MUST WATCH: ‘Homegrown’ with Dylan Stark
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After premiering exclusively at the YT Mill Showroom in San Clemente, California, a few days ago, Dylan Stark’s new video “Homegrown” is finally available to a global audience on YouTube. Dylan takes us on a wild ride to some of his most favored spots in Southern California. With his BMX background, he is a jack of all trades and seems to be able to trick any bike you throw at him. We spoke to the 30-year-old about his latest edit.
– You shot some pretty iconic spots in the video, but which is your favorite?
My favorite might be the Hollywood rail or maybe the 6th Street bridge because they’re pretty iconic.
– Riding the bridge was pretty cool, what was the story behind that?
They just recently built the 6th Street bridge, and it was all over the news about possibly getting shut down because people kept doing street takeovers, partying on the bridge, and climbing the arches. It was pretty viral on social media at the time of shooting this video. So, I thought it’d be fun to ride down it before they made it not possible. We woke up super early on a Sunday after scouting the spot the day before. Got there a little after sunrise and got 2 hits in before packing up and taking off due to the high police presence.
– You rode your ‘compound’ on the TUES, I heard you built that just with shovels, why didn’t you use tractors?
I love just digging. The spot is on someone’s property so a tractor could cause issues if the landowner found out. I try to remain under the radar with the spot. I wish I could have used a tractor though. The jumps would definitely be much bigger. Maybe one day I’ll have property where I can build freely (laughs)!
– This video reminded us of the locations you rode in your own video Real Heat, will we see a Real Heat 3?
I will start filming a sequel to Real Heat 2, but I may switch up the name. We haven’t started it yet, but we will soon! I am trying to keep the video parts coming every year.
– In the video, you ride pretty much every YT bike, which is your favorite?
That’s a hard question, I ride my DECOY the most daily but I think my brakeless CAPRA is my favorite because of how simple it feels. It’s like a BMX bike but has that enduro capability to run over everything and handle big drops and jumps.
– The flair on the DECOY was sick! Do you set up the bike differently to ride stuff like that?
I think I just turned all my suspension to the firmest settings and maybe added some air to the tires and shocks. My DECOY is pretty stock besides the E13 wheelset.
– The pedal grind is pretty unique on an MTB, where do you find your inspiration for tricks?
Coming from BMX I love to grind. Sadly, mountain bikes aren’t made to grind but you can do pedal/ crankarm grinds without any special modifications or goofy extras and if they are not carbon (laughs). Crank arm grinds were one of my favorite feeling tricks on a BMX so being able to bring it into mountain biking has been rad because I was bummed on no longer being able to grind when I first switched to mountain biking.
Thanks for the time, Dylan!
