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BACK TO THE BROOKLYN BANKS WITH ANIMAL BIKES


———- Those iconic red bricks and pillar wallrides of the Brooklyn Banks are legendary. The banks nestled underneath the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge are one of the most famous spots of all time and known the world over. Throughout the 80s and 90s the Banks were the staple NYC spot, and in 2004, the small side (upper banks) were shutdown by renovation. But the bigger, lower side of the Banks held strong until 2010, when the city temporarily took them over and closed them for use as a “staging area” for work on the bridge. They were supposed to be left untouched and reopened in 2014, but to this day, they are still closed (but thankfully, unchanged). However, with all the staging equipment cleared out and nothing but a fence—and the cops next door—standing between the best spot ever and a city full of riders, it was only a matter of time before someone was going to jump that fence and get their session on. Footage of rebel runs at the Banks has been showing up on social media a fair bit recently, so while I was back East recently with the Animal squad, I knew there was no better way to spend our Sunday than with a session at the Banks. Just to make it clear, the Banks are still not open, but once we were in there doing our thing it instantly felt like they were never even closed.

Film: http://instagram.com/jeffzphoto

http://instagram.com/justinbenthien

Edit: http://instagram.com/jeffzphoto

MUSIC: Marco Polo “Storm Comin” Baker’s Dozen

BMX – ANIMAL HO– USE LA

Animal took their tried and true recipe of no-frills street riding to the urban sprawl of Los Angeles. Featuring their west coast contingent along with some east coast heads, the squad includes Augie Simoncini, Colin Varanyak, Andrew Castaneda, Johnny Raekes, Hobie Doan, Abdul Fufanah, Jonathan “Twinn” Jaramillo, Charles Littlejohn, Richard Hernandez, Clay Johnson, and Gabe Brooks. The dudes put a few new twists on some old spots, and unearth some fresh gems as well.

“We have expanded our team to include an insane crew from the west coast like never before with Andrew Castaneda, Demarcus Paul (who got hurt right before the project), Johnny Raekes, Hobie Doan, Charles Littlejohn, Gabe Brooks and Richard Hernandez. We also have two of our top pros, Augie Simoncini and Colin Varanyak—who originally hail from the east coast—currently calling California home as well. So it only made sense for us to get them altogether and do their thing. We rounded out the squad with a couple of our top east coast riders, Abdul Fufanah and Jonathan “Twinn” Jaramillo, and Clay Johnson from Arizona to add to the mayhem. The riding that went down was wild, insane, technical, dope, crazy, smooth, and above all… motivating to get you to hit the streets right after you watch it. Thank you for your support of Animal and real BMX street riding.” —Ralph Sinisi, Owner-Animal Bikes

Riders (in order of appearance):
http://instagram.com/augiesimoncini
http://instagram.com/andrew_cast
http://instagram.com/colinlikewhat
http://instagram.com/hobiedoan
http://instagram.com/dachillblackkid
http://instagram.com/raekes_bmx
http://instagram.com/zachkrejmas
http://instagram.com/charles_littlejohn
http://instagram.com/twinn718
http://instagram.com/poorhomierich
http://instagram.com/westside_legend
http://instagram.com/infinitewerethy

Film:
http://instagram.com/mikemastroni

Film/edit:
http://instagram.com/calvinkosovich

https://www.youtube.com/user/AnimalBi…

animalbikes.com

RALPH SINISI TCU TV INTERVIEW

Check out The Come Up BMX Interview Here.

If you don’t have time to watch it. Listen to it on Sound Cloud here.

2015 ANIMAL UPTOWN BMX JAM NYC