Interview: LES TROIS ROUX - France

Can you explain how the idea for your store came to be?

I started out by creating the website for LES TROIS ROUX in 2014, with only 1500€ to fund it and make it grow, in order to offer bikes and parts throughout France.

In 2018, I opened the store in my hometown of Caen. We needed more storage space for the online shop, and we wanted to provide a nice shop in the northern and western areas of France.

The idea of creating a store allowed me to pursue my passion of riding BMX, as well as offering my experience to beginners through to more experienced riders.

Can you tell us a bit about your personal history within BMX?

I encountered BMX after continually breaking a mountain bike that I used to ride. Thanks to a sale at a large sports store, and the advice of a sales assistant, I decided to give BMX a try at the age of 17. I like how challenging BMX can be, and how it helps you push your boundaries. While experiencing complications within my personal life I fell into it as a way to escape. It was a true blessing for me - I found myself and a "way of life". I share very pleasant moments with the guys and I feel truly free. Now, at 34 years old, I'm the old one, but I still ride street/park/bowls.

Are you primarily a BMX shop?

Yes we are, and will remain a 100% BMX-oriented shop. We have all the race, flat, street, park and trail customers. Out of passion, and to better serve the riders, we didn't want to explore other areas - we only do BMX. You will find all the parts you are looking for, but if you come and ask us for a standard bike basket: wrong place..!

Who’s on your team for Vans The Circle?

Let me introduce you to Julien Baran, student and Flat Rider from the area. He is able to mix his school life and the BMX world thanks to his very promising potential. We and his family are very optimistic given his age and level. He’s also sponsored by WETHEPEOPLE and ECLAT. His weekends are filled with competitions and demos. His level is quite impressive, his style is very flowy and very technical. He is the future of flatland.

Erwan Hemon is a rider from the West of France (the very west). He has a street riding style, is usually pegless, and has a pop jump like we've never seen before. Thanks to his impressive agility he bounces and turns in directions that are unexpected with ease. His job: acoustic engineer in the field of underwater fauna. Fun fact: before filming, he spent a week at sea developing a system of microphone-equipped buoys, which will allow whales to be detected and their location reported back in order to avoid fatal collisions (for the whales) with ships.

Remi Adrix: 28 years old / BMX FLYBIKES SIERRA / Riding Park / Transition - BMX Teacher, Coach, Store Salesperson, Official BMX Championships Judge, Race Championships Organizer - that's a lot in a lifetime. His life goal is to share and spread BMX as much as possible so that everyone can have access to the practice because it's not given to everyone. Rémi did a lot of park riding before but the arrival of a bowl in the area made him change his riding - technical in curves, fast and air. It's really nice to watch.

Ally Adrix: 31 year old / Colony / Park - She has been riding for a very short time. She trains mostly in the park - this trip was a first for her in riding street. She’s a photographer and works in the music industry. She never misses a moment to go riding with Rémi, or to zip through France in their van going from park to park. The atmosphere during Rémi's BMX trips and the numerous encounters make her want to persevere more and more in this practice. The immersion into the BMX world for a girl is difficult, especially at the beginning when we go to the parks, so I think it's important for us to help her to integrate and to accompany her in her evolution.

Paul Varchon: 34 years old / BMX street / Street

Creator and manager of the shop. I will also participate in Vans ‘The Circle’. Like a family meal on Sundays: we take grandpa.

Who have you chosen to film the edit?

Florent Lamour has been with us since the beginning, creating the logo, the website, welcome edit, shop presentation, and forming part of the team. He evolved in the BMX world at the same time as us, so there’s this sense of sharing a common vision between the riders and him. He doesn't live near us, but he comes by often, and there's a good park there (Bowl and Plaza), so we drop by from time to time to see him and enjoy the bar across the street!

Store presentation | Sosh Urban Motion | Julien Baran

Has filming gone well?

The shoot was great! It's been a unique moment for us all to get together because no one comes from the same town. On top of that, we decided not to shoot in our city but in an area where we had never ridden street before. So we crossed paths and ended up in Rennes. Once we got there, we went around the city to find some cool spots, so that everyone could ride to their heart's content and do something original. We all have a different kind of riding, which is different from what we get to see on the networks these days. This makes the video interesting; seeing a bit of everything condensed into a 3 minute video. The idea of filming was not to see big rails - we see so much riding on walking gaps or rails that it seemed relevant to show something else, to show that street riding was riding in the street, but it can be done in different ways.

How’s your local BMX scene looking these days?

The local scene today is separated by generations. We have the newbies who follow the networks and ride in their corners, filmed by friends from school, whom we don't see enough of in real life. There's a big mid school scene of guys who ride park, street, trail and even flat (there is a good association nearby). The shop allows you to see all the locals, but we have a hard time getting everyone together in the same place because the riders each have their own style. But for us it's great, we see all the gear and we buy everything so that everyone can find what they need, and it allows us to be aware of everything and to have a close presence within the scene.

How does it compare to when you first opened your store?

Since we've had the shop, and considering that we're the only one in the west, we've noticed that more and more BMX bikes are being sold, and therefore more and more new ones are coming into the practice. We see bikes around the skatepark with our logos on them, and it's really rewarding to know that people follow us, and even better to know that we are sharing our practice. Rémi is giving more and more lessons so that means that BMX is evolving positively in recent years. Social networks and media help a lot - insiders know our shop and come directly to the store for advice, often travelling hundreds of kilometres. Thanks to online videos, the use of BMX in movies, challenges like the Vans ‘The Circle’, we’re always able to make our best effort, and we go the extra mile to show the best of BMX. The riders are there, the shop is like a springboard to promote BMX.

Have you seen an increase in female riders and more diversity in general over recent years?

Thanks to Ally, we found a lot of female riders, but there’s still too many in the shadows. To follow the movement, the girls who start riding are often close to riders at the core. She explained that the girlfriends of the riders are often close to BMX because they are passionate about it, and they can't help but be into it, so eventually they allow themselves to be tempted by the practice. Ally often uses the networks to talk to the girls, to find out how things are going, how they overcome certain challenges in BMX. It’s very important for her to be able to exchange and compare experiences. When I asked Remi, he told me that at FISE this year there were as many girls as there were amateurs registered for the last competition, and this year he has 4 girls training with him. For him this is very representative of the evolution of women's BMX over the last 2 years.

How important is a good BMX shop in supporting a local scene?

There's an advantage to being close to the riders and being able to give them advice on parts according to their needs. We do this with all our customers in the end, it's a real exchange and it helps to move things forward. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced rider, we welcome everyone in the same way. For me, the importance of a good shop is that we are not just here to sell, we are here to share our passion and advise beginners and intermediates in their purchases. If you didn't know, the BMX industry offers a lot of different products and it's really hard to find the best dimensions or the best materials that are compatible for each person. If we do the best for the people, we have people who stay and come back, and hopefully riders cross paths at the store. By the same token, we are a meeting place and a vector of exchange - we know who rides where and when, so if there are meetings to be had, we know where to go and where to direct people so that they can ride together.

Do you think BMX has been more popular lately?

We find that BMX is more popular lately, yes. What we’re seeing is that more people are getting involved and offering something different. In France we’re lucky to have cities that strive to meet their people’s needs. Thanks to some of the more committed riders, we have seen BMX in a lot more events. For years we have been lucky to have big international competitions like the X-games, Simple Session, FISE which pushes others to do the same and to offer something similar. Beyond seeing a community surfing on a time-consuming fashion movement, we find ourselves with events in France where BMX is a hub of sharing, to meet others, of initiation, and discovery. We see public events where more and more people come to watch, and participate regardless of their level. The online media coverage shows riders of all ages and levels, which allows young people to find themselves in the discipline, and it also allows them to meet in real life during these events.

Also, when we go on a road trip, we just have to click on the map to find the closest friends in the area to come and ride with us. That's why Ally started riding - she realised that there were a lot more girls riding than you'd think while she was on the move than you'd think and she saw it as a tight group. The media strengthens the will in practice, that's for sure.

What’s the strangest request you’ve ever had from a customer?

Is the bakery here? Yes, that's the question that sticks in our heads because it's short and very telling of what we come across every day. To tell the truth, the most amazing thing is that the street is currently under construction, the city has decided to make a skatepark on the opposite side of the street. There will be an 1800m2 street plaza which will allow a lot of people to discover and ride. This is what cities are looking for at the moment. It's an open air where the public can be spectators or ride. What could be better for a BMX store?