Meet The Intern: Daniel Kusenda

Keith Mulligan

• September 01 2008
• 1,427 views
• 11 comments

Hailing from Irvine, California, a stone’s throw from our Tustin office, comes Ride BMX’s latest and greatest intern, Daniel Kusenda. Daniel is typically pretty quiet, but we know he’s arrived when we hear the clicking of a rear hub in the morning as he rides his bike to the office. Stoked on BMX, and even more so on working here at Ride, Daniel’s a street rider who’s got his sights set on an industry job. Read on to learn a little more about Daniel and to see a few pics of him in action. Oh yeah, if you’ve got any ideas for good pranks for us to pull on him, send me an e-mail.
—Keith

Full name: Daniel Kusenda
Age: 17
Residence: Irvine, California
School: Irvine High School
Favorite cereal: Captain Crunch—I could eat that shit all day, [laughs]

Daniel and one of his rides. Photo: Chris Shargay

What possessed you to want to be an intern here at Ride? Are you nuts?
Well, since I found out about Ride BMX I always wondered what it would be like to work there. I quickly realized that dream was a little too farfetched, but finding the article on ridebmx.com about an opening as an intern didn’t seem so out of reach. The only thing that was running through my head after reading that article was DREAM JOB! Hell yeah, I’m crazy.

Interns get to do all of the crap work that us editors don’t want to do, plus they get messed with a lot. What’s the least fun thing you’ve had to do, and do you have any idea what practical jokes are being planned for you?
If I had to pick, it would be organizing and tagging old photo galleries—it just never ends, but I have no idea what you guys are planning.

After spending a few days with the crew here, what are your first impressions of the staff? Don’t be scared to tell it like it is.
To be honest, I’m really stoked on the staff here at Ride. You guys are all really helpful and don’t seem to mind me bugging you about questions I have, which is awesome.

What do you think of the Ride BMX office? Is it what you thought it would be?
The office is actually really nice and clean. It’s nice and cold, just how I like it, but the best part about it is that I can ride to work.

We usually only hire interns that are in college, but you’re still in high school. That says a lot about you—one is that you’re young, but also that you’re motivated and serious about having a future in the industry. What are your future goals and aspirations?
Yeah, that was the first thing that came to mind when I filled out my application, that I was too young. Even when I met Fat for the first time, he had a surprised look on his face when I told him I was 17 [laughs]. My future goals are to graduate high school, go on to college and hopefully be able to work for Ride full-time.

When did you start riding?
As a kid, I always looked up to my older brother Michael. I tried doing everything he did so it was no surprise when he started to ride BMX there was no stopping me. Since I was only five, the riding I was doing was tagging along with him and his buddies. But I’d have to say when I was 13 was when I started to ride BMX.

What was the first issue of Ride that you got your hands on? What do you remember about seeing the magazine for the first time?
The first [magazine] I remember getting was about four years ago with Ruben Alcantara doing a wallride transfer over a full pipe on the cover (Transworld BMX, September 2004). I thought it was the coolest thing ever, but finding out that spot was less than two miles from my house was even cooler.

What about ridebmx.com? When did you first log on?
About three years ago at my buddy Chris’ house, but wasn’t successful at first. Somehow I still remember this because he tried to show me the Web site, but it was blocked for some reason.

Curved ledge icepick. Photo: Chris Shargay

Since most of your duties are based around doing stuff for our Web site, you’ve got Fat Tony breathing down your neck most of the day. Does he have bad breath, and how much of a slave driver is he?
[Laughs] He doesn’t have bad breath, but a slave driver, now you’re talking. No, I only feel like a slave when he whips me when I mess up, but I am an intern, what do you expect?

What do you think of his nickname “Fat Tony”?

Confusing, and to this day he still won’t tell me what his real name is [editor's note: Daniel now knows Fat's real name, but we'll leave it up to Fat to share with you guys].

You ride your bike to the Ride office on the days you come in, which is awesome. What bike are you riding, and what are some of the components you are using and are into?
I actually have two bikes. One is my everyday BMX bike, which is a rusty Mike Aitken S2 frame. The other is also a Mike Aitken S2 frame, which was stolen from me but somehow found and returned by some random middle school kids. As far as components on my bikes, I run Primo wheels, Primo pedals, Odyssey forks, Fit bars, Fly pegs, and [I ride] brakeless. As long as it’s solid and noise-free it works for me.

What type of riding gets you stoked?
Anytime I have the opportunity to ride new street.

Who are some of your favorite pros?
Nathan Williams, Eric Lichtenberger, Gary Young, Corey Martinez, Randy Taylor, and Van Homan.

Favorite bands?
The Acacia Strain, For The Fallen Dreams, and Jonas Brothers.

Lots of people stop by the office when they’re in town. Have you gotten to meet any famous riders or industry people yet?
Since I’ve started, the only person that has stopped by that I know of was Rob-o, which was cool.

Anyone you’d like to meet? What would you ask them given the chance?
I’d like to meet the guy who stole my bike so I could beat his ass.

Overall, what’s the best thing about getting this intern position?
Having the opportunity to experience something I truly love doing and being able to work with the people I’ve looked up to for years. It’s a great feeling waking up everyday and being stoked on going to work

River ditch wallride. Photo: Chris Shargay