Subject : Clint Millar
Interview and Questions : Rob Harrison
Photography : Due
Additional comments [ ] : N/a

Location : Brisbane, Australia
Date : October 2004

Current Sponsors....
wethepeople bike co., orchid footwear, littledevil clothing, odyssey
australia, crossley cycles & triplesix distributions.

Does your work with triplesix distributions cross over well with riding?
Yeah it definately does help. They go hand in hand. My product knowledge is
only has high as it is because i ride bmx myself. It would be much harder
for someone not riding to be able to sell bmx products. I also bring
credibility because i ride the stuff that i sell. I think you have to be a
rider to be successful in bmx as a business. I mean look at all the top bike
companies right now, they are all rider owned & operated. That goes with
distribution companies as well.

How would you describe your life? Tell me five things about yourself?
My life is...........
1. Busy
2. Constant travelling
3. Revolves around BMX
4. Simple, yet complicated?
5. Just how i want it.

How does you life work, how do you hold it together? Do you plan things or
is it a day by day process?)
I would say that i plan things for the most part. I mean i like to have some
sort of idea as to what i am doing each day, whether it be sleeping in,
riding, working or just plain chilling. I always have a fair idea as to what
i am doing in the near future as i am always travelling around. I need to
plan my trips so as not to coincide with each other. I am a bit of of a
perfectionist & like things to go exactly as i planned, which can be a
downside, cause they dont always do !!

Do you like the contest scene?
Yeah i like going to contests. I mean i like going there hanging & riding
with friends. Making new friends & seeing old friends. Riding in comps
pushes you to try things you might not usually do, which is good for me. I
also like riding the courses as they are usually wood & i never get to ride
plywood at home. I however dont like the stress sometimes before a comp. I
always get so nervous no matter how big/small the comp might be. Comps also
give me a great excuse to travel the world on someone elses tab & sometimes
even make some extra spending money.

Are there contests that you have not been to that you'd like to?
Well i had wanted to go to a Metro Jam for so long & now finally got to
experience one. It was one the best comps i had been to. I will be back next
year without fail. I would like to hit up one of those comps that are in
Prague every year, that would be cool.

When you pack a bag to go somewhere, what's the first item?
Three pairs of jeans. Got to have enough jeans for riding & partying !!

Basically you're pro. But are you still in touch with the unsponsored
aspects of riding? Tell us how roots you are Clint?
I guess i am pro if you say so !! I always try to remember what is was like
to be a kid looking up to your favourite riders/pros. I remember when i was
younger & a "pro rider" gave me shit & laughed at me once when i fell off
trying a new trick. He made me feel really bad & i always remember that
moment & make sure i try to be as cool to the kids as i can be. I mean it
can be hard sometimes when your'e having a bad day & you get some kid asking
you, "Can you do a backflip, are you sponsored, are you in the X games?" I
would hate to know that i have made a bad impression on any kid out there
starting to ride.

Can you build a wheel?
Yeah i can build a wheel. 36 or 48 hole 4 cross only though. The only way to
lace a wheel !!

Do you get stoked on new parts coming out?
Yeah i am still a big kid when it comes to new parts coming out. I love
getting a new parts, its like xmas again !! I am very interested in that
side of bmx as well. I would very much like to design some stuff myself one
day. I love when i go to the WTP office & get to see all the new stuff Harry
& Klaus have been working on.

Tell us about your current set up and the reasons for it?
My current set up is the less popular set up these days i guess. Both
brakes, gyro & 4 pegs. I like it that way though. I feel its less limitating
& it sets me apart from 99% of the riders these days. I have always ran my
bike like that. I am addicted to canadian nosepicks !!

Tell me a little about how you like to set your bike up?
I like to have my bike as light as possible without sacrificing strength. I
also like my brakes to stop on a dime. I cant stand my brakes slipping. I
don't need my brakes failing on a canadian nosepick on some sub or a fufanu.
I also cant stand any rattles or noises, everything's gotta be nice & tight.
Nothing loose !!

Is riding really a lifestyle?
Yeah i think it is. It's what i have done for the last 16 years & it's made
me who i am today. I couldn't see myself without it. I wouldn't know what to
do with myself. It's given me so many opportunites to travel the world & all
my friends are from riding. Without riding my lifestyle would cease to
exist.

Do you have any interests outside of riding?
I don't have that many outside of riding but one thing that i am keen on
getting back into is video editing. I make BMX videos under the name of
" prody" I haven't made one since 1999 but am working on a few new projects
right now like a, "best of prody", the triplesix team DVD & prody 8. So
they will be high on my agenda this summer.

When you think of Australia, your home country, what do you think of?
Concrete skateparks, lack of nice plywood parks, great weather in the
winter, way too hot in the summer, my friends & family. Its the best
country to live in the world !!

From your perspective who do you think has had the most influence over the
entire Australian scene?
There are too many riders that have made an impact to just leave it to one.
So i will name two here.....
Colin Mackay, He was the first aussie to show us all that we can infact hang
on the international scene & that it is possible to make a living off
riding. Colin is one of the reasons why so many australians are overseas
recently showing everyone what's up !!
Mike Daly, he is always doing something for riding in australia. Whether it
be organising comps back in the day to designing bike friendly skateparks to
being involved with the governments recent interest in BMX to helping
running our best bmx magazine, 2020 BMX. Mike has done it all & still is !!

Have you ever jumped someone else's girlfriend?
No, never done that. Thats called a "shane smith" or S.S. here....
(Has there been a specific moment in your life that you think changed you?)
Travelling to the states in 1998 & winning stuntboy street at a BS Comp in
Oceanside. I then turned pro & ended up getting 8th. That was such a
surprise to me & an honour to be up on the decks with guys like Jay Miron,
Ryan Nyquist & Dave Mirra.

Tell me one European and one international rider that you'd
give props to?
European would have to be Tobias Wicke. I dont know how he does half the
shit he does. Its so awesome. He is also such a cool person. International,
there are too many. Dave Osato, Jay Miron &Dave Freimuth would be my top 3.

If you had the choice of doing a 'how-to' page, what trick would you do
(regardless of if you can do it or not)?
I would love to be able to do a "how-to" on toothpick to nosepick. That's
gotta be one of the hardest tricks out there. I wish i could do it !!!

Would you change anything about bmx now?
One thing that does bug me about riding these days is all the kids coming up
expecting to be sponsored or to be a pro. I mean just cause you've been
riding for 6months & can do a tailwhip doesnt mean you deserve to be
sponsored or in the X-games. Riding is not all about being sponsored or in
the X-games. Sponsorship is a privilege not a right. It's something that
just happens it should'nt be forced. Almost gone are the days when most kids
would ride for fun, too many ride now to become some famous sponsored pro.
It's just not reality to think like that.

Is there a place you'd want to live if it had to be somewhere else?
If i had to live somewhere else it would have to be Vancouver for sure. That
place is amazing !!

What things inspire you?
A good bike video with all my favourite riders with good editing & music
(anything Baco) Having fun riding with friends. Riding different ramps &
street stuff. Living in australia we dont have many plywood ramps. So
anything plywood is inspiring to me.

What was your first injury?
I guess my first injury that kept me from riding for any long period of time
would've been fracturing my scaphoid bone in my left wrist. That is the
worst bone to break & it took a year to heal. It still gives me pain now on
occasion.

Does getting flow from companies actually help your riding, or is it more
about your riding being appreciated by others?
Both. I mean it helps my riding in that i know i dont have to worry about
breaking stuff & having the cash to replace it. That makes things easier for
sure. New parts are now only an email or phone call away !! It's also a cool
feeling to know that your riding efforts have been noticed by someone out
there.

What was your first bike, do you remember?
Of course i remember my first bike !! Who doesn't ? Mine was a Malvern Star
Super Max CrMo. Chrome with blue anodised parts. It was the shit !!!

Have you got some kind of routine as to when you go to ride?
I don't know why but i always pad up with my right leg first. It's just
something i have always done.

Do you keep any spots to yourself or is that not your thing?
If i found something really cool i would have to share it with my mates for
sure. I wouldn't want to tell the masses about it though.

What does Australia need to make the scene more aware of just how many
incredible riders there are in Aus?
We need a good contest series going here. A few companies have tried to run
X games type events but this isn't the way to do it. I am involved in a
friends comp series here called Heavy Metal Heroes. They have been running
for a few years now & they are the only rider ran series in australia. They
are getting bigger with every comp with more & more riders showing up. We
have an awesome magazine already, 2020 BMX. That is helping the scene in big
ways here with riders getting coverage & slowly the sponsorship deals are
happening. It's just a matter of time now.......

Do you have an appetite for magazine and video media?
Yeah i do. Lately that is all i have been thinking about. I am working on my
video part for the triplesix distributions team video. I want to make it the
best section that i can. As for magazine coverage, i love the challenge of
working on something new or the surprise of getting a photo in a magazine
that you didn't expect.

What role do you think that magazines play? Do you think that they have a
role at all or perhaps we'd all still be here without them?
Magazines are important in that they offer a great way for bike companies to
advertise their products with their team riders on them. They definately
help bike sales. I personally would still be riding regardless if magazines
existed or not though.

Does riding with friends help you to progress?
Yeah it certainly does. I mean thats when i have the most fun. I think thats
the secret to progression is having fun with riding & not taking it too
seriously. I feel too many kids take riding too seriously these days. You
just gotta have fun with it !!

Are you a bike thrower?
No. In saying that yes i have thrown my bike from time to time but its not
something i do often. It's just not me.

Do you ride with music?
No i don't. Although i always listen to music in my car driving to ride
somewhere. Riding with music is good though maybe i gotta get myself an ipod ?

Do you ever ride much alone?
Not really, i find it boring to ride alone.

Has your riding ever changed direction, more than just developed or
improved?
Yeah when i first started riding in 1988 my main focus was flatland. I rode
a bit of everything then. Street, dirt, ramp but flatland was my main thing.
I rode flatland seriously till around 1995 when i was more focused on mini
ramp & skateparks. I think my flatland days helps me today with the tech
stuff that i like to do.

Thanks....
I would like to thank Richard Crossley for helping me out since 1988.
Michael Canfield & Robert Herbohn for introducing me to bmx. My dear mother.
All my present & previous sponsors. All my friends that i ride with. Anyone
that has ever given me a place to stay in my travels, I hope i can return
the favour one day. I owe so much to Chris Harrison, i wouldn't be where i
am today without his support. Scott & Bill at BMX International. Stephan
Prantl for asking me to ride for wethepeople back in 2000. Harry, Klaus,
Sandra, Rob & Achim at WTP for their continued support & believing in me,
thankyou. Yo Yo Yo !!!
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