24 Sep 2020
Words & Photos by Wes McGrath | Additional Photos by Mario Gorman & Chris Mortenson
As the saying goes, "Where there is a will, there is a way..." and I can't think of anyone else whom that term most applies to, other than Nate Richter! I have been fortunate enough to have grown up along side Nate, ever since I was 15 Nate and I have been riding and traveling together nearly nonstop. Within those past 16 years of friendship there have been countless failures and triumphs in Nate's life but one dream that never seemed to cease was his ambition to own and run his own bike shop! So in September of 2019, after already living in Long Beach and LA for a solid 7 years, Nate decides to open up Golden Days Bike Shop, in Long Beach.
Needless to say, starting your own business isn't an easy task in the slightest but go ahead and add a pandemic to 6 out of your first 12 months and see what's left?! Well, fortunately for Nate and the local scene of Long Beach, Golden Days have made it to their one year anniversary and there is definitely something to celebrate! The opening of the shop has brought another sense of community to the long beach scene and this jam was truly a definition of the golden days ahead!
You know you're doing something right when RATBOY shows up to your jam... This would have to be my number one photo bomb of all time! Dylan Stark makes a nice backdrop to this, in my opinion, epic RatBoy portrait.
It's not everyday you get the chance to see a box jump make an appearance at a street jam these days but it was a sure fire way to turn up the intensity of this Saturday afternoon... Built from recycled wood, derived from the old ramp which once lived inside the shop, this box turned out solid as a rock and one hell of a great set up! Riders such as Dylan Stark, Dan Norvell, Matt Closson and many more put on a show which closed out the night and lead into the video premiere...
Photo by Chris Mortenson: Matt Closson came out swinging on the box jump and laced up this buttery smooth 180-wall-180 across the box.
Matt Closson: Full speed and full tuck!
Robbie Owen is a brand new father and still managed to make it out to the jam from Arizona and of course he finding the most strett way to ride a box jump. From the deck, wall ride to flat!
Dan Kruk clicked his heels together so hard one o his shoes flew off! In true Midwest style dan executes a proper superman as we dodged people in and out of this photo.
Dylan Stark is always one of my favorite to watch charge a quarter pipe of any sort and here is just one of the many crowd favorites he ripped as the jam continued on... Wall ride to whop across the gap!
Photo by Mario Gorman: Dan Norvell holds his own in any situation and usually does some shit most people wouldn't even think of trying. So here is another perfect example of why Dan is truly the MAN!
This wasn't your average sized flat ledge, at just about 32 inches tall, this big boy had thick coping that sat about an inch above the box and was properly built by Jeff Wescott, using repurposed wood from the old shop ramp! To spice things up a bit there was a long kicker ramp added for the gap to grind contest... Riders began to back down as the ramp was moved farther and farther back from the ledge and the full speed pedals started gearing up! As the gap grew bigger the situation became much more sketchy and it left everyone in the crowd uneasy. RATBOY, Kole Volker, Max Miller, Richard Hernandez, Dan Kruk and Emores Petty were the stand out riders who battled it out for best trick and biggest gap to grind!
Believe it or not, RATBOY lives on with his signature moves in tow! Rocket-xup-icepick across the whole grind box in a colorful kit reminiscent of the old shine days. He wasn't on a Standard STA500 this time but man that timeless street moves from him was amazing to see in person and capture!
Richard Hernandez eyes up the launch ramp to nearly a 20ft gap to ledge, yikes! Richy was among the few whom actually sessioned this crazy gap to grind and ended up riding away scott free but surely a bit shook!
Poorhomie Rich was on fire most of the day and he pulled some serious tech moves at full speed here and this photo just shows how loose it really was!
Max Miller stole the show with his sheer presence on this particular set-up. Crazy tech moves all around and he was one of the last contenders in the gap to grind, check the last couple photos to see how he came up short!
This image looks much worse than it really was but still this guy rode real well and ended up getting sent whilst trying the gap to grind!
Man down but not for long... At first glance this isn't a good sight but after a couple minute breather he was back on his feet and aiding his wounds!
Photo by Chris Mortenson: Kole Volker wins the monstrous gap to grind contest with about a 20 foot gap to smith grind that nearly took everyone else down!
Photo by Chris Mortenson: Max Miller. Full impact!
Thankfully this wheel is much worse off than Max... He gets away with a bad one and ends up finishing out the day with a lender back wheel!
The Jam consisted of a $2600 purse, which was broken up into 3 separate categories and one overall winner. First, the longest gap to grind went to Kole Volker with a huge gap smith. Second, the best trick on the grind box went to an unknown shredder with an insane 180 fakie across the ledge to fakie superman off! Lastly, the best trick on the box jump went to Dan Norvell for a huge 180 gap Ruben ride! All the madness and money earned was well deserved... You can't deny the 1st place winner of the day, Max Miller battled his way through high speed tech and straight up burliness to a cool $1400 big ones!
Max Miller took home first place and a trophy full of $1400 dollars and one white claw haha Max literally rode all day at top speed and didn't seem to give a fuck at all!
Nate Richter gives out the awards as night falls on the 710 freeway! Kole Volker, Dan Norvell, Max Miller and Dylan Stark all take home some cold hard cash!
Quite a nice take, wouldn't you say?!
The Golden Days Jam was a success and the day ended with the premiere of a fully localized Long Beach mixtape. All filmed in the midst of creating a first year bike shop, Nate holds it down for the city which he calls home... Look out for so much more to come from the shop and Nate in the future!
Big congratulations to Nate and his 1st year as a successful local BMX shop and especially to all the riders in support of Nate and the new mixtape! There are so many people behind the scenes that help and motivate this shops success and I'm glad to see Long Beach has a new BMX shop to call home!
