Aggro Rag Freestyle Mag! Plywood Hoods Zines '84-'89: The Complete Collection contains all twelve issues of the underground BMX freestyle fanzine that rider and indie publisher Mike Daily made from 1984 through 1989. What follows is a collection of behind the scenes photos from the Plywood Hoods lineage.
Mike Daily, publisher, editor and writer of Aggro Rag: The Complete Collection, seen here undertaking an undertaker not very long ago in his current hometown of Portland, Ore. "I had no idea that [the book] would take more than two-and-a-half years of after-hours work to complete," says Daily.
Dave Mirra, seen here flaring a hip in 2005 at the Toronto Metro Jam, arrived onto the BMX scene through exposure given in the Plywood Hoods videos and on the pages of Aggro Rag. "Whatever Dave does, he does with effortless intensity. It's a level of excellence attained by hours of practice, and practice, and practice," says Daily.
Kevin Jones, basement handstand. Jones' BMX reputation precedes himself, but the beauty in Aggro Rag and the book's all-encompassing interview with Jones is that it captures his true personality. Behind the innovation, Jones liked junk food, shopping at the mall for new sneakers and making inside jokes.
Kevin Jones, Lancaster, Pa. Skyway show. "On several occasions while he was driving his orange Gremlin (or the big blue American-made car that he owned), I tried using my mini-cassette recorder to interview him. Without fail, he'd catch on," says Daily.
"In Spring '85, with the Cardboard Lords at the height of their notoriety in York, Harrisburg, Baltimore and Philly, the last thing Mark wanted to see was Kevin Jones doing a cherrypicker on the GT Performer that Kevin got from Rockville BMX," says Daily. Eaton would go on to create the seminal BMX video series "Dorkin In York."
"One's closest friends usually seem rooted in the lucky coincidence of geography and shared interests," says Daily, seen here cherrypicking with Kevin Jones in 1985.
In his interview for the book, Dave Mirra said riding with the Plywood Hoods motivated him. "It was a huge, big push," he said. "I was part of a scene outside of my scene. […] It was amazing that I was so young [14] and part of a group that I read about in the magazines."
"Four years ago at the Dew Tour in Portland, Mark Eaton asked me why I hadn't published a book collecting all the Aggro Rag zines I had made from the mid- to late-'80s. What was taking me so long? The main reason I hadn't done it -- hadn't even considered doing it, really -- was simple: I wasn't into riding anymore," says Daily.
"Holding the colorful stack of zines in my hands was all the convincing I needed. I had to go for it," says Daily. The book is now completed and available.
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Aggro Rag Freestyle Mag! Plywood Hoods Zines '84-'89: The Complete Collection contains all twelve issues of the underground BMX freestyle fanzine that rider and indie publisher Mike Daily made from 1984 through 1989. What follows is a collection of behind the scenes photos from the Plywood Hoods lineage.
Mike Daily, publisher, editor and writer of Aggro Rag: The Complete Collection, seen here undertaking an undertaker not very long ago in his current hometown of Portland, Ore. "I had no idea that [the book] would take more than two-and-a-half years of after-hours work to complete," says Daily.
Dave Mirra, seen here flaring a hip in 2005 at the Toronto Metro Jam, arrived onto the BMX scene through exposure given in the Plywood Hoods videos and on the pages of Aggro Rag. "Whatever Dave does, he does with effortless intensity. It's a level of excellence attained by hours of practice, and practice, and practice," says Daily.
Kevin Jones, basement handstand. Jones' BMX reputation precedes himself, but the beauty in Aggro Rag and the book's all-encompassing interview with Jones is that it captures his true personality. Behind the innovation, Jones liked junk food, shopping at the mall for new sneakers and making inside jokes.
Kevin Jones, Lancaster, Pa. Skyway show. "On several occasions while he was driving his orange Gremlin (or the big blue American-made car that he owned), I tried using my mini-cassette recorder to interview him. Without fail, he'd catch on," says Daily.
"In Spring '85, with the Cardboard Lords at the height of their notoriety in York, Harrisburg, Baltimore and Philly, the last thing Mark wanted to see was Kevin Jones doing a cherrypicker on the GT Performer that Kevin got from Rockville BMX," says Daily. Eaton would go on to create the seminal BMX video series "Dorkin In York."
"One's closest friends usually seem rooted in the lucky coincidence of geography and shared interests," says Daily, seen here cherrypicking with Kevin Jones in 1985.
In his interview for the book, Dave Mirra said riding with the Plywood Hoods motivated him. "It was a huge, big push," he said. "I was part of a scene outside of my scene. […] It was amazing that I was so young [14] and part of a group that I read about in the magazines."
"Four years ago at the Dew Tour in Portland, Mark Eaton asked me why I hadn't published a book collecting all the Aggro Rag zines I had made from the mid- to late-'80s. What was taking me so long? The main reason I hadn't done it -- hadn't even considered doing it, really -- was simple: I wasn't into riding anymore," says Daily.
"Holding the colorful stack of zines in my hands was all the convincing I needed. I had to go for it," says Daily. The book is now completed and available.
