Tag: etnies
Video parts archive
by taj on Jan.24, 2009, under Uncategorized
Someone suggested I put together a post of all my old video parts. It seemed like too much work until recently when a few of the more obscure titles got posted by someone else. Joe Rich helped me rip the few old VHS titles that weren’t already available and I posted them on Youtube. And, don’t worry, I was sure to get permission from the owners of the videos first. So, thanks Primo, Fox, Etnies, Props, Anthem, Hoffman Bikes and everyone else. I’m terrible with dates and I don’t even own a VCR to try and figure out when some of these were made. If you happen to know I would be grateful for the info. It’d be cool to put together an actual timeline as some of these may be out of order. I’m thinking that this post will be updated periodically as I find more old videos or new ones or get more information on the videos.
Its also got me thinking how much I would like to see some full archives of some other riders. Jay Miron, Mat Hoffman, and many others would have amazing histories to watch in chronological order. That’d be a good Ride Magazine article too, a timeline with highlights from every BMX video they could think of. Be cool to see who did what first and how other riders bridged off the previous videos riding.
-A Few Good Men. For some reason I think this video came out before Happy Days, but I’m not actually sure. This is the first video effort by the guys who later started Props. Oh how video editing technology has changed. I used to think wearing a Santa Claus hat was really cool… I’m actually serious.
Taj Mihelich - “Happy Days” from Krt Schmidt on Vimeo.
-Standard Bikes, Happy Days. This kind of makes me think I should have gotten a Vimeo account… or maybe I’m doing something wrong on Youtube. The quality looks way better on Vimeo, huh? Thanks to Krt Schmidt for posting this.
-Dirty Deeds. When I moved to Austin in 93 or 94 or whatever James Shepard just sort of started taking me out riding and bringing a video camera. I never really understood what I was filming for, but it ended up being such an honor to be in a Dave Parrick video from back in the day. The long rail at the end sits right in the center of UT’s campus here in Austin and is actually curvered but the cameras lens makes it so you can’t tell. Such a bust now!
-Poorboy, Heavy Metal Thunder. To be entirely honest I was always a little embarrassed by this video part. It was one of those parts where my friends just got kind of scabbed it together out of footage from us riding and contests. Not a very serious part since I rode for UGP instead of Poorboy. Pretty funny clip of me falling on the deck of a ramp and mashing poor Mel Cody’s groceries though.
-Props Interview Issue #4. This is an interview I had in Props #4. Not quite sure when this is from, but its probably before you were born. I still get embarrassed watching this… so corny.
-Hoffman Bikes, Madd Matt. I think it was a week after I got on Hoffman Bikes that this video was due so we were really in a rush. Still, for just a few days filming I remember thinking it turned out ok.
-UGP, Face Value. These were my rail days I guess. My favorite part of this video is the first clip. At the bottom of the rail is Pete Augustin making sure I don’t flip over the edge. Pete was so cool to ride with and he acted as my coach for some of this video. I still remember him telling me, “You don’t have to do what everyone else does, you can do stuff they can’t think of”.
-Anthem. Ok, first off, Stew Johnson (Anthem’s creator) is not really into his video being online. He is however planning to release a remastered version that will come with his upcoming Anthem 2 release. I can’t wait. I ride around Austin and see the spots the Sean Burns has destroyed for that video and I know its going to be amazing! Anyway, I talked to Stew into letting me post my part from Anthem for some food. He really is a push over if you know how to work him. When I watch this video I can tell how heavy those old bikes were. Looks like I’m working so hard.
-Hoffman Bikes, When Monkeys Fly. Monkey boy????? I seriously don’t know what to say about this. Monkey boy! Clips cut off in the middle of tricks I’m obviously not going to pull. Monkey boy! If only you could have been there (to stop us).
-Primo, Made In Taiwan. I got to be in another Dave Parrick video here which is always a treat. I always liked this part and the song by Team Dresch. 9th street is so small. The funniest part is the shot where I land a tailwhip and for a split second my back tire pulls my pants down.
-Fox, Expendable Youth 2. There was a few Expendable videos, but this is the only one I had a real part in. Pretty good fun… makes me miss the east coast trails thats for sure.
-Etnies, Forward. This was probably the most focused video part I’ve ever had. Dave Parrick behind the lens again and the quality shows (when you aren’t watching it on crappy ole’ youtube).
-Etnies, Forward Roscoe bonus video. On the DVD release of Forward Parrick wanted to have as much bonus footage as possible. There is some really good stuff on there too including a re-edit of Rueben’s part and a much longer Edwin part. We filmed this little short of Roscoe and me all on real film. And, I always feel compelled to point out that we used a stunt (stuffed) dog for all the dangerous parts.
-Terrible One, You Get What You Get. This isn’t technically my part in the video since the video didn’t really have parts, but I’m playing bass in the whole section and I have the last 20 seconds of footage or so.
-Joe’s Etnies Commercial. Joe Rich made this Etnies commercial of me but it never got used. I guess some of the clips got used for a different commercial, but this is the only one I can find. Joe has really has a good eye like Dave Parrick for making bike riding look as cool as it feels.
-Etnies, Grounded. This was a really hard video part to film. Injuries and bad luck and bad timing seemed to plague this video. Ruben Alcantara managed to put together one of the most epic video parts ever though for his Grounded section. My part is laid back but I think it has a decently fun feel to it so I’m happy with it.
Police, swat teams, fire fights and new shoes
by taj on Jan.02, 2009, under Uncategorized
So, as of 2009 I no longer ride for Etnies. To start the year of fresh I went to find some new shoes. After stopping at several stores I finally found some I wanted. Tried them on, felt good about the fit and decided to take them. After leaving the store with the shoes I was very surprised to find a team of security guards had been scrambled to stop me! Apparently the store wanted me to pay for the shoes! “Pay” for shoes?!? Are you kidding me? Have any of you ever heard of such a thing? I know what you are thinking, you’re thinking, pay? pay what? Like money? Like the stuff you use to buy electronics? Well, yes indeed, I guess its a new thing or something but shoes stores (at least here in Austin) want you to give them money for their shoes. I could understand if they wanted to take pictures of me or something… thats how things have always worked before (for the last 20 years) with Etnies and Airwalk. You just let them take your picture and then you pick out what shoes you want. Oh well… I guess its the economy. Hopefully this won’t catch on in other parts of the country because let me tell you, paying for shoes sucks! I hope you guys never have to deal with what I went through, forking over cash for shoes… ridiculous!
I know you think it would be cool to have a drummer in your band who was also a recording engineer, but they are such perfectionists with their trained ears! They hear every little screw up you make while playing bass.
In other news I’ve been super busy with the band recording our half of a split record that is due out in february. Recording all professional like in a studio can really be hard work. We played so much I actually got forearm pump the same way as if I had been riding for an entire day over washboard bumps. The tracks are down now and we are just working on doing the mixing/ mastering (which seems a lot like editing a video, only there’s no video to watch other then the sound waves). Good times!
This is down right embarassing. Krt Schmidt put up my section from the old Standard Happy Days video. What year is this from? At least some of it was filmed in 1991 during the year I was at college because I recognize the ledges in front of my dorm.
Top Secret Spy Photos
by taj on Oct.06, 2008, under Uncategorized
A couple weeks ago I got some early versions of Aaron Ross’ new shoe by Etnies called The Number. Lucky for me I wear the same size as Aaron so I got some of his samples. I’ve been wearing the shoes nonstop since their arrival and I seriously love them! Good job Aaron and crew with getting these shoes together. Stoked on them!
The tread is really good on pedals. I use Odyssey Trail Mix pedals with the long pins and the shoes I’ve been wearing aren’t torn up at all. They grip well and have just the right amount of sole stiffness and flex. You know, its always that fine line between pedal feel and foot protection when it comes to shoes for bikes. This one does a good job. As this is an early sample I heard something about some changes to the insole to make them even better, but I’m already impressed.
These shoes will be available in spring of ‘09 (which usually means they hit stores in late winter after christmas sometime). Between now and then there’s plenty of time to wear them, test them and make refinements. I’m well excited for their release because I really think its one of the best shoes Etnies has put out in a while.
My bands playing tomorrow night downtown in Austin. We get to play with this awesome band from Japan called Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re. There’s a little bit of a buzz going around town for this show… or at least in my backyard…
Oct 7 at Emo’s in Austin Tx.
