Words by Jesse Serwer
Photos by Martei Korley
Video Directed by Martei Korley
The Krash Test Dummy compound in Portmore, Jamaica is ground zero for BMX riding in Jamaica. Led by the charismatic A-Wire, this crew are the sport’s foremost ambassadors in JA, where freestyle biking is still just developing a profile. The Krash Test Dummy stunt team weren’t the country’s first BMX squad, but they were the first to go international: the crew have appeared on MTV’s Nitro Circus, while A-Wire has organised BMX events in Jamaica for Red Bull.
LargeUp visited A-Wire and crew (including Damion Douglas a.k.a. “Big Boy” and Garnet Lopez) in Portmore, where they put us up on the history of BMX in Jamaica, shared their outlook on riding and life, and described their plans to grow their sport’s profile on the island. Watch “Riding with Krash Test Dummies,” below and scroll through for Martei Korley’s photos.
Krash Test Dummy’s Garnet Lopez has a laugh at the Krash Test Dummy compound in Portmore.
“Krash Test Dummy—we’re strong individually, we’re strong together—like constructor bots,” says Damion “Big Boy” Douglas (on left with a fellow rider at the halfpipe). “Not everybody wanna play no football, not everybody wanna play cricket, not everybody wanna play no ball sports. Some people see this, they love it but they don’t got the opportunity to even try it out.”
A-Wire’s sister helps him gets his hair in order before a long day of riding…
The hot Portmore sun pokes through the trees. Note “Big Boy” lounging to the rear.
“Krash Test Dummy to us is a way of life,” A-Wire says. “We are very driven, we are motivated.”
“BMX in Jamaica is pretty unconventional,” A-Wire says. “It’s not something that every kid want to get into, not something that every kid knows about.”
“Really and truly, it’s just about a positive lifestyle, positive thinking, we motivate each other,” A-Wire says. “Cause even me right now, if I wasn’t riding, I could be doing a lot of other things…This has really changed my life.”
Riding at the compound continues through the night .
“Half the stuff we do is risk. If you’re not 100 percent into it, if you don’t take the time out to practice, if you don’t put some form of dedication into it, you’re not going to even get it done. I realize that even by riding and pushing out the time to learn even a trick. When I implement that in other aspects of my life, I realize that really works.”
“Things are looking good for BMX right now in Jamaica,” says A-Wire. After several months in Japan, he will make his return to Jamaica next month with the A-Wire Dare to Air Big Air and Street Competition in Portmore, on Sat. March 15.
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