By7 U0048
22 Jan 2021

"The Cat's Out The Bag" - Premium In San Jose

A New Dawn for Premium

premium

Photos by Kevin Connors / Words by Joey Cobbs

Where to even start with all this? For those of you that know about Premium and what it once was, you know about the days of Josh Harrington, Garrett Reynolds and JJ Palmere… For those of you that don’t know….well just know this, Premium’s team shook the streets when they came to town. And while Premium always stayed in the game and had amazing riders on their team, their prominence in the sport faded and they became a brand that existed, but that was about it for a while.

By7 U2742
68720003

And then along came 2020, a complete blindside to the globe. And for the months that we were on communal we looked inward on Premium and focused in on where we want to be and what we want to do in BMX. And as a result, we zeroed in on where we came from and how most of us started riding freestyle, in the streets. And so, we got with the team guys and talked about adding a couple new faces to the team, putting out heads together on some team projects and started working on a new product line designed by street riders for street riders.

By7 U0840

Mike’s trick selection is one that’s still amazes me. Pegs to over tuck in honor of the familiar grey skies.

"We looked inward on Premium and focused in on where we want to be and what we want to do in BMX." - Joey Cobbs

68730027

In November of 2020 we added Colin Varanyak through the release of his highly talked about bus stop ad. And in aiming to keep the hype high, we wanted to do something equally exciting in December to announce the next two riders to the team. Seeing as we had a new squad developing and we hadn’t been on a team trip in over three years, it only seemed logical to pack up the crew and hit the road. And due to the sketch travel conditions at the moment we literally kept it to the streets and found somewhere within driving distance of San Diego that also had some untapped street gems … so San Jose here we come!

By7 U2111

After losing a battle at the same spot, Colin was quick to turn the energy back up and snag this pegs to whip just in time for the night to set in.

By7 U2115

At this point the cat is out of the bag, and so we can proudly say that Markell Jones and Matt Closson are now part of the Premium Family. Some of the guys had been on trips together, but the group as a whole had never even ridden together let alone traveled, ate, slept, AND THEN rode together… finding good spots was honestly the least of our worries, did we even like each other?

By7 U2214

Markell, kicking it smooth and clean as always.

By7 U4257 111

This infamous San Jose spot, seemed to be a bust every time we tried, with the last day feeling right and the sun out. Closson, Colin and Chad all managed to get a piece of San Jose history.

"In the end the crew laid down 6+ minutes of next level street riding to announce our new team to BMX." - Joey Cobbs

68720015

And that is what is so fucking badass about BMX. We didn’t just add Colin, Markell and Matt to the team without talking to them first, talking to their homies, and seeing if we were all about the same shit or not. We did all that, and so did they, we want to put something together with Premium that we can all be proud of and hyped on. And so when it all seemed to line up right, we celebrated by heading out on a filming trip. And because these guys were all vouched for by the best riders in BMX and some of the best people on earth, we got along as if we had known each other for years and been on a dozen trips before. Safe to say we will be on a dozen more, this crew is tight. In addition to Colin, Matt and Markell, we had Premium alums, Chad Kerley, Mike Gray and Blake Peters roll with and round out the crew.

By7 U2376 111

Colin ensuring the trip was wrapped up right, with a proper back pegs to full cab to end the last day.

By7 U1932

Chad seemed to go from total chill mode to "the suns out lets get it" with this 180 bar.

By7 U2680 1111

Classic Chad Kerley setup, handled like a professional.

Blake unfortunately got hurt part way through the trip but still was able to stack a few before getting injured. The rest of the crew just went nuts for the four days we were in San Jose and the level of riding just seemed to build upon itself each day of the trip. A four-day trip ended almost as soon as it started, and in the end the crew laid down 6+ minutes of next level street riding to announce our new team to BMX and start things off with a few bangers from San Jose.

By7 U0758

Closson backed up Chad with this double set half cab.

By7 U9827

Related Video

San Jose Takeover - Premium BMX

BIG moves from Premium! - More Info

Previous

The Loading Bay X DIG Presents: Modularity

A Glasgow response to the un-creative world imposed by covid

Next

Dakota Roche - Seeking Liberty - Vans - IN PHOTOS

Dak feasts on some East Coast crust...

Related Content

Day With Lebrock
Play Button

Haro - NEW BIKE DAY with Alex Leibrock

Build it. Shred it.

8 Oct 2020
Lost Found Haro
Play Button

Lost and Found - Haro BMX

A blank canvas

22 Sep 2020
Harozona
Play Button

HaroZona

Dennis Enarson, Chad Kerley, Matthias Dandois and Alex Leibrock

3 Aug 2020
Premium Don
Play Button

48 in NYC - Premium - Don of the Streets Jam

Mike Gray and Blake Peters meet up with Stephon Fung

12 Nov 2019
Premium Frame Bag
Play Button

Premium Frame Bag - featuring Austyn McIntosh

Loose allen keys in your pockets?... Hell nah.

15 Oct 2020
Mike Gray Dig Thumb
Play Button

MIKE GRAY X DIG BMX

Wild moves from the North

21 Dec 2020
https://kinkbmx.com/collections/frames/products/kinetic-frame

Latest Content

O MO H Um4wbshqdefault
Play Button

FRACTURE 'VISIONS OF LIGHT'

Felix Prangenberg, Kilian Reichmeyer, Linda Grabner & More

21 Nov 2024
W Jm5qjo 8 M Qhqdefault
Play Button

LOVENOTE - Cult x Capital mix

Alive in the streets

21 Nov 2024
X3 E Zq Dt Sq Zchqdefault
Play Button

Felipe Manerim - "A rotina que eu quero"

Doing it for Vans

21 Nov 2024
L ZE5 CL Rl Lc4hqdefault
Play Button
Xv Y Zs Omx S8hqdefault
Play Button

RAWER CREW X LISBON

DIG LOCALS

20 Nov 2024
Jfcpgo HP Zb0hqdefault
Play Button

Joey Cobbs - Kanode Knows

Low Numbers

20 Nov 2024
4n R3 KT Cb M Yghqdefault
Play Button

MATT CLOSSON - BOROUGH BREAKER RALLY

Episode 4

20 Nov 2024
Xtj B8 FPWYX4hqdefault
Play Button

CLICHE JAM - Presented by The Cut BMX

'IN THE CUT'

19 Nov 2024
H N Jdlzt Ica Ihqdefault
Play Button

Magnolia 2 - "Cataclysm" full video - 2024

Cajun shredding

18 Nov 2024
976 7s3 Gq K Ehqdefault
Play Button

Tim Wood 50th Birthday

50 YEARS STRONG!

18 Nov 2024
Id Lpw Qf Xf Lghqdefault
Play Button

TAJ MIHELICH - DIG 'FRAGMENTS'

Episode 1

18 Nov 2024
Qc DO2l X9 AV Ahqdefault
Play Button

UNBOUND - an Our House BMX film

Felix Prangenberg, Kilian Roth, Bruno Hoffmann and Mo Nussbaumer

18 Nov 2024

DIG Partner stores

More Features

KG drone shot

KEEPING IT LOCAL - 20 YEARS OF KELVINGROVE SKATEPARK

Happy Birthday to our local Glasgow park.

18 Sep 2024
Jamie Pipe Tribe

A Brave New World - The history of KHE Bikes, Part 2

Taiwan, a pornstar, and innovation in a can

18 Apr 2024
Dragon Higa gap to manual copy

PROJECT X

This is Project X - This is BMX

9 Apr 2024
WILL JACKSON SOUTHPORT OLDHAM SESSION SHOT BY KANO KANE 2

WILL JACKSON - THE 'MUSCLE MEMORY' INTERVIEW

"I got my first WTP frame at the back end of 2001. Half a lifetime ago."

21 Dec 2023
Simple session 2023 boyd hilder 9

Simple Session 2023 Photo Journal

23 years and counting...

27 Sep 2023
BOH RAIL JAM 2023 47

Battle of Hastings - Photo Journal 2023

From the beach to the basement of Source Park

12 Sep 2023
Trey Jones Pocket Air1 Aguilar 2023
20230804 DIG GLASGOW 0028

30 YEARS OF DIG EXHIBITION & BSD Jam - In Photos

Jammin' and premierin'

11 Aug 2023
20230421 OHIO 0218

Postcards from Ohio - Photo Journal

3 cities, hundreds of spots

9 Jul 2023
45 dig 93 by dolecki LYNN 250 POSH

Trails Closed - The End of Posh Woods

Why the legacy of Posh will absolutely endure

14 Jun 2023
2nd angle Zack Scott DIGBMX 4

The "Full Coverage" Interview

Never underestimate the camera guy!

8 Jun 2023
Robin in Split Croatia Photo Kieran Cooper 7

Robin Bourhis “From Engineering to Riding”

The story behind his WTP 2023 Video Part

26 May 2023