Gonna bash 'em right the fuck in! @schnell1985 I knew I'd be addicted to twitter! Also those kicks are @LakaiLTD 
Mike Taylor – Manchester, UK. Photo by Ricky Adam.
Wearing a helmet is a personal choice that we, as riders have to make. Every person varies in opinion and makes their mind up from a multitude of factors, some good and some bad. This ‘Head First’ article is taken in part from DIG 80 (Jan/Feb ’11), featuring some thoughts and memories from various people, all riders alike. All views are different, but can be relevant to every one of us. Stay safe out there and have fun.
“Some people look good in a helmet, some people don’t. I fall into the ‘people that don’t’ category. Until BMX has a governing body and forces everyone to wear a helmet, I’ll stay helmet-free.” -Mike ‘Jersey’ Taylor
“Tough topic, seriously, for one of my closest friends to almost lose his life, then come back and be thrown into this whole debate, almost as the poster child on why to wear a helmet. It’s been difficult to say the least. After seeing what can happen and how crazy the consequences of not wearing a helmet can be, it’s obvious a rider should wear one. Riding is such a personal thing that a helmet is usually an afterthought. Maybe this will change.” -Robbie Morales
“You can’t film a clip with a helmet because it won’t count, unless you’re Jay Miron, so what’s the point?” -Tom White
“Nineteen years ago a bad slam on a failed gap to lipslide attempt at a local street spot left me permanently blind in my right eye. My dilemma wasn’t if I would still ride, but how I would still ride. The reality was though that it pretty much ruined riding forever for me. I wasn’t wearing a helmet when I crashed but if I had been things might have been very different. For the next year or so I rode with a helmet but didn’t feel comfortable… and not feeling comfortable meant not having fun. When I did ride without a helmet I just felt paranoid about crashing. A badly broken leg from a helmet-less crash at Sheep Hills 3 years later pretty much put an end to both alternatives. I’d love be able to say the experience taught me something but when I get on a bike today a helmet is still the last thing on my mind. The real disappointment is that it didn’t knock some sense into me” -Will Smyth
“I can’t really say anything other than it’s the riders choice. I’m not killing myself on a daily basis, so I’m not in a position to really judge whether or not people should be wearing helmets. Certain guys like Gary Young have had experiences with head injuries and now they don’t ride without a helmet and I have no problem with it. I don’t like seeing people get hurt, but at the same time it’s just a risk you have to take and with or without a helmet; there is always risk.” -Ryan Navazio
“I was one of Luke Esgate’s friends and was present at the time of his death; Luke and myself were wearing helmets. Luke had just done a new line that nobody had even thought of, and everyone was stoked. Luke and Nate rushed back up to take another run. Nobody had hit the ‘big line.’ Luke, having mastered it the day before, decided to be first to hit it up. Watching from the sideline, I could tell right after he left that he was going to overshoot, but I expected him to roll away. When he didn’t, I rushed over and saw that he was out cold and started to have a seizure. From there, all I remember was yelling at Luke trying to wake him up while somebody called the paramedics and his family. While Luke was wearing a helmet when he fell, I can’t say it helped at all or not. I feel like wearing a helmet is the easiest thing you can do to help protect yourself and those around you who will have to suffer from you getting hurt, though. If anything, do it out of respect for Luke and the others who have fallen doing what they love to do.” -Evan Abernathy
“As far as I’m concerned, anyone that thinks I’m a dork or a puss for wearing a helmet when I’m doing tricks that aren’t the craziest life-threatening shit can fuck off. I’m in it for me, not them; hopefully they don’t have to learn the hard way like me or too many people I know that have paid the price.” -Matt Beringer
“BMX used to be the most important thing in my life; it’s not anymore and hasn’t been for quite a while. I’m wearing a helmet more for the people who love me. I just don’t want to put Samantha, my parents or anyone else close to me through something like that, or worse, again if I can help it. I respect a rider’s choice not to wear one. It’s safer to wear a helmet but it’s also safer to keep both tires on the ground. Enough serious talk. Go ride!” -Van Homan
“Well, Mr Croft, if you weren’t wearing a helmet, you wouldn’t be here now.” is what the doctor said to me when I went for my second checkup after my crash this past October. That is the most sinking feeling I’ve had, knowing that everything I had done with my life, everything I stood for and everything I loved could be taken away in just a blink of an eye.
It was the weekend after a trip I went on around the U.S., the same week as my 23rd birthday, when I ended up going to the bike show in London. I remember having a shit-ton of fun because Roey and a load of my mates were there; that all suddenly came to a halt when I apparently decided to try a nine-foot whip air out of a ten-foot quarter. I have no memory of what I did or tried and how it wrong, all I know is that my memory loss is so bad that I don’t recall it ever even happening. So I messed the whip air up somehow and landed on the floor on my neck and hit my head real bad; I was taken to hospital where I was put in a coma to stop me from possibly causing damage to nerves in my spine. I didn’t wake up from the coma they put me in; in fact twenty-four hours passed and I didn’t wake up. Because they were worried about me not ever waking up there was mention of surgery on my brain, but thankfully that never happened. I was a mess and wasn’t with it at all even three weeks after being out of hospital. The paranoia, constant over thinking, anxiety, frustration and aggression was unbearable. The worst was the memory loss, as I hit the part of my brain that controls memory and coordination. I can’t remember who I’ve spoken to, who I emailed, seen or what I’ve done since two weeks before and three weeks after the crash. It’s a crazy feeling knowing that I was walking this earth without it registering into my brain, a walking zombie I was.
It was the weekend after a trip I went on around the U.S., the same week as my 23rd birthday, when I ended up going to the bike show in London. I remember having a shit-ton of fun because Roey and a load of my mates were there; that all suddenly came to a halt when I apparently decided to try a nine-foot whip air out of a ten-foot quarter. I have no memory of what I did or tried and how it wrong, all I know is that my memory loss is so bad that I don’t recall it ever even happening. So I messed the whip air up somehow and landed on the floor on my neck and hit my head real bad; I was taken to hospital where I was put in a coma to stop me from possibly causing damage to nerves in my spine. I didn’t wake up from the coma they put me in; in fact twenty-four hours passed and I didn’t wake up. Because they were worried about me not ever waking up there was mention of surgery on my brain, but thankfully that never happened. I was a mess and wasn’t with it at all even three weeks after being out of hospital. The paranoia, constant over thinking, anxiety, frustration and aggression was unbearable. The worst was the memory loss, as I hit the part of my brain that controls memory and coordination. I can’t remember who I’ve spoken to, who I emailed, seen or what I’ve done since two weeks before and three weeks after the crash. It’s a crazy feeling knowing that I was walking this earth without it registering into my brain, a walking zombie I was.
I used to be so stubborn about not wearing a helmet, but now I wear one to ride to work or even to the shop. I ain’t touching my bike without one, because it isn’t worth it, ya know. I want to be able to tell the tales of all the trips I’ve been on and the things I’ve seen because of BMX, not be the guy that killed himself because of his pride. If you’re gonna ride gnarly, then be safe not stupid; I would never want to hear or see any of my friends going through the same thing! A helmet literally saved my life, and could save yours too! I said it before and I will say it again: Live To Ride – Ride To Live.”
-Niki Croft
-Niki Croft
This article is obviously not supposed to make you jump up and purchase a helmet; it’s just to remind you that the option is out there… and it is easier to purchase than that Four Loko you’re making your brother’s girlfriend buy for you. Hell, you can walk into any bicycle or skate shop and buy one legally! With a new generation of twelve year-olds doing truckdrivers down sixteen stairs, it’s time for some of these kids to at least realize that their brain needs to last for the rest of their lives. Sometimes the cost of looking sweet in front of your friends may just be to the detriment of your safety. It’s all about personal choice but use the “free” in freestyle safely if you can and enjoy.-Adam Schnellenbach
Cheers!
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