https://shop.odysseybmx.com/collections/odyssey-bags?utm_medium=banner&utm_source=dig

Street Responsibility - When To Step In

Decisions, Decisions...

25 Feb 2016

Street  Responsibilities  Gran  Canaria

Words and photos by Fred Murray

Sometimes we notice stuff that others don't. Society would describe it as being street-wise but to me it feels like something different. When you spend eight hours a day riding around cities, especially in foreign lands, you build up a mental database of faces and personalities that all tie together to train your brain into foreseeing unfortunate circumstances or possible dangers to avoid. A sixth sense you could say… your bike takes you down every alley and sketchy neighbourhood that most people would go out of their way to miss. Whether it's knowing when to keep your mouth shut, when to act crazy, when to run, when to stand your ground, it's all a big lesson in human nature. Either way, when you spend so much time in a concrete jungle sometimes you find yourself in a situation that you can't avoid… and shouldn't. 

Recently during a filming trip to Gran Canaria with BSD's Luc Legrand, Reed Stark and filmer Dave Sowerby we found ourselves in just that scene. Luc was trying a fast line on a slick tiled bench setup for a while and couldn't quite get the barspin at the end to finish things off. I moved around a bit trying to find the best angle when i decided to stand on the backside of another bench, right beside a group of super wasted middle-aged men drinking sangria who looked like they probably do something similar everyday. 

Out of nowhere i heard a thumping sound from behind me. I spun around and i saw one of the guys laying into the older balding man, thumping him in the face over and over. Before i could think my camera was up at my face and the shutter button was blasting. It's a reaction that i've actually had to work on since picking up a camera - in the beginning my camera would go down as soon as something popped off around me, but now i feel it's almost my duty to document, but is that morally correct? I probably took five photos before it all got too much and i couldn't watch anymore. What should i do? Do i risk (A. Jumping in and maybe getting a beating myself? (B. Attracting too much attention and fucking up Luc's chance at bagging a clip? It's something you have to calculate and weigh up in seconds because how would you feel if you were on the other end of the dude's fist? 

I gauged the risk and decided that if anything happened then i could quite easily handle this guy and knew that my boys would back up the decision i made. Once i stepped in front of the two men luckily my height and youth seemed to prove too much for the aggressor and after some shouting and threats directed my way, he backed off, protesting in Spanish about a stolen radio worth a few dollars. Needless to say after checking on the bleeding guy on the bench he was pretty messed up and despite my inability to communicate in his language, his eyes seemed to say thank you. 

This all came to mind again a few weeks ago while out for a drink with my girlfriend in Glasgow's city centre. Standing in a queue for a taxi beside us a fight erupted (probably over nothing) and within seconds one half of the combatants were clearly losing. Fastforward half a minute and the loser's head was underneath a stomping foot and all around me people were watching and even filming it on their phones like they were looking at a fucking Youtube video from the safety of their homes. I couldn't actually bare to watch anymore and in no time i was pushing the kicking men away as much as i could. Why was i the only one? I'm certainly not a fighter and i'm sure if the attackers had decided then i would have been under their feet as well. 

Maybe being in the streets and interacting with its occupants on the daily makes things seem more real? Are the general public really so disconnected that they don't associate the fighters with actually being humans? Is this all just a Worldstar video? Either way, sometimes it's our duty to make moral decisions while out there having the most fun. It's a balancing act, but it's more than weighing up what's right and wrong for you, it's all about responsibility.

Luc  Legrand Not Pulled

The calm before the storm. Luc Legrand.

Previous

Scene and not Heard - Buga, Colombia

New 'crete, and new clay.

Next

Related Content

Garrett Reynolds BMX Tales thoughts CM

Tales from the Streets - Garrett Reynolds and the Edwin 'All Day' Rail

The Spot Preservation Society Get to Work in Jersey

21 Oct 2014
ISRL JEFF KOCSIS BMX ISRAEL TRNSFR RD

We're Not Normal, We're BMXers...

Rob Dolecki revisits Israel for the first time since Animal Cuts, with first time visitors Jeff Kocsis and Conall Keenan in tow...

20 Feb 2015
edwin delarosa bmx no entry RD

Re Print: That time Edwin Delarosa got kicked out of Japan

"We drive about five minutes to the hotel. That was the most I saw of Japan... and It was dark, so I couldn't see shit.”

16 Apr 2015
ty morrow bmx tales bleeding man CM

Ty Morrow - Tales From The Streets

A Bleeding Man and Grimaldo Duran

10 Nov 2014
eclat team ECLAT Chile RS

Tales from the Front Line with Eclat in Chile

AK, Bruno, Burns, Stevie..... and the story behind those Riots...

16 Jun 2015
http://www.divisionbrand.com/news/

Latest Content

Uo Tb TA6c H Ahqdefault
Play Button

jib bmx - 'late tape' number five

Better late than never

21 Dec 2024
From the north in the cut 1
Play Button

FROM THE NORTH - 'IN THE CUT'

42 Minutes of Extras

20 Dec 2024
Gll DC2 H5p M0hqdefault
Play Button

One Man Show 3 | Urban Wander

Weird & Revered

19 Dec 2024
QR9 Zlg Sjn 4hqdefault
Play Button
Mankind Catalog Cover jpg
S P7t6 Xn8g4 Yhqdefault
Play Button

JASON ENNS - DIG 'FRAGMENTS' - Episode 3

Taking his tech roots to the streets

18 Dec 2024
Y K Hu Q9ys R Qchqdefault
Play Button

Cold Cuts - Harrison Arcari - THIRTY - Kink

Raw and unfiltered

16 Dec 2024
Qe S9 Zym SHW Ahqdefault
Play Button

Sin Camino

A trip through Spain and Portugal

16 Dec 2024
0 F9p Ku S6gc4hqdefault
Play Button

Jack Seymour - LXB - United BMX

Lit in Luxembourg

16 Dec 2024
Qwv Hp8y VI Qhqdefault
Play Button

Vans Europe Presents: GIRLHOOD | BMX

Linda Grabner - Teresa Fernandez - Francina Fernandez - Anahi Valentina - Wibke Vogel

16 Dec 2024
5m G9j3x X H0hqdefault
Play Button
E y0 Wy WAB Ihqdefault
Play Button

FROM THE NORTH

Reynolds, Adams, Hoffmann & Ntavoutian

12 Dec 2024

DIG Partner stores

More Dig This

BSD Grime Safari Reed Stark Austin 6

Reed Stark - A Photo Safari

Safari Forever...

6 Dec 2024
Et FW24 Dig Magazine Collab Shoot 031

Introducing the DIG X ETNIES Collection

Celebrating a 25 year partnership

7 Nov 2024
24 photo comp web leader

THE 2024 DIG PHOTO COMP IS NOW LIVE!

OVER $1000 WORTH OF PRIZES UP FOR GRABS

15 Oct 2024
Greystoke issue 2

GREYSTOKE BMX MAGAZINE - ISSUE 2 OUT NOW

132 pages of tangible, hold-in-your-hands BMX print media.

11 Oct 2024
SUNDAY Silvawave Frame 3 Q web

PRODUCT DROP: Brett Silva's signature SUNDAY 'SILVAWAVE' frame

"It was only a matter of time before Brett got to call the shots."

26 Sep 2024
Osomatsu 4

SETUPS - Kazuei "Osomatsu" Oimatsu - ALIVE INDUSTRY

A Ben Lewis signature frame stacked with Animal parts

12 Sep 2024
20240907 BOH 019 perris

BATTLE OF HASTINGS 2024 - Everything you need to know

Schedule, livestream links, highlights, results & more...

2 Sep 2024
Garrett ss24

SIMPLE SESSION 24 - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

Highlight videos, schedules, results and more

24 Aug 2024
Volume frames 2

PRODUCTIVITY - NEW VOLUME JASON WATTS & KRIS FOX FRAMES

Certified for roasting - THE SMOKO & THUNDERHOOF

6 Aug 2024
Efise leader results

WHO WON THE €22K at E-FISE 2024 WOLVERHAMPTON?

The results are in!

12 Jul 2024
Kink 2025 bikes

PRODUCT DROP - KINK 2025 BIKES

That New New!

12 Jul 2024
DSCF5547

MIKE MASTRONI AND THE STORY BEHIND THE 'TELOMERE' VIDEO

Backstories behind the clips

24 Jun 2024