chronicles_clean_v3.1

Subject : Maximilian Hans Herman Gabriel Gaertig
Interview and Questions : Rob Harrison
Photography : Olaf, Pignataro, [more due]
Additional comments [ ] : There were non but if there were they would have been from Martin (a.k.a Billy), Max's personal trainer and manager(grief giver).

Location : Bonn, Deutschland
Date : October 2003

[Since this interview Max has been sponsored by Zoo York and rides for Skavenger]

[Ed Note: To those who deny the existance and relevance/importance(!!) of other languages and expanding yourself, Max is german, he was just 19 when we did this and although i spoke with him in German we did the interview in English, the itw was eventually translated back in to German. Max is definately new school in terms of riding and just a sorted guy in terms of who he is. I have the same pleasure riding with him and the other guys from Bonn (Billy, Phillip) as i do just sitting back and watching. This was Max's first interview but the guy fucking rocks. Wethepeoplepeople video out soon.....then all will be clear. You can also see more about Max in Bmx-up (July04), Freedombmx, Props53 and Dig issue 41]

There's going to be alot of people reading this that ask who the hell is max, i think that this reaction won't be long term when they see you riding but who are you max? and where the fuck did you learn to bunny hop?
My name is Max Gaertig, I`m a 19-year old rider from Bonn, Germany.

ok, tell me five things about yourself?
Bmx, alcohol, friends, my girlfriend and music

Are these five important things?
These five things are my lifestatus

what percentage of your time are you putting into riding?
A lot, I ride every day if I have time. Even if Im just going out for half a hour and do some grinds or manuals.

Brakeless Bonn? No body has any brakes here! tell me about the people in the Bonn scene?
Actually there are two scenes, a street and a flatland scene. I dont really know about the flatland scene, but me and my friends ride street about every day... After 1 year of riding I noticed I didnt need any brakes and they were broken all the time so I took them off. It is definetly more comfortable to ride without brakes, eventually all streetriders around here took their brakes off.

What's in Bonn?
Good streetriding, no skateparks or anything like that...

What's the normal way to meet up with people here?
We call each other up, meet up somewhere

Do you think that you're pretty open to new people here?
We aren't that many riders around here, so its always good to ride with new people

Are you going to stick around in Bonn or have you seen a time where you're moving on?
I dont know, I like the US, I spent 10 months in Seattle,WA and had a good time riding with the guys (girls) at Greenlake I travel a lot and I like it but actually I cant see me moving to some other place and staying there.

What happens after you get up for the day?
I'm ( hopefully) going to finish school next year. Im also working at a movie theatre to earn money for the bills. On a usual days include going to school or work and then riding my bike in the afternoon or at night.

You have the newish deal with WeThePeople, expect you're pretty pleased with that?
Yeah, Its cool, I get all the stuff I need and I dont have to go to contests.

what's the ideal bike set up for you?
Im not really picky about my setup, I just need a 21" frame, demolition grips and good wheels. In general, the bike should be as stable as possible

Tell us about your current set up and the reasons for it?
Right now Im test-riding the 2004 Omen and the Brian Terada bars. I got Pi hubs, because they're the best,...WeThePeople cranks, forks, sprocket... Demolition tires and grips because they're the best... Before I had a sponsorship I used to have the heaviest and shittiest bike around so compared to earlier times its pretty much perfect.

How did you come to get picked up by them, do you know?
I think they just had heard of me through riders from Cologne. I gave them some video footage and it just happened

How does it work with WeThePeople then?
Right now, I get all the stuff I need to ride and I do some photos and video footage for WeThePeople

What's your earliest memory of bmx?
jumping an 8 stair set although I was barely able to jump up a curb

How did you come to start?
One day, friend of mine bought a Bmx and when I tried riding it for half an hour I didn't want to give it back to him. I had never really ridden a Bmx before, but then I directly bought a bike myself and had fun just jumping stuff. Until that time I didnt even know that skateparks exist, I only knew that you could jump and grind stuff.

what is it about riding that you like?
Pretty much everything, its definetly my thing

Are you a bike thrower?
Sometimes, actually way too often.

Does anger ever come into your riding or are you pretty chilled?
Im getting rid of a lot of anger and stress through riding, this is as well part of my riding as being carefree and just having a good time riding my bike. There are days when Im really aggressive and I throw my bike, but most of the time Im chilled.

Do you get the same feeling rolling as you do nailing half cab whips?
No, theres a difference for sure

Does watching other riders influence the way you ride?
Yeah, I love to watch other riders, it makes you not go in only one direction of your riding

Tell me some german riders who have had an effect on you?
All the riders I ride with influence my riding

Tell me some non-german riders who made you think twice?
The top of my bad-ass list is Butcher, Van homan and Biz in no particular order

Give me your opinion on how european riding fits in with the rest of the world?
I dont think theres such a big difference between the riding here and the riding somewhere else. The spots are different, though. If you visit the rest of the world..

what would you miss from Bonn?

Do you think that bmx has a place in space?
where else could it have a place

Do you like the contest scene?
I dont really have a problem with the contest scene but I think most contests have too many ramps in their "parks". Id like to go to a "street" contest where they have a real street part course.

Are there contests that you have not been to that you'd like to?

What makes a good contest, and are these things the same as what makes a good jam in your opinion?
A good contest should be like a jam

If you could only visit one jam and one contest in the year.....where are you going?
I dont know, I havent been to a lot of contests and jams this year, I liked the Karlsruhe jam and watching pornos with the Krsteskis...

What things inspire you?
Bmx, alcohol,my girlfriend, my friends and house music

How do you feel when you're inspired, how do you know?
I feel inspired when I see or hear something that makes me want to do something really bad

Would you change anything about bmx now?
yeah, I'd eliminate the fufanu.

Do you feel that bmx pushes you further?

Has it in anyway changed how you are?

What interests you outside of riding?
alcohol,my girlfriend, my friends and house music

Does riding form your primary interest?
no, its not like a primary interest or a percentage of my time that I spent, its more like a part of me. Id probably be a workaholic and an alcoholic without it.

Have you planned things in your life or have you found that you find the next path through fate?
Ill just take it as it comes, theres no plan

Are you a person that gets annoyed by small things?
no comment

Do you have a 'proudest moment'?

Do you consider yourself religious?
no

Have you based your life around any other kind of theme, things that you want to stay true to?

Do you believe in re-incarnation?

Are you into reading books?
No, not really, when I was a kid I read a lot of Stephen King but this was about it

Are there certain authors or themes that you prefer?
From the few books I read Id say Hunter S. Thompson is a crazy-good author

Could you suggest one book you have read that you think others would get something from?
"Fear and loathing in Las Vegas" is probably the best book I ever read

Have you ever completed a rider survey?
no

Have you ever been asked to leave anywhere?
In Bonn you're asked to leave a spot at least twice one day

What is the most number of people that you have lived with?

How much does technology feature in your daily life?

Can you describe how the web/net has been useful for you? Is there a negative side for you?

Have you, or when did you realize that there was an appreciation from someone else about your riding?

Do you have an opinion on whether riding is like another sport in terms of attitude or people?
I think riding is like any other sport, but in Bmx, theres is more Individuality and more creativity than teamsports or athletics

Do you think that as a scene bmx should be afraid of something? Or should we be grasping everything with two blind hands? Has your riding ever changed direction, more than just developed or improved?

Do you have admiration for others or is it something else you see?

End: This is the part when you can say anything you like without a question reference?
First of all, Id like to thank all my people: my family, my friends, my people in Seattle, Bmx @ Greenlake,thanks to SQ1 and especially Wethepeople for the support and to everybody I forgot, for having a cool time with me.

Ed Note: " to everybody I forgot, for having a cool time with me." - for me this is one of the best endings i have had in an itw. Max and the riders in Bonn are some crazy cool cats, a group of riders who inspire and motivate each other on a daily basis. It has been a pleasure to spend time with them and i hope to spend more.
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			[ :: but bmx since '85 ]