Stay Local Kyle Erickson
Kyle (on the right) giving out a high air win to Colton Civitello at his last “KEEP US ROLLING JAM”
Here at Pareidolia we do not shy away from long format content. The idea behind this post is to grab a rider in the scene and ask them a few questions. They may be someone you know or don’t. They may be a rider on our team or an owner of a shop or head honcho at a set of trails. Sky is the limit so to speak. To kick things off we sent some questions over to active North East local Kyle Erickson and asked him a few off the cuff questions to get to know one of Massachusetts most positive minded locals. If you follow him you know all about him as he runs a loose formate, almost Vlog style talks on his Instagram stories loaded with positive vibes always. So scroll below to hear some thoughts from Kyle.
-Shajn
Name: Kyle Erickson
Age: 33
Occupation: Carpenter/site manager working for SPS
Years riding: 30 on a bike jumped my first jump summer 1994
Years in New England: 33
What does BMX or Riding mean to you?
Bmx means everything to me. Its that one constant in my life that lets me do what I want where I want with who I want. Bmx is LIFE its expression, art, exercise, a way to test my limits, break the rules, explore my surroundings in ways that can't be explained only experienced. Its not just the ride for me I'm so intrigued just watching other people ride, progress, get hyped to show off a new learn whatever edit or video they put out I get caught up at every sesh watching everyone else shred that ill spend the entire day at the trails or the park and maybe ride 1/3 of the time. I definitely have the same passion for Bmx now as I did when I was a little kid watching my neighborhood paper boy pop wheelies and J HOP the curb.
What does your scene mean to you, and how does that play a role in life on two wheels?
My scene means the world to me. Its forever evolving, expanding, and giving me a unique perspective on not just Bmx but life and the different people that are brought together just for the love of riding bikes doing stunts. The folks I ride with and the people I have met over the years are awesome. I can go on and on about the New England scene but I have met riders from so many different places that have traveled to the north east to ride and they all have the same look in their eyes. Its a passion unlike anything that drives us all to explore.
Are you from the New England Area? If yes have you lived here your whole life and did you ever spend any considerable amount of time outside of New England?
I'm from Massachusetts born in Attleboro. I spent from 19-22 bouncing between Mass , Maine, Rhode Island, New Hampshire for work but I always tried bring my Bmx along to explore different places ( no camera) doesn't count New England is Home.
As someone I perceive to be completely content in there current location, how important is travel beyond the borders of New England to you?
The importance of Traveling is growing within me as I get older. When I was younger I was totally content exploring the area around me and using convenience and cost to dictate where I'd go. Big mistake Traveling is awesome I have experienced more in my late 20s early 30s that I totally regret not making a reality sooner in life. So moving forward I have plans to explore a bunch of places outside the country now that I have a passport and a solid job.
New England BMX seems to me to be something that value and openly show a lot of praise for? What are some top 5 things you love about BMX or life in this area?
5 Favorites:
1. My BMX family from the North Attleboro YMCA park days that still ride bikes has to be number one in my favorites list those dudes get me hyped.
2. The folks that don't give a shit what or where we end up riding they make every sesh better full send off everything.
3. The North East trails scene more the people than the spots but yeah you folks are constantly changing my perspective on shit.
4. Getting to watch my friends learn something new or conquer something at a spot that's been on there mind.
5. How involved shop owners in the northeast are with the scene itself they make it better for all of us and I'm grateful for all of them ( Circuit, Maul’s, Tony's and Fat Trax ).
Top three changes you would like to see?
3 Changes :
1. More public Bike specific parks pump tracks etc.. in Massachusetts and all of New England.
2. More collaboration between the local film guy's and crew's to put out higher quality edits we gotta stop blowing all the unique riding on instant social media posts. Let's get together make some cool stuff and post highlights after.
3. Another indoor park in New England, Rads gone, Rye's gone and we need these places to get through the winter and rainy days.
How would you compare the New England BMX scene to others you have visited over your time on two wheels?
I honestly haven't experienced enough of the other scene's outside the East coast to make an informed comparison but I will say this from Maine to Florida and Cape Cod to Ohio there are so many positive encouraging individuals thats ride bike's and get involved in the scene in a proactive way.
What are some of your favorite Scenes and crews in New England to hang and ride with in the area? Feel free to elaborate.
This is a good one I'm definitely gonna forget to mention someone or something but ill start with anyone who ever got behind the Ride 4 Life Bmx crew
From the og north attleboro homies (too many names you know who you all are) to everyone that road with us along the way and said they would never stop riding because of their age. Everyone at skaters edge, the Pareidolia guys and PineWood trails definitely live and breathe BMX , all the homies at Oakwoods and Stoneybrook trails, Scituate Bmx ,Tribe Kush aka Ox and the boys, Eat BMX ( Corey Champagne) he is always fun to hang with, the crazy folks on long Island that take the trek to the mainland just to get loose and hype everyone up on trails, all the dudes affiliated with Team East , and last but certainly not least its no surprise to me they all are currently shop riders for Circuit BMX , Bobby Proctor, Chris Childs, Cam Childs, Jonny Capps, Matt Tavares any one of them show up I'm sitting back for a minute and watching them kill it then feeding off that stoke for the foreseeable future..
You threw a pretty awesome jam a few years back. What inspired you to put that together?
THE KEEP US ROLLING JAM
The JAM was something I rattled around in my head for a long time before even making a single solid move. I guess it started with going to a comp at the north attleboro ymca in 2001 or 2002 I can't remember but the dudes that put it on brought so many good riders to the event I hadn't seen riding that good in person in a few years after being a spectator at Gravity games in Providence. RI. I went every year they held it but thought that comps were only something big companies could organize. Not knowing the roots of Bmx and competing started in people's backyards. It wasn't until a few years later when I went to my first "Mauls Brawl" at Skaters Edge in Taunton Massachusetts in 06 or 07 that i really started seeing the possibility in Bmx from every angle not just make jump,hit jump, do trick, repeat until you get sponsored and maybe go "PRO" from that day forward I stopped thinking of other good rider's as someone I'd wanna be better than and tried making them someone to ride with and progress organically. Knowing ill probably never hold a real deal BMX sponsor that wasn't going to stop me from creating bonds with other rider's so I'd always have someone somewhere I could call or run into and have an amazing session riding bikes. After years of procrastination and self doubt I pulled the trigger and asked a few Key people I'd consider friends within the industry of Bmx, first off I reached out to local brands ( Pareidolia, Eat and Tables n Fables) if I secure a venue and hold a jam will you guys back me up? They pushed me forward and I then contacted others to sponsor this event shout out to Chuck at blackout distributions ( Kink, Cinema, Merritt)
Vic at Circuit BMX shop, John Maul at Mauls bike shop . I was amazed everyone was so supportive of the idea. I chose to do the jam at Skaters Edge for a few reasons, one because winter is a bitch in New England and having an event to look forward to always helped me in my early 20s and nothing was planned for edge in quite some time. Lastly because when north attleboro park got taken down i definitely consider myself a skaters edge local. And the trails scene was on fire for jams yet skatepark stuff in the northeast was dying. Still can't believe how much fun I had doing that from organizing, making the trophies in my basement with Peter Cardin or including my closest friends to help out however they wanted to from making shirts (Theo Desjardin) helping judge (Benny Fratus) or the hype man (Bryan Viveiros) . The real highlight was seeing the younger kids competing so hard some for the first time,and the older dudes( 30+) going at it like they were in high-school all over again.
Yes I'm definitely going to organize a few different things in the future. Not dates yet because of the Covid. Sooner than later I already have a bunch of trophies prepped so stay tuned.
Lastly what would you say to a fellow rider who complains about his scene or BMX circumstances?
If you complain about your scene stop for one minute and open your eyes. Its your scene you make it good or bad .if your local sucks sit in a town meeting find out what kind of situation your towns economy is. If its a good community then start Spreading the word that a proper park work benefit the community. Next you gotta get involved with raising fund's. If that's not your deal start Traveling until you find a place you really like. Or go old school and hide in the woods dig until you have the trails of your dreams. All of these things are not only obtainable but I have achieved more than I ever thought I could just by trying a little bit . I could only imagine what I could do with maximum effort. Turns out everything Is possible but nothing good comes easy.
