First off the boring stuff. Name, age, sponsors, sexual orientation?
Jerard John Vandervalk, 20 years of age. Sponsored by TemperedBikes. Yes, I orientate sexually.
Haha that doesnt make sense. How tall are you?
I haven't checked recently but it was like 6 and a half feet.
Is it cold up there?
Cold as ice.
Who influenced you when you started riding, and who influences you these days?
Well, I started riding in Toowoomba with a few guys, then met the older guys that had been riding a few years by then and they were a big influence.
Along the years most of the guys I started out with quit or gradually faded out of it. Nick Kajewski is the only person I still ride with who I started with, and has influenced my riding to this day.
I guess everyone I meet and hang out with are an influence, riding wouldn't be the same without my mates.
What is your favorite thing to ride?
My bike haha. Anything that's possible to ride.
You seem to be able to do just about every trick in the book. Are there any simple tricks you can't do?
Ahahaha, I'm sure there's plenty of things I can't do, but I guess tuckies, mostly because I don't like them, I don't understand why people do them, I think they're shit. And I don't backie. lol.
What do you love and hate most about bmx?
I love the feeling of pulling somthing clean, but I hate hurting myself. I hate how the scene is always changing and if you don't follow like everyone else you're not in. Like the whole big bars, low seat, brakeless, doing manual 180s thing. I have respect for the riding, I even go brakeless from time to time, but I just wish people would do what feels good and not what everyone else is doing.
Ask yourself a question and answer it...
What am I gonna have for tea?
Hmmmm thats a good one, might go get a kebab.
You just got internet in your room. How's that working out for you?
Hahaha, heaps good, don't know were the time goes...
Too much palm action?
Something like that, hahahahaha.
Favourite websites?
Youtube, Myspace, 89 haha, EBAY!!
Anything else...?
Oh, hahaha, diversitybmx of course!
Now you're just sucking up.
Nah I swear. When I get home I go straight on myspace then diversity. Its my schedule.
Lucky. Where do you see Jerry Vandervalk in the future?
Fuck, thats a tough one hey. I tend not to think about it. Hopefully I just get rich somehow and don't have to do shit for the rest of my life.
Any thanks?
Thanks to Matty L straight up for making me a part of Tempered, and thanks too all my mates and anyone who I've met that's a mad cunt, you know who you are, and thankyou Mitch for the teriffic msn interview.
Haha, you're welcome
Interview by Mitchell Wood, First photo by Stephen Joseph. All other photos by Justy Bumpstead.
For more of Jerry Vandervalk click HERE
