'Bluey's World': BTS with Louie Hewitt
Intro by Mike V, photos contributed by Louie Hewitt
Most of the feature posts on the LUXBMX Journal take months to draft to a point of completion. Generating the idea, making contact, emailing back and forth, digging up photos, scheduling, editing and posting!
This one was different, which seems fitting, as I'm sure you'll find out when reading this article.
Over the course of maybe 2 days, Bluey and I shot the shit over socials, back and forth, getting stuck into a conversation centred around the dudes latest video 'Bluey's World'. I was given the tip to this kid only very recently and after watching the part, was immediately struck by his style, personally and on the bike. I reached out to him and off we went, very much excited by the prospect of unveiling him to a wider audience as well as getting to better understand who this dude is.
It isn't very often that you watch a video where you genuinely can't tell if it's from 1998 or 2024, I trust that this will be a similar experience to a lot of our readers. Right from the get go with that classic Prodigy riff, you get a sense for what is to come - a no holds barred demeanour, undomesticated biking, a disregard for obedience and a will to seek out and define individuality - to be unrestrained by the shackles of the world around us.
All these spiritual characteristics feed into subcultures such as punk, hip hop, graffiti, skating and of course biking. Having said this, even within these walls, there can be a tendency to follow suit, to take the path of least resistance. So, to see the kid resist such temptation and pursue a less dominant trajectory is truly heart-warming. To see a kid from generation 'Z' pay respect to the era of BMX that I (as a millennial/generation 'Y' baby) grew up fantasising about, is certainly unique, if not unicorn type shit.
Anyway, I'll let our conversation do the work from here. Tune in as Louie and I discuss 'Bluey's World', growing up in working class Sydney, the beauty of BMX and what's in store for the future.
Where to start with this one! How about with the video itself, which does well to portray the character that is Bluey. With his good mate Ryan Koorey behind the lens, and with a project already underway without knowing it, the boys used motivation from the 2023 ACT Jam video competition to make it a goal of theirs to complete a full project and (hopefully) have it included on the list of videos that were shown to the crowd of revellers, eager for enders, bails and general hype.
To better understand the approach to filming, I asked Bluey about what drove him to take this thing seriously and put effort into saving clips over time.
"For me, filming is the only thing that makes me send shit. I gotta have a camera in front of me because why would I wanna do something cool when there isn't any footage of it, but that's just me. So if I wanna do something big I'll manifest it for a while then just send it and hopefully I ride away in one piece. We're currently in the works for some new videos with the Sydney boys so I got some stuff I need to try. I like doing tricks over stuff that might not even look trickable."
Heard that. Nothing like having the cameras out to incentivise taking a risk. You will likely have noticed that Bluey's riding style could be described as loose! It's full of attitude, off-kilter, like it's sneering at you if you dare query it. For mine, it's quintessential BMX.
The kid appears to bare his all, to deliver himself in the most raw form available, an uncompromising portrayal of his make-up, his composition. You would be far from wrong to presume that the dirt dawg scene of late 90s/early 2000s west coast America wasn't playing its part in shaping the dudes personality and approach to riding. In fact, it's probably safe to say it had a direct and profound impact on the kid, specifically Cory 'Nasty' Nastazio.
"I found out about Nasty in the hospital haha, broke my arm and was scrolling the gram, saw him and thought who is this bad mother fucker, spiked hair, tattoos, loose style, girls around and from there, that's who I looked up to.
I'm currently riding his (Corey Nastazio's) signature frame, super long backend, been frothin' it."
Even to this day, Nasty does not hold back and is still a super relevant force in BMX. It would seem that the Nasty influence runs deep with Bluey, from the name of his video 'Blueys World' (a spin off of the 2003 action sports documentary 'Nastys World') to mid-riff tattoos, to a broader perspective on life. Perhaps even with the chicky babes. "BMX definitely gets the girls! I've had a handful of girls come up to me and now I got the hottest girlfriend out of it. I think the secret is just doing frog leg supermans and x-rides, sag your pants low and you'll be getting 'em left, right and centre. That's the go in Sydney at least. Oh and tattoos." Having contemplated the advice of Bluey, I was quick to realise that I had then taken the wrong approach with girls, tending towards skinny jeans, tight shirts, zero tattoos, brakes and a gyro, not once pulling a superman and most egregiously, maintaining a pant sag best described as responsible. Perhaps wisely, as Bluey responds: "Everyone will hop back on those trends again, that's the way of life." While BMX rendered an almost zero count for chicks in my experience, as Bluey mentions, this wasn't the case for him:
"Been with my girl for about 3 months now, longest I've been in so far haha. You could say I'm whipped! She's a firey girl which I love, keeps me on my toes. I gotta keep everything equal with riding and seeing her, but it's chill, still got time to progress and have fun outside of BMX."
Anyway, back to the video. I wondered if there was hardship involved in filming for 'Blueys World'. As the kid explains:
"Broke my arm when a scooter kid snaked me and then slammed into the ground, there's been a few injuries to my arms filming for the video.
My favourite story from filming is that stair set I did in the first clip, woke up at like 6 or something, maybe even earlier, just to film because there was a cafe where the set was so we had to beat it. Myself, Ryan and Ethan got there in the morning and the cafe was just about to open up so I did a few run ups because I had to cross a road and bunnyhop over curbs. Then the cafe worker said one more run and you have to leave, I just sent it, so that was definitely a highlight.
I also hurt myself at ACT Jam, second day dislocated my knee in the morning so didn't even get to ride those big jumps, I was spewin'. Ended up tearing my MCL and breaking my patella. It was still really fun and having my video premiere at the end, but the recovery sucked, been off for about 6 months now. Just got back into it now, feel better than ever though, keen to send some crazy shit."
So yes, 'Blueys World' did make it to the top 8, in fact, landing at Number 5, behind such other projects from Brayden McPharlin/Mitch Fieg, Troy Charlesworth and Cooper Brownlee - not a bad job! Although as highlighted, the dude was unfortunately busted and didn't get to partake in the premiere.
"I was on the way home in crutches and stuff, waiting to get home and probably watch porn for months. I saw it pop up on my mates story, I was so happy, it made the trip perfect even though I was injured."
Great to hear, on all fronts. Of course injuring yourself is a massive bummer, a shot to the ribs, a kick to the balls, but at least you have the various layers of distraction that ACT Jam offers.
Beyond Nasty, I was keen to find out what other pieces assisted in creating the Bluey puzzle.
"My mum used to ride dirt jumps as a kid back in the day, jumping over snakes and stuff, but I never started riding until high school. Started out skating but that never worked out and met this kid at school Bailey, he got me into BMX so I got my first bike for XMAS, a WTP complete and went on from there. Having my local at Five Dock, I met so many big name riders straight away and just started talking to them and acting as an idiot. There was always a crew at Five Dock, mostly Dylan Lewis, Benn Pigot, Dermo, Chowgy (RIP), shout out to them boys."
Having grown up in the area and found school a little lacklustre, it makes complete sense that the dude found a home at Five Dock during his teen years. Similarly, it is also logical to appreciate the influence of the Five Dock scene and the crew that helps to give it such legendary status, including Pigot.
"I still see Benn at Five Dock, he still kills it, he's a rockstar. We have completely opposite styles, he's sick to ride with and his 'fuck it' mentality is so sick. He just does the most crazy stuff out of nowhere, it's the best. Half the time we end up just talking for the whole session about the most random stuff, which I love. I annoy the shit out of him, sorry for taking up all your phone storage with selfies!
He is definitely an icon for me and the dock boys."
My experience of Five Dock has always been a mellow one, well at worst intimidating due to the size of the quarters. I guess I haven't spent enough time there to have experienced similar to that of our friend Bluey.
"The best story I got is one of the boys stealing a car, ripping it around the park and then a full police chase was going on at the skatepark. There's so much to tell from making bombs, cheeky stories, weird people in those bathroom. I stopped going in those bathrooms because every time I go in, there's some old guy trying to kill me. At least I can ride away from them with my 44/9 gearing."
My experience of the toilets was equally mundane, not once seeing a gronk of seniority. Nonetheless, I had a sense that Bluey would not have been perturbed by such a situation, even if it escalated.
"I always carry a metal demolition pedal in my back pocket."
The big fella at the beloved Five Dock, hip boost. Photo by PDizzle, portait by Mikey Moore
Having found solace at Five Dock as an escape from school, the kid was still able to graduate, despite infrequent attendance and firmly locking in that 'pest' role, i.e. breaking things, fighting, chasing girls - generally running a muck. However, this dynamic was improved with the dude undertaking a carpentry apprenticeship - the medium to becoming a builder. And from Bluey's perspective, a perfect arrangement in doubling as free gym time while also allowing a balance of competing priorities (i.e. girlfriend and biking).
Finding a meaningful trade alongside the joy of BMX also seemed to ground the dude and keep him on a less troublesome path.
"Everything you see me wear I got for free but I never really became a lad. You could say I was just surrounded by those kind of people at school and the skatepark, but I'll always be a BMXer."
Adding further:
"Growing up, everyone had the rats tails and stuff and were rare in the area I used to live in. But now, there's so many of them (lads). Personally, I don't have a problem. My sisters boyfriend is a lad and the graffiti and hip hop scene is pretty big in Australia. There are a lot of them in Sydney, I love it.
The whole Posseshot scene is cool as. Huski and Spanian doing big things for Australia, it's great."
Amen brother, keep on keeping on with that bike underneath you. At the very least, you're guaranteed to encounter meeting other bikers and thus making both short and long term friends. Bluey touches on this as well as the experience of BMX now compared to the start of the journey:
"It feels way better in my opinion, meeting so many new people like the 'Ween' crew, I love you boys, love what you're doing xoxo kisses from Sydney. Riding feels more exciting now, I always thought the older I get the more bored I'll get with BMX, but it's the complete opposite, I'm more obsessed than ever."
Great to hear the passion for BMX that we all know and love. This energy has probably contributed to the dude building a solid crew of like-minded scallywags, with around 7 of the dudes gettin' it, riding together and looking to rip and tear - expanding their reach and biking with the various Sydney cliques (including Mikey Moore who shot a couple of the photos in this feature). Sounds like there are more videos to come from these fellas:
"I used to film ages ago, but stopped. Ryan (Koorey) was the first to bring it in the group, it was fun as. Now I'm working on another video with Pedro and Ethan. Pedro has been filming the Sydney scene a lot, he is keen to film more too, so keep your eyes out for more videos soon. There is actually a lot of projects going on, I won't say what they are but it's like 3 different crews in Sydney - each filming more different videos.
Pedro is a character, he's been on the grind of late, he is like fully BMX obsessed, I love it."
Love to hear it. As I also loved hearing about the dudes plans for BMX moving forward:
"Everything I've wanted to do in BMX, I do it. It's like I tick it off in my head, it's weird, I just wanna see how big I can get in BMX and film until I can't walk anymore - see how far I can progress. If I get injured, it is what it is, it's all part of the BMX game.
I want to make a road fools type video in Australia, that'll be a dream with all the boys. One other thing I want to perfect in BMX is riding dirt, it's my favourite thing to ride even if I get loose and eat shit. I love it so much."
So with that, we bring this piece to a close.
"Shoutout to the 'Ween' crew love you guys, Terry from BMX Mafia, Oli Montague, Josh Grego, Ethan Pedro, Ryan (I'm getting your belt soon don't worry), Han, Concrete Frankie, Adam, Dermo, Jimmah, Dylan, Chowgy (love ya), Benn Pigot, Rattlin' Bones Barbership. The list goes on, you all know who you are. PS, Mr Lilbabypaul, I'm coming to Melbourne soon.
I think that could be it. I'm currently at the pub and surrounded by midgets."
Chick magnetism in full effect. Photos by Mikey Moore
Onya Bluey, keep on trucking my brother.
