Interview by Jax Anderson and Cooper Brownlee.
Cover photo by Kai Moody.
Photos by Cooper Brownlee.
Pat’s love for BMX is second to none, if you’ve ever had a roll with him or just chatted with him online you will back me up on that statement.
We gathered these photos whilst filming for his DIG Dozen video which you can watch at the end of the interview.
How long have you been riding for?
Around 6 years , Had roughly two years where I only rode like 4 times though, haha.
Who did you grow up riding with ?
Grew up riding with a fair few of the Warragul / Latrobe Valley dudes although I’m a bit younger than most of them. Lindsay Simonic , Joel Pauly, Chris Nicol , Dean Anderson , Foxy and the late Nathan Charles (RIP) #charlzyforever
You recently made the move from Warragul to Melbourne city, what prompted the move and how has it been so far?
Making the move out of the sticks roughly 3 months ago now was the best thing I’ve ever done. Not only for the sake of BMX but just as a whole I’m in a way better place mentally down here too.
When you lived out in Warragul did you find it hard to gain motivation to ride or is it a pretty good scene out there?
Not so much finding motivation, I’m always going to ride no matter where I am in the world, by myself or not. But more so finding things to ride given it’s a country area & spots are few and far between. Skateparks out there are good too, kinda repetitive though.
The scene however, has died in the arse hard as fuck the past few years. Dudes getting on the party program and priorities changing I guess !
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A couple years ago you went off the rails a little bit, care to share a little bit about that, how it effected your life and maybe some lessons learned?
Haha yeahhh, well. Not really sure where to start on this one. Looking back on it , I definitely have grown to regret how it panned out & what I did. But I guess the only thing to do is try take the positive and get the fuck on with life you know?
I don’t wanna be sitting here preaching the ‘ I got off drugs , you all can too ‘ bullshit. Cause everyone’s situation is different , But I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. For me, I just got too caught up in trying to be a sick cunt & wound up working in nightclubs as a photographer for a minute. I won’t elaborate on it too far cause it’s not even really worth doing so.
But definitely learned a thing or two about humility & finding yourself in a dark place that’s for sure. Shout out to my family for having my back too.
As well as coming back to the riding scene in the last couple years after your “off the rails” stint, you’ve definitely been progressing at an insane rate, would you say your stint away in a different scene has caused that or has it just been the side effect of riding regularly again?
Well for one , wouldn’t quite say an insane rate. But thanks boys ! Haha. I think where I’m at on my bike is just a level of clarity that I wouldn’t of found before I hit rock bottom. Without being all fucking spiritual and shit, haha. I just think I’m more motivated, Happier and healthier as a whole, and I guess that contributes to how I’m riding.
You’ve had a couple of rough accidents in the past couple of years, give us a run down of them.
The last 18 months were rough as guts. Last June I ate it bombing a hill & fractured my skull & had a bleed on my brain. October I clipped on a rail hop & ruptured my spleen! Haha, Just a run of bad luck. I like to see it as karma for the negativity I dealt during those other two years in a way. Hoping for an injury free future though for sure.
What is “Outt-innit” ?
Outt – Innit is a zine idea myself & Tyson Jones have had on the back burner for a little while now. Growing up reading FP & 2020 every month and now there being a massive void for print media in Australian bmx we thought why not fill that void ? Just trying to juggle it amongst working my day job & other stuff at the moment ! I’ll keep you all posted no doubt & follow us on instagram @outtinnitzine.
You’re definitely someone who believes in positive thinking, practising Yoga and generally taking care of yourself – what influences in your life have caused you be that way and why would you recommend it to others?
Mindfulness has been my saving grace to be honest, haha. Finding yoga thanks to my mums interest in it after my head injury helped me achieve a better level of mental clarity , plus it’s got god knows how many physical benefits. Not going to try shove my views down anyone’s throat, but if you ride bmx , definitely look into yoga at some point.
In a few words, why do you love BMX and what does it mean for you as an individual?
Fuuuuck, that’s a tough one, haha.
I guess for me it’s a freedom of expression thing , an adrenalin rush, and the friends I’ve made from it are people I’ll remain close with for the entirety of my life (I hope). This is probably gonna come off tacky as fuck, but I don’t really care , haha. It’s a lifestyle choice. A fucking good one.
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