DIG ARCHIVES: GARRET BYRNES INTERVIEW

GARRET BYRNES - FOOD FOR THOUGHT
ARTICLE REPRINTED FROM DIG 23, JULY/AUGUST 2002


Interview by Brian Tunney
Photos by Ed Docherty, Sandy Carson, Paul Bliss, Joe Rich, Andy Forgash


Though he’d have you believe otherwise, it seems like Garrett Byrnes has that little thing called life just about figured out. Live everyday to the fullest and have fun along the way. It might seem a bit simple as a creed to live by, but Garrett’s never been one to make anything too complicated. No, he seems too happy enjoying life to even worry about complications of any kind. This is the Garrett Byrnes interview. Garrett’s a wise person. Read it with an open mind.


What age are you… and all that stuff?
I’m 22 and I’m from Beechwood, NJ but I say I’m from Toms River cause no one knows where in the world Beechwood is.

You’ve been all over the world, but you always come back to New Jersey. Why is that?
My parents live here. Free rent, so I hang out with them. I’m really, really big on friends and family. It’s the most important thing in my life. I’d have to say that friends and family really keep me here.

You don’t ever see yourself leaving NJ then?
Umm, I don’t know. It depends. I’ve seen so many cool places that I’d like to go. I’m sure I’ll leave someday, but for right now, it seems to be a really good spot for me to stay in. It has everything I need.



Anti-Pete school gap on an unusually dry day in a place called Wetter. Photos by Ed Docherty


How did you get into riding BMX?
I started out riding when I was really young. I was always into BMX bikes and rode dirt a little when I was younger, just jumping off things. I just had a lot of fun, and got into racing when I was 13. I didn’t really take that too seriously. My parents always got real mad at me cause I’d go to races and just jump the jumps and try tricks instead of actually trying to win. Then I started riding dirt a lot with John Jennings, John Britton and a bunch of people. From there it went to the skatepark in Toms River that George Hoernig and Scott DeMarco opened up. I worked for them for a while. Right after the new owner took over, I worked there and realized that I wasn’t really into working around bikes all the time. You just get burned out on it. But I met a lot of really good people through the skatepark. It’s great, cause now I go places and realize how many friends I have in different places from working there. It might have something to do with me not charging people to get in and giving out free food, but no one needs to know about that.

How’d you end up meeting Van Homan?
I met Van through racing. Me, Van and Gary Thorpe used to all race together. I started hanging out with Van when I was about 16, and I’d always go to his house or he’d come to mine. We’d always just ride together and things just progressed. We were really into riding together and having fun.

Is the shaved head your new permanent hairstyle?
I don’t know. It’s hard, once you shave your head; you just don’t want it to grow anymore. You feel like a superhero when you shave your head. You can tell differences in heat. You can tell when someone is behind you.

Where do you buy your shirts?
Anywhere from the hospital shop in Toms River to vintage shops in Liverpool.

You ride BMX, but at the same time, you don’t seem to limit yourself to just riding bikes. How did that come about?
I started skating pretty much before I got into riding. I’ve always skated and always had fun. Now, I ride all the time. But it’s good to have a different outlet to have fun with. It gives me the best feeling cause it’s like learning how to ride all over again when you pull a new trick. Just even cruising around is the best thing in the world.

Do you take any influence from skateboarding and put it into riding your bike?
Definitely. I watch skate videos more than I watch BMX videos. I just like the style and speed mostly. I’m very influenced by the speed and skateboarding. Speed is good. The faster, the better.



Photographer Paul Bliss wasn’t on hand to do the caption for this photo and sequence but it would have went something like this. “The front wheel was over the wall, yeahhhh, sort of like a.... ooh I don’t knowww.... like that with the sprocket, I tell you what...dashing barnet, brilliant. lovely.” Ladbroke Grove, London.
Photos by Paul Bliss (didn’t we just tell you that?)


How’d you get into riding so fast?
Watching old skate videos, watching Chris Senn is good all the time. Things look so much cooler when you’re going fast. I just try to hit stuff as fast as I can and see where it takes me.

Your bike setup, with the low drop nose seat and no pegs, has been copied by a lot of people lately. How did that setup evolve for you and how do you feel about it being copied by other riders?
At first, I wasn’t really into pegs just because I wasn’t into grinding stuff. I just had fun cruising around and manualing stuff. I wasn’t into doing rails or anything like that. But then it came to the point, lately, where I can go to pools, I can go anywhere I want and nobody bothers me. They see I don’t have pegs on my bike and know that I’m not wrecking things. That’s a huge part of it now, just knowing that you can have fun and not be bothered by people complaining about me wrecking the pool coping. People having the same setup, I mean, I’m guilty of the same thing when I was younger. I’d see people with bikes that I like and do it myself. It just happens. It’s the way things evolve.

You always seemed to be into having a light bike setup too. How did that come about?
I was never really into it. It was just from trying different things. Now, I have a bike with a seatpost built in, just to try something different. It was an idea from an old bike company in Europe that did it in the 80’s. I remembered seeing that and thought it was really neat, so I thought we’d give it a try. It seems to be working good. I don’t think you could ever reproduce it in large amounts because no one wants to run their seat at the same height.

Because you never ride pegs, you figured out other ways to grind though. Where did that come from?
That was pretty much from seeing old photos and just watching old videos of people doing gear grinds and pedal grinds and all kinds of weird stuff. So I messed around with that. But lately, I haven’t even done any grinds. I’ve just been having way too much fun just doing the carve. I’d have to say, ask anybody who rides a lot, that’s the best thing to do. Just doing a big carve on anything.

So if I asked what your favorite kind of riding is, would it be carving?
Cruising, just cruising.

You seem to have a ‘charge ahead’ attitude towards your riding, like you don’t ever think negatively when you approach something.
I don’t know. Peter Adam has been changing my mind lately, cause he seems to find the worst possible thing that could happen on anything and points it out right before I’m about to go up to it. OK, I’m gonna try this 180 down fifty steps. What if your pants get caught and you smash your head on the last step? Peter Adam, what are you doing? Why do you need to say this? And Pete will say, “Oh, you just need to know in case this happens so you can get off early.” Peter Adam, you’re nuts.

Anyway, before Peter Adam. How do you get in the mindset of doing some of the crazy shit you’ve done?
It’s just more or less, in my head, that anything is possible. Ruben, Van, Alistair, all those guys that are seriously pushing things, they just show that anything’s possible. And even if you think something’s not gonna work, it might work. You might as well try it. Just go for it Peter!

You seem to have a ride when you want, don’t force it attitude. How did that come about?
Doing so many things in a week, you only have a certain amount of time to ride, skateboard, hang out with friends. I try to fit in riding whenever I can, but if I’m not feeling it 100%, I don’t ride. It’s the type of thing that I want to feel good when I’m doing, not just riding to ride because I’m supposed to. It’s not training. It’s how I relax.

Are you anti-contest?
I’m not really anti. I think times are changing a lot and it’s always been that I want to go and hang out. A lot of the contests lately, like the Backyard Jam and the La Revolution contests are really good. You can just tell that everyone’s having fun.



Garrett only drinks water after reading somewhere that carbonation leads to brittle bones. Sandy reckons that’s “rubbish”. 360 tyre tap in some Dusseldorf influenced Essex carpark. Where’s Zoid? Photos by Ed Docherty


Do you feel comfortable talking about leaving Little Devil?
Yeah, it was just that me and Derrick came to an understanding. Pretty much, I was growing apart from Little Devil and the fact that I wasn’t really into the clothes anymore. My styles were changing as I’m getting older. You wear Simpson’s shirts when you’re 10 years old and now, you don’t wear the Simpson’s shirts anymore. That’s just the way it is. Things change. I wanted to grow and maybe try to design some shirts. I was going to do a company on my own, but then Darryl Nau (Blacken) came to me and told me about doing a clothing company based around having fun. I couldn’t pass that up, plus I’m really good friends with Darryl and I like what he’s doing. I’m going to be doing some designing for that, working on some products. It’s pretty much just about having fun. We don’t care about any image. It’s just about whatever you want to do.

Will you wear the ‘Drink, Fight, Fu*k’ hat?
I’m not into drinking, fighting or uhh, fu*king, so I’m probably not going to wear that hat.

You live a very clean lifestyle. I know you only drink water and eat very healthy. How did you figure out this way to live?
My mom kinda put me in the direction of being healthy when I was younger. She pointed me in the direction of good food. We were always in health food co-ops, so we’d always get large orders of healthy food. I’d always eat anything from salads to tofu when I was younger, so I was just into it. When I finally realized what she was doing for me and how she was helping me out, I was totally into it and wanted to learn more about it. I started looking into it a lot and became a vegetarian about 6 years ago. It’s been real good. You really understand it when you start falling a lot and really, really tearing your body up. You see people around you just getting torn apart, and their bodies don’t hold up. I’m trying to treat my body good by getting the right food in it. I think it helps you out if you exercise and eat right and stay healthy.

It’s not too hard to be a vegetarian and travel, but do you think it’s hard to explain to people why you are that way?
Yeah, definitely. There’s a lot of, I want to say close-minded, but there’s a lot of people who really just don’t know, which isn’t really close-minded. But, it’s hard, people don’t understand that it’s a whole way of life. There are places everywhere you go that are vegetarian, but you have to dig deep to find them. There are certain places you go like, France, where you just can’t find much.

How did you get the outlook in life to primarily have fun?
I think it’s just been, over the years, hanging out with the people I hang out with. Nobody’s really cared. Having fun before anything else, never really taking any competition seriously. I guess it’s kind of a hippie outlook, but that’s how I was brought up.

Do you try to be as open-minded as possible?
Yeah, definitely. You could start making fun of a guy with a mullet, and next thing you know, you have a best friend with a mullet. And you’re thinking, how could I be making fun of this guy? It’s human nature. You see crazy animals laughing at other animals.

Is it hard to stay that way?
Definitely hard to stay that way. I’ll say that now, but we’ll walk down the street and I’ll see some dude with a pink hat and start thinking funny things. But I try to catch myself before anything comes out of my mouth.

Do you follow any type of religion in your life or do you have any individual beliefs you follow?
I was brought up Catholic. My mom and my sister were Jehovah’s Witness and me and my dad were Catholic. I’ve always kinda looked into things and always want to learn about new things. I wouldn’t say that I’m into a particular religion right now, but I’m learning everyday. I’m always open but I’m a fan of saying the ‘F’ word. Rules in any religion, I can’t really follow too good.



Don’t be fooled into thinking Garrett doesn’t have a bad dose of his own ‘Garrett logic’. He once told me that to cure anorexia, people who suffer from it should be locked in rooms with pasta doors and have to eat their way out. Lip-slide Phillyside.(...it wouldn’t rhyme with FDR) Photos by Sandy Carson


Do you think it’s a harder path to take to be a ‘pro’ without doing contests, but doing good video parts and always travelling all over to ride?
I think it’s all inside you. What you want to do, you can make anything possible if you look at it and make yourself bring out as many new things as you can think of. That’s definitely gonna help you too. It’s just about who you are and how you want to do it.

Do you consider yourself a ‘pro’ BMXer? If someone comes up to you says, “Wow, you’re pro!” What’s your reaction?
I’d say that I’m more of a professional at having fun than a professional at riding my bike. I ride my bike a few days a week but I try to have fun all of the time. Anybody that I’ve ever talked to that I’ve gotten paid from for riding, they say that that is why they sponsor an individual ’cause they’re having fun. Not ‘cause they’re always doing something in the spotlight.

You’ve been riding for T1 now for a long time. Do you want to explain how that came about and what T1 means to you?
I always used to ride at Posh and Robbie Morales would come down. We’d hang out riding trails and stuff. Me and Robbie have been fairly close friends for a long time now and he was always into giving me shoes and hooking me up, with anything from clothes to frames when T1 first got their frames. I’ve gotta thank him so much for that. He’s helped me out so much. And then, I got into meeting Joe and Taj, and I can’t even explain how much they’ve helped me. It’s unbelievable. They read my mind before I even think to say something. They know how to take care of people that are on their team. I guess it’s where people have fallen short in the past on their end of business. But I couldn’t be happier with them.

What do you think about their damn art director?
He’s a bit depressed at times, but he’s one of the most fun guys to hang out with, because when he gets positive, it’s nothing but smiles.

You’ve always been a bike thrower, how did that came to be part of your riding?
Most of the time, it’s cause I’m happy. I’d be happy if I learned something or did something I couldn’t do, so I’d throw my bike. But then it got into not being able to use my brakes in between sets at the trails. I’d go to grab my brakes and not get them so I’d just launch the bike. I’m real careful, when I try to jump off my bike, that my knees and my limbs are all right. I figure that it’s cheaper to get a new bike than it is to get new knees. I just try to be careful. I have been known to go for distance though.

What’s your best distance?
You might have to talk to the camera people at the Telford Backyard Jam. I accidentally launched a little too far and I think I came close to the paparazzi. I felt like a jerk.
You are pretty influential to other riders. How would you feel if someone came up to you and said that they learned to throw their bike from you?
I definitely wouldn’t recommend it. But I did the same thing when I was younger. It’s hard. I guess you learn as you go along. Back in the late 90’s, there was a certain pair of bright red Airwalks. Taj and Luc-e would wear them. Next thing you know, there’s thousands of kids that are wearing them. I wanted them but I couldn’t get them. That’s just how it works.

You leave for Woodward tomorrow as a visiting pro. What are you expectations?
Hanging out with kids is going to be my biggest project there. Just trying to let them see that it’s all about having a good time and not about training to learn the 360 triple whip. Even though it would be nice to get the 360 triple whip down.

I don’t even think Ruben has done that.
You’d be surprised. Who knows what Ruben actually does?

What riders do you look up to?
I look up to so many people. Whoever looks like they’re having fun.

What is the best thing about riding your bike?
Getting to travel to so many places that I’d never be able to go to if I didn’t ride my bike. It’s opened my eyes so much. I’ve met so many people that have influenced me in so many ways. I can’t even really elaborate. It’s amazing when I sit down and think that I’ve been to Australia, England and Germany. All the places that I’ve looked at on the map when I was younger, I’ve been to.

What’s the worst thing about riding your bike...or BMX in general?
The worst thing about BMX would be drama over ridiculous things like cars and houses. Or drama about what one certain person says about someone else. I’m over it. Deal with what’s on your plate and don’t listen to anything else because it’s not really important.

How have you dealt with drama in the past?
I’ve been pretty lucky, but I’ve been in positions where it’s came up. A certain time, on the Seventies roadtrip, when I was taking the bikes out the van, I got real pissed off cause my bike was tangled, and I came to realize that my bike was tangled with Rob-O’s. And he really wanted to kill me cause I kinked his brake cable and scratched his bike, so he was screaming at me, saying he was going to beat me up. Everybody was laughing but then we realized it was serious. I just cruised away and didn’t think anything of it. That’s usually how I deal with things. I’ll just cruise away. It’s not a big deal though. It’s just a fence we’ve crossed and that fence has definitely gone away now, so we’re back to good. It only lasted an hour. It’s just rough when you’re in the same car for two weeks straight with the same people. There’s always little complications, but it’s worth it.

What are some examples of good television?
Good television is few and far between, but I frequent Comedy Central cause I love to laugh. And I love old comedy skits like the Kids in the Hall, things like that. The History Channel is also really good. It’s good to learn from television. Discovery Channel is good to see new animals and see where people are exploring and what’s new in the world. I’ve been known to cruise Saturday morning for the teenage dramas, but that’s doesn’t happen too much.

Where were you on 9/11?
Me, Mike Tag, Andy Forgash and Josh Stricker were out doing a roadtrip in Montreal. When we actually heard about it, we were in Ithaca, NY. We couldn’t get to a TV, so we listened to it on the radio. So went further upstate and through Montreal not really knowing what was happening. We knew there was an attack but that was it. We were riding everyday and nobody was bothering us, no security guards, nothing. It was amazing, thinking that war could start that fast and I was just out riding my bike while people were having a horrible time because of some terrorists from another country.

Do you ever feel that this lifestyle is almost selfish, knowing that there are real threats in the world like a global war, starvation and human suffering?
I do, but it’s the fact that I live every day as if it could be my last. I could die right now and be totally happy because I’ve had so much fun. It’s been amazing. We embrace what we have. Anybody else would love to do what they love everyday. Somehow, I get to do that. I can’t even comprehend it really.

How do you explain to people what you do?
Sometimes I tell people that I’m unemployed, just cause I don’t feel like talking about it. It gets overwhelming explaining it all the time. When you do finally talk about it to somebody, they’re usually just surprised that it works. That you can just ride your bike and make a living at it. A fairy light living, but I wouldn’t trade it right now. It’s who I am.

How does your family feel about what you do? Your dad wanted me to ask you about your past few days at work.
I recently started working for a construction company, Gingarelli Brothers Construction. I do demolition at high schools. I get to take out mirrors with a hammer and knock down walls with a sledgehammer. It’s really fun. I take it fairly serious just for the fact that everybody I work with are burly construction guys that’ll kill me. I’m lying. I work with another guy that’s my age and is seriously fun all the time. We play stickball. But I’m pretty sure that that is not real life. I see people come home and they’re always pissed off from working all day. My parents are always telling me that I have to make a living and make a decent amount of money so I can get a house. I guess I’ll just cross that bridge when I get to it.

Do you have to be out of the house soon then?
Yeah, my parents are kicking me out when I turn 25. Hopefully, I’ll have a setup before then of something. I’m actually really hoping to find a rich girl that’ll take care of me, but I doubt it’s gonna happen.



Even after you take into account the fisheye distortion, it’s easy to see why no one else had even thought about this double set wallride let alone pulled it. The end result of a Double A style sprint in Cologne. Photos by Ed Docherty


Do your parents support what you do?
They support me 150% because, many, many times, I’ve come up short on bills and they’ve totally loaned me money and taken care of me.

Do you want to talk about health insurance?
I hate health insurance. I pay $350.00 a month for health insurance. It’s hard in your head to get through that I haven’t been seriously hurt in two years and I still pay all that money for insurance. It’s so much money I could’ve been saving for a house or car or just having fun. But then, I don’t know. You get it through your head that there’s always that freak occurrence that could hurt you and then you’re in the hole. So it’s a big circle.

We have Ryan Corrigan to use as an example.
Yeah, Ryan Corrigan, multiple thousands of dollars owed.

It’s been said that you sometimes end up driving around looking for spots more than riding.
When I was younger, we always would go to sorts in our town and want to go other places to ride. Then when I started driving, I just figured that, even if I only ride for 15 minutes, I’m riding something new that I found. It’s a good feeling to find something new from cruising around. I love to explore where I live. I’ve driven all over this state and country. It’s good to know where you’re going. It gives you a good grasp of where you’re from.

What’s the most you’ve actually driven to find a spot?
A certain spot, I would say, I don’t know. There’s been times when I’ve driven across the country for a single spot. Locally, I’ve probably driven for 5 or 6 hours.

Do you watch bike videos at all?
I do, but I don’t really own any. My dad owns a bunch but I’m not allowed to use those.

How did you get to be such an aggressive rental van driver?
If it’s not mine, you might as well wreck it.

Any final words?
Live every day as if it’s your last because you just never know.