Sean Watson - Brakeless 2010

[bikeperson45]

Loved the majority of it, don't understand how he's able to fakie manual that long on flat ground

Didn't like the footjam stuff though, looked a bit clumsy for my liking

[Rich Pearson]

I don't think we need to keep on going at this too much otherwise we're really gonna start to detract attention from Sean's video and turn this into a semantic debate; but I do agree with you there are FAR worse ways trials could be perceived and happily concede that when you pointed out that Sean's just going out and having fun on his bike and that you found that a healthy representation of trials, I would certainly agree.

What I would strongly have to disagree about, and what is perhaps the heart of the matter for me, is that you and many other people don't feel much/any responsibility towards promoting the public image of the sport, and yeah, that makes my life a little bit harder when I do show riding, granted, but it also makes it a pain when people come up and tell me off for riding on walls or in public places(something almost EVERY trials rider has to deal with once in a while), because people do not understand what trials is, and we are now ACTIVELY making it MORE difficult for the public to understand us by creating more and more variations on the same brief. Yeah BMXer's and skaters do get the same deal, but at least people know who they are and go and build bloody great skateparks for them to play in. I really don't like it when people come up and tell me I'm a vandal, and for me that is one of the main reasons I seek a career performing for people and showing them what trials is and promoting understanding of the 'sport'.

Everyone see's trials in a different way I suppose, this just isn't mine.

Give us a shout on MSN if you wanna talk some more Mark, I'll confess to enjoying this debate a little, although as I said this dude's thread is probably not the fair place for it!

Rich

[Mark W]

...we are now ACTIVELY making it MORE difficult for the public to understand us by creating more and more variations on the same brief.

No doubt people would prefer us to not really do anything different, go work a plain 9-5 job, watch the same shows on TV and eat a nutritionally approved diet, but that's not really how the real world works. If people aren't supposed to ride how they want to ride simply to try and make the public see trials slightly differently, I don't really see the point in riding. There's also a massive difference between understanding and acceptance. Skateboarding is massively, massively more 'understood' by the world in general, yet it's a criminal offense to simply have a skateboard with you at certain places in London and in places like Barcelona. Everyone knows what skating is, but that doesn't mean shit to people who don't want people doing it. It's exactly the same with BMX, and it's exactly the same with trials. Changing or compromising what you do to please people who don't matter seems like a massive mistake in my eyes, especially with something like riding.

FWIW, I pretty much only ride natural...

EDIT: Last bit on this 'cos I've gotta go drive to Cardiff - Danny Macaskill has done more to promote trials and get people riding trials than anyone else in the UK (Yeah, the Martins and other people do a lot for trials, but no-one's had as big an impact on people who don't do any form of riding at all than Danny), and more people know what trials is down to him than anyone else in the UK - yet he's got his own style, and does riding that many people don't consider to be trials. The fact he wasn't JUST doing 'trials' moves made his video vastly more popular to many people, so if people see that video and then decide they want to ride trials, it's still an opening, and people knowing who Danny is and the riding he's done has made trials "relevant" to a lot more people than any other form of promotion ever will. All I'm saying is that he's done things his own way rather than trying to fit in to a nice, generic trials rider mould to please Joe Public, and look how it's turned out for him...

[snoolax]

great video of Sean Watson!

prefer his previous 2 videos more as they have more chain moves, but definitely one of the best brakeless ever

[sean/pashley]

I actually wouldnt mind an inspired after watching that now. cool video

[Dave Anscombe]

f**k ME ! That was propper

[LauraPalmer]

I´m no fan of brakeless riding - but this vid is one of my favourite ones of all times...