Friends Through The Lens - Wes McGrath

Getting up close and personal with the Albuquerque riding scene

6 Mar 2015

Adam Accardi – Between battling traffic lights, cars and the occasional congregation of homeless Native Americans, Adam weaves his way uphill to this downside whip under the bridge.

Alex Gonzales – In Albuquerque there aren’t too many full pipes that are large enough to ride, even with our seemingly endless arroyo systems all over the city. Here, Alex carves up and out of full pipe to catch some tranny.

Steve Aragon – Well, if you know Steve, then you don’t exactly call him Steve, more along the lines of “Porn star Steve”! To know the story… Well that’s for another article! Albuquerque throws an annual event every year for the past 11 years, called simple, the Double Ditch Jam! We skipped this past year in 2014 unfortunately… Nonetheless, here Steve executes a perfect hand plant on the hitching post to pay homage to SKWRL from years past! Steve just freshly moved to Seattle, and I consider myself lucky to have this photo as time ticks on…

Shane VanVeldhuizen – I remember thinking to myself, “man this could look like a Dolecki style photo if I get lucky”… And Shane was happy to keep it simple for me, a deep blue Denver night sky and the vibrant fall leaves made for a great photo and there’s no better way to end another day of bmx in Colorado.

Nate Richter – A life long friend and all around awesome bike rider, I have seen Nate persevere through this industry for years and the whole time he continues to make bmx his main priority. Out in California it seems as spots are running more and more scarce as time goes on, yet Nate’s creativity is never slacking. Nate stalls this well over bar height dumpster after carving the waterfront bank that made this grind no easy task to locate.

Mario Carrasco – If Mario isn’t busy filming the action, he’s right in the middle of it getting some clips. With his split duties nowadays, Mario has managed to keep his YouTube channel, ‘ABQDNV’ quite busy while filming multiple videos for friends and himelf. This big double peg is just a glimpse into what he has been up to recently!

Johnny Atencio – Johnny is a young gun coming up from Albuquerque, he has been putting in a lot of work for a kid still in high school and a part time job. He has managed to gain a ridiculous amount of skill and control in a short amount of time. This truly shows what good friends and some salty positive reinforcement can do for a kid! Expect to see some more goodness from Johnny real soon! Crank arm down 13 stairs in Denver, mind you this was his warm up.

Derek Dorame – Hailing from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Derek has always been one hell of a great bike rider and friend. Coming and going into Albuquerque like ninja’s, at times I find it a rare occasion I get to shoot with Derek, but each time it’s a worth while venture!

Daniel Pedersen – Sometimes you find yourself leaving the spot prematurely, just after packing up and heading back to the car, you find light teasing you just around the corner. Thankfully for me Dan was happy to step in and be a great sunset subject with a classic wall ride down the stairs.

Daniel Pedersen – Better know to his friends as “Danimal” is one of my favorite people to go out with and ride bikes, his ambidextrous style is up to par for his choice in set-ups. On this cold and snowy Denver evening Dan handles this icy and snow covered switch rail on the way to the bar.

Christian Mike – On one of the last nights of summer warmth, Christian and I went out just for the sake of being in the streets searching for fun. We broke into this construction site and found ourselves a good photo possibility and we both came out with a high five!

Bryan Cawthon – Bryan has recently moved to Florida, just a few days before we packed up the van and drove over 1700 miles to his new home he wanted to get this bar spin to smith at his favorite hometown spot. Mission accomplished.

Joe Poisson – I don’t know if you need to know much more about Joe’s attitude in life then taking a look at his last name. I’ve known Joe for over a decade now I can say anytime he is around, on or off his bike your going to recognize when he’s in the room! I got a phone call saying I better hurry up and get to the spot, “Joe is about to kill himself”! So without asking I grabbed my bag and pedaled as fast as I could to the crew… I was too late, Joe had 3 tall cans of Steel Reserve just before he climbed onto the roof, so it only gave me enough time for the trusty IPhone photo! Success!

Words and Photo by Wes McGrath

Well I have to say the best part of shooting BMX is when a photo feels as good as the actual action of the subject! Sharing that moment in time with old time friends that have been there from the beginning… Through broken flashes, lights that don't pop, days of uncharged batteries and bad trigger timing, my friends have been through thick and thin with my journey through learning photography first hand. We learned side by side, the first time they landed a trick was the first time I had a chance to shoot that specific move, we crashed together and we landed it together. To all my Albuquerque homies I am forever grateful to you for where I am in this moment!

To all my homies who aren't apart of this gallery, you know your just as worthy as the rest... Vidal Vigil, Gil Montoya, Chris Foehse, Andres Velasco, Matt Gannon, Robbie Owen, Clay Johnson, and Jeremy "Zuka" Hacker all showed me the way. Through it all you guys taught me how to appreciate the small window of life bmx has to offer and this shit isn't over yet!