Between September 2024 and September 2025, BSD pro Alex Donnachie released five video parts:

• 'Still the Same' for BSD
• 'Alexstan' for Monster Energy
• 'Tomorrow Land' premiering on Our BMX
•  'Edit' for BSD
• 'Jetlag' for Monster Energy.

I'm not kidding when I say video parts either, these are supreme, high quality joints that each stand on their own merits, nibbling away at the heels of 'best of the year' status. 

Anyone who's in the game knows that producing even one video part a year is hard work, especially if you're riding at the highest possible level, risking life and limb on a daily basis. It defies belief that one can sustain such a lifestyle, let alone for long enough to produce five video parts.

While each project is becoming of praise and accolade, nonesuch is more deserved than the gargantuan, 10 minute long 'Edit', produced by BSD and shot/cut by Dave Sowerby. 

The following article is an attempt to preserve and accentuate the insanity of this project. To stifle the inevitable attempts of the 'internet' to render this video part a fate all too likely; sentenced to occupy space in one of Google's glib, austere data centres, accessible at the whim of a popularist and manipulative algorithmic beast. 

This shit is no joke and it should be remembered as such. 

In contrast to my view on the video, Alex takes a different perspective; calm, considered and modest. The dudes grounded attitude is not a surprise, and in reality, is something that all the greats are well developed in managing. A pro-biker that acts boastfully chooses to dabble in ostracism.

"So I think maybe in a few years it will feel special, I hope. I think I've maybe watched it like 3x so I don't really remember it all that well now. The reaction from everyone was extremely overwhelming, like I knew I put it all into this video but at the end of the day its just a BMX edit, there's been hundreds before it and there will be hundreds more after it."

Chatting with Alex about 'Edit', it was almost as if there was a passivity around the video, like it was a non-event, an inevitable transaction when one continues to ride and film. Perhaps even further along the thread of clinical professionalism and no-strings simplicity, the approach to this video will continue to be the same as the next one; to try and make it better than the last. 

I guess it doesn't need to be anymore complicated than that. 

Approaching the next project, Alex shrugs off any suggestion of feeling daunted in trying to better himself, preferring to remain stoic in his level-headed wisdom.

"I did think that for a little while after it, like I just want to chill and film a more chill video part but as time passes all I can think about is that I know I can do more. I just want to realise my full potential, life's short and you only get one shot at it. I'm 32 now and never felt better on my bike so seems like a waste to end here."

Realising one's potential can either be a vacuous statement resting insipidly on a deskside coffee mug, or rather, a principle or value that is frequently practiced.

"I think I have a constant drive to see what im capable of which again stems from not wanting to waste my life wondering what if. Too many people talk with no action, I have always strived to do the opposite."

Better understanding Alex's background and the platform for his mentality, it was despairing to learn of these roots; his output and influence in biking the obvious silver lining. 

"I would say its from a few reasons, growing up in Scotland in the early 2000's you had better get out the kitchen if you can't handle the heat. But on a serious note it mostly stems from my father having terminal brain cancer, he was diagnosed when I was 8 and then passed away when I was 14. 

At that age is when a kid needs his father the most and when yours is having the life taken from him in such a slow and painful way in front of you as a child it makes you question a lot of things in life. I was shown how unfair life can be at an early age so I've always tried to make the most of the few opportunities I have."

No doubt Alex would prefer to focus on the present and what remains within his control, however it's worth taking a moment to reflect on how remarkable it is to take such strength from a moment that could unravel one with such cruelty.  

It seems as though this strength also manifests itself in the ability of Alex to commit to a goal and to take whatever punishment is required to get there. Speaking on some of the more challenging moments from 'Edit', Alex details:

"I think the most scared I was filming anything was the nose bonk. It was also the most memorable clip for me as it was the 3^rd time to Teneriffe for that clip. First time I tried it I went too fast and almost missed the nose bonk. Ended up hurting my ankle pretty bad. So a few years later we flew back specifically for that clip, first day of the trip we go to the skatepark to warm up (right next to the spot) and first drop in at the park I roll over a few rollers then air this tight volcano, front wheel washes out, I land on my knee and head which in turn snaps my kneecap in half. So a year and half later we book another trip to Teneriffe specifically to get this clip, I dont make the mistake of a skatepark warm up this time and thankfully landed it."

Flying international to get a historical clip for the 3rd time is gangster. I want the dudes leading freestyle BMX to be on that type of level. My demands also extend to having an inordinate reserve of tolerance for pain. 

"I'm on 5 knee surgeries in the past few year, 3 of them 9 months of the bike each time. I took a super bad crash on the last trip filming for this edit, bad concussion, broken nose, 20 stitches in my face. People keep asking me why bother but for me I just have this drive to see what I'm capable off, I love to push myself to my limits."

The extent of dedication to an end goal is shared equally with Alex's co-conspirator, the director and creator of 'Edit', Dave Sowerby.

There are a tonne of iconic rider/filmer partnerships in BMX. I'm thinking Garrett and Tony, Lewis Mills and Ben Norris, Will Stroud and the Cinema crew just to name a couple. Alex and Dave would have to be one of the more reliably ground-breaking dynamics of the modern era. So how does it work so well? Dave attributes their success to a depth of trust as well as sharing similar values when approaching a video part. 

"Alex has a focus on the end result when filming for a video, he sees the bigger picture when on a trip and puts everything into getting the most out of it in lots of ways but not least for the final video. And Alex knows I'm all in when it comes to working on a video too, whether it's 2 hours running with the camera trying to get a tech line filmed or two years working towards a video part, I'm there for it. So I think we see eye to eye on that level."

This sentiment also comes through from Alex:

"I trusted Dave with the editing 100%...a video part is so much more than just a few tricks to a song. Like certain riding matches different music types then there is trick order to consider, the way a trick starts and ends, the different angles, you don't want too much repetition. I think Dave takes time to carefully consider every aspect of the edit which is why it turned out so well."

Chatting with Dave about 'Edit' helped to clarify a sense of significance, with the dude having worked on an endless number of meaningful video parts in his time. There was a real sense of responsibility with this project, one which Dave isn't often accustomed. 

"Every new video I work on is a chance to make something special so I approach every video in the same way with the same enthusiasm. But yeah, as we worked on this one it was clear something pretty nuts could be coming together. In my experience you can't really plan something like this, it's always a result of things just aligning in the right moment. Alex was healthy and feeling 100% on the bike for the first time in a few years so that combined with a really amazing first trip to Lisbon and the following trips just falling into place spot wise too, it all sort of just happened."

You know what's truly insane about 'Edit'? It was created in less than a year with the majority coming from four overseas trips in just 5 months (Turkey, Teneriffe, Helsinki and Barcelona). 

"...it all came together so quick that we didn't have much time to think about it during the filming. All of a sudden we were just sat on this incredible collection of riding clips. In only eight months Alex had produced what would normally take a couple years to put together so it was all a bit of a whirlwind at the time."

I don't know, maybe it's just me but it seems like the number of high quality video parts is slowly decreasing. And when I say high quality, I mean riding and production. It's then hard to not be buoyed with the sustained relationship between Dave and Alex and what this secures in terms of future biking joints.

Seems dumb to be writing this so soon after it's release, but based on this discussion, there will likely be another video part that's even better than 'Edit'. No joking around.