When elders speak of young deaths as a shame, I find it contradicting when it comes from someone who has barely left the state they were born in. Brian Histand died young. Yet Brian lived a life more exciting than millions who have lived over seventy five. The details of Brian's missing time period and death I will leave out of detail. Brian is gone now and the focus is on the things that he did positive when he lived. Which was nearly everything that he did. It is rare that I meet a human who is constantly so optimistic that in any situation or circumstance.. they are laughing through all of it. Even during times of pain and misfortune, Brian was laughing. There were times that I feared for Brian's life in which quickly turned into him making a joke about how much he must have just looked like claymation whilst crashing. I traveled with Brian off and on for four to five years. Never once did I see him take a negative route for any situation. Not to mention he was a constant comedian. No matter the time or place, Brian always had room to goof off. That is an attribute I can admire. He didn't waste time overreacting or turning situations negative.
We were confronted by an angry pedestrian with threats of a swinging sledge hammer and he burst into tears laughing at the guy. Normally I would have imagined it would increase the dangers of the situation but in this case it led to the sledge hammer freak to chill out and laugh about it too. Perhaps there was an extended energy with Brian that induced people to chill out. I can't say I ever met anyone that was mad at Brian. Truly or even remotely upset with him. The energy he splattered into the BMX world was the same style. I never met anyone that hated on his riding. He was super talented and could do any trick really that he wanted to learn yet he wanted to do what rocked his socks off… Jump big shit! He was such a fan of fast, loose, and exhilarating riding. He wanted to find the next big set up. The next big bongo launcher that he could sail off of. If you take into account some of the things he's done and saw the run ups in person you would totally understand that he is one of the craziest BMXers to have existed thus far. That could be my personal opinion but if you have seen a handful of the spots he has accomplished and attempted in person.. you'd know there are not many that would pursue the same.
The video I put together of Brian is a combination of footage from Bone Deth road trips. From Surfin’ for the Ugly Broads DVD, to the rotten video, gypsy tour, and many more. Mostly shot by myself, Dean Dickinson, Ryan Navazio, and Dave Krone. There is a ton more footage of Brian out there. From his Tempered edits, to the Yo guy DVD and more. But this footage consists of the time that I traveled with Brian.
I will never forget the day I rode face first into a steel telephone pole nearly knocking myself out because I had just watched Brian do a 360 bunny hop table so flat that i lost concentration and magnetized to the nearest pole with my face. Still to this day I have never seen anyone bunny hop table 360 straight off the ground so good. That Histand hop will be ringing in my brain forever. The pain included I do not even regret. I hope this video gives a slight glimpse into Brian’s madness and positivity. A truly great rider and great friend.… a deadman before death.. and now forever. RIP BRIAN HISTAND. - Sean Burns
"The first time I saw Brian was 15 years ago. I was 13 years old. My neighbors invited me to an "all nighter" event their church was hosting. Brian was a member of the church and attended the event as well. Him and I didn't say a word to each other all night, but we played bumper cars, go karts and arcade games all night. Brian was wearing a shirt he screen printed. It was bright blue and said "Langhorne BMX" with a clipart picture of a BMX bike. After that night, I didn't see him until a couple years later at my local skatepark. He approached me on my BMX and asked me if I could 180. I responded, "no, can you?". He took my bike and did a 360.
We exchanged emails and he would send me photos he took of biking. We started meeting up to ride street, take photos and film. We vibed off each other right away constantly fueling each other and continued to do so for the next 15 years. We hung out all the time whether it was BMX or partying or hanging out in nature
We became brothers. People come and go, but Brian and I stuck together through it all. Brian really liked to take things to the limit. He would do the most absurd things so nonchalant, leaving other people wondering what just happened. He never tried to be someone he wasn't and never tried to impress anybody. He wore a hat that said "live fast, die young". If he was going to do anything, he would do it full throttle. The way he rode his bike was the way he did everything. He despised boredom, which is where a lot of his drive came from. The month leading up to his disappearance, he was on a mission to better the world however he could. He was connecting with his spirit.
When RJ told me he had not seen Brian in a few days, I wasn't very alarmed. It didn't seem out of character for him. Quite a few people mentioned to me if any one were to walk away from everything, it would be Brian. That never sat right with me. Brian was crazy, but he was also sensitive, and compassionate. He was in a very loving mindset the days before he disappeared. He would never go more than a week without letting any of his loved ones know what was going on. We all spent the next 3 years wondering what the hell happened to Brian Histand. With the recent discovery of his remains on South Mountain, we are brought to some sort of closure about Brian. But just like he always left people wondering, we are still left wondering. It seems that only Brian knows the answer to how his life ended. To accept this fact is to come to peace with the situation. Brian is no longer here physically, but his spirit still lives on. Brian lived his life to the fullest and that's awesome. YO GUY!" - Dave Krone
"We all know Brian as an amazing bike rider. It was also pretty easy to see that he was fun to be around. I was one of the lucky one's that got to see Brian on a day to day basis. Brian was there for me when I got married, and a few years later when that marriage fell apart. It was good timing that when my house suddenly became empty, Brian was looking for a place. He was a recent college graduate, and in need of housing. And at that point in my life, I had housing and was so thankful to have Brian.
Sunshine. Smiles. Hikes. Cliff jumping. BMX. Brian was my therapist the summer after my life took an unexpected turn. He was the great reminder that there was more than life than the 9 to 5. An unexpected role model for both me and my daughter.
That summer is how I will forever remember Brian, and it's nearly impossible for me to narrow down a single story about the Guy, the whole summer was one amazing chapter in my life, and Brian was the catalyst. My daytime hours were spent working at the local hospital, and one day, I found myself there after-hours filming Brian on a pretty big gap to wall ride down some steps near the main entrance. Brian was pedaling towards the stair set full speed (the only way he knew how), when my manager appeared out the front door of the hospital and lunged for him, trying to stop him. I saw the scene unfold through the lens of the vx. Before my boss spotted me, I turned tail and walked away from the scene, knowing Brian was easily capable of defending her attack. The best part of the whole ordeal was hearing my bosses side of the story the next day, completely clueless that I saw it unfold, also clueless that we went back later and got the clip.
The day Brian's remains were found I told my boss about the wall ride, about how I was there, and about how good of a man Brian was. So much passion for life, on and off his bike. So much thoughtless kindness. The best Guy." - Tim Coyne
"Brian Histand disappeared on May 15th, 2013. Brian was last seen walking South on 35th Avenue toward South Mountain in Phoenix, AZ.
I first met Brian nearly a decade earlier when I relocated from Delaware County to Bucks County. I was introduced through some mutual friends, which included Dave Krone. I was already familiar with Brian's riding thanks to what seemed like a never ending stream of edits featuring Brian and Dave riding the Middletown Skatepark. Brian and I quickly became friends due to many common interests both inside and outside of BMX.Around the time Yo Guy! was released, Brian and Dave came to me with an idea to make a shirt out of the Berries and Cream guy from an old Starburst commercial. I'll admit, at first I had no idea what the hell they were talking about. After a few days of working on the project, I finalized the artwork for the Yo Guy! shirts. I'll never forget how stoked the two of them were to see the finished product. Over the next few years, I worked alongside of Brian and Dave on a number of projects, including their "Headband" shirts and eventually Veil Brand.
Brian and Dave were building a name for themselves inside the BMX community. It wasn't long before the pair were riding for Orchid Footwear together. Brian eventually picked up a sponsorship with Tempered Bikes and Dave with Cult.
One of my fondest memories of Brian was during the filming for one of Dave's Cult edits. We went to a gap Histand had previously jumped, but he wanted to try to Tabletop it for the edit. The gap can be seen in this edit at the 0:43 second mark. Upon our arrival, we immediately noticed a police officer in the parking lot Brian would be landing into. Without second thought, Brian hops the curb full speed and laid it flat over the gap but looped out in the parking lot causing his bike to go flying. Although he jumped right up and shook it off, we were all convinced that was a wrap and the officer would soon be over to shut us down. However, the officer never even got out of the car. He simply sat in his patrol car while Brian clocked the clip.
The night before Brian moved to Arizona, he came over to my house and spent the next three hours going over every detail, idea and concept he had stored in his head for Veil. By the time Brian left that night, he had filled an entire sheet of paper front and back. He had written everything out with a huge smile on his face. That was the last time I saw Brian. Over the next month we kept in regular contact exchanging texts and continuing our work on Veil. One week before Brian was reported missed I received a package in the mail of some of the ideas Brian had brought to life from that last night we spent together.
When I look back on the time I got to spend with Brian, I am met with both emotions and memories that come together in a wave of shared experience. I was lucky to create alongside of Brian and more so to call him a friend. I will always remember Brian looking up from my floor with that pen and pad in his lap and a huge smile on his face ready to pedal full speed into the future. I can think of no better way to honor Brian's memory than to share some stories from a few of the people Brian crossed paths with during his twenty five years of life. But before that, I would like to leave you all with this poem written by Brian M. Histand. Rest in Peace." - Mike Purcey
