About 10 months ago I asked a mate if he knew of any great venues to hold a BMX jam in. One of the options was a Brewery complete with taproom. I distinctively remember the conversation going something like this, “So, how well do BMX and beer go together though really?” my friend said, “Oh really badly, but fuck it” I said. It was at that point that the first ever DIG Jam came to be, and ironically it went against all of DIG’s straight edge roots and straight to the boozy core of BMX riders.
The North of England has always had a good sustaining diet of BMX amid up’s and downs, locational honeymoons and content overkills. Besides that, it’s always had a strong D.I.Y culture to it and one of the biggest cities to embrace that culture has been Leeds, it’s punk ethic and significant hardcore values run so deep that I was happy to organise the maiden DIG jam in my hometown.
We really wanted that D.I.Y feel to the first DIG jam but at the same time we didn’t want people driving across the country and turning up at a flat rail in a field. I met up with some friends, worked together with WETHPEOPLE and linked up with supporting sponsors Cult, BSD, Animal, The Source and Etnies and together we dreamed small and drank big. Over a 2-week period we put together a street course in an incredible tight room and still had room for an exhibition from legend photo guy Ricky Adam.
So what happened you ask? Well what happened is what happens at every BMX jam, people got loose, the AM riders went in, the PRO’s went heavy and the one and only Darryl Nau lit the place up (although he was looking a little bit ropey on this occasion, it could have been the effects of a heavily discounted presenter's rate). We love the North of England and to celebrate we had video screenings of our favorite BMX DVD’s including Attila Hit The Switch, Tomorrow We Work, Voices and NSF. Later that night we held a BMX pub quiz which was one of the most hilarious things to happen, even if a few of the pub locals didn’t have a clue what we were on about.
I don’t need to tell you how important BMX events are to BMX, they help in so many ways, some immeasurable - I just hope that people see that life exists outside of a phone or away from a computer screen and to get off your backsides and organise something (today) that involves real human interaction. Thank you to everyone who lent a hand, hit a nail, swept a floor and thanks again to the brands that stand behind events like this one and continue to support BMX in such a core way.
- Paul Robinson