hot Guy" Osato interview. Play sticker, Christmas Classic KOD, San Diego scene report, McGoo's B-day party (always the best), and we also had a Steve Roy (where ya at?) interview. That small computer font made sure we got a lot in the 'zines. We're not done yet; Reno is the first ABA race of the season and I left for that race at 4am with Pete Dylewski in the GT Box van. Hidden Valley was around in 1996 and it got plowed earlier this year. Hard Volume was the music section. We also had a free Lawan Cunningham Univega postcard with this issue. The Cali times were great. We visited the Moreno Valley contest too. GT was good with the free stickers. Once again they supported FATBMX. We had a contest schedule up and the last page features Jay Miron doing a 360 table over the FAG jump at Sheep Hills.
Cover: Old school CPX 200 chainwheel and Mat Hoffman. The very last printed version of FAT. It needed to be finished before taking on the GT job which meant no time to xerox pictures, cut and paste them and write stories arond them. It was over and out. Until we met webmaster Jos Wissink who got us into that internet stuff.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, october 2008: It wasn't meant to be the last issue of FAT-'zine but it sure was. Since picking up a job at the European GT marketing offices in Belgium I was too busy with work. In fact, it was my first real job and one I liked a lot so screwing around wasn't an option. The Condor made the last cover and I'm glad it's him who got the last FAT-'zine love. Since these 'zines didn't come out every few weeks any longer the content list just got bigger and bigger. We'll rush through it and leave it up to you to flip through all the pages here online. -Ruben Castillo interview, -BMX race Schijndel, -Schwinn show Atlanta, Georgia, -Volkel BMX race, -Burnside Oregon session, - Telebel show, bunny hopping ten bodybuilders, - BMX Wo Venezuela, - Bo's trails, - Basic Boys House in Vancouver, - Crimetime with KOP, - BMX Race Doetinchem, - Hard Volume (Music section), - Jamie Staff interview, - Video reviews, - Best and Worst with Todd Lyons, Lawan Cunningham, Robbie Morales, Darrin Mitchell, Neil Wood and Mike Hammond. And free stickers from Powerlite, GT, 360-Grad, Pantera and an anti smoking campaign. Thanks to all contributors, subsribers, advertisers and everyone who has helped out in any way to make FAT-'zine happen. It was a wild ride but a good one. Long live the Internet version now. 10 year online celebration in December!!!!!!