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2020 DownUnderGround – Australian BMX flatland championships

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2020 DownUnderGround , the Australian BMX flatland championships number 12 was a video only contest, open to all riders around the world. With the current global situation with Covid -19 travel restrictions are in place around the world and earlier this year within Australia. This made organizing a national contest problematic. We could not set a date as we never knew if or when travel restrictions would ease up in Australia and or if riders would even want to travel interstate with the current conditions. As DownUnderGround has had a video round as part of the contest for many years it was a easy decision to make 2020 a video only contest. To make the video even more special we had our contest judges live announce over the video after they had judged the video contest and the riders were placed in the video according to their contest placement. Thanks to Shaun Jarvis, Paul Chamberlain and Joe Cicman and James McGraw.

The format of the contest was easy, riders submit their video as if they were riding at a contest. No edits or multiple clips, one continual run, no less than 1 minute and no more than 2 minutes. Each rider’s video was judged by three judges using the DownUnderGround contest format. Each judge scores each category out of 20 points;
Difficulty – How difficult and complex the tricks are.
Consistency – How consistent the rider is in pulling the tricks within the contest run.(feet down, foot dab, smoothness of run)
Variety – This is left up to the judge’s discretion on what their own interpretation of variety is. This can take into account range of techniques (spinning, turbining, rolling, scuffing, stationary, pumping…) variety and range of tricks, types of tricks, combinations of tricks, front and rear wheel usage, backwards and forwards.
The best possible score from one judge per video run is 60 points. The three judges points are added together to determine the winner and place getters.

Due to the nature of the contest we knew we would get many international riders entering than Australian riders. This just made the contest so much more rad. The level of riding around the world is amazing. Some many great riders being able to showcase their riding and their riding spot. Nothing but pure radness in the video.

Congratulations to Freestyle Now squad members for their placings – Shaun Jarvis 18th experts , Lee Kirkman 12th opens, Paul Chamberlain 7th opens.

Thank you to DownUnderGound supporters – Freestyle Now , Colony BMX

 

2020 DownUnderGround – Australian BMX flatland championships – official results 30th December 2020

Beginner
1st – Jhong Pantorilla – Davao, Philippines – 146 points
2nd – Seth Eylward-Piko – Melbourne, Australia – 69 points
3rd – Spencer Frueh – Melbourne, Australia – 64 points

Expert
1st – Chris Vasileiou – Ioannina, Greece – 171 points
2nd – Miguel Hernández – Oaxaca de Juárez, México – 165 points
3rd – Dwyne Lopena – Tagbilaran City, Philippines – 160 points
4th – Malte Orth – Göttingen, Germany – 158 points
5th – Matshah Matbum – Sungai Petani, Malaysia – 157 points
6th – Gauthier Saint – Montréal,Canada – 156 points
7th – Diodes Tan – Tagbilaran City, Philippines – 155 points
8th – Harif Houzey – Sungai Petani, Malaysia – 152 points
9th – Wan Kecik – Sungai Petani, Malaysia – 150 points
10th – Hiblot Guillaume – Laon, France – 149 points
11th – Kebong Evasco – Tagbilaran City, Phillipines – 148 points
12th – Philipp Frueh – Melbourne, Australia – 144 points
13th – Valkir Juliano – São Paulo, Brasil – 142 points
14th – Jayson Conde – Cagayan de Oro, Philippines – 140 points
15th – Eric Suin – Amiens, France – 139 points
16th – Bikram Sarkar – Gauhati, India – 138 points
17th – Matt Wootton – Launceston, Australia – 137 points
18th – Shaun Jarvis – Perth, Australia – 136 points
19th – Inuwnuu – Banten, Indonesia – 133 points
20th – Keith Nolasco – Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines – 132 points
21st – Paul Grzinic – Melbourne, Australia – 114 points
22nd – Kevin Filmer – Melbourne, Australia – 104 points
23rd – David Rooney – Melbourne, Australia – 101 points

Open
1st – Kio Hayakawa – Nagaoka, Japan – 156.5 points
2nd – George Manos – Ioannina, Greece – 148.5 points
3rd – “Zebu” – São José do Rio Preto city, Brazil – 144 points
4th – Gonzalo Bellanti – Melbourne, Australia – 142.5 points
5th – Martin Drazil – Prague, Czech Republic – 142 points
6th – Renz Viaje – Marikina City, Philippines – 139 points
7th – Paul Chamberlain – Sydney, Australia – 136.5 points
8th – William Do Prado Costa – Pouso Alegre, Brazil – 132.5 points
9th – Jose Buisan – Manila, Philippines – 129 points
10th – Georich Cardino – Tagbilaran City, Philippines – 128 points
11th – Alan Alfaro – Cabanatuan City, Philippines – 127.5 points
12th – Lee Kirkman – Brisbane, Australia – 118.5 points
13th – Paulo Gepulango – Bacolod City, Philippines – 116 points
14th – Heru Anwari – Melbourne, Australia – 113 points

 

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DOWNUNDERGROUND – 2019 AUSTRALIAN BMX FLATLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS – VIDEO ROUND RESULTS

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DownUnderGround is the Australian bmx flatland championships and has been going since 2008 with Freestyle Now being the competition organizer. Once again DownUnderGround will return to Melbourne for the 11th year of the national competition on 7th December at the iconic Melbourne Imax in Carlton.

DownUnderGround also has a video contest to help riders earn points toward taking the Australian bmx flatland championship title. Riders submit a contest video between 1 and 2 minutes in length. The rider has to perform their tricks on camera as if they were at a physical contest. Riders are then judged according to the judging criteria.

 

This year the video round judges were –
Freestyle Now squad members Paul Chamberlain (judging beginners and experts) and Shaun Jarvis (judging opens), both are no strangers to competitions having judged and entered many DownUnderGround competitions.
James McGraw. James has been in flatland for over 30 years and had competed and is still competing at the highest level. James is behind the American Flatland Association, making sure the grassroots movement of bmx flatland is always being promoted and influenced in the USA.
Joe Cicman. Joe is legendary for pushing the boundaries what is possible in BMX flatland and inspiring other to push the boundaries.

We would like to give a big thanks to the judges and it was great to have their input into judging the video round.
Thank you once again to our competition supporters Freestyle Now, Colony BMXAnchor BMXSneaky Wholefoods and ZTFF BMX. Hope to see many riders at DownUnderGround on the 7th December at Melbourne Imax in Carlton, come on down to witness the best bmx flatland riding in Australia.

2019 DownUnderGround – Australian bmx flatland championships video competition results

Beginner – 1st Paul Grzinic – Melbourne, 2nd Greg De Bois – Sydney, 3rd David Roomey – Melbourne

Expert – 1st Trent Karow – Perth, 2nd Matt Wootton – Launceston, 3rd Shaun Jarvis – Perth

Open – 1st Gonzalo Bellanti – Melbourne, 2nd Paul Chamberlain – Sydney, 3rd Lee Kirkman – Bundaberg

 

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FREESTYLE NOW – BMX STUNT SHOW – PHILLIP ISLAND SUPER SERIES

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Freestyle Now recently performed some bmx stunt shows at the WD-40 Phillip Island Super Sprint V8 super cars in Victoria one of the biggest motor sport events taking place in Australia.

Dylan Schmidt performs an amazing superwhip at the WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint in Victoria

Freestyle Now recently performed some bmx stunt shows at the WD-40 Phillip Island Super Sprint V8 super cars in Victoria. The 3 days of bmx stunt shows was awesome. It was good to be back at Phillip Island, last time was for the Michelin Australian Moto Grand Prix in 2017. Freestyle Now squad members Dylan Schmidt and Lee Kirkman led the charge at Phillip Island bmx stunt shows along with good friend Luke Tooze who made the trek from Perth just so he could help roll out the rad at the show along with Melbourne heavy hitter rider Andrew Ahumada to round out the shows performers. The entertainment value was high with tailwhips, seat grab indian airs, 360’s, backflips and frontflips taking place over the three days of stunt shows. It was nothing but the pure radness that Freestyle Now is known for. Make sure you check out our coming events page to see where the next Freestyle Now stunt shows will be going down. If you would like this type of great entertainment at your next event please get in contact with Freestyle Now with your requirements. A full list of all the stunt shows that Freestyle Now has ever done over the past 32 years can be found on our past stunt show page.

Clockwise from top left – Dylan Schmidt mid 360 in the sun shine – Luke Tooze get his Xup backflip flowing – Andrew Ahumada leading the train of riders on the jump box with a 360 downside tailwhip wile Dylan gets ready to hit the jump – Lee Kirkman has the best super indian air seat grabs in the business. More photos can be found on our Facebook page here

 

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Freestyle Now – BMX and scooter stunt show – Heytesbury Agricultural show

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Freestyle Now recently performed some bmx and scooter stunt shows at the 84th Heytesbury Agricultural show in country Victoria. The day turned out to one of the hottest days the Victoria had seen in all in months. Freestyle now squad member Lee Kirkman led the charge at the Heytesbury Agricultural show along with good friends Billy Watts on scooter and Luke Tooze who made the track from Perth just so he could help roll out the rad at the show along with Melbourne riders Matt Stowe and Liam Joyce to round out the shows performers. The entertainment value was high with 360’s backflips and frontflips taking place over the four stunt shows. Freestyle Now got some great feedback with show organizer Michelle Holmes said “The entertainment was really good, particularly Freestyle Now stunts shows”.
Make sure you check out our coming events page to see where the next Freestyle Now stunt shows will be going down. If you would like this type of great entertainment at your next event please get in contact with Freestyle Now with your requirements. A full list of all the stunt shows that Freestyle Now has ever done over the past 32 years can be found on our past stunt show page.

Clockwise from top left – Luke Tooze travelled from Perth just so he could do griz airs at the Heytesbury agricultural show – Freestyle now squad member Lee Kirkman getting loose with a backflip invert – Good friend of Freestyle Now Billy Watts is a power house in scooters and his 360 nohanders are awesome – Lee Kirkman spinning that double 180 for the Heytesbury show spectators. More photos can be found on our facebook page here.

Check out some of the video action form the Heytesbury Freestyle Now bmx and scooter stunt show.

 

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Drouin skatepark – skatepark competition bmx scooter skateboard

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Freestyle Now was recently at the Ficifolia Festival in Drouin Victoria to manage a bmx, scooter and skateboard skatepark competition. Drouin is a town in the West Gippsland region about 90 kilometres east of Melbourne. The Ficifolia Festival was a great event with a massive street parade lots of entertainment and stalls. With $800 prize money up for grabs thanks to the event sponsors, the competition was on in the open class to win some of that cash. Drouin Cycles gave out some rad prizes for the afternoon competition as well with all competitors taking home prizes. Freestyle Now squad member Lee Kirkman entered into the competition and took home the 3rd place, his first skatepark competition in about 4 years, so it was great to see him shred the park. There was only a short time frame to run the competition in the afternoon to fit within the Ficifolia Festival schedule but in true professional manner Freestyle Now got the competition done in time with great accolades from the competitors, festival organizers and parents. It was great to see the Drouin skatepark competition building in participation levels with many new competitors coming to help roll out the rad. There was a great turnout from the town at the competition with one head count at 400 spectators. Work is underway for the 2020 Drouin skatepark competition so don’t miss it as once again its going to be a rad time. Thank you to the event sponsors Bendigo and Districts Bank, Drouin Cycles, McDonald’s Drouin, The Committee for Drouin and Michael Robinson Photography.

Clockwise from top left – Open bmx rider Jai Bradley came to Drouin with a winning look in his eye and left Drouin with $200 and a gold medal – Drouin local Justin Brebner knows how to skate his local park. He knows also how to take the win in the open skateboard class –   Tom Green rode his scooter so well and did awesome tricks like the flip on the hip. the judges gave him the win and the $200 – Olly Ferguson threading the needle and locking in the rad Xup. Olly went home with the win in the bmx intermediate class.

Freestyle Now squad member Lee Kirkman getting his flair on at the Drouin skatepark competition for the 3rd place. The kids face says it all.

More photos can be found on our Facebook page here

More photos can be found on the Michael Robinson Photography web page here

Drouin skatepark competition – 16th February 2019 – Official results

Scooter beginner – 1st David Espie, 2nd Seth Hill, 3rd Rory Cross, 4th Chase Gregory, 5th Nate Joiner, 6th Brodie Beechey, 7th Zavier Hollier, 8th Radd Kight, 9th Krue Knight, 10th Beau Beechey.

Scooter intermediate – 1st Jack Cross, 2nd Ash Stanfield, 3rd Cameron Mann, 4th Wyatt Price, 5th Brandon James, 6th Wil Trewin, 7th Kaide Perry. 8th Ben Stanfield.

Scooter Open – 1st Tom Green, 2nd Dylan Arldt, 3rd Jeremy Merin, 4th Jac Cassar

Skate open – 1st Justin Brebner, 2nd Zac Hall, 3rd Phil Bone

BMX beginner – 1st Joel Kovac, 2nd Zavier Hollier

BMX intermediate – 1st Olly Ferguson, 2nd Dalon Jeffery-Molow, 3rd Brendan Alexander, 4th Wil Trewin

BMX open – 1st Jai Bradley, 2nd Jess Cini, 3rd Lee Kirkman, 4th Rosco Rosco

 

Below is a video from Drouin local Blake Cann , be sure to give it a watch to see some of the action from the Drouin skatepark competition

 

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Freestyle Now bmx scooter skateboard stunt show – CMEFU family picnic day

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Freestyle Now recently performed some awesome stunt shows at the CMEFU family picnic day. Taking place at the Melbourne show grounds the set up was indoors. Freestyle Now squad members Shaun Jarvis and Lee Kirkman were there onn the day to roll out the rad along with good friends Jai Bradley and Dean Anderson (bmx), Matty Cerovolo and Billy Watts (scooter) and Josh Dunstone (skateboard). The weather on the day was a very wintery day in the middle of summer with rain coming down in buckets. It was great to have such a perfect indoor location to perform in. the crowds were loving it and getting into the shows with great crowd interaction.

Lee Kirkman has the best no foot Indian air seat grab in the business.

When the last jumps were performed in the stunt show the crowd erupted in so much noise, seeing the riders hit the jump box in a series of back flips, front flips, back flips, front flips and back flips. This was defiantly a crowd pleaser. Freestyle Now performed some radical stunt shows for the families that had gathered and attended the CMEFU family picnic day. Be sure to check out our coming events page to see where and when Freestyle now will be rolling out the rad next.

Freestyle Now stunt shows at the Melbourne show grounds had some awesome riding and great crowd interaction

Clockwise from left – Matt Cerovolo taking to the air over the jump box tail whipping – Josh Dunstone displaying his skateboard trickery to the crowd – Jai Bradley 360 tailwhip just before the crowd makes some noise – Billy Watts is a powerfull scooter rider and this no hander is just the start of his tricks.

Dean Anderson barspins over Shaun Jarvis while the crowd at the stunt show look on.

More photos can be found on our facebook page here

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Freestyle Now bmx and scooter stunt show – Mildura agricultural show  

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Freestyle Now recently performed some bmx and scooter stunt shows at the Mildura agricultural show. Freestyle Now squad member Lee Kirkman made the journey to Mildura in the north west of Victoria with guest riders Jai Bradley, Shannon Farrugia and scooter rider Matty Ceravolo. The riders performed some great stunt shows on the portable ramp. With Jai Bradley and Shannon Fuerugia ripping it over the jump box in bmx mode, Matty Ceravolo rolling out the rad with some insane scooter moves and Lee Kirkman performing some great bmx flatland skills, the crowd at the Mildura show were treated to some great riding from the squad during the bmx and scooter stunt show. Be sure to check out our coming events page to see where and when Freestyle now will be rolling out the rad next.

Jai Bradley rocking the 360 over the jump box

Clockwise from top left – Matty Ceravolo hittin it up with a flair whip – Lee Kirkman rolling upside down with some of his flatland moves – Matty Ceravolo again throwing his scooter around while the crowd making the noise – Jai Bradley taking his hands off while spinning a 360 over the jump box. More photos can be found here on our facebook page.

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DownUnderGround – 2017 Australian bmx flatland Championships – The finals

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DownUnderGround is the Australian bmx flatland championships and the 25th November saw the finals hit the iconic location of the Melbourne Imax. Bmx flatland riders from around Australia and the world converged on Melbourne to partake in one of the hardest forms of bmx riding, flatland. It was good to see a great turnout with a few international riders attending. DownUnderGround is entering into its 10 year in 2018, the first contest took place in Perth in November 2008. Over the past 9 years many riders have attended at various locations around Australia to compete and have fun. This round of DownUnderGround in Melbourne has the highest rate of beginners the contest series has seen. In Australia bmx flatland riders would rarely get to hang out if it was not for DownUnderGround. It’s not just about a competition, it’s a time for riders to come together, share tricks have goodtimes and build the bmx flatland scene in Australia.

 

The Riders Life channel came down and filmed this rad compiled video from the competition.

Heading into the finals the points for the year end titles were close. In the beginners David Rooney and Rusty Eylward-Pyko were equal so it would come down to who would place higher at the contest for who would take the year end title. In the expert class Thore Saggau was in the lead by 25 points from Freestyle Now squad member Shaun Jarvis, Thore would have to have a really bad day to place last with Shaun having to be on game to take top spot for things to change. In open class it was tied points with two of Australia’s flatland heavyweights, Paul Chamberlain and Simon O’Brien. Simon unfortunately did not show so the year end went to Paul.

Freestyle Now squad member Paul Chamberlain rolling a nohanded plastic man on his way to placing 2nd place in the open class and taking the year end championship title. Photo June Dungca

David Rooney ended up taking the win from Rusty Eylward-Pyko in the beginners. David was just a little bit more consistent than Rusty but both rode well. With the win David took home the year end title and a rad looking trophy. 3rd went to first time competitor Paul Griznic who had some cool combos, he was pumped. 4th was a tie between Melbourne newcomer Jo Hilis and Perth rider Alexsandra Louise who was also competing in her first competition. What was great to see with all of the beginner riders was the willingness to give it a go and not care how sketchy they were, that is what is needed at more competitions.

In the expert class it was a close result between the two German riders with only one point separating first and second with both riders having some hard combos. Phillip Frueh took the top spot from Thore Saggau who took home the second place trophy. Singaporean rider Ron King Tan placed in 3rd with a banger comb at the end of his run. The best way to describe it is a front wheel rolling spin to a hop whip landing on the back pegs in a backwheel spin. Had the King rode a bit more consistent he would have been a threat to the top two. 4th place went to Tasmanian rider Chris Letchford who made the trip at the last minute, it was good to see him there. With Thore Saggau taking 2nd and Shaun Jarvis placing 7th the year end title in the expert class was all Thore’s.

Clockwise from top left – Alexsandra entered her first competition and placed equal 4th, well done (photo from the riders life) – Phillip Frueh took thhe top spot in the expert class by 1 point – the top 3 in the beginner class, David Rooney taking the year end title – Ais Rahadiyan took 4th in the open class with tricks like this cliffhaneger.

Heru Anwari traveled from Indonesia just for the contestand smashed out some fast backwheel combos to take the win in the open class home to Jataka. Photo June Dungca

The open class was won by Indonesian rider Heru Anwari. Some rad fast back wheel trickery was what sealed his win. There was only 5 points separating 1st and 3rd so you know the riding was good. Heru was on fire and it was great to see his style at DownUnderGround. Freestyle Now squad members Paul Chamberlain and Lee Kirkman took home 2nd and 3rd. Both Paul and Lee had some hard combos on the back and front wheel which would have help their scores. Both were of equal consistency but the judges must have awarded Paul a few more points in difficulty. 4th place went to another Indonesian rider Ais Rahadiyan who has been living in Melbourne for the past year. Ais had some good combos but just was not on game with his consistency on competition day.

All round the finals of DownUnderGround were one of the most successful rounds to date, good international turnout, high number of beginners, the rain stayed away and everyone had fun. 2018 will be the tenth year that DownUnderGround will be running and the promotion of flatland bmx continues.

Freestyle Now squad member Lee Kirkman hittin a brakeless decade to take 3rd in the open class. His last combo in his run was a killer, check the video below for the video lowdown. Photo June Dungca

 
Expert and open contest runs, DownUnderGround is all about the fun.

DownUnderGround – Australian bmx flatland Championships – 25th November – Round 3 the finals – Official results

Contest sponsors – Freestyle Now, Colony BMX, GAIN Protection, Sneaky Wholefoods, Anchor BMX, Solid Signs

Beginners – David Rooney 78 points, 2nd Rusty Eylward-Pyko 73 points, 3rd Paul Griznic 62 points, 4th Jo Hilis 60 points, 4th Alexsandra Louise 60 points, 6th Richie Spencer 57 points, 7th Seth Eylward-Pyko 34 points, 8th Kit McKenna 30 points, 9th Zephyr Pawlak 24 points, 10th Tahj Pawlak 17 points.

Expert – 1st Philipp Frueh 98 points, 2nd Thore Saggau 97 points, 3rd Ron King Tan 82 points, 4th Chris Letchford 79 points, 5th Ben Pawlak 77 points, 5th Trent Karow 77 points, 7th Shaun Jarvis 74 points, 8th Matt Spencer 72 points

Open – 1st Heru Anwari 127 points, 2nd Paul Chamberlain 125 points, 3rd Lee Kirkman 122 points, 4th Ais Rahadiyan 107 points, 5th Grant Cruse 100 points
 
 

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Paul Chamberlain wins DownUnderGround

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Freestyle Now squad member Paul Chamberlain has won the open class at DownUnderGround round 2 that took place in Bridport Tasmania on the weekend. It was a close competition with Paul winning by only 1 point ahead of Simon O’Brien. Lee Kirkman took out the 3rd place in the open class. In the expert class Shaun Jarvis took home a 2nd place with Jason Parker placing third. It is great to see all the Freestyle Now squad members taking home podium placings. The finals are scheduled to take place in Melbourne on the 25th November. To seek more information on anything bmx flatland related in Australia be sure to check out www.bmxflatlandaustralia.com for more.

Clockwise from top left – Paul takes the win in open class – Lee Kirkman with 3rd in open class – Shaun was stoked on his 2nd place – Jason Parker give the thumbs up for third place

Paul Chamberlain carving on the inside peg no handed on his way to winning the open class.

Lee Kirkman had killer first run, with only a few foot dabs. This rope-a-roni was only one of the many flowy tricks that he did.

Shaun Jarvis scuffing a backyard during warm ups. 2nd place in the expert class.

Jason Parker hitting up a USDBW (upside down backward wheelie) on his way to 3rd place in the expert class.

Check out the video that bmx flatland compiled for more random stuff that took place on the journey

Paul Chamberlain took out the win at DownUnderground with his 1st run being his best run and only 4 points ahead of Lee Kirkman in 3rd

Lee Kirkman 1st run that took him to 3rd place.

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Freestyle Now web play – June 2017

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Freestyle Now has been rolling out the rad since 1986, that’s over 30 years of radness. Freestyle Now has had many squad members come and go over the years and our current squad roster is the raddest yet. This is our first full squad web video since 2013. The concept of the video is to show the riders and their everyday riding style. The Freestyle Now squad had a diverse range of squad members that cover many disciplines including BMX (park, street and flatland) scooter and skateboard. Inclusiveness and diversity are two of the main principals behind Freestyle Now. This Freestyle Now webplay features Freestyle now reserves squad members, Jack Carwardine, Jarrod Murfit, Kieran Ramsay and Mitch Harris with Freestyle Now squad members Jason Parker, David Pinelli, Lee Kirkman, Paul Chamberlain, Ben Thomas, Matt Adkins, Tanh Ga, Shaun Jarvis, Dez Maarsen and Dylan Schmidt. Give the video a watch to see all of our squad members in action doing what they love to do, rolling out the rad….

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