BMXers, so they say, are resourceful. We build trails, concrete spots, and ride street obstacles in a way that their designers would have never imagined. And, sometimes, as with Russell Wadlin, BMXers quite literally make something out of nothing -- he rides spots most of us wouldn't even bat an eye at. At this point, Wadlin has been producing his charmingly lo-fi videos for a few years now.
Describing his style as creative seems cliche, but ultimately fitting.
His newest video, released a couple days ago, is in line with his previous edits. "Had this one sitting around for like, 6 months at least. Finally cared enough to put it online for friends and family to see," says Wadlin.
He seems drawn to technical and out of the way spots but is certainly at home with burly set-ups as well -- he half-cabs over a wall with a drop that looks to be at least seven feet tall. Adding to his ever expanding repertoire seems to be handlebar grinds. While he has previously grinded on his handlebar, the ones in this newer video show him delving deeper into them. He does them forwards or backwards, with grips on or off and they typically seem to be done in playgrounds. My favorite one involves a pedal grind up a playground handrail to backwards handlebar grind down it.
Wadlin is part of a newer crop of riders that are less concerned with the perfect street line and instead paving their own way with thoughtful approaches to BMX. Apparently, Wadlin let this video sit on his hard drive for a while now. I'm glad this Tulsa, Okla. BMXer let the world of BMX see what he's been up to.
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