Interview: TBB BIKE - Czech Republic

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

It wasn’t exactly an idea, it was more of a natural evolution of things. At that time I was quite good at BMX racing and I was fully immersed in preparations for the next season. I even decided to leave high school, so I could train harder. I used to sell BMX products after races for a time so that I could pay for the trips. Unfortunately, my knees gave in and as I hadn’t any friends who were doctors that I could contact, and with the overall quality of healthcare not being very good at the time, the doctor gave me a choice: either you stop riding, or eventually you won’t be able to walk, period. That was probably the moment I decided that I wanted to continue to be part of the BMX community even though I wouldn’t be able to actively ride. It was 1996 when I opened a small BMX shop next to a local track here in Brno, without any money or experience… It was quite a punk move, heh!? I finished school, started working, and invested all the free afternoons I had into the shop.

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

My first BMX bike was a gift from my family for Christmas back in 1986. It was quite something, as at that time there was a hard totalitarian regime here, and BMX bikes were an “under-the-counter“ product. The following year I immediately signed up to the local club and that’s when everything started. The first results came after three years, when I won something you could say was a “Czech Championship”. In November of the same year the communist regime fell in the Czechoslovakia, which meant there would be many new opportunities for us to travel. It was a great time - races every week, travelling somewhere else every week, a lot of friends and a lot of fun. I competed across the whole of Europe, attended several European championships, and even World championships. I even visited the USA. During my best years I was the vice-champion of the Czech Republic twice. Even after recurring problems with my knees I always returned to the sport, however, it was no longer possible at one point and I attended my last race in 2007. Thanks to traveling, I have seen other disciplines than Racing, which also inspired me with the business side of things. These days, I very happily ride pump tracks with my daughter or jump some smaller tracks, and that’s enough for me to still feel like a rider.

Are you primarily a BMX shop?

Yes, we are a 100% BMX shop and that was the intention when I started - BMX or nothing. There was a time when all my friends started riding fourcross or downhill, which was extremely popular at that time. I also tried mountain bikes. It wasn’t long before I told myself that it is impossible to “sit on two chairs at the same time”, so if we want to do BMX, it has to be 100%. I knew it wouldn't be easy. The number of race riders was dropping and there was no freestyle scene to talk about. I hadn’t even admitted to myself that there was no one to sell to. I organised the first Dirt race, called a few friends, and we had a contest. Back at that time there was no internet and mobile phones were rare… It had a special feel. And it basically works the same way to this day. I organise and support events, riders, and other different projects. That's the reason why local shops are necessary for the healthy growth of the local scene - the continued support.

Who’s on your team for Vans ‘The Circle’?

Getting a team together for Vans ‘The Circle’ wasn’t that hard for me. I just prayed that everybody would be without injuries and, overall, healthy. The base of the team is our Thebikebros crew, which I decided to fill in from the ranks of friends (Honza Prokeš and Honza Novák) and from ranks of long time customers as a little thanks and motivation to the future.

Michal Šmelko / 30 y.o. / Federal Bikes - Everybody calls him “Čenda” rather than Michal. A nickname, which is passed down from generation to generation in his family. From the first time I saw Čenda riding, It was clear to me that this guy has it in him and that he has a bright future. Čenda is basically playing with his bike, which is probably the reason why he eventually changed to freecoaster and started riding even more technical stuff than before. „Čenda is one of the most chill people I know“ wrote Roy Van Kempen in his interview, and that is the holy truth. Čenda is an extremely chill person and he proves this with his next big hobby - fishing. Well, you have to admit, no one without peace in mind would like fishing…

Jiří Blábol / 23 y.o. / Subrosa - Jirka rode the hardest he could from the beginning. Through his first steps to being seen at the BMX Benjamin Style, he gradually made his way to the post of well-known rider. His technical riding is viewed on his social media by thousands of people around the world. Jirka has absolute control over his bike and he can do magic on flat rails as well as on all the big spots.

Martin Šiman / 22 y.o. / Fiend BMX - Martin is a quiet guy, who lets his riding speak for him. His progressive street style attracts attention and everybody will immediately know who his national inspiration in riding is. He prefers camera lenses to competitions, and we can only admit that he can unleash really good stuff. During his time with us, he’s proved that he’s a creative person, who is focused on his projects and is never swayed by the crowd. And those are things that have nothing but value, especially these days.

Dominik Pospíšil / 29 y.o. / Flybikes - Dominik is a long time BMX rider and he has been killing it for a good while now. In the last couple of years he has been riding with our very own Zdenda Pešek quite often, and has always impressed us with his riding style, attitude and the constant effort he puts into riding. His eye-catching riding style features speed, style and goofy footed rotations. You would have to get really lucky to see someone doing better lookback’s than Dominik.

Jan Prokeš / 29 y.o. / Cult - Honza is a very universal and progressive rider. His riding is heavily influenced by the environment he started riding in, which was mainly dirt and park. It gives him his personal style with many tricks up his sleeve, from long nose manuals to big drops.

Jan Novák / 19 y.o. / Federal Bikes - Honza is exactly that kind of a rider, who will always try every spot he can find, he’s able to ride dirt in the forest as well as any spot in the worst district of town. From the beginning he was always a mad rocket and that’s stayed with him to this day. If you see a guy at a competition who would prefer to be towed by a motorcycle for long jump, it's no one else other than him.

Who have you chosen to film the edit?

When you have a BMX crew around you, you have to have a camera guy - ideally one who’s also a rider. Tomáš Carda has been a member of our crew for quite a few years now and we have several good projects under our belts. It was an easy decision. Recently, all his time has gone into his company and any time for BMX was, unfortunately, scarce.

That's why I was very happy when he accepted my invitation to be part of this project. It was great to remember all the moments we had been through together. From his creations, I can highlight projects such as Lost in, series of jams ‘Street Jammin’, or our trip to Romania. For the photographer, I once again chose a long time friend of mine, Milan Tykal. Similar to Tom, he has photographed a long line of projects for us and it is always a great honour to have these two next to me.

lostinbmx | street-jammin | expedition-romania-video

Has filming went well?

For the first meeting we had here in Brno, the weather was really challenging, which limited us quite a lot within the choice of spots. Unfortunately, there was even an injury, so the initial feelings about filming weren’t exactly optimistic. I haven’t personally attended the second filming session as I’m currently preparing a huge event for the TBB-BIKE 25th year anniversary - a dirt jam with concert, and many other fun things. Tom and the crew went to film some great spots in Bohemia. The weather was great so the mood and overall feeling from it are very positive. At the start we made a concept for the whole thing and I left it in Tom's hands from there. He has the absolute trust of the whole team. I believe we will all be very happy with the result … You have pretty good stuff to look forward to!

How’s your local BMX scene looking these days?

I'm very happy about how the entire local scene has evolved over the years. The construction of new parks has had a great influence on that. There are many of them and with that the number of riders goes up. BMX is more in the spotlight and there’s been many great events, which also influences the evolution of the scene. We have plenty of good riders here, be it street, park or trails. If somebody wants to ride BMX, that person can surely find what they’re looking for.

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

It's hard to compare. As I mentioned before, when I first started there wasn’t a scene at all. All of it started forming around events that I organized. Other people joined and the scene grew. These days, X times more children have a bike; you can buy everything you need in the shop, but still only a few join the “core” scene. It kinda feels like there’s a lack of motivation or not wanting to go further. Over time, there have been several generations of riders, and every single one was different. Back in the day, there was just one group and what you were riding wasn’t important. Today the scene is fractured into the disciplines and each group does its own thing. That’s a natural evolution though, and I'm optimistic about it. BMX lives!

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

Women are only seen in parks here for the moment. You could say it's connected with the Olympics. I’ve yet to see a single woman here, besides one exception, on dirt or street. Or did I miss something? Diversity, not only in riding styles, is visible for sure, which is exactly what I like about BMX. You want to ride BMX? Choose… Options, styles… There are countless possibilities…

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

If somebody gets into the BMX industry just with the aim of primarily doing business - profiting off of something that is currently hot - then it’s always going to be for a short period of time. I’ve seen that several times - it’s a huge bubble that eventually bursts. I have never seen a single shop owner attending a jam or other event. Why? Good BMX shops continually support the local community and try to add something to it. Connection between the shop and community should be natural and based on trust and respect. BMX is a second family to me and the door will always be open to whoever comes with an idea or a good project - as long as it’s a little bit possible, I will gladly support it. That's why it's important to have a good local shop.

Do you think BMX has been more popular lately?

If we are talking about Covid times, then we all surely know what impact the lockdowns had on all the bike warehouses. It wasn’t any different with BMX and the influx of new kids was extremely high. Without a doubt BMX gained popularity and there could be several reasons why. On the whole, BMX is more accessible, social media is full of BMX content, there are riding exhibitions and many quality contests, and, last but not least, the Olympics. We all have different opinions on it, and that’s fine, but without a doubt it helped BMX gain some popularity, even though it may only be for one discipline.

What’s the most memorable thing that’s happened in your store?

Uuuh, there have been many moments throughout the years and highlighting just one would be very difficult. However, I will share one story, which has been burned really deep into my memory. It was at the first small shop next to the BMX race track. One customer came across the whole republic to the store. He gave me a t-shirt of some metal band as a gift and thanked me that he was able to buy a bike here. To this day we are very good friends, and when there’s time, we go out for a ride together. Thanks Tom!