A Boys Trip to Brisbane
Intro by Mike Vockenson & Words/Photos by Mitch Morison
The 2023 LUXBMX King of BNE jam brought about a tonne of content over the 3 weeks since that glorious day. In avoiding a meaningless contribution, Mitch Morison and I have crafted the following piece - given space to breathe and a fresh sheen through the phenomenon of time. Backed by the remarkable photography of Mitch as well as a written recap, tag along to get a coarse standpoint of how the day went down from the perspective of Mitch, myself and Leo.
"I'm looking down at a pair of gym runners on my feet, which happen to be the most appropriate BMX shoes I own. Twenty one year old me is having an absolute field day as I mumble to myself “you sell out” & “boring grown up dude”. Look, the day when I would pick between Birkenstocks or gym shoes as my two best options before taking a BMX bike out for a roll in the city, I thought would never happen. Yet here I am. I am here again though, I'm happy about that.
Sitting on the top tube of a laid over BMX, in a park, under a tree, waiting. We arrived early to the second spot ahead of everyone else attending the second King of Brisbane event. Ex-hack, but still good friend Michael Vockenson is rolling up & down a grassy hill with his 4 year old son Leo. Fu*k time really does fly by huh.
Waiting. I'm thinking, I bet I could pressure Mike to barspin that 7 set, he could still pull that off, I wonder if I will even know anyone at this? How is Raph still getting better? I bet his knees hurt when he walks up stairs, How is there an Australian pure BMX shop with over 10 employees? That’s still growing too. How does Troy have a full time BMX filming gig? That makes me proud & happy even though my contributions to it were zero. Is it ten years since my last jam? I'm still unsure if I'm proud of that or not, I'm definitely going to be that random guy gravitating towards everyone over thirty talking about 2013 BMX. Damn, even Leo has a pair of Vans.. I've got these things on my feet that I had to walk on a fu*king 3D/infrared treadmill to get fitted. Can’t wait to burn through the bottom of them coming off the story bridge.
Then my train of internal dialogue is broken by that ever familiar sound. A mix of cassette hubs, shoe tips slowly jamming into tyres, laughing, shit talk & squeaky brakes. I see a flowing stream of bike riders coming from around the corner & up the hill. A mix of old faces but mostly new. Maybe 150? A crazy turn out. I actually have a massive wave of relief come over me as I realise no one cares about my shoes. BMX riders are just happy to see other BMX riders. No matter the hours put in, the bike you ride or the place it happens.
That’s one thing about this niche we call BMX that separates us from the others. A small community of people that share the same mutual passion. The lines of subcultures within BMX are becoming more blurred due to the camaraderie as a whole growing stronger. It might not be the biggest hobby/pastime/sport but you can definitely see it's still one of the most tight-knit scenes. I guess you're never not a BMX rider, it's just the amount of days between your last ride. That's what I got rom this day. Thanks KOB for reminding me of that.That & I need a pair of Vans."
Troy bribed Leo with a Bubble O Bill in order for us to stay longer & ride to the Botanical rails with the group
There were no Bubble O Bills so Troy got a packet of snakes instead
Line up for the second spot of the day
New faces, old faces a familiar scene nevertheless
Spot number three, Kangaroo Point ledges
Full time BMX filmmaker Troy Charlesworth, what an amazing title to write about a friend. How many people hold that title in Australia, let alone the world?
Sydney icon Minty, known for that smooth butter style, meets Brisbane icon Mike Vockenson known for blowing feet off on landings. Joined by Leo Vockenson, for a roll over the Story Bridge
Brok, good dude on the cam
Good friends help you take your son's balance bike across the city when his legs get tired
Rock 'n' Roll.
