TIME DOESN'T MATTER - 10 YEARS OF CHOCOLATE TRUCK
Capturing timeless clips in the city of brotherly love
Intro and photos by Rob Dolecki | Additional photos by Scott Marceau | Captions by Matt Miller | Article originally printed in DIG issue #2022 - Published December 2022
Just over a decade ago, peculiar long black rectangular stickers with a bold white phrase started appearing in the vicinity of spots all over the Philadelphia area. It was pretty apparent that this crew, whoever they were, had been scouring the city pretty thoroughly. The Chocolate Truck crew had arrived.
Fast-forward to 2013, and this group of friends (primarily from the Philly suburban town of Levittown, as well as a few members from neighboring Havertown and Phoenixville) released a self-titled full-length video that became arguably the most talked-about independent release of the year, and rightfully so. It was overflowing with talent (many of the featured names unheard-of prior to the video’s release), dope spots, and most importantly, also an acute cohesion of friends having a good time together, which is apparent throughout the entire video.
After its release, the crew was getting international recognition from the BMX community all around the world, and a number of U.S. companies started hooking up various members. Plans started brewing for a follow-up video, and filming for the next project ambitiously kicked in.
Then life happened. In between Matt Miller moving to New York, dudes getting jobs, buying houses, getting married, etc. over eight years has passed since filming the first clip. A release date just never seemed to come to fruition. The Chocolate Truck squad started filming for it as college kids and were getting 11th hour clips as full-on grown-ups.
Chocolate Truck 2 ended up being over eight years in the making, and the long-awaited results are stellar. As Joey Piazza said, “Time doesn’t matter–these clips are going to be timeless.”
And a timeless classic it is. - RD
Joby Suender - North Philly, August 2018. Photo by Scott Marceau
Joby Suender (aka Job) is from a small coal mining town called Pottsville. He grew up riding and digging at the famous Minersville trails. Building and maintaining trails requires dedication and a strong work ethic, so when he made the move to the city, he naturally applied those same values to street riding and spot searching. Job spends most of his free time scouring neighborhoods for untouched spots, like this cellar-door rail hop. The 180 table pays homage to his roots. November 2022.
"Plans started brewing for a follow-up video, and filming for the next project ambitiously kicked in."
- Rob Dolecki
This double peg to hop-over (in 2014) was the first clip Kevin Vannauker filmed for CT2. He was just starting to ride again after a serious leg injury had kept him off his bike for a year and a half. We originally came to this spot to check out the adjacent kink rail, but Kev thought this rail to drop was better suited to test out the structural integrity of his freshly healed leg. Photos by Rob Dolecki
In Greek, Philadelphia translates to ‘Brotherly Love’. This has become a sarcastic mantra to jab at the brash nature of the people who live here. In Philly people show a different kind of love that can often be misunderstood. Example – The first time I did this manual, the clip didn’t look that great but I was happy with it until Tom White said, “You’re not gonna keep that are you?” The second attempt was much better, and Tom gladly took all the credit for it. Matt Miller, 2014. Photo by Rob Dolecki
“In Greek, Philadelphia translates to ‘Brotherly Love.’ This has become a sarcastic mantra to jab at the brash nature of the people who live here.”
- Matt Miller
If my memory serves me correctly, this photo was taken after a full day of riding and some late-night antics at Hoder’s mini ramp in Bushwick. Joe Nirinonta casually hopped on to this ledge a few times while the rest of us were fighting to keep or eyes open. November 2013. Photo by Scott Marceau
I’m sure there was a small part of Scott that regretted inviting us to stay with him in LA. Specifically, the moment when seven of us showed up to his 1br apartment. He took it in stride and happily took us all over the city to amazing spots, like this perfect rail that Kev icepicked. February 2015. Photo by Scott Marceau
Nick Barrett has learned and mastered a few trades over the last ten years. His current job, a cement mason, is probably the most fitting based solely on his affinity for jersey barriers and concrete ledges. Nick took a couple bad falls when this cinder block wall refused to slide back in 2014, but with a little bit of wax and some patience Nick made it work. Photo by Rob Dolecki
The Rocky steps - April 2014. Photos by Scott Marceau
Rooftop chills - August 2013. Photos by Scott Marceau
Camera malfunctions and glitches are rare, but they always seem to happen whenever I film with John Yoh. Thankfully, he is usually willing to do a trick twice, but that doesn’t mean he won’t roast you for not filming it right the first time. His favorite line is, “A shitty carpenter blames his tools.” Navaz filmed this nose manual in 2014 and spared me from being the punchline for one of his jokes. Photo by Rob Dolecki
Originally, Joby wanted to go to this spot so he could do a 180 over toothpick down the rail. We were all in shock when he casually did this hanger up instead. September 2014. Photo by Scott Marceau
“Chocolate Truck 2 ended up being over eight years in the making, and the long-awaited results are stellar.”
- Rob Dolecki
Trenton is one of those cities that gets eerily quiet on the weekends. Most of the people who work downtown don’t live there, so everything shuts down after Friday. Kev made the most of the empty sidewalks with this full speed hop-over icepick. April 2014.Photo by Scott Marceau
This ledge in NYC was a staple spot in all the Animal videos we grew up watching. Despite being just a two-hour drive, this was the first time most of us had rode New York. About a month or so after Ryan pretzel-armed his way into this X-up smith, we found out that the ledge had been demolished. Timing is everything - August 2013. Photo by Scott Marceau
About that intro photo...
Don’t be fooled by the nonchalant look on these kids’ faces, as soon as Ryan Niranonta’s tires landed on the cobblestone, they all went crazy. A couple of them asked if the video was going to be uploaded to Youtube later. This was back in 2014 and even then, they look dumbfounded when we told them we were filming for a DVD. Photo by Rob Dolecki
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