Kurt Schmidt - Episode 30 - The Union Tapes Podcast

Kurt Schmidt is without doubt the fakie pioneer, no one was doing fakie tricks like him in the mid 90s, we delve deep into that topic and as usual go right back to the start. Kurt grew up near Minneapolis in middle America, a long way from the sunshine drenched concrete skateparks of California but the lust for BMX was strong and these guys made their own thriving scene, mostly in Kurt's garden, where they constructed quarter pipes to rip on. I never knew just how deep Kurt's BMX roots were, he started way back in the 80s BMX boom. Progressed up the ranks in the local MFA contest scene,
Met a bunch touring BMX teams and through riding with Rick Moliterno and DMC ended up riding for Haro, just as BMX was collapsing….We get into the stories in this episode and uncover a bunch of tricks that that Kurt owns, that most people don’t realise. The inception of Standard bike co, how and why it came about, what the idea was, the way they rode, where they took inspiration from and how they picked the team….the BMX beefs back in the 90s and the whole story up until now!
Riders mentioned:
Rick Moliterno, Bill Nitschke, DMC, Dave Voelker, Eddie Fiola, Rich Sigur, Taj, Joe Rich, Chad Degroot, Dave Freimuth, Eddie Roman, Ron Wilkerson, Mike Dominguez, Todd Anderson, RL Osbourne, Mat Hoffman, Chris Moeller, Bob Haro, Woody Itson, Tim Ruck, Marty Schlezinger, Dale Madson, Andy Jordan, Steve Swoope, Perry Mervar, Mike Kranich, Hugo Gonzales, Scotty Freeman, Krys Dauchi, Dizz Hicks, Martin Aparijo, Randy Tischman, Kevin jones, Darren Pellio, Chase Gouin, Chad Herrington, Chris Potts, Kevin Martin, Sandy Carson

[@oakkelsey5233]

Kurt Schmidt? oh hell yes!! thank you!!

[@70monkey]

Awesome John, these interviews are so ace mate

[@decobmx09]

“I’m and indy car driver…I just drive the car” We all had to work on his bike. Wanted to see him ride as much as possible and he always played it off that he can't work on or fix his bike. Great interview KRT and the England and Germany trips were super rad.

[@philkennedy8184]

Really enjoyed this

[@spike7038]

This was brilliant.....and he's correct on the right way to rollback! Great stuff

[@flatmatters]

This is gold, Kurt was so progressive! Great to hear his story. 🤘🤘🤘

[@Jonesy-l9b]

Looking forward to this one!

[@madfred1601]

Great idea, great character, thanks!

[@CharlieHarris-g1s]

Another belter, I look forward to these so much. I loved Kurt and Ricks riding . So much more progressive than today's cookie cutter sameness.

[@kidwilson3357]

You really have a great channel. 5 stars. Id like to hear you interview Josh White sometime.

[@somaekrub]

epic,best day sesh at oxford cloons

[@twentytolife4401]

Why did it seem like riders back then were lifers, and then poof walked away from bmx? Kurt was one of the absolute best mini ramp riders, and I still enjoy watching his footage. Thanks for doing this Kurt and Union tapes.🍻

[@kurt.schmidt]

It was a blast reliving the old days. John is a geat interviewer!

[@dansmith8118]

Kurt came like the king of progression at one point in time awesome

[@kurt.schmidt]

🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@howard2918]

Loved this one. Get on and get off 😂

[@skullcowboy70]

I’m with you on the Hang 5 around the park John! 😂
Great interview, love the stories and blank space fillers as ever!
Keep ‘em coming 😊🙏🏻👊🏻

[@theuniontapes]

haha, hang 5 around for 3 minutes-one of my pet hates!

[@siddhamrastu]

👍👍👍

[@ashleystyles6888]

Get on. And get off. 😂😂😂

[@theuniontapes]

haha! no jiggery pokery up there!