Name: Daniel "MUDHUT" Banks

Age: 27

Hometown: Warrington, UK

Current city: Glasgow, Scotland

Supported by: WeThePeople - Animal - Procedure BMX

Years riding: 15/16 years

Joe Tiseo, Joe Simon or Joe Cox?

Joe Cox is probably the closest to my era. But I don’t recall watching much of his stuff. I definitely watched him but memory isn’t great.

Luc-E, smith or crook?

I’d say smith. There is nothing better on a ledge then a nice smith

Web video, DVD or VHS?

I love getting a cuppa tea and just watching a DVD. Riders always put a lot of time into a DVD and it shows.

What’s your favorite thing about a metal peg?

It’s the sound! If plastic pegs sounded good then it might be a different story. Although metal pegs grind. Plastic pegs slide. I prefer to grinding. Makes it feel more real.

Frame: WTP Trigger 21” in my colour

Fork: WTP Battleship 24mm

Bars: Animal Foursome 9”

Stem: Animal Pop-off

Grips: Animal Edwin v2

Hubs: Animal Javelin Front hub, Javelin Rear hub

Rims: Animal RS rims

Tires: Animal ASM

Pegs: Animal Team

Cranks: WTP Logic 160mm

Pedals: Animal Rat trap

Chain: WTP Demand

Sprocket: Animal OG full-guard

Seat: WTP Dan Banks signature

How old were you when you first began riding BMX?

Maybe like 11 or 12

Do you remember your first bike?

Yep! It was a mongoose mischief in gold. It was pretty wild. Back in the day when 36t sprockets we’re the standard, haha

Do you recall, what your first major experience was that influenced your admiration for a BMX bike?

Me and my brother used to watch the extreme sports channel after school. We’d always see X-games and Dew tour. It just looked like the sickest thing. People going high and doing loads & loads tricks looked fun!

Growing up riding, did you have a group of friends who rode with you, or did you discover other riders out in the wild?

I found a group of friends in high school. There was probably about 5-8 of us the would ride to school in the morning but we’d set off early to ride in the car park of the school grounds. There was older riders in the years above us, also riding. So these car park sessions were sick!

What was the terrain like in your hometown when you started riding? Were you influenced by the streets or skateparks?

A bit of a mixture. The local skatepark was definitely were it all started then we slowly began to move into the local streets after we had a couple tricks in the bag. Big up WZA park! Love that place.

You recently spent a couple of weeks in California, and it just so happened to be your first visit to The United States. What was the most evident contrast between Scotland and The U.S. that you noticed during your stay?

Where do I start! The roads are massive and the land is flat. The weather is way more consistent and sunny. There is also a lot more BMXr's. It was a very sick trip! Need to go back soon

What is your favorite attribute about California now that you’ve had a proper taste?

It has to be the sun! It’s such an obvious one to pick but they get it in abundance there. In Glasgow if I see the sun in the sky I call off everything to try and ride that day.

What was your time like in California, who did you get to ride with and where did you stay?

My time was sick! I was crashing at the 'bottlekids' HQ, consisting of Riley Smith, Mike "Milky" Andrews and a bunch of other solid dudes! Those guys are sound. I did get to ride with many different people so I’ll save you the list, haha. Big thanks to all the people that I hung out with and rode with!

Describe an average day in the life of Dan Banks whilst in Long Beach…

Wake up, eat breakfast, drive to somewhere in LA, ride till the sun goes down, kick it and chill with the gang

How does it feel to simply just be in Cali on 2-wheels?

Pretty sick! I had some preconceived ideas of Cali but I was surprised to have those ideas changed. It’s weird because it felt like a familiar place. Probably because I’ve watched so many videos from Cali.

It appears you really enjoy Tea… Americans like me are usually hooked on coffee but we weren’t able to change Dan Banks! Lol explain to us… Why Tea?

It’s just sick! I grew up with it so it’s like my coffee. I tried my best to show the homies how to make a proper cuppa. It’s safe to say, I opened some eyes to how lovely tea can be!

Top 3 teas?

-Yorkshire Gold

-Lidl Scottish blend

-After them any tea will do, haha

How did the road of sponsorship lead you to WeThePeople, and onward to Animal as well?

The WeThePeople gig started by me meeting up with Paul to chat about a doomed clothing drop photoshoot. We met a couple times about that. After one of our meet ups he dropped me a text to ask if I’d be into riding a wtp frame. I was soo hyped! I could even focus on work, haha. The animal gig was the other way round. I’ve always loved the brand. Their image and influence is well sick. One day I decided to hit up Ryan and see if they’d be into the idea of me riding for their brand. Like most people they thought I rode for Èclat. With that being corrected they seemed more than happy to give it a shot. I couldn’t be more stoked to have these to brands supporting me! What a combo

How long have you ridden for both companies?

WeThePeople must be like 5 years now I think! And I’ve been on animal for under a year.

Can you explain your signature color-way on the new version of the “Trigger” frame?

I wanted to highlight my home town of Warrington in some way. That’s where I really grew up into this BMX thing. The Warrington wolves rugby team has a mainly navy blue kit. So navy blue was a no brainer. Also navy blue frames always look really lovely. I went for slightly wilder colored stickers because I thought it would just stand out a bit more for people sifting through frames online. Also this might not happen again so why not just go a lil mental. Obviously some people might not be into the combo and that’s all good. Just buy the frame and peal the stickers off, haha.

How did your signature seat come about?

It felt out of the blue for me. One day Dave hit me up asking if I’d be into the idea of designing a seat. I was instantly hyped! I’ve always got ideas for bike parts. Even now if the opportunity presented itself in a new product I’d of probably already have a strong idea of how I would want it to look and feel, haha.

What type of artistic influence did you have over the layout of your seat?

The influences came from all over. I love tea so why not draw myself as a mug of tea, haha. The squiggly lines on the side are very similar to a tattoo I have on my finger. My lil cloud signature/tag is on the back. That how I like to sign things. I love the primary colors and I wanted to try and match the blue to my frame as best as I could. Contrast stitching is also one of the best bits about jeans or trousers so to get those lil details too was sick. The seat is basically a big mash up of me, haha. Like me it’s a bit whacky and might not make sense to most people. Big shout outs to anyone who is repping my seat! It’s pretty insane seeing people choosing to buy something I designed.

Do you create any kind of art besides riding your bike?

Yeah. I studied fine art in university. I still have some form of an art practice. Mostly photography at the moment. Since we started Procedure BMX I’ve started to have a new outlet for my more creative genes. I’m always doing some form of art but when all you wanna do is ride then it often gets a little lower on the to do list.

What’s up with Procedure BMX?

We’re the shit! If you don’t know, better go get in the know, NOW! lol We are just pals that love riding and filming wherever we can go. The main core is me Tam Roulston and Luc. It’s not a closed crew though. If you’re down and you’re riding then you’ll be apart of the projects and videos we produce. It’s pretty sick to be able to shine a light on the Scottish scene. Back in the day they had ‘Nearly BMX’ but now we’ve stolen Mr. Nealry himself for our own, haha. We’ve got a couple videos finished so keep your eye out for them. ‘Moroccan Procedure’ being the first and ‘Winter Procedure’ coming later this year.

On your next trip to the States, where would you like to visit?

Next on the list would definitely be New York and Philly. I need to get back to Cali though. Got some unfinished business there. Austin would also have to make it on the list too. That place has got it going on from what I can see.

Do you have anything planned this year that you’re looking forward to, either on or off your bike?

Yeah got a couple small things planned. Off to the Isle of Arran for a few days in June. Never been there before so stoked for that! The next procedure trip will be London in July. That’s gonna be a good one. I’ve got a lot of love for that city! Apart from that my door is open. Knowing me I’ll be trying to be as active as possible so it’ll soon fill up, haha

For this past trip, for BMX in general and life itself, whom would you like to thank?

For Cali I’d like to thanks WTP for getting me there. Animal for having a care package sent to me so I could hit the streets with a fresh and solid new bike. All the homies that welcomed me into their home and made my trip really fun. Chris, Ison, Zach, Mike, Diego and Riley you the gang! All the other people too you know who you are.

As for life and BMX I’d like to big up WZA and all the OG 01925 squad! This place and the people helped mould my riding. Finn and Sam are the day ones! Love them boys. Thanks to the entire Glasgow scene for just being sick and so welcoming. Mainly Tam and Luc. It takes a lot to hang out with an Englishman like me up there. Thankfully these guys stuck with me, haha. Can’t forget the old sponsors. WeThePeople have blessed me with some great opportunities that I will forever be grateful for. Animal already at this early stage have been a great support and I’m excited to see where this ends up. Also big up DIG BMX. You’ve made a big impact on this journey too.