Dan Lacey: “BMX is forever evolving”

Overground — Steph Pomphrey caught up with the two-wheel legend after his latest meet in east London, chatting about fatherhood, music and action sports within the outdoor industry.

It’s a hot summer’s afternoon in east London, and a couple hundred people are gathered by Shoreditch’s Truman Brewery. The crowd is a mix of Brick Lane tourists, local heads and hardcore BMX scenesters, watching on as a host of pro riders pull big spins, hit a giant Marshall speaker ramp, double peg grind rails and even manual a black cab.

We’re at the Overground BMX Jam, brainchild of street BMX legend Dan Lacey and Monster Energy. England has been blessed with wall-to-wall sunshine since April and today is no different. Vibes are high and the riders pumped.

Overground had a rooftop last year, providing a high rise backdrop to the high energy tricksters securing wads of cash for the successful trick landings. This year we’re at ground level, and it’s more accessible than ever.

We caught up with Dan post-event to mull another successful Jam, parenthood and where it all lands for him.

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Hey Dan, congrats on the latest Overground event. Also, big congrats on fatherhood. How has the parental journey informed your recent work in BMX?

That means a lot to me, thank you. I’m so grateful it went down as well as it did for its second year. It all comes down to the people I had behind me and supporting throughout the process, so huge thanks to everyone at Monster Energy, Marshall, Ben Newbold and his crew, Jack Dub, my missus for putting up with me stressing, and of course the amazing riders that showed up to ride or just kick it.

I’ve been able to juggle parenthood and planning this event pretty well, purely due to the fact my missus has been an absolute diamond from the start. Without her holding it down when I’m off at meetings, or on the ramp build doing eight hour days, every day for nearly four weeks straight, it would’ve been a lot harder to deal with. I feel so lucky to be sharing this experience with her and can’t thank her enough for having my back constantly.

What's next for the Overground label?

I was asking myself this before the event was even over this year actually. I found myself just looking around, trying to take it all in and just imagine what the future holds for this kind of event in BMX. Obviously, everyone wants their event to grow year-on-year, but I think it’s also important to get an understanding from the riders as to what they’d want to see it progress into.

I’d like to see it move to an indoor location potentially in the winter as there’s only so many times you can risk the British weather. We could have a two-day event instead of one. Bigger course, bigger and better obstacles, maybe adding more elements to the event itself whether it be music, art, photography exhibitions; that kind of thing would be amazing to get a bit more culture crossovers involved.

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How do you see the outdoor industry from your perspective and where do you see BMX within it?

From my perspective, BMX and wider action sports have such a huge place in the outdoor industry. I definitely think getting to use a venue like Ely’s Yard right in the heart of Brick Lane helped to bring new sets of eyes to the sport to really see how amazing bike riding is. The core aspect of BMX is forever evolving with events and jams like the Cash-Up series the last few years. Brands like Monster Energy and Marshall do such amazing jobs at facilitating these events across Europe and the rest of the world. It literally brings hundreds of riders together from all over the globe for a day of riding and good times and I think it’s amazing to see the impact it has on BMX as a whole.

The kids are the lifeblood. Where is the talent coming from these days, and how are they changing things? Will yours be getting involved?

There isn’t any one place that holds all the cards for talent appearing to be honest. I meet tons of kids and riders from so many countries that have a ridiculous amount of talent on a bike. It’s not just the pros that throw down the craziest stuff anymore and I’ve got nothing but love for that. To see progression in such abundance tells me that BMX is in a good place no matter where you’re from. I’m not so sure about my daughter getting involved to the degree I did – the thought of her getting hurt riding a bike is terrifying. I have no idea how my Mum was able to watch me get hurt so much over the years chasing tricks and filming videos and not have multiple heart attacks.

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Where’s the most fun you’ve had on two wheels?

Honestly, any time I’m away with the boys riding is the best time ever. Particularly with the Federal crew and the Monster fam, I’ve been blessed to be able to travel the world for over 20 years to so many amazing places and share some wild experiences with my best friends. You can’t put a price on that.

Favourite music to ride to?

You wouldn’t believe my top 25 playlist if I wrote it down, it’s a very eclectic mix to say the least. Old skool hip hop, reggae, classical, heavy metal… It all has its place, just depends on the moment and the mood.

Steph Pomphrey is Huck’s co-founder and special projects lead. Follow him on Instagram.

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