The Eddie Fiola Podcast

DIG X SNAKEBITE

29 Nov 2015

Interview by Shad Johnson

DIG AUDIO

Eddie Fiola Podcast - DIG X Snakebite

A conversation with the original 'King Of The Skateparks'

We sat down with Eddie Fiola, concrete ruler and the original 'King Of The Skateparks'. We go over riding in the late 70's to early 80's, Jeff Watson, his GT days and how that ended in the middle of BMX's biggest recession, the movie 'The Hangover' and how Ed Helms used to ride plus so much more. Eddie was BMX's first super star and it was awesome to learn and hear how much he cares about BMX and that getting out on the bike with some good friends is what still inspires him.

"During the ‘80s, Eddie Fiola rose to fame as a pro and was well known for winning the title of King Of The Skatepark from 1982 through 1986. Fiola’s name became synonymous with his longtime sponsor GT bicycles, and after leaving the brand in 1987, Fiola made due performing live shows for Vans. In the early ‘90s, he happened onto commercial auditions in Hollywood, and eventually followed up with a career as a Hollywood Stuntman. His most notable role as stunt double is possibly still that of Cru Jones, from the ‘80s cult classic BMX movie RAD! Inbetween showing us stuntman footage on his phone Eddie found time at the hotel bar to get truly under the influence for the first time since 1984." - DIG 65, China 'Lightning Bolts' Article

The only time DIG ever had a chance to shoot with Eddie was at the Nike 6.0 'Lightning Bolts' art show in Bejing, China back in 2008 and he moonwalked his way though a fun post demo session. Eddie was in town with a bunch of legends including Wilkerson. Mark Lewman, Hoffman etc and we we all had a chance to hang out. At one point we even lent him $50 to buy someone back home a gift at the Great Wall of China. Not a situation that we'd ever have expected to be in, especially after being blown away by witnessing him ride in person back in 1983 in Ireland. His influence on BMX and DIG goes way way back. Photo by Ricky Adam