PEG LEG INTERVIEW

( Jeff Martin by Jay Elling. View it full size here. )

I did this interview with Devil Feil from Peg Leg a few months back. Check it out:

When did Peg Leg start and what was your goal in starting it?

My older brother and I started Peg Leg up in the summer of 04 with no set goal in mind. More than anything it began as a creative outlet and a project to put some time into. I already had an interest in video, and it seemed like fun to learn how to put together a website and manage a small clothing operation.

I know you guys have been working hard on the DVD, how is that coming along and when do you think it'll be out?

Like I mentioned before I always had an interest in video, and thats what I enjoy most about running the company. Getting out filming with the crew and editing the footage really is the fun part for me. I have set a deadline for filming for end of winter and plan to stick to it. Injuries and other hang ups prevented things from moving along quite as fast as we would like to have hoped, but now things are on track and going well. Everyone can expect the video to be out by spring and be on the look out for the trailer sometime shortly beforehand.

Is the video going to be all street? If so, how come you're going in that direction?

Yeah, the dvd will be all street. In short, there is something much more appealing to me about watching people ride outdoors utilizing obstacles not designed specifically to be ridden.

True or false: Street is the best type of riding.

Ride what you enjoy. Street is definitely my favorite though.

What riders were you influenced by during your earlier years riding? Also what videos influenced you?

Certain riders were definitely influential when I began but I think it was particular videos that left more of mark than anything. Domination was the first video I was really hooked on. After that Nowhere Fast, Dont Quit Your Day Job, and Neighborhood Superheroes were watched non-stop til the first Animal video came out. I remember going to the shop hoping the Animal video would be there. Low and behold it was and I went back to my friend Bens house and we ordered pizza and watched that video like 3 times in a row and loved every minute of it. Ells Bells videos, and in particular the Gonz and Ratboy footage were also among my favorites.

How did you guys hook up with Chad for your section in Shook?

It was a last minute decision to get a booth at the Subdivision trade show. I went with some shirts, my computer to play some edits, and a whipped together carboard display for our table. Chads booth for Shook was like 2 down from ours and he happened to come over and watch some of what we were playing. He seemed into what we had filmed and asked if we would be interested in doing a trip or some sort of section with Shook in the future. I kept in touch with him after the tradeshow and shortly thereafter got working on our section for We Are Everywhere.

Have you gotten a good reaction based on it? The riding was pretty crazy in it.

Thanks man, and for the most part the reaction has all been real good towards the section. It was probably the best thing that could happen to Peg Leg at that point in time and I really appreciate Chad giving us that opportunity. We probably werent ready then to take on putting together a full length dvd, and it sort of served as a warm up for our current undertaking.

As a company have you made efforts to get your shirts on sale in stores or are you content just selling them through your website? How difficult have you found it to be getting your brand out there?

I would love to get Peg Leg into more shops out there. Right now we have our stuff available through our online store, Noble BMX up in Canada, Dans Comp Mailorder, and as of recently DFTU over in the UK. It hasnt been the easiest trying to get the brand out there, but at the same time we havent been really focusing on that so much. There has been a greater concentration on getting content up on the site and work towards our dvd. I figure whats the point in getting your clothing into shops if you havent gotten things out there a bit prior. Some people might purchase the shirts based solely on their appearence, but for the most part people want to know what they are supporting.

It seems like a lot of companies try to brand their company as being either a hip hop company or a rock n roll company but you guys don't seem to have a real set style going on. Is that a conscious decision or are you just going with the flow?

We just try to produce clothes that we ourselves would want to buy and wear. I dont feel any need to confine the image of the company to fit within others' categories of style. Ray Kelly, who makes a living as a tattoo artist, has done a good portion of the shirt art here at Peg Leg and that influence has clearly carried over.



( Alex Platt by Jay Elling. View it full size here. )


What is your opinion on the current state of BMX in Boston? How come the riding scene in Boston isn't really very cohesive like the scene in NYC?

I think bmx in boston is on the up. I only lived in boston for about a year and a half, and have visited NYC a handful of times. Maybe things arent so cohesive because Boston is such a college town and a good number of the riders in there are not originally from the area. I dont know enough about what is like in NYC to begin to make a comparison. I do know that Albie Bennet is one Boston native that people will be hearing more about real soon.

You've said online before that you think the new skatepark they are building in Boston is going to fuck up street riding for everyone. Can you elaborate on what your opposition to the park is and why?

I didnt say it would fuck street riding up for everyone. There was a topic about the park online and I was simply giving my 2 cents about what I thought the ultimate impact of the park might be. Well for those who dont know, there are plans in Boston to build giant concrete park similar to Louisville. Boston is already a real bust at times and a park of that scale will obviously bring a hell of a lot more riders to the city. The more people out riding spots the more likely they are to be shutdown. Also with a giant park like that right in the city, the first thing the cops are going to say is that there is no need for you to be riding street anymore. I live like an hour outside the city so it really wont affect me all that much even if Boston was shutdown street wise. Who knows maybe the park will do the exact opposite of what I am thinking, and Boston will be fine with us riding whereever we want.

Who is this Alex Platt dude and what is he thinking doing these huge gaps I keep seeing him doing online?

Alex Platt is a good friend of mine who lives out in the Berkshire Mountains of Western Massachusetts and has been a big part of Peg Leg from the beginning. I think he was just always psyched on seeing riders like Stricker and Levan firing out high speed gaps and big shit so thats where he took his riding. Alex has been out for a couple months now with a broken wrist but dont count him out from coming through for the Peg Leg DVD.

Check out Peg Leg online here. And add them on Myspace.