Shooting The Breeze: With Trevor Sigloch
Back when the LUXBMX Journal released it's first interview with an international biker (Preston Okert), the motivation was high to do more. After speaking with the crew at LUXBMX about who would be an interesting guest, I was quickly directed to another California based BMX badboy, Trevor Sigloch.
With a long history steeped in not only BMX, but 'extreme sport' culture, the mix of upbringing, location and family appears to have been just right in creating a grounded maniac, a scene stalwart and a bonafide speed demon. I'll try to describe the guy to my best ability, without sounding like I'm biting the moto-bro vernacular too hard.
I've never met Trevor, but I have certainly educated myself on his video parts (which started appearing about 7-8 years ago) and through this interview, longer form discussions such as his recent Kanode Knows podcast. I had a certain understanding of who the dude is and how he goes about his life, but obviously limited. The benefit of this discussion is being able to go deeper with him, to offer the viewers a more whole and insightful view into the mind and brain of a passionate biker.
We touch on growing up in Lake Elsinore, life in Long Beach, music, Moto-X, DIY/pool culture and how BMX influences one's life. I'm genuinely hyped to have been able to work with the guy and hope that this discussion brings you some excitement about riding bikes and a taste for the perspective and lifestyle of Trevor Sigloch.
Maritime Trev, completing the trio with pooch and Mrs, photo taken from the dudes socials
Hey Trev, what’s happening in Long Beach today? RIP C Knight.
I had to look up C Knight haha I’m not too plugged into older rap. But Long Beach is sick right now, whenever I want to ride I cruise over to BikeSide or maybe Kevin Porters ramp or the classic Ghetto Park. I got over the whole “pedal around” thing after the first few months and mostly ride transition spots these days. There’s a younger crew called The Bottle Kids that have been holding it down for the up and coming bikers in LB right now.
Top is the Long Beach bluff from 2022 as compared to the same spot 60 years prior (1960s)
Regarding Long Beach, what makes this place so attractive to want to live there? Looks to be fairly central, has the beaches and coast. Is there a good riding scene, nightlife, environment? Also, tell us more about the 'Bottle Kids'? Man I hope that is a Trailer Park Boys reference.
Long Beach was so attractive to me because geographically it's in the middle of the OC and LA. I lived in Huntington Beach (OC) for a couple years and it was fun but it was a little too proud boy, tank top and sandals/touristy for me. I also lived in LA for 6 months and that place is a head ache to get anywhere and is full of people trying to be something so it felt pretty toxic. But Long Beach...it's a little more edgy than Huntington with a lot more culture, a lot of bikers and skaters around. The riding scene is pretty good, a few shitty skateparks, and the nightlife is decent. There’s a few strips with bars on them or dive bars but if you’re tryna party party, I'd recommend LA.
The Bottle Kids! Ya its a Trailer Park Boys reference, these boys get greeheeheeasy. They’re just a handful of kids in their early 20’s tryna make a name for themselves in the BMX scene. The main crew is Milky, Riley Smith, Zac Mealman, Ison, Topher, Diego, Speedy, and most of them all live in a house a few blocks away from me.
Bonafide Long Beach resident, tight tranny 'O' carve, Jeff Z photo
You might not have known, but the 2023 Backbone ‘ACT Jam’ was held a couple weekends ago. Very much a DIY based aesthetic and culture, which is something that I feel applies to a lot of scenes and crews around Australia. It might be that we’re limited with spots and skateparks, although certainly privileged in the places we do have, that contributes to this. Bias aside, it would seem to me that the Australian ‘character’ comprises a ‘reap what you sow’ type attitude. Acknowledging your approach to BMX and the advice to hungry kids to go and build a spot yourself, where do you think your love for DIY came from and have you got any thoughts on the Australian scene?
Hell yeah I know about ACT! I went last year but it got rained out.. hopefully make it next year. Man, I love the Australian scene! All the crazy old skateparks and trails, there’s definitely more of park/trails vibe compared to what I’m usually around which is street.
I’d say my original love for doing it yourself was building jumps in my backyard and all around the neighbourhood since I was maybe 5. We had 10-12 different dirt lots where houses weren’t built yet, there’d be anything from a couple dirt bumps to 6 foot tall proper jumps on them. I have an older 1/2 brother and neighbours who were into it and they taught me how to dig. My advice to the kids along the lines of building spots would be.. watch some YouTube videos on the process of mixing 'crete. Go find a low key spot away from people, something that’s kind of forgotten about or even just adding a bottom transition to a ditch goes a long way. That’s definitely an easier first wack at it. We ride bikes, the concrete can be bumpy as shit and still ride good, if it’s got good transition.
The 'BikeSide' ditch, coming out of the ground
FYI - how is the 'BikeSide' ditch coming along? Have you got any other DIY spots you’re working on at the moment? It might be helpful to give a bit of an introduction to the 'BikeSide' DIY to our Australian audience who likely would not know about this spot.
BikeSide is a ditch I found a couple years ago, no sign of any pushback from the city really. It already feels like a full park at the moment and winter is approaching and it’ll flow with water for a couple months at a time but luckily there’s trails connected to it. I have another build planned for this spot in LB but i’ve just been holding off until bikeside floods.
The timing gods served us well here, as in midway through this interview in which we speak about 'BikeSide', the above short film was released on the same topic. This is such a great video to showcase the spot
You seem to have a fairly casual approach to riding and producing content, being happy to float around with skating, moto-x and sur-rons as well as not really forcing street scouting missions. To be honest, I respect this approach in that it wouldn’t come easy to me and I can see how it helps to improve your patience, diversify your experiences and generally be happy to take life as it comes. Can you talk to how you reached this point, i.e. have you always been this way in terms of how you approach BMX and if not, what led you to this path?
Growing up in Lake Elsinore I never just did one thing. We did it all, dirt bikes, skate, wakeboard, wake skate, it was all accessible and I am forever grateful for growing up there. With bikes, I was just down to ride whatever the homies were; trails, pools, street, skateparks.
Can you elaborate on growing up in Lake Elsinore, why was it so accessible to all sorts of going fast? I suppose it has the mountains to the west, the lake and perhaps a bunch of facilities/tracks/ramps? Perhaps you grew up in a neighbourhood with other kids into bikes and skateboards and whatever, that always helps. Or maybe it was your parents influence? I took to bikes young and was lucky to have my parents being open and supportive so it grew from racing at the local BMX track, took about 10 years before skateparks and street became way more exciting.
I'd imagine it just comes down to the environment, the land of the lifted trucks! Haha. I grew up around a bunch of bros. Good hills to ride dirt bikes, Elsinore track and a handful of tracks within an hour radius, a lot of undeveloped land to build bike jumps on, lakes to wakeboard in, skydiving right next to the track, beach is an hour away, the snow is 2 hours away. There weren’t any good skateparks until recently. Entering Elsinore on the freeway both ways it now says “Lake Elsinore Dream Extreme”.
My neighbourhood was full of kids riding around, doing everything that had wheels and required a helmet. When I moved into the house I grew up in I was maybe 4/5, I met this kid Cooper across the street. He was gangster on a wakeboard but now he’s a full blown DIY, pool skater guy, and I gave him a bike a few months ago and still see him most times when I’m in Elsinore. They’re actually digging a hole for their 2nd pool pour as I type this out. My parents did nothing but support anything I did, they probably wanted me to do a more conventional sport but it never worked out.
This is the spot mentioned above, a kids dream - the neighbourhood vacant lot, screaming to have dirt jumps built, photo supplied by Trevor
Moto-X guy, photographic proof of speed and air from recent times, photo from the dudes socials
After listening to you on the Kanode Knows podcast, there was a bunch of chat about sur-rons and from my point of view, it was probably the point of the 2 hour conversation at which you were the most hyped, the smile on your face told it all. I understand the sur-ron thing is an extension of your upbringing which involved spending time at moto-x tracks (to this day). Did you want to talk about how moto-x came into your life and how it's resulted in you fangin’ around on sur-rons in 2023?
My dad grew up around desert racing, so when I was 4 I tried one of my friends pw-50’s. Then shortly after that I got a 50 of my own. I was just reminded that I was asking for a dirt bike before I could even ride a bike, so I had to conquer that real quick. My dad just wanted a riding partner but I was tryna go fast. So, we raced some of the local races for a while but once I hit middle school I started getting more into BMX bikes. Since then I’ve always had a dirt bike but mostly just ride in the hills in the winters. Surrons are just a bigger, quieter pit bike, it’s not that serious, it’s just fun.
Fresh faced biker demon in train, photo supplied by Trevor
On the moto-x theme, while Props has been the single most important influence from a visual BMX perspective, closely behind would be the one, the only, the indomitable Crusty Demons. The banshee yell of Rob Zombie and chug of Ministry’s ‘Just One Fix’ still ring in my brain, the shenanigans mixed in with what was at the time, the craziest gaps and crashes I’d ever seen. It has certainly stuck with me and no doubt built a love for speed, jumping shit and taking risks. Has Crusty Demons played a role in your life? And while we’re on the topic, can you highlight a favourite Props segment of yours and why?
Ya Crustys, Terrafirma, Mini Warriors, Steel Roots, all those. There’s a few clips in Crustys of them partying on boats, that's the lake town I grew up in. So, when I mean I just grew up around it, it was physically around me but I was still a child.
The most memorable Props segment for me was Tom Dugan’s bio. All the shit talking and riding around on a moped and landing flat really got me going. Haha!
I wanted to explore the nature of your approach to BMX, in the context of your homeland and the common themes assigned to Americans. Broadly speaking, yanks have often been associated with notions of hyperbole, excess, extravagance and a sense of unaffected simplicity. You appear to exhibit none of these characteristics. Have you got any thoughts on how Americans are perceived by a global audience and further, do you think that BMX has played a part in defining who you are? As a reference point, I think Andrew Callaghan and his Channel 5 Youtube channel does a great job of highlighting American culture from an 'on the ground' perspective.
Naw I can’t be worried about something that big. But traveling out of the country and seeing how other countries do things, you see the pros and the cons. So ya, it has definitely been a huge part of my life; friends, traveling, the art, where I live.
From my point of view, BMX is way more than just a ‘hobby’ or a ‘sport’, it has had a huge influence on who I am and where my life has taken me. Not to be overly sentimental, but I genuinely believe that BMX has shaped my values and character, in a way that is visible in almost every aspect of my life. For example, a confidence to approach the many complexities that life throws up, in travel, work and simple personal interactions. I’m wondering about your relationship with BMX - is this something you can elaborate on?
Ya it has taught me to roll with the punches, if you fall down, get up and try it again. In my younger years, I honestly think it made me lazier in a work sense because I was just trappin' a lot. That way I could ride all day and make quick money at night. Bikes have definitely given me confidence, both physically and mentally, which has probably bitten me in the butt too.
Motivation + creativity, BMX fuel
I suppose it’s an obligation when interviewing you to touch on pools, it would be rude not to. Maybe we can flip the script on this one. Instead of me racking my brain to come up with a question that hasn’t been answered before, maybe you could offer up some thoughts under the ‘pools’ topic that you think deserves to be highlighted or better understood?
Riding pools for me is the chase. These holes in the ground were built for holding water 60 years ago. They’ve had a whole life of being peoples place of relaxation or recreation. But now the house burned down, or the old lady who lived in it just died, or it’s abandoned and tweakers took over, maybe it's under construction and you have to find out the workers schedule to come back when they’re not there. It’s always something, we break into people’s houses to clean out sewage, just to do a tire slide. Haha, it’s our roots.
I absolutely love music, particularly finding the lesser known stuff from a broad range of genres and eras. Going to see it live is also one of life’s greatest gifts. So I had to include a question about music in here, particularly hearing that you’ve been learning how to ‘festival’ haha, as well as having a background in hardcore and punk scenes. Can you offer up a song/album/band that you’ve come across recently that has you hyped and/or a show you made it to? To kick it off, I’ve been hyped on this PA based metal label 20 Buck Spin and a recent release of theirs by Gravesend ‘Gowanus Death Stomp’, it’s like a metal tinged hardcore album with a bent towards blackened punk. The album cover perfectly illustrates what it sounds like. And in terms of a show, things have been a bit bleak lately, but one memorable show I caught earlier in the year was a Melbourne band called Divide and Dissolve. Wall of amps, 2 x chicks, no singing, light to dark through layered/looping of saxophone into heavy, heavy riffing, it was great.
Most of the punk stuff I listen to is just stuff from old moto videos or video games. If I had to pick one genre I’d say I’m mostly into new rap or drill. It just depends on my mood. If I’m riding I want some fast stuff, maybe punk or house music. If I’m in my car, mostly rap. In the garage, I’m listening to old country like Waylon Jennings or Hank Williams. I don’t really go to many shows or festivals anymore. I’d have to really be into them or have a good crew. Hardcore shows are wild. There’s this song that just came out called Big Dawg feat. Famous Dex, Rich the Kid and Jay Critch. It just reminds me of the golden Soundcloud era, I got to kind of live from behind the scenes.
Moving on to another topic, less subtly and in starting to wrap this up - who is the baddest bitch in rap?
Check out some of these badboys while you're here, you won't find any trendy jibs or endless bar/whip links, just raw ass biking.
Thanks to Trevor for taking part in this project, it's been fun.
