Crafting a logical and captivating narrative is always the goal with these feature length 'Grom Spotlight' posts. At the start, this process feels difficult as you wade through a massive chunk of information. Eventually, themes start to emerge and a story line becomes apparent. 

This has been no different with our 4th instalment, perhaps made more difficult as Orlando and I have created an in-depth email trail from the course of 5 months, as well as some insightful comments from a bunch of his adoring mates. 

Nonetheless, after poring over our conversation, what stands out is Orlandos aura. When I say 'aura', I mean the tone of his atmosphere, his 'spirit' if you will. It is an understated, yet highly magnetic force that goes about it's business with a kind of unheralded, late-teen acquiescence.  

In other words, the dude is easy going, humble and well liked. 

To expand on the substance and quality of the guy, follow my lead as we learn about Orlando Oakley the motivator, the filmer and the driver (both literally and metaphorically). 

A state of being in which an individual is propelled to set and achieve goals. Very much a BMX characteristic. You could also describe a motivator as someone who provides the fuel for making shit happen, free of charge and conditions, just happy to be along for the ride and to see this approach benefit those around you. 

With overwhelming ease and nonchalance, our main character here fits this description, in a way, allowing him to stand out by not standing out. He finds himself in a position of influence and guidance without even realising, of course, this is the best way to do it.

Through a layering of a stable upbringing, a wholesome connection to kin and a desire to challenge and improve oneself, Orlando is a well-rounded and productive kid, someone who seeks to squeeze all he can out of life.

Just 19 years old, residing with the folks in Northcote (a multi-cultural suburb just 5kms north of the CBD), Orlando manages an Associate Degree of Screen and Media at RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology), a healthy social life, up to 4 x different jobs, gigging and jamming (as a drummer) via his band 'Neutraliser', a girlfriend and of course, the baseline of constant biking. You cannot muster the grit to handle all these duties without being jacked up with motivation.

Having spoken with a bunch of Orlando's mates, it's hard to avoid the sense that he is deeply admired, respected and appreciated - for many a reason, including his vigour for trying new things, creating and progressing.

As Gus MacDonald explains:

"...we were chilling at Otis’ place just after the ACT jam video comp was announced and I instantly knew we had to get Orlando in on our video. We were straight into brainstorming ideas and Orlando was off thinking of spots, tricks, ABDs/NBDs, camera angles, cameras. Just everything. He brought his drum kit to Otis’ crib that same weekend and the boys recorded a song for background audio for our video and just over those short two days we had such a solid foundation for it, we were buzzing..."

What a guy, the kind of dude you want in your crew. The more time I've spent in BMX, the more easily you can identify these types of fellas. Tell ya what, every scene needs a couple of these dudes, otherwise surely enough, the 'spark' starts to fade and the energy around organised sessions, jams, video projects and the like - dissolves. 

Let's take a step back, where did BMX start for Orlando? As the uncomfortable transition to 'teen' emerges, a young, skinny kid conveys envy at his neighbours badass looking BMX bike and decides that he too, would like one of those things. On the money, Mum and Dad come through with the goods for the dudes 12th birthday and away we go, commencing the long, rich journey that biking can offer.

With Northcote skatepark as his surrogate carer, the snowball effect of early crew roots being laid, the massaging of the soul as one experiences the thrill of gliding and denying gravity, as well as the fulfilling process of learning and mastering new tricks; starts to take over.

It must be said that Rampfest also played a key role in the dudes development, the lure of the musty foampit, the breadth of slick, timber ramps and the feverishness of an echoey indoor session. As the kids connection to the scene grew, the opposing influence of Melbourne's core bike shop, Anchor BMX begins to shape Orlando's direction in biking. While the helmet remains clicked alongside a huge trick selection, it is the streets that begin to call.

Touching on his attitude around wearing a helmet as well as street riding, Orlando explains:

"My approach to risk is very methodical, I like to build my way up to tricks, i.e. starting on a small ledge and gradually getting bigger. That being said, I love the feeling of doing something new that you are terrified of and getting away with it.

I’ve never fully leaned into any specific type of riding, I’ve always kept my bike set up somewhat neutral so that I don't restrict what type of riding I’m able to do. At the moment I'm primarily focussed on street, but most of my riding still happens at a skatepark. I still love a good RampFest session, and like to bust out a backflip every now and then."

As is often the case in BMX, the overlap of filming/editing is never too far away, especially for someone as driven as Orlando. While learning new tricks is a big part of the thirst for biking (be it the resi or man sized rail), the dude has recently found more and more motivation in producing videos. Interestingly, it was the COVID years that brought to life the love of video production. With skateparks closed and the dull indoors becoming increasingly unsavoury, it was this period that drew the dude (and his mate Felix) to the streets - which subsequently led to filming and editing neighbourhood jibs. With little care for attention and reward, the boys unknowingly tapped into the lurking thrill of creating and sharing biking through video. A natural step when you yourself find so much enthusiasm for watching other peoples projects. 

Have a snoop of the dudes Youtube for more of his projects.

Rocking a Sony PDX10p with a handy little Opteka fish - an aesthetic based choice, Orlando has slowly been refining his filming and editing skills, now with aspirations for creating a Melbourne scene video. Understandably, the key barrier being the juggle of rider Vs filmer. 

Beyond this, Orlando plans to produce a solo video part, seeing it as an opportunity to channel the overwhelming amount of ideas (spots and tricks) swirling around in his head. It is a perfect platform to show where the dudes riding is at and to further advance the progression of new tricks and combinations. Most importantly, it's a chance to create a moment in time (a digital scrap book if you will) that represents the triumph of hard work and solving problems. It's something to be proud of!

Taking influence from the old man (who works in film/media) and with BMX as a constant backdrop, Orlando used the spark in this space and decided to pursue it as a career. This has led the kid to university, working through an Associate Degree of Screen and Media, in the pursuit of working in the film industry.

It is totally understandable as to why this would be a desirable career, merging the raw skills learnt on the job with biking and applying them to a more formalised setting which includes plenty of practical experience through shooting short films, TV shows and documentaries. The dude gets to experience a range of roles in this space including directing, sound, lighting, running (which is essentially a production assistant) and of course filming and editing. 

As Orlando offers:

"Most memorably was my short film shoot a few weeks ago which is a comedy short about some pizza delivery drivers. The day was a bit chaotic even though I planned heaps beforehand, we were shooting outside and it was raining almost all day which made things a bit tricky. But, at the end of the day, we didn’t have too many tricky shots to accomplish so it ended up ok. 

I'm still not sure what my ideal role would be as I really enjoy all parts of the process, but I'm sure I'll figure it out by the end of the course, or maybe not and I'll just keep doing a bit of everything."

While university performs a key role in the dudes life, it is nonetheless balanced out with a strong aspiration for amassing roadtrip and biking memories. Wisely, Orlando understands that priorities will shift in time and that there is no better time than now to make the most of the BMX lifestyle. 

Boy do I love to see and hear the next generation uphold the sense of esteem around the roadtrip. Orlando and the crew are front and centre in advancing highways, swags and good times. Take it from the kid himself:

"I would stay on the road all the time if I could. After I finished high school, the only thing I wanted to do was go on a roadtrip, so I took a gap year to do exactly that. After I got my hands on a car, Felix and I went camping and touring skateparks around Victoria and then up the east coast to Brisbane and back making use of as many free campsites as we could on the way and making it work when we couldn't find one."

An absolute fiend for the road! Makes sense when you recall the drive and motivation he exudes, then combine that with an even stronger sense for adventure and exploration. Isn't it curious that there are so many dudes in BMX that espouse this trait, something that Orlando and I agree exists already, but is drawn out to its greatest extent by the unwritten laws of biking.

As the unofficial chief executive officer of roadtrippin', Orlando and the boys are a force of energy in this space. Take it from one of the crew, Jarrod Piel:

'His willingness to ride whenever and whatever is one of my favourite things about him. He'll often go on spontaneous trips around the state and country just exploring new places to ride and people to ride with. Don't quote me on this but I think he's been to just about every skatepark in Victoria. Him and Felix are a great duo and have done plenty of exploring around country Victoria to see some of this states worst skateparks."

While a recent trip to Brisbane to take part in the Monster 'Cash Up' jam was a highlight, it was the 2023 ACT Jam that stands out amongst the crew as one of the more memorable biking moments. Orlando explains:

"Otis, Gus, Kyuss and I drove up stopping at Albury as per usual, meeting up with Jarrod. Otis’ car broke down 20 mins out of Canberra which wasn't ideal and I did something to my wrist at Albury on the way up and couldn't really ride the first few days, but it started to feel better just in time for the Stromlo rail jam. Then I ate some bad chicken and got food poisoning and Otis broke his leg on the last day. Sounds like a shit show really but it was a sick weekend and we all had a good time despite our luck. We were able to make a video which was fun too."

What a 'you beaut' attitude, despite a hefty serving of adversity. This is a pretty neat way of illustrating the BMXer way, the whole 'get back up after falling' is such a powerful lesson to learn and damn is a roadtrip a potent way to do just that. 

This is made further remarkable after I learned of more details from this trip, per the mind of Gus MacDonald:

"Orlando and I became alot closer this past ACT jam. During the trip our homie Otis busted his ankle pretty hard. Orlando was filming him for our ACT jam video we were working on and Otis just got caught up in his frame over rotating a 360 and busted himself up real good. Orlando called me and said Otis was hurt so I ran down and Orlando already had him in his car and was taking him off to the emergency room. it was really bad. 

Unfortunately Otis and Orlando missed out on the video premiere night and I was really worried about Otis the entire time. I hadn't heard from either of them for hours then randomly receive a photo from Orlando of a handrail outside the hospital with a simple text "hospital rail tho". Average Orlando move there. If that dude isn't riding he's filming or smacking tubs for his band Neutraliser. Orlando works stupidly hard and is one of the most admirable people I've ever met."

Seems like a great fella to call a friend, not least to share a roadtrip with. I wondered then as to how and why Orlando had developed into the person he is. Speaking to his mates, a couple hints helped point me to his family, perhaps an unsurprising conclusion.

As you might expect, the support from and connection to one's parents is fundamental to a stable and healthy development. Orlando is one of the lucky ones who lives this scenario.

"Mum and Dad have always been massive supporters of me pursuing BMX. They always try to come to comps at Rampfest/Moomba when I do them too. Dad is an ideas man and has always been supportive of my ideas, helping me build ramps and learn how to fix bikes as well as taking me to skateparks and places."

It was cool to have this chat with Orlando, in many ways, we have similarly supportive parents and in particular, a BMX focussed father. 

"Dad is an ideas man and he loves it when people say that, or mention any line from 'The Castle'. It does sound like we have a similar relationship there, your Dad sounds super cool getting a bus and driving around to races, sounds like something my Dad would scheme about. He's always talked about running a BMX shop out of a truck and driving around to skateparks with it, he loves ideas like that."

Wholesome stuff innit. 

There is something heartening and sincere about a father/son relationship which spills into the BMX world. Profound in many ways, it helps to craft reputable individuals with goals and a sense of gratefulness, both portrayed by Orlando. 

"Short term, I want to finish off the videos I'm working on, two of which probably have a year or so left of filming, one filmed by my mate Ben we just finished so I'm keen for people to see that. I also want to do an Adelaide trip in a couple months with the same crew that came to Brisbane last year. For long term goals, I'm in my final year of my course so next year I plan on travelling to some different countries and doing tricks overseas, maybe Japan. Declan made the states look like a good idea too. I just want to make more videos and do more tricks, and I have a feeling I'll do just that."

Us too brother, us too. 

"Don't really know how to wrap up something like this, thanks if your reading these words, thanks Mike for making this article happen and shoutout Ween crew and Anchor BMX."