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[ :: but bmx since '85 ]
INTERVIEWS

Subject : Hoite Polkamp
Interview and Questions : Oliver Ludolph
Photography : Martín Carballo (More to come!!)
Additional comments [ ] : N/a

Location : Barcelona, Spain
Date : August 2004

Hoite Polkamp… Flatland is dead…?
The first time I saw Hoite was at the spot down at the harbour in Barcelona. He was munching a Falafel and looking pretty pleased. I started talking to him and he was nothing but friendly. Over the next few months we hooked up nearly every day to go riding or just go to some random bar. We became good friends and I am very pleased I got the chance to know him and do this Interview. Just to explain why this Interview took place in Barcelona: Hoite was there for 5 months to do an internship for his studies back in Amsterdam and I had just finished University in Germany and came to Barcelona to ride and live with my Girlfriend and get a proper sun-tan!!!


This was Hoite´s first interview on the other side of the microphone and mine on either side of it. Read and enjoy.

First of all the usual basic stuff: Name, Age, where are you from?
Hoite Polkamp, 26 years old and my home town over the last few years has been Amsterdam, Holland. Right now I live in Barcelona, Spain until the end of September.


When did you start riding?
I started riding Bmx about 7 or 8 years ago and I´ve been riding Flatland, in particular, round about 4 or 5 years now.


What is your earliest memory about Bmx?
I watched the X-Games on Eurosport (Ed.note: a TV channel in Europe) and was really impressed by all the guys like Dave Mirra, etc. and decided to build me this race bike. I used to go around my village jumping off stuff like sidewalks, etc. until I jumped off a high ledge, crashed and broke my elbow. I thought: This is cool! So I decided to buy myself a proper Bmx bike. I went all the way to Paul´s Boutique to get me a Haro Schredder.


Hey, that was my first bike as well! Did you start riding Flatland immediately?
The first two years I rode ramps and street and took some hard falls. At that time I was doing a bit of everything and Flatland seemed the only way of not fucking up my body so I chose the pussy way of riding. (Laughs)
When I moved to Amsterdam I started riding a lot, mainly with Koen and Michiel from Soul Cycle and I got involved in the scene and riding. Since then it´s been more and more riding every day.


Is there anything specific you think Flatland has and other forms of riding don’t ?
In any form of riding Bmx you can express your own personality, but I think that with flatland you can put more creativity and personality into it than in any other form of riding Bmx. Besides that, the feeling of flowing through flatland tricks is totally different from other forms of riding. It’s just a different way of getting a good feeling out of riding compared to for example street riding.


Do you still ride street now and then or are you strictly Flatland?
Most of the time I´m pretty strictly Flatland but now and then when I´m fed up with not pulling tricks I go around riding street a little, not doing any grinds, etc. but just jumping of stuff, etc. I´ve been trying to do 180° ´s since five years now!! (Laughs)


So you told me, that right now you live in Amsterdam. What is the Flatland riding-scene like there?
I live pretty much Downtown, so there you have the Guys from Soul Cycle, Koen, Michiel and me. Also there is Rara (Rogier) who is known for riding and drinking hard.
Then on the outskirts of Amsterdam there are some more riders. The main rider there is Sytse, who motivates all of the people and is a really good rider as well. Sometimes on the weekends they all come into the city and we go out riding together. Besides that, quite a few visitors are passing through Amsterdam since it has been making quite a name for itself over the last few years, and is concerned one of the major riding cities for Flatland in Europe. This probably also has to do with the Braun Flatground Contest, which was held for the 4th time here this year and the Homemade Jam, which was held the 2nd time this year.


Describe a typical day back in Amsterdam.
Well basically riding in Amsterdam takes place at night. Partly because I have things to do during the day, like studying and stuff, and partly because we ride in Metro Stations and Garages and you can´t really ride there during the day.
So a typical day would be probably: Get up, go to the Amsterdam University, where I am doing Communication studies and do my stuff there. Then at round about 15.00 I go to the Soul Cycle Shop to work there until about 19.00. Then I usually have something to eat with my Girlfriend and then go out riding for a few hours.


So how is it working at the Soul Cycle shop? How did that come along?
Well, the owners (Koen and Michael) have been friends of mine for a long time and I have always been helping them out with organising competitions, doing shows for them, etc. After a while the shop got busier and busier and there was a lot of stuff to do and they needed someone to help out. So I got involved in it. (Ed. Note: Check out the shop: www.soulcycle.com)
And working there, is that always cool or does it sometimes stress you out a little?
No, no. It´s always cool. I really enjoy it, probably because I love Bmx and everything there has to do with it. I really enjoy organising competitions because it has a more challenging side to it then working in the shop, doing the more mechanical and salesman side of the job. And of course I get to see all the new Videos for free! That’s pretty cool as well.


So you´re into the organisation of contests and Events. What competitions have you helped to organise so far?
I was involved in all the four Flatground Contests and the first Homemade Jam, which had Flatland in it as well. Apart from that I organise shows and Workshops. At the contests them selves I did some judging, MC-ing and generally helping run the event. I really enjoyed that. Oh, and I also did a program for the Flatground Contest on Dutch TV. That was an interesting experience as well.


But that all goes on in Amsterdam. Do you travel a lot with your bike to other cities and Contests within Holland and to other countries? Where have you been?
Well when I travel within Holland I almost always try to take my bike. Outside of Holland I´ve been to the “Worlds” in Cologne... who hasn’t been there! Then I´ve been to London to the “Level Vibes” which is a really cool contest, too bad they don’t do that anymore! I´ve been to Paris to the “Ninja Jam” twice, well actually only once but we tried to get there twice. The first time we went, we took the car of Rara´s mum and we drove it into the metal sideboards of the motorway whilst reading the map, trying to figure out where we were. The end of the story was, that the car was destroyed and we had to get the Train back to Holland without going to the Ninja Jam. The 2nd time we actually got there and it was pretty cool because there were almost only French riders there. Well and obviously I´ve come to Barcelona with my bike.


What do you think of Barcelona so far? Did you have any expectations before you came here? Are they living up to what you thought it would be like?
Well, I came here about a year ago, with my girlfriend, but without my bike, when my sister was studying Spanish here and it looked pretty nice! I saw a few Street riders back then, so I knew it´s pretty good for street. I also expected quite a bunch of Flatland riders to be here. And now that I am here I can say, that the Flat-scene is pretty huge here. It consits of…wait a minute..mmhhh..ME! Oh, and this one rider from Cuba, that is just starting to ride.

Any negative / positive things about Barcelona so far?
The negative thing is probably, that there are no Flatland riders here in Barcelona and that it is way too hilly here. Oh, yeah and that I nearly got robbed the other day. These 3 Moroccan Guys surrounded me and where asking if they could ride my bike. As I said no they started checking out my clothes and wanted to get my shirt. Luckily I had no money, etc. with me and I managed to get out of that situation without any harm. I had to leave my bottle of water behind though! Fuckers! That was one scary experience!
The thing I really like about Barcelona is definitely the weather!
Have you got any places where you would really like to go to with your bike?
I am planning on going to Madrid while I am here and would also really like to go to Malaga. The scene there must be amazing. Those are like more realistic plans. Apart from that, like dream destinations, would be, of course, Japan. Partly because their culture seems interesting and partly because I want to know if these rumours are true of about 500 riders in the capital, etc. And I would really like to go to California, to see where it all started.


What about sponsors? Have you got any?
Well officially I ride for Soul Cycle, my friends hooked me up on that one. I get a 30% discount there on all the stuff and parts so that is really cool. Thanks guys! And since last summer I also ride for Harvest Natural Apparel. Anthony came by in Amsterdam and stayed at my place for a week or so. Then when he went back to the States Soul Cycle became the distributor for Harvest and to represent the stuff they figured I would be the right Person. They checked back with Anthony and since he knew me he liked the idea and gave his o.k.


So if you ride for Soul Cycle and Harvest do you have to send them footage or anything for videos, etc. ?
Well, here at Soulcycle we´ve been thinking about doing a team video for two years. A good start would probably be buying a camera. (laughs) Anthony is working on a Video right now but I don´t know when it is set to come out though. He told me, that if I have any footage I should just send it along and he´ll put me on the flow team section, which is cool.


Contests. Do you like them? Are you into them?
No. (laughs) I like the fact of meeting all the people there and it is also good for inspiration. The thing is, that I don’t really “train” for contests and I don’t have a contest run. I like to try new stuff. If I pull a trick or a link I usually move on to the next one. If you want to do well in contests I guess you really have to get the stuff pretty dialled which I don’t really have the patience to do it. That’s probably why I normally don’t really do well in contests.


Are you planning on going to any contests in 2004?
Some of the guys here in Barcelona are going to the Nokia FISE in Montpellier so I´m trying to go with them if I have the money to go. I would enter in Pro-class, win it and take the 2000 Euros home…(laughs)


I´ve seen you riding for quite a while now. Like most Flatland riders you specialised on one wheel, the front one. Why?
The back wheel is too hard! (laughs) No, I think the front wheel has more possibilities and in my opinion front wheel tricks look better than back wheel tricks. But I started learning back wheel tricks lately because my front hub is fucked.

Hoite on his favourite wheel somewhere in a Backyard Downtown, BCN...


So are you a bike thrower?
I used to be. In Amsterdam I had a pretty impressive collection of broken frames. But lately, I have been taking it easy on the bike throwing thing, mostly because I recognized that its not the bike but the rider who is to blame (laughs). (Ed.Note: Hoite also has a talent to brake bikes. He got on mine for two minutes and fucked my chain and was riding round Barcelona for about a month with only one pedal because he fucked his Primo Powerbite, I thought they were unbreakable!)


So now you like back wheel tricks?
Yeah! I guess it makes you a more diverse rider if you can ride on both wheels, which is cool.


If you could choose the place and the riders, what would be the perfect session for you?
Mhhh…that’s a hard question. The place would be in Den Haag, there is a spot that isn’t really well known but it´s just perfect for riding. The riders would be my friends Koen, Micheal and Sytse. This is on a more realistic scenario. Of course it would be really cool to ride with a lot of pro´s, which is always nice and interesting I guess.


Have you got any all-time favourite rider(s) ? Any influences?
Paul Osicka!! Nobody ever sees that guy ride. He came to the Braun Flatground this year but as a judge. He didn’t ride. That’s cool though. If he doesn’t want to ride that’s alright. But I just really would like to see him ride. He´s got such an amazing style on the front wheel and always something incredible up his sleeve! Partly because of him I ride the front wheel.
I get to see a lot of Pro´s at the Flatground every year so that is really cool. Jeff Desroche is great. I also really like Viki´s style. Martti is amazing as well. There´s just to many to name.


What else is there outside of Bmx for you? What do you do apart from riding?
I study Communication studies at the University of Amsterdam and I also have a Girlfriend, Livia. Right now she´s in Amsterdam and I´m here in Barcelona which is kind of hard sometimes.


What does she think about you riding a small bike?
She really likes it. She thinks it´s cool. She really likes the lifestyle and the whole subculture which is involved in Bmx. She also helped out at the Flatground selling tickets. And when she came to the Homemade Jam she was really impressed how high you can go on a bike. She sometimes tries stuff on my bike as well.


That´s cool! And what about your parents? What do they think?
Well, they used to think it´s pretty stupid. The big sport in my family is Hockey. This sport is pretty high-class and involves stuff like getting into fraternities in Colleges and stuff. When I got my first bike they were like: “well, he´s just going through a phase, he´ll get over it”. When I got my first “real” bike and started putting a lot of time and money into it they realised that it wasn’t just a period. But now they understand what it means to me. All my family and relatives came to the Flatground and they were pretty impressed. So now they understand it.


What´s up with your modelling career? Tell us about that one!
(laughs) Yeah. Some modelling coach thought I had a good face and posture to do modelling so they took a few photos of me. I told them that I ride a bike and can do tricks on it so they told me to bring it along. It was a fun experience but I haven’t gotten to any photo shoots yet. I just thought it´s an easy way to make money!
I´ve also been in this Dutch Hip Hop Video. That was easy money as well (laughs).


Do you have any “credo” you follow in Life or any lesson you have learned uptil now?
Phew..hard question. No. I don’t have any credo or motto I follow, like “live to ride” stuff like that. I think you should never prejudge people etc. and have an open mind, be open to new stuff, etc.


Music: What music are you into recently?
For the last few years I´ve been into Hip Hop pretty much. More instrumental and conscious Hip Hop, stuff with a message, I don’t really like the “Big-ass-bling-bling-Bad-Mofo-Attitude” stuff. Apart from that I used to be into Guitar Music, Metal, all that but I kind of lost track of that over the years.


On your Soul Cycle Bio I read that you are the “gossip” dude and if anybody wants to know any news about Bmx they can just ask you.
(laughs) Yeah. I don’t know. I just like being up to date whats going on in the scene. It also motivates you when you are in a place like Barcelona where there aren’t any Flat riders.


So you really like the Media side of Bmx?
Yeah. Probably because I also study that. There is a lot of crap on the internet sometimes but it´s good to keep you up to date. Apart from that I really like Magazines. I´ve been seriously thinking about starting a Bmx Magazine for Holland since there is none here right now. But that will be when I´ve finished my studies.


Any favourite Mags?
Picture wise it has to be Cream. For articles, etc. I love DIG. They have a really cool point of view and a lot of humour as well.


What about videos?
I love the Intrikat videos of Chad Johnston. He always has the newest riders and tricks and edits it in a really cool way. I think he does it together with his wife. They do a really amazing job! Apart from that I like videos you can watch over and over again like the Baco stuff. The video magazines like Soul or Props are good to keep you up to date and everything but I wouldn’t really watch them over and over again. Although I have to say I really like watching the old Props videos, they are fun to watch!


What do you think about the Flatland scene right now. Where do you think it´s going to go in the next few years?
Well, in Holland I think it´s going the right way. I guess it´s going to take another year and there should be a few Pro riders in Holland. The amount of riders is growing constantly. Since the first Flatground contest took place there has been a lot of more riders here. It´s really nice to roll up to your local spot and see young new riders trying tricks. It kind of shows you that the promotion you do is paying off in a way.
Worldwide I think it´s going to go more towards Europe and Japan or Asia in general. In the States I think it´s going to go underground since the Media is dropping it.


You are referring to the X-Games and ESPN dropping it from the contest.
As well. It´s like the scene has lost it´s biggest contest. But now there are new contests coming up, like the Red Bull Circle of Balance or the Braun Flatground which are all held in Europe and the King of Ground Series in Japan. I think these types of contests are the future of the Flat contests. And since they are all held in Europe or Asia the Flat scene is going to grow there.


Concerning your future. Any plans?
Well first of all finish my studies and get a job that is interesting and challenging. Like I said, I´m thinking of getting involved in the Bmx Media. Apart from that, riding wise I hope to pull new tricks, etc. I also would really like to have one cool video part and to do well at one contest. That’s all!


Nice. So that’s about it. Any Thank you´s or shoutouts you want to give??
Well, first I wanna say thanks to Koen and Michiel, for doing such a good job promoting bmx, and I want to thank Livia, for her support and the fact that she understands why I like to ride, and also her patience now that we live far away from each other. Next I want to thank my parents, who have helped me out in a lot of different ways. ‘Shout outs’ to Rara, the whole Soul Cycle crew (Rutger, Barry, Caine, James, Moutinho and Bram), Sytse, Daniel and Barry, Anthony for flowing me some really nice Harvest clothing, the local Amsterdam riders, and the Barcelona riding scene. Last but not least, Thank you Oliver for the interview!
Thanks a lot Hoite.
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