This one was a special one for me to shoot. Not because it's 15 stairs and steep as fuck but because it's the first thing I saw D take some time to figure out mentally. Once he conquered it mentally and a bunch of looks, he got it done straight away. That and he’s rocking a classic affray hoodie.

So Dylan, starting with the basics - age and where are you living currently?

22 years old, I’m currently living in Fairfield (QLD), Australia.

You live in Fairfield now, how'd you end up here?

Yep, I was just got home from a six month stint in Sydney for work and we have a lot of friends that live in Fairfield and the surrounding suburbs, so it was a no brainer for me and my housemate Mason, to try and get a place there. We now live 200 metres from the skatepark, it’s so rad. There is always something entertaining happening in the area too - it’s a good laugh. 

How did you get to know Tim Storey?

I bought some old parts off him when I was in high school and then started seeing him around more. He sold me a rad Mutiny Loosefer frame at one point, it was definitely one of my favourites to date. Early on in the piece of knowing Tim he sorted me out with a job at a local pub called the Grand View Hotel. That was an awesome job haha... as we were working similar shifts we would always just meet up and ride in our off-time. 

So was that your introduction into BMX?

Nah, I started riding ‘properly’ when I was 13 or 14. I wanted a motorbike but mum convinced me to get a pushy so I didn’t rip the backyard up. My first legit bike was a Norco. It was sweet, a couple dudes on my street rode so we would dig dirt jumps around the bushes heaps. My first local skatepark was a thirty minute pedal and was two bowls with a spine linking them together and nothing else... not even a flat ledge or rail. The big bowl was 8 foot over-vert then it stepped up to a nice 6 foot quarter, I think it was built in the 80’s or 90’s. Maccas got some good stories from there. He skipped school once to ride it by himself and woke up at the bottom a couple hours later. 

What's the Cleveland scene about, that's where you guys are from right?

Yeah, a lot of history in Cleveland. Some OG local DVD's came from there. The Grummets and Drainkids hail from the area - the Drainkids recently had a 20th anniversary of the first DVD they put out from 1998 or something, pretty damn sick. There had always been a strong scene at Cleveland I think, somehow we all linked up and started riding street more with Tim. He’s filmed two CLVLND DVDs which is rad. We went on a trip to America for the last one which was sick, even had Jimmy from Melbourne come. 

And whats the go with Jimmy now?

Jimmy is sick, we flew him up to Brisbane to turn him pro for CLVLND this weekend actually haha. We’re gonna pay him heaps. He cooks a mad lasagne, keen as to eat that again. 

So back to the early CLVLND days, when did you guys start doing trips and stuff?

The first ever road trip that I went on was probably like 10 of us - we drove down to Sydney. 50/50 mix of park dudes and street dudes. We just camped heaps and rode sweet parks and some street. That trip definitely opened my eyes to another side of BMX in travelling.

Was that trip when you started filming for the first CLVLND DVD?

Umm, not sure hey. It would of been just after that. That’s a good four or five years ago now. I remember the first video, all these kids, different colour bikes, different colour helmets, doing crazy gap to rails and stuff and thinking who the fuck are these kids? Yeah haha props to Polly for sorting Tim out with a black helmet. I had a blue helmet. Tim used to run greasy rags instead of headset bearings...

D was bugging me about this spot every time we would go for a roll. Said he got something special lined up on it before I go. Wasn’t lying either.

One thing missing from this shot is the big hop to get on this from the other side of this ledge. Now you know.

So then what happened next, more traveling and filming videos?

Yeah I got pretty motivated to see more places so Tim and myself went to China for four weeks, that was an awesome time. After that trip we have done an overseas trip every year and each year the crew is always bigger - it’s rad as. We also went to Barcelona one year, America another and New Zealand last year. That USA trip was when I got on Tempered actually. I won a frame at the filthy drains jam and I think Jerry called me when I was over there. 

That's sick. What was the next video you did after that?

Definitely psyched. All of the America clips went towards the second DVD. That premier was awesome. Mason got so drunk he went for a piss and passed out in the gutter and missed the whole DVD haha. 

When did you start working on your Welcome to Tempered Dynasty edit?

I got wind when I first got on Tempered that Jerry, Wilton and Mike were doing a trip to Sydney in 2016. I was labouring and about to head to Thailand for three months for a uni thing, so I just quit my job a couple of weeks early and jumped in on that, we started filming on that trip.

And whats in the works now?

This past year I have been filming for this new Tempered video (Serpent Venom). I started filmed in Sydney when we did a trip down to hang out with some of the Perth guys being - Jake Corless, Callan Stibbards and Tom Roddy. We had an awesome trip, it was two weeks long, with so many awesome spots. Then I didn't film anything for three months as I broke a vertebrae in my back at the Sumners dirt jam. I got straight back into it once I was healed though. I guess it’s been nine months of filming.

Rail ride to 180 Bars bra!

So tell me about this crash at the Sumners Jam?

So this was after we had that trip to Sydney, we drove for four hours home and went straight to this jam the day we got back to Brisbane. A year ago at the previous Sumners jam I 360 X-Upped one jump, one of our mates Pahau was heckling me to 360 one, I was iffy but I gave it a crack with a bit too much confidence and landed way to back wheel heavy and crashed on my ass. I felt this gnarly shock run up my spine and straight away knew something was up. I instantly was making sure I could move my toes as our homie had a bad spinal injury recently so I was super paranoid about the dangers of spinal issues. I was winded so badly so I was more concerned I’d punctured something internally, then eventually the ambulance came and because I kept complaining about my stomach region hurting they didn’t think much of it and made me walk to the ambulance. Little did we all know I actually had broken my back haha.

At the hospital they were trying to figure out what was wrong with my back, they did some scans, x-rays, CT's and whatever and then eventually push came to shove and they said I could spend the night in there. They couldn’t tell what was up with me, and said I might need surgery . Then at 2am they woke me up and said “yep you don’t need surgery, you broke your c6 vertebrae, there is nothing we can do you can go home now, we need this bed for someone else”. They didn’t even tell me what to do in terms of rehab or give me painkillers, it was a weird experience. 

That's pretty gnarly man... So back to Tempered, were you psyched to get on the team?

Yeah I was definitely psyched. Since I was young I have been into Tempered. One of the dudes on my street I started riding with had a Tempered frame way back. I really enjoy the team aspect, and getting to ride with the guys a lot. It’s awesome that everyone has a say in the direction of the brand and new products that are coming out. 

(Tim Storey) So who's the best on the team? 

Jerry might have the most bike control out of anyone in the world? 

You guys were saying Raph was the best when you came to Melbourne haha?

Well Raph is like a legend, but Jerry's got the best bike control. One foot tooths every try. He has all these tricks in his bag that he does like once a year but can always do them first try. Vocko's a legend too. Johnny, he is probably the best rider in the world. He doesn’t segregate himself as just being a “dirt” rider either, he can ride anything and everything. Kills it at street. Johnny just loves riding - that's sick.

Circular Quay rail in Sydney. I didn’t pick the Albert St cameo till some one pointed it out to me when we checked the shot.

What about the other newer Tempered dudes?

I met Marius on my first trip to Melbourne, so we have known each other for a while now. He is efficient. German efficiency. I met Jake for the first time when we did the Sydney trip last year, he is awesome, super chill and steezy! There is something in the water over in Perth for sure.

You went over to Perth last year for the first time right?

That was the first time I have been there to ride. I sorted it out with work to go and visit some jobs whilst I was there too, so they sorted my flights out. Stoked and grateful for that definitely.I had been talking to Mike, saying I really wanna go hang out with Jake on a Perth trip and then they planned the Lux trip instead of a Tempered trip, so I just squeezed my way onto that trip. That was fun, drank some beers, they premiered their new DVD whilst we we there too so that was awesome timing. Those Perth dudes all kill it. It’s the vibe I am in to, beers, spots and having fun.

You seem pretty chill too, whats your take on BMX stress?

Yeah I try to maintain a mindset of keeping it stress free, remind myself it’s a kids bike and that at the end of the day not many people could care less about us doing tricks.. there’s bigger stuff going on you know. BMX is purely for you and your homies to have fun and get stoked. 

Yeah, my mindset is to try and keep it not stressful. 

(Tim Storey) Dylan, do your sick party trick. 

Nah, I feel like you guys should explain it...

Tim Storey - Dylan has this thing for every big sip of beer, he can vomit out the same amount whilst in bar and not get kicked out. Make yourself spew but be psyched about it haha.

Mason Ainsworth - He did it for like 20 minutes one time at a bar, no one stopped him either. Macca kept buying him beers and he kept drinking and kept doing it. Eventually security kicked him out, he had no shoes on and his feet are soaking wet because he's been walking around in vomit haha.

Isn't your other party trick, getting kicked out of everywhere? haha

Yeah, I'm pretty damn good at that, not sure if it’s a good thing ? 

So whats on the horizon?

In two weeks we are heading to China. Tim and Marius have been living there for a while teach English to kids. I think there is like 10 or 12 people going - it’s a super diverse crew from all over Australia, and some English guys are coming too. Big salad wants to film another project so hopefully this trip is the start of something good. 

Later in the year we are doing a Tempered trip to Germany which is going to awesome. Raph has been living there for two years now so we will go and kick it with him and his homies. I’m keen to play flunkey ball....

Any thanks?

Massive thanks to everyone involved with Tempered, solid crew. Thanks to everyone involved with filming, Mike V handled a large portion of the filming and the editing, LC for shooting all of the pictures and DIG for hosting this. Thanks to anyone who watches the video and wants to ride their bike after. And Thanks to you too Liiv. Mad dog.