In a nice blend of West Coast/ East Coast style and finesse, Brian Terada shared a split section with Garrett Byrnes and Edwin De La Rosa. His all-terrain mastery, from 50/50s down big-ass rails to obscenely large icepick stalls on massive objects at parks, was really fitting for the time period. The Skate Street slayer was really coming into his own while filming for Forward (as one can see with all the outrageous clips he filmed at that Ventura, California skatepark in this section). After Forward came out, he was invited on Props Road Fools 10, and came out with a few other video parts, like WeThePeople’s ETC.

By the late 2000s, media coverage of Brian had all but vanished, and it seemed like he had faded away from bike riding. Then in DIG’s 2014 'Scratch The Surface' Southern California edit, Terada made an appearance absolutely shredding pools, and demonstrated once again that just because you may not see someone at all in the media spotlight, doesn’t mean they aren’t still on the bike, and still killing it. These days, Brian is as low-key as ever. But sometimes, you can catch a very occasional glimpse into his riding via his Instagram account, usually when riding with fellow Forward alumni Mike Escamilla around So. Cal. And any Terada action is a treat to see.

Big and burly Jason Enns came down from Canada and put in work for Forward. Shoulder buzzer inverts, endless whip variations, rail hammers, and grinds galore. His part is back-to-back bangers, and fades to black with a hearty slam before the encore banger. It’s an all-time part. Jason has the dubious distinction of leaving the Etnies team not long after Forward wrapped, but his part has stood the test of time. “It was always a blast getting out with anybody on the team and riding. The filming almost seemed like an afterthought. It’s possible that sincerity translated to the audience, and is why people still enjoy the video. Who knows? I’m sure there was a good percentage of the team, like myself, that thought the video might never actually get finished.”

He still puts in work for BMX and life at large: “I moved to the Sierra Foothills of Northern California from Southern California about 2.5 years ago. I bought a few bare acres, and spent the first year and a half getting a house up and the land cleaned up, as well as fenced/crossed fence for horses. I still try to ride as much as possible with working full time and the endless jobs that have to get finished around the house. The barn ramp set up has been a savior for squeezing in sessions with limited time.”.

Fufanus while engulfed in flames, backflip-ing over rotating helicopter blades, grinding to flipping off of custom-made rails into massive concrete ditches- there’s nothing conventional about Rooftop’s entire section. It’s one that still has people talking about almost two decades later.

"I remember when I was filming, I lived close to Parrick, I was very aware of the progress of the video. I knew that I didn’t want to film stuff and have people know about it too early before the video came out. So all of my bangers were filmed about a week before the video got edited. Which was sort of a sketchy move, because I risked not getting it, but at the same time I didn’t want everyone to know about it. I really looked at this part different than others. I was trying to make it transcend BMX a little bit, and I wanted to do stuff that I could not do again, maybe ever. Even the 360 tail tap off the cement lip into the ditch, I was worried it would get out, and someone else would do something over it before then.

When you’re in the middle of doing it, you think, “Oh, that’s cool.” Then you’re on to the next thing; a week later you’re like, “What’s next?” Now looking back, and when I hear people talking about it, I appreciate that I was a part of a time in BMX that could make an impact on so many younger riders’ lives. For me, it would have been like being a part of 'Headfirst' or something. People tell me stories of how the video changed the way they ride bikes, how they got into it, watching every day to get pumped before they go ride. When I think of the videos that I watched and was inspired by when I was young, to have an opportunity to be a part of a project that had that feeling for someone else is pretty rad.

These days I am a full-time stunt man and full-time dad. Hustling and making sure I’m doing something that I enjoy. I get to ride my bike as much as I can. Sometimes I got through phases where I ride it once a month, and sometimes I’ll get to ride it a few times a week. Trying to keep the dream alive; whoever’s dream that is, I don’t know."

Ontario, Canada’s John Heaton came in hot to Forward with a short section of outrageous tricks and combos. Although there’s a good chunk of contest footage, his riding stands on its own as unique and creative: Huge transfers, casual tailwhips over huge gaps, an NBD flair to pegs, and his signature flip-to-manual all make the cut. “My one regret is not really filming for this video. I wish I could have made more of an effort like the other guys did. I’m still blessed just to have my name associated with one of the raddest videos ever.” These days, John still rides when he gets the chance and has three young daughters. He also works as a police officer: “It’s been such an awesome job. So much to see and experience, but what I bring over other cops is a life time of unbelievable experiences to draw from and connect with people. That's all thanks to riding, traveling and being a part of this whole BMX community.”

Mike Griffin was the second BMX rider on the Etnies team, having been added to the program just a couple of weeks after Rooftop. He brought a taste of East Coast Destruction to the mix, riding the sketchiest setups, throwing crankflips into and out of everything, as well as landing fakie at uncomfortably high speeds. As for his feelings about his part, Mike humbly shrugs it off “I wasn’t really excited on my part, so I didn’t really pay much attention to it. I think the Jason Enns part was big time.” He now lives in Florida working for a glass company and rips around in a bad ass Ford Mustang.

Cleveland’s Nate Wessel brought the hammer and nails to Forward. His part is a double-kick bass drum assault of raw, creative riding, giant wall rides, and outrageous transfers; all performed at seemingly ragged edge tolerances.

“That era of filming and riding ruled because we would go on these Etnies trips and we would just ride everything. The whole team just demolished everything that was in front of us. Whether it was concrete, dirt, wood, metal - it didn’t matter. Everyone just wanted to ride anything and everything. I never really could believe I was even on that team. I would look around and I was surrounded by not only my good friends, but they were the fuckin’ best to ever do it. I looked up to and was inspired by all of them. They were all so dialed and for me the filming aspect of it was the hardest part. It always took me so many tries to pull something I was stoked on. Three-hundred tries later, I finally would get something, after of course, multiple punches the head.” One head punch even made the final edit, along with a full section of riding that has never been replicated.

Nate started carving out his future early on: “Being on Etnies with that team were probably the best years of my professional riding life. Of course times change, but I didn’t move far from the world I was already in. I had already started my own business designing and building ramps (WesselBuilt LLC) before I ever turned Pro in BMX. I continued to design and build all through my riding career. When riding started to slow down for me, mostly because the building thing had me busy 24/7, it eventually just took over. I am working full time for Woodward and am head of design / project manager of new projects and builds that we do all over the map. It rules because I always am around something to do with 2 wheels, I hope it never ends.”