Franchise News

I’m sure that if you surveyed 9 out of 10 trail riders, they’d tell you that fall is their favorite season. The changing colors of the leaves in the woods, the crisp air that allows you to shred without shedding layers, and the condition of jumps is such that all you really need is a rake to brush the leaves aside and dial ‘em in and get to rippin’.
So in this celebration of the seasons, here are a few photos from the Prison Trails in Massachussetts, that I poached from Jody Stoddard over at Timeless BMX, a dope little shop in Cambridge, Mass. Check out www.timelessbmx.com, look around, peep some sick photos that Jody has shot, sign the petition to get some dirt jumps built at the site of the new skatepark in Boston (if that ever actually gets built), and maybe even order some parts or a Franchise shirt.
First photo is the man himself, Jody, in his thirties and still apeing it hard (table transfer), second is the road dog Kyle Amidon, and last one is Rory Ellis, aka Rodizzle with the man sized no foot can. Dig it.
-Sean

Kenton and I met up last night and got into our usual routine of going to Border’s and reading new magazines when we decided to take a look at the latest issue of the MTB magazine, Decline. The trick how-to on executing a bunnyhop 180-to rollback-to halfcab gave us a pretty good laugh. That was until we came across an ad where the fine print read, “Always wear a helmet. Always ride within your limits”. Did I read that right? Always ride within your limits? Well, we here at Franchise say fuck that. We say, go out riding and find the craziest set-up you never thought you could do, charge it faster that you thought you could go, clip-your-front-wheel-to-scorpion-grind-to-crack-your-head-open-like a ripe honeydew melon, pick yourself up off the ground and say “Ambulance? No thanks, but what I could really use right about now is an ice cold tall can of Camo Ice”.

But I digress.
Congrats go out to Kyle for getting his first photo on the other side of the lens in the latest issue of DIG. It’s a shame it couldn’t have been on better terms, as the article was in memory of our dear friend Ben Pritchard, but I know for a fact that Ben is psyched, whatever cloud he’s up on right now. We miss ya Benny. Also, do yourself a favor and check out some of the videos over at vimby.com. Franchise video guru Jordan Malama has been hard at work getting shit together for this site, and I must say it’s pretty impressive. Marco Svizzero’s also edited a few videos up on there, including the one linked below, which features clips of Kurtis and Dirt gettin’ down like someone popped off shots at a south Sac sideshow. Fuck with the fives.

So ya, Vegas was outta hand. I really don’t think I’ve ever partied so hard in my life. The kinda partying where you get hammered on free drinks, wake up half drunk or completely hagged and hungover, try and find some more free drinks to feel halfway normal again, go to the party, open bar, get hammered, throw a glass on the ground at the bar, get dragged out by your neck by security (including vicious german shepheard), pass out in the Hard Rock Hotel parking lot, etc. You get the idea. I didn’t take any pics, but Kurtis got a couple decent ones, which he will be sending to me soon, apparently.
But back to the normal life, doin’ what we do as usual. Here’s some pics for ya. First is an extra from the front page shoot, next two are of Danny, shot by Kyle, and the last is from the Nora Cup awards in Vegas, poached from Jeff Z. I believe.
Oh ya, and new shirts will be here soon, I swear to god. Blame it on Manface.

-Sean