Well, where do I start?... at the beggining of the end I suppose.

I didn't just stop riding BMX, it was more of a gradual thing. I was probably two of three years into aikido at the time and injuries on the bike were stopping me from training. Knowing that I couldn't ride BMX for the rest of my life the way I wanted and knowing that aikido would keep my body and mind satisfied, the choice was obvious. It wasn't immediate, it took a while to stop completely. It's always the habit that's hard to quit.

Best laid plans... I first stopped aikido about five years in. I had a problem with the innate violence within it, so I started riding again but the flame was gone, so I got bored and after about six months I went back to aikido. The problems were still with me and after coming to terms with them I quit aikido in 2010, and then picked up playing bass again. Still something to progress on, to learn, to create, but this time no physical damage to myself or anyone else, ah bliss! I wouldn't usually say this but the band I'm in is rad. One Thousand Tons, we're kind of a cross between Cream, Nirvana and Sabbath. It's all about the power trio set up! We've recorded a demo, been playing gigs and we're soon to be recording a single. I sold my first bass and amp to buy some Redline flight cranks when I was at school. Full circle!

Meanwhile I married my girlfriend after nine months together and now we've just had our second kid, this time a boy. Being a father is rad, it's also a pain in the arse. Nothing has taught me patience more than having a three and half year old girl, it's taught me that I don't have any.

I'm still doing the same job, which I love. It's a workers Co-operative called Trinity Wholefoods. We're a veggie and vegan shop. I've been there about eleven years now spreading the word of ahimsa and being vegan I couldn't ask for more in my work.

I still ride a bike, I always have and I always will. But now I ride a single speed road bike, not a fixie. You can't bomb hills on a fixed wheel (don't belive the hype) and now I have a front brake (the shame). Bombing the hill, dodging cars, buses and lorries on the way to work every day is a treat. Bloody cars, never liked them, never will. I'm all about bikes.

The life I live now is the result of my journey through riding. It made me look at this world with new eyes and reinforced what I thought, that this life we have is for creating, giving life to our imagination and living it to the best of our abilities and not letting all the other shit block it out.

BMX was dead when I started riding, now look at it. BMX has changed, I've changed, and everything changes. It's the nature of the universe. - DP