GROM SPOTLIGHT: Tyler Skinner

As part of our mission to grow and strengthen BMX, the crew at LUX have strong connections to the broader community around Australia, including our southern brethrens down in Adelaide. I myself have taken multiple trips to the South Australian capital over the years and have always felt a kinship with the crew down that way.

While most of the dudes I was tight with aren't as active anymore, there is certainly fresh blood emerging as part of the natural growth of a BMX scene. For the most part, this is under the umbrella of the 1836 crew, however if you peel back another layer, you have an even fresher assortment of bikers. 

After a few pokes and prods to Adelaide bikers, a new name emerged. A name which represents a BMX biker so hyped on riding that he really does live and breathe it, biking all through the night (literally), selecting a school that was uniquely located adjacent to his favourite skatepark and volunteering his time with a local not for profit that works to empower and up-skill youth through bikes. 

That kids name is Skinner, Tyler Skinner. 

Born and raised in Victoria, then moving to Queensland to finally landing in South Australia as an early teen, Tyler has manoeuvred through the formative period of his life, alongside various familial challenges, to emerge as an independent, motivated and appreciative kid.

After his father bought him a BMX bike for a 12th birthday gift up in QLD, it wasn't until he moved to Adelaide and came across the folks at Little Black Bike that things started to click into place. Perhaps most impactful to the kids BMX trajectory was the Adelaide City Dirt, a well balanced spot offering a supportive and challenging landscape, with the influence of a bunch of core bikers who know what's up.

Now in his 16th year of life, having just worked his way through year 11 at Adelaide High School and a Certificate II in engineering, Tyler has his sights set on becoming a fabricator - potentially building naval ships for this great nation, alongside more BMX adjacent pursuits such as bikes, ramps and sheds.

While the kid has had an onerous journey to this point, a theme which emerges from every single topic in our discussion, is his deadset passion for BMX. Whether it's a catalyst for sleep and physical exercise, a creative pursuit, a bridge to friendship and community, a source of transport or more simply - a damn good feeling, Tyler is downright head over heels for biking and we love to hear it!

Without further ado, let's hone in on a few key themes which emerged from our discussion and get to know more about the character that is Tyler Skinner. 

For a young fella emerging into adulthood, and thus going through a phase of life which can be uncomfortable, ever-changing and often attuned with turmoil, it's heartening to observe a layer of gratefulness and appreciation within Tyler's psyche. No doubt this is a direct consequence of having found BMX to then experiencing the array of personal and cultural advantages. 

A key component of Tyler's BMX story is having met the Lighthouse Youth Project (LYP) crew at Adelaide City Dirt and having gone from someone who benefits from their services (i.e. mechanical assistance, support with accessing bike parts, mentoring and workshops/programmes) to someone who volunteers and contributes to the aims and vision of LYP as a not-for-profit organisation.

As Tyler explains:

"I dedicate every Monday to LYP doing 7 hours every Monday and 10 hours on some Saturdays for recycling bikes, repairs cleaning, working with kids and repairing dirt tracks for others. I pretty much do it all and yes, most people don’t like cleaning toilets but hey if it’s for BMX and the new possible upcoming BMXer (just like how it helped me), then it's all good. 

LYP is a recipe of Ryan Lloyd and Jamie Moore who co-own it. I have always loved waking up and going to LYP, I’ve always had issues waking up early in the morning but when it comes to LYP, somehow it drives me out of  bed. I have experienced theft and a bunch of other issues and have lost bikes and more at the skatepark and LYP has always gotten me out of shit lending me BMX frames and more. They truly are the kindest humans I have in my corner."

It's awesome to hear of the positive impact BMX can have on a kids life, which is certainly the case with Tyler. I'm of the view that this is an evolving experience, from feeling and knowing it during the initial period (generally as a young kid) to more deeply understanding and better articulating it as an adult and beyond.

Hard to not feel happy for the kid when you hear how BMX has impacted him.

"When I think about BMX I see a future of family, friends, good times, memories and some injuries along with it too. It got me through the good the bad and the ugly and will always be a part of my body until I can’t move.

I have always spent most of my spare time on the bike rather than staying home or hanging with school friends. Whenever someone asks what my hobbies and interests are, I struggle to come up with anything other than BMX. I’ve always dabbled around in other sports, instruments and hobbies like arts and crafts, but I think a lot of my creativity has been directed to BMX. 

Every bikers dream is of BMX being their job and I’d say I’m the same, but I also ride because I need to. At first it started as a hobby and just something I enjoy but now it's become a daily essential (to get my ride in) and if I haven’t, I feel weird, not only for my mental but physical health. 

I still love BMX just as much as I did at the start because there is always something to learn even if its silly or small, I don’t limit myself on my bike and it truly just allows me to be as creative as possible. 

I love the feeling of riding. It truly holds a place in my heart nothing will replace."

As eluded to above, the early shift in Tyler's life was (outside of receiving his first BMX bike as a gift) meeting and then working alongside Ryan, Jamie and co at LYP. No doubt aiding to connect him to a wider social and BMX-based network, providing great role models and helping him form a set of quality beliefs and values.

As the fabled saying goes, we are all a product of our environment. A sentiment which appears to ring true with our young Adelaide biker, whether it's first riding bikes with his father (and being introduced to Props and X-Games) to visiting Little Black Bike and meeting Cobac (Connor Bacalso) which eventually led to an introduction to the wider, core 1836 boys, the LYP experience, to taking influence from modern bikers across the globe - including another Adelaide OG, Kym Grosser. As Tyler explains:

'I remember a night a city skate, it was just me and Brayden (McPharlin) stuffing around on this small box in the centre. He mentioned this Adelaide rider from back in the day named Kym Grosser. We stopped riding for a bit to watch some of his edits and we get really inspired and start learning all these new things on this box jump. I think that moment stuck with me even though it was only a few months ago.'

Each of these experiences have worked to (incrementally) mould Tyler into the kid he is today.

Interestingly, you can get a sense for the kids progression of character and standing in the community through the following contributions from various ADL crew that we spoke to as part of this article.

As Ricky Catanzariti kicks off:

'...a real up and comer at the moment is young Tyler, he's a young city park local with a lot of tricks. He will be one to watch out for in the next few years when he tidies up everything he has been learning.

Brad and Brayden broke his bike a few years ago, quite a funny story, but since then he's sort of always been around.'

Brad Collins finishes that story: 

'I first met him with Brayden about 4 or so years ago at Temp Park, he was a little shit haha. He ended up throwing his shoes at me for some reason, so I threw them over the fence and he lost it!

We left after that and stopped into a pub not realising he followed us. He soon came in and started going us so we got out of there pretty quick. Out the front, he'd left his bike on the footpath, so Brayden threw it to the side and accidentally bent his crank arm inwards which stopped him being able to pedal, we felt pretty bad.

Didn't see him for a while after that, then he popped up again and was super keen on BMX. He started riding daily,  which made him progress really quick, which is cool to see. He's been helping out Ryan Lloyd at Lighthouse Youth Projects, building jumps and fixing up bikes as a volunteer. Pretty sick to see him doing that, keen to see his progression in the future for sure.'

Nowadays, after what sounds like some hazing - which has moulded into guidance from the older heads, Tyler has put in the work to show that he isn't just a temporary biker, he's in it for the long run and as a result, demands respect. Alongside crediting the 1836 crew for their influence, it was cool to see acknowledgement given to one of the proper staples of the Adelaide scene.

'Doug Underhill has been Adelaides biggest BMX supporter, always filming and pushing ever single BMX rider everywhere he goes. Always keen to open a cooper’s pale ale and have a laugh, we love feeding Doug our munchies as thanks for the film. We yell “feed the filmer”. Many late nights and flat tyres have happened filming with Doug, but the clips always turn out crisp and clean...'

Another contributor to the Adelaide scene, Josh Castle (who runs ucno BMX co) also backs Tyler and his development into an evolved biker, describing the kid as follows:

'As his bike control improved as a result of riding dirt every day, the only thing that was missing was the opportunity to ride some concrete transition to start learning tricks. With the opening of the new Adelaide City Skate Park in September 2022, his progression has excelled since.

It doesn't seem that long ago that Tyler was posting clips of sketchy hop bars, to now throwing bar spins confidently both ways and adding in combos of crank flip bar spins and double bar spins. His enthusiasm for BMX has got him to this point and he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.'

As Josh mentions above, a feverish enthusiasm for biking combined with an immeasurable attraction for Adelaides City Park is defining for Tyler at this point in his life.

Josh contributes:

'When someone finds their niche, they come into their own. Tyler has done just that when he found BMX. 

A recent memory of Tyler was at last year's 'Ridge O Rama' Jam. Tyler rolled into the jam with fresh jeans and a new bike, later leaving looking like he had been to war. He gave every event at the jam a go, including best trick where he landed bar to crook down the rail out of the bowl to everyone's cheer. These efforts netted him 'Rider of the Day' where he left with some dollars for some new jeans. 

His enthusiasm and drive to progress is contagious, often inspiring others to have a go. If you are ever in Adelaide and are heading to City Skate Park, there is a fair chance you will see Tyler there putting in the hard work."

Love to hear of young stoke like this, the scene thrives on dudes like this. To further illustrate the kids excitement for BMX and particularly his local, Tyler spoke about the time he handled an all nighter at city park.

"...it (Adelaide City Park) usually gets a decent crew down there at all times with 24 hour lights. Me and my mates thought we'd test this the hard way randomly one session. 

It was probably 9pm and after 5 hours at the park we weren’t tired and just kept riding. After a few hours went by there were jokes of staying for 24 hours. Next thing you know it just happened, we kept riding, playing games of BIKE, learning new tricks, setting challenges and testing each other as the hours go by. We had naps on the ledges at 4am and had party goers come over drunk and tired at 5am as the sun rose. I have learnt so much since the opening of this park, as a person and a rider."

It seemed appropriate to end with some words from LYP co-founder and Aus BMX OG Jamie Moore, a dude with endless BMX history and a close, present take on Tyler. 

"I have personally known Tyler J Skinner for approx. 5 years.

When I first met him he was this goofy kid down at City Dirt with the loudest mouth you just might have ever heard, to say he was mildly annoying to the general riding community would be an apt statement. Funny thing about riding bikes in my opinion is that it’s a great levelling tool and probably one of the best ways to get to know other humans. As time rolled on Tyler became less noisy and annoying and became way more obsessed with his dear BMX bike. 

The more I got to know Tyler and his Grandma (who is raising him) the more I realised he has had a lot of ups and downs in his 17 year life, probably more so than the average BMX rider. Over the last 2 years Lighthouse Youth Projects inc has been tasked with mentoring Tyler using his interest of BMX to help him learn and progress as a human. We have seen many different sides to Tyler and he has more than once made us all laugh at loud with his take on life and the way he sees fit to live it. 

Tyler has a magic on the bike which I know he wants to share with the next generation as well, its pleasing to observe.

Tyler’s riding and progress has been impressive to watch and I know that its important enough to him to help him navigate all of the other obstacles on the long road we call life. 

Thanks for your presence about the place here at LYP Tyler and we cant wait to see where your travels take you!"

Onya Tyler! Big shouts to all involved in helping this come together, heartwarming to see really. This has been a long time in the making, so it's cool to see it get some life after 9 months of incubation. 

To wrap this up, I'll hand over to Tyler. 

"...I believe BMX can get me through everything and I’m letting it take me. I love BMX and I can’t thank everyone who has helped me through the way. 

Thank you, Mike Vocko for this, LUXBMX, Southcoast Cycles, Lighthouse YP and everyone else. Much love."