OG Flemington Banks Jam: Raw Footage
You may recall a post on the Journal a couple months back highlighting a video of Luke Weatherall from 2004. Well, since then, that same channel which is hosted by Andrei Sablinskis has come good with another upload of rare mid-school BMX. This time, we're incredibly lucky to have 7 minutes of raw footage from the very first Flemington Banks jam.
If you've been apart of the Australian BMX scene over the last 10-15 years, you would have been to (and heard of at the very least) one of the infamous Flemington Banks jams. Adjacent to Debneys Park off the M2 heading north about 5kms from Melbourne city, you will find yourself at one of the most familiar, useable and accessible drains in the country.
The spot has been featured in endless videos including a Brad Simms 'The Set' video in which he hops the barrier from the highway down into the drain, which is proper madness. Check it out below:
From my perspective, I've watched jam video after jam video over the years, generally under the umbrella of Focalpoint BMX. The water gap is always utilised well, a sub box/rail finds its way into the mix and often there is some kind of launch either into the bank or up top as a feature piece. As you'd know, jams are a wonderful gift to allow the scene to come together, get a little stupid and revel in each others company. For reference, take a look at the 2013 version below:
What you may be less familiar with is the genesis of this tradition. I'm here to help fill you in a little, with the impact of the below video as well as some guidance from Andrei Sablinskis.
The creation of Marc Ulrich from Strictly BMX, the jam was hosted in 2004/2005 at a time in which the Melbourne scene was peaking, supported by a bunch of heads who put in serious time to make BMX as great as it can be, including Marc, Cooper Brownlee, the Sablinskis brothers, John Buultjens and many others.
Inspired by the 'ride 'til you die' type attitude perpetrated by the Little Devil crew, the boys started what remains to be an ongoing (albeit less frequent) jam attracting bikers from all over the country. You don't need to watch this for very long to get a sense of the 'Criminal Mischief' influence, most brashly indicated through the Little Devil branded sedan which inevitably finds its way into a punished heap in the water gap. Prior to, the thing cops an incredibly committed head butt from John Buultjens (i.e. Scottish John), some butt dumps, ample kicks and a quick lap as captained by Kym Grosser.
A time when word of mouth was the key connector, there is a serious crew involved in this video. I'm talking Kym Grosser, Adam Hough, Cooper Brownlee, Pete Majoinen, Leon & Andrei Sablinskis, Scott Lacey, Scottish John, Dinny Spicer, Beau Maslen, Reynold McQueen, Stuart Dolley and Luke Weatherall. Take that in for a second!
This makes me happy to watch! There ain't many things more 'BMX' than pulverising a car in a drain after drinking beers and riding bikes as a great big happy collective. But damn, it's so cool to see the early beginnings of something that has been apart of the Australian BMX tapestry for decades, especially with an atmosphere such as this one.
Rock and roll I guess.
