Name: Shawn McIntosh
Age: 25
Height: 6’
Weight: 190 lbs.
Location: Grants Pass, Oregon
Sponsors: Fit, Lotek, Primo, Brigada Eyewear, GoodsBMX, Quintin, 1000beans, The Tripped, Livin’
Bike photos by Jeff Zielinski
Interview photos by Justin Shier
Interview by Andrew Brady
Frame: Fit Mac 21.125”
Fork: Fit prototype
Bars: Fit Mac bar
Stem: Primo Tony Neyer
Grips: Fit Tech
Barends: Fit plugs
Headset: Primo
Clamp: integrated
Seatpost: Primo
Seat: Fit Barstool
Cranks: Fit prototype
Sprocket: Fit DLS 25-tooth
Chain: Half-link
Front Tire: Fit FAF 2.23”
Front Wheel: Primo 7 Series rim with Primo N4 hub
Rear Tire: Fit FAF 2.23”
Rear Wheel: Primo 7 Series rim with Primo Remix cassette hub
Pedals: Fit Mac
Hub Guard: Primo prototype
Pegs: Fit OG
So, first things first. You just moved back to Oregon after living in Long Beach for a bit. How has life been back in Oregon, and why did you decide to switch it up?
Yeah, I love Long Beach, but there is no place like home. I’m just really excited to chill and ride concrete parks and the finest dirt around, but yeah i never can really sit in one place for too long so we’ll see where I am next time, haha.
What’s the best thing about being back home? What’s your least favorite?
The best thing is silence, bright stars and beautiful scenery!!! Least favorite would be that there’s no good seshable street spots anymore, the last one got capped.
Have you been riding trails and concrete much? I know you said you were stoked to ride some tranny and dubs to give your bones a bit of a break after riding street for so long…
Yeah just chillin’, I love seshing a skate park for hours and just messin’ around with lil jibs.
What do you miss about Long Beach, and what don’t you miss about it?
I miss all the homies…I don’t miss the skate parks, haha.
It also looks like you’ve picked up some new sponsors since the last time we talked. What’s good with Brigada?
Brigada is Andrew Reynolds’ eyewear company and they asked me to rep and of course I was down; steez-e shades.
Is it too early to talk about Livin’? Can you give us some sort of info on what that project is all about?
It’s just something to call my own….just wanna be able to do what I want, whenever I want…just gunna chill and see how it goes.
How was the rescheduled Grant’s Pass Jam that went down?
It couldn’t have gone any better, it was amazing; a bunch of shredders came out that I’ve never even met so it was awesome, I’m looking forward to doing a yearly thing out of it…I wanna thank everyone for coming out.
Let’s talk about your signature frame through Fit. What was in your head when you were asked to design a frame, and what did you feel the frame needed to be all about?
I was beyond stoked to have the opportunity to have my own frame. I knew I wanted a strong bike with low bottom bracket and a high stand over, with short but not too short rear end, so Ben Ward and I sat down and came up with the best bike in the world..
What type of rider is going to be into the Mac frame?
Any type…I like to ride everything so I made my bike able to do that, well maybe not flatland haha.
You’re running a new color–what is it, and is it going to be around for a while?
Yeah, I’m pumped…it’s translucent teal, it looks so good with the way it makes the welds stand out, i hope it stays around cuz its by far one of my favorite colors.
Your bars were designed along the same lines as your frame…no bullshit, just a straight up, solid BMX product. What are your feelings on the bars out on the market today and how are yours different?
Well, my shit is all straight gauge tubes so they’re gonna weigh in a lil more but they’re gonna hold up. Lately I have seen bars that just snap clean off and slice peeps arm wide open–not a thing I wanna see in my future. Considering it could be your neck getting slit just as easy!!!
What’s up with your signature pedals? When are they going to be out, and why do you stick with metal after all these years?
I ran plastics for a while but they’re unreliable…let your bike go trying something and you don’t know if your pedal is gonna explode. And the fact that the pedal loses grip just from your shoe, metal just last longer and grip better, it’s just easier to know I have something solid under my foot as opposed to a piece of plastic.
Overall, you take a ton of pride in your parts, more so than a lot of riders I’ve seen. What makes you so proud of them?
Because they are exactly how I want my parts to be so it’s perfect. It’s like a dream that has became reality so I’m very proud.
I know you like to have a smooth and fresh bike–how often do you switch your bike up, and why do you like to have it so fresh and so clean?
It makes me feel good on my bike when it’s dialed and clean, but I think I’m a be on this beast for a long time, I love the color scheme.
You’re on the revamped Primo pro team and are pretty tight with all of the guys on the team. Are you stoked to be able to run your homie Tony Neyer’s signature parts? Do you have any in the works through them?
Yeah, Tony is one of my best buds, along with Ty [Morrow] so I can’t wait to get some trips in the works, as far as signature parts go with them I have nothing in the works, all the stuff out right now is amazing. And yeah, Tony’s stem is the stem to have!!!
What else do you have going on for the year? Any big trips, contests, life plans?
I’m gonna be fishing and enjoy the country life out in Oregon, but there are some trips in the works with Fit, I have heard of an Aussie trip coming up for them. Never been so I’m pretty pumped for that….
