The Real Joey Cobbs Bio
theshrew13
- January 14 2002
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Joey Cobbs
Age: 17
Sponsors: Volume/Demolition
Hometown: Torrance, California
You graduated from high school early. How did you do that?
I thought I was wasting my time, because I sat around a lot. And even though I was getting good grades, I thought that the classes were really lame. I did some research and found a way to get my diploma early. It’s just a test that you have to take.
It’s a full-on high school diploma, not a GED, right?
Oh yeah, it’s a totally legit diploma. It just costs fifty bucks.
So one test and you’re done with high school?
Yep, fifty bucks!
What did you think you wanted to do when you were done with high school?
I wanted to go to college and ride all the time.
Are you in college now?
Yeah, I go to Los Angeles Harbor College. I’m only taking two classes, so I’m kind of lagging on it.
You also work at Volume/Demolition. What do you do there?
I’m a sales rep, and I also do some shipping and answer e-mails; stuff like that.
What’s it like working with Castillo?
It’s pretty crazy. It’s frustrating sometimes, but it’s pretty cool. It’s better than a normal job.
What do you think of the SoCal scene?
I’m kind of over it.
Why is that?
Everything is all scheduled. There’s no where you could really go to and session continuously, like a park where you could pay $5 for more than two hours. And from my house it takes at least 45 minutes to get to any skatepark. It sucks. I’m tired of all the driving.
So it’s more the inconvenience than the actual scene?
There really is no SoCal scene, and I’ll be the one that says it. It’s all just politics. It seems that this is where the BMX headquarters is and that this is where all the crap gets started, and working at Volume I get to hear about all of it. I think that is the root of me getting sick of it, along with all the riding stuff.
I would just like to ride my bike in this docile place where there’s no one around. So I could get away from everything. Then when I wanted to see people I could just come back. That would be my perfect situation.
Where do you think that is?
I was thinking about moving to Oregon, but it seems that a lot of people are flocking there and it’s going to be the next Austin, so I’m not really sure. Vancouver sounds pretty cool, but I want to move somewhere the weather’s not intolerable all the time. I know that other than Southern California, it doesn’t really get like that. I can handle some weather, but not a lot. I’m pretty open minded about that, as long as there are some good skateparks?and Oregon definitely has a lot of good skateparks.
Tell us about the footjam fufanu. Is that something you came up with on your own or did you see someone do it?
It’s a trick th I thought of a long time ago and never got around to trying. Fufanus are the only trick that I haven’t been able to cover brakeless; everything else I seem to manage pretty well. I was just thinking of ways to do it one night, and then, almost a year later, my friends and I were goofing around on this bank and I got it on the second try. It took me a while before I tried it on a quarterpipe.
Is one of your goals to come up with original tricks, or is it something that just comes along?
I think it’s something that just comes along from riding brakeless. To do some of the same tricks you have to think differently. You have to just twist it to make it work. I just think of stuff whenever. I drive a lot and there’s nothing to do so I’ll just think of tricks. There are tons of tricks that I think of and then forget about, but I’ll be at a park and it will come back to me. Or I’ll think of a trick that’s out of my range, but I know that when I progress up to that level I’ll be able to do it. So I’ll just keep it as a future goal.
Why did you go brakeless?
A lot of people say that it’s because their bike is always breaking. I thought it was cool because it makes you know your bike better. You have to find different methods of slowing down and doing different tricks. You learn to balance better. A lot of people rely on brakes; like if they didn’t have brakes they couldn’t manual.
At first I wasn’t planning on staying brakeless. I was just doing it for a while to learn more about my bike and how I could make it work. That way, later, when I put brakes back on I would be dialed and have tons of bike control and only use them when I didn’t want to put a tire down. Then I got more into it and it just didn’t seem like I needed them anymore.
I’ve seen you compete at some of the smaller, more rider-oriented contests. How do you feel about competition?
Contests are awesome. I think they’re really good, it just turns out that there aren’t many non-Pro invite contests in Southern California, and those are the only ones I can go to. I would go to more, but it’s hard. If people sent me I would go, but it’s expensive.
What do you think is more important, contests or photos and video parts?
I think they’re all equal. It’s all just doing your job as a bike rider. People say that riding a bike isn’t a job, but there are certain responsibilities that come with it if you’re going to ride a bike for a living. If you aren’t going to go to contests you owe it to your sponsor to get photos in magazines and do video parts. But if you’re going to contests and doing well then you’re doing that for your sponsor. You can do either, or both, whatever makes you and your sponsor happy. You have to find the happy medium between rider and sponsor.
While we were riding we started talking about throwing bikes and the Karma involved. What’s your take on Karma?
If I throw my bike and something happens to it, like the bars or a wheel moves it’s totally over. During the next ten minutes I’ll be on the ground for nine of them.
One time I was doing a kick flip to this ledge and I had done it perfect four times. Then something happened and I threw my bike real hard; I mean bad. I lost it, like Bennett style. It moved my bars, and for the next ten tries I had the most vicious crashes. Finally I guess it had enough and I pulled it pretty smooth.
Where do you want to go with BMX?
It used to be the whole, “I want to be Pro,” but now it’s more that I just want to ride. I think it has to do with where I live and work. You get burnt out on the whole politics and “Pro scene” so easy. I don’t even care about all that really.
I think there are a lot of Pros that you could say aren’t really Pro, but they are. They’re sponsored so they’re Pro, but they aren’t really on the same level as whoever you may want to talk about. I think it’s all relative. I think it’s not so much what you can do, I think it’s more like if you’re a good bike rider, you’re a good bike rider.
I just want to ride and more or less be happy with my riding. I don’t want to get burned out on it, so I try not to overdo anything.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
I’d like to thank the Volume guys, Brian, La, Allan, Mike; all those guys are pretty cool. I should thank Dreadlock Dan from Axion for giving me shoes sometimes. Mike Escamilla is pretty nice to me; he actually talks to me and he’s my friend. I’d like to thank all my friends because they’re totally awesome and cool to ride with. My girlfriend because I can just get away from stuff when I hang out with her, get away from the whole riding thing, because you do get tired of riding, I don’t care what anyone says. I’d also like to thank my Mom, she’s super rad, and so is my Dad.
Click here for two sequences of Joey Cobb.
ould say aren’t really Pro, but they are. They’re sponsored so they’re Pro, but they aren’t really on the same level as whoever you may want to talk about. I think it’s all relative. I think it’s not so much what you can do, I think it’s more like if you’re a good bike rider, you’re a good bike rider.
I just want to ride and more or less be happy with my riding. I don’t want to get burned out on it, so I try not to overdo anything.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank?
I’d like to thank the Volume guys, Brian, La, Allan, Mike; all those guys are pretty cool. I should thank Dreadlock Dan from Axion for giving me shoes sometimes. Mike Escamilla is pretty nice to me; he actually talks to me and he’s my friend. I’d like to thank all my friends because they’re totally awesome and cool to ride with. My girlfriend because I can just get away from stuff when I hang out with her, get away from the whole riding thing, because you do get tired of riding, I don’t care what anyone says. I’d also like to thank my Mom, she’s super rad, and so is my Dad.
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