Interview by Fat.
A few months ago we got a photo submitted to the magazine of a virtually unknown rider tailwhipping down a 21 stair. After deciding to use it in the magazine (it’ll be in the next issue) we hit the now-known Spencer Bass to learn a little more about him and what may be one of the biggest whips ever done. And lucky for everyone, he had a crazy video to go along with it, too.
Video by Shane Darnell.
Not too many people know who you are, but that may change after everyone sees this video… So fill us in, give us a nice intro.
Spencer Bass, 18, and I currently live in Euless, Texas. I pretty much ride every day unless it’s raining. I’m in love with some Jesus and I’m helping my friend with a ministry at our church called “Skate Church.” I’ve never drank or smoked before and I really try to help the kids around here stay out of trouble. Since I don’t wanna pay for my own health insurance, I’m taking all my college classes online so I can ride anytime I want, haha. I might possibly be addicted to Twitter. Yup, that should about cover it…
If you can whip a 21 stair set, I’m sure you can do other stuff too, so why is it that you have flown under the radar for so long?
Haha, that’s a pretty good question. I’ve been trying to get out there but this past year I’ve kind of put my focus into drug and alcohol prevention shows at schools and just kind of working on that. I’ve been trying to film for a while and put out a good video, but when I was out of town I didn’t have a camera so it made it kind of hard. I was kinda just letting the pieces fall into place.
Okay, on to the trick…what’s the biggest set you whipped before this one, and how long had you been eyeing it up?
I wanna say it was like an 11 stair. It just kind of seemed too small for me and I wanted a bigger challenge, something that could get the blood flowing. I had seen this set about, ehh…two2 years ago and just looking at this thing made gave me that rush. It was just waiting for the right time to try it.
Seemed like you did it fairly casually for how burly it was, what was going through your head?
I jokingly said at the beginning of the video that I was either going to land it or go to the hospital and that’s really how I thought. It’s pretty big and I knew that if it went wrong I was done, so I had to fully commit to it and not back out. After I judged my speed I knew that there wasn’t a test jump I just had to send it and I did, but I wasn’t expecting that hard of a landing and my foot blew off so I knew what I had to do different the next time.
Did you have a session after you pulled it, or were you done for the day?
We actually went out and filmed some more street clips. I was so stoked I had pulled it that I was wanting to try a lot more stuff that day and we got some good stuff knocked out.
Usually people don’t know they are going to have a photo in the magazine, but we’ve already spilled the beans on this one. How does it feel to know your first photo in Ride will be out in a few weeks?
I’m pretty stoked. It’s definitely something that I’ve always wanted. I think every kid out there who sees Ride one time or another gets that thought in their head of what it’d be like to get a photo in that magazine. My mom might possibly be more stoked than me though, haha.
Gotta ask about the Red Bull hats/helmet… Everyone knows that only Red Bull has a pretty elite team and only their riders rock the gear, so did you buy yours from a knock-off shop or did you really get hooked up somehow?
Ahhhh Red Bull. About two years ago I got picked up here in Texas to be on flow. Then they thought it would be good advertising for me to wear their logo during shows and such because of large crowds that are always around. It worked out pretty well, too; all the riders here in the North Texas area seemed to be pretty committed to Red Bull. But as of now for 2010 I’m kind of open. I’m still in close relation with Red Bull here but some things have changed and I’m just looking to see what is gonna be the best deal to help support me in 2010.
I saw you at Jomopro and the Free Flow Tour in 2009, any plans to hit up more contests this year?
Yeah, I’m actually hoping to go to the open qualifiers for Dew Tour and see how that goes. Jomopro is always a good time, so I’ll be there this year again having fun with everyone. As for any other contests, I’m down to ride whatever comes my way. It’s always a lot of fun.
You don’t have a bunch of videos floating around the Web, so besides hitting contests and doing enormous whips down stairs, describe your riding style.
I really like to ride park. I’ve got a lot of parks really close to my house and it’s just really comfortable to me. Street is becoming more and more fun though. It’s crazy what all is possible so I’ve been playing around with it lately.
What other riders and/or styles are you into?
Randy Taylor and George Boyd are two guys that I’m pretty stoked on. When I started riding they both showed me the ropes out at the skatepark and I always looked up to them. Morgan Wade is also someone that I have a lot of respect for. He’s a really nice guy and he sends himself. It’s pretty awesome to watch him just try the craziest gaps or lines. Maddog is also really fun to watch ride. That kid is constantly progressing and has a good style, too. There’s also a lot of riders here in Texas that kill it so it won’t be long before they start getting more coverage, too.
