Chris Miller flat out shredding Pipeline after it closed.
When I got the job at Unreel Productions, Vision's video company, in late 1987, I spent most of my time in a little room with a bunch of machines making copies of different videos. I also got the job of organizing the tape library, which was boxes of hundreds of tapes which were not labeled well. Most of those tapes were betacam camera originals. In those days, big, 35 pound, betacam cameras were the "broadcast quality" standard. The cameras cost about $50,000, and the video quality was high enough to be shown on broadcast TV. So when a cameraman went out to shoot something, they came back with a bunch of these tapes. Each tape was in a plastic case, and ten of those fit into a cardboard tape box.
So while I was making copies of one thing or another, I would pull out a box of these betacam tapes, figure out what contest or video shoot it was, and label all the tapes and boxes by hand, so we could find that footage easily later. In the course of doing this, I saw all the footage that was being shot, and I looked at all the old camera tapes and master tapes of videos already made. So I became real familiar with each skater, biker, or snowboarder's style and abilities.
At the same time, I would get off work and go ride my BMX freestyle bike for two or three hours every night. Often I would ride to work, and then hit a whole bunch of street spots around Huntington Beach on my way home. So watching all the footage definitely stoked me to ride, and gave me ideas for tricks sometimes.
It didn't take long for me to be blown away by the skating of Chris Miller. He had this effortless looking flow around the pools that was absolutely oozing with style. I decided that I wanted to learn to ride my bike the way Chris Miller skated. That never happened. But it was definitely a good goal to work towards.
In this clip, we see Chris first in the 15 bowl, the biggest vert bowl at Pipeline, and then he's skating the back bowls, which rarely get seen in videos. Those were the beginner bowls, and were 4 feet, 6 feet, 8 feet, and 10 feet deep. When the park was open, there were fences between the bowls, which prevented transfers. But after the park closed, and the fences were torn down, all kinds of new lines were possible, which is what Chris is taking advantage of.
Then he moves to the Combi Pool, the gnarliest skatepark pool in its day, and Chris tears it up. That was the pool the skaters spent the most time in over the years. Then he moves on to the Pipe Bowl, the pool best known to BMXers, because that's the one the riders blasted huge airs out of. Those tuck kneed carves Chris does in the pipe are some of the coolest things in skateboarding.
The video is old, down a couple of generations, and kind of sketchy. But Chris Miller's skating is epic. In a bike comparison, I'd have to pick Brian Foster as the guy who best blends speed, style, and big airs like Miller does on his skate. Both of those guys are just beautiful to watch ride. It's no surprise that Chris Miller has ruled the Master's Class at the new combi pool in the Pro-Tec Pool Party contests for nearly a decade.
The story of Pipeline and Baldy Pipe will be told in the Badlands Movie. You can help it get made by support the Kickstarter campaign in that link. $6,578 and counting...
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Back in about 1989, four pro BMXers rented an apartment on Alabama Street in Huntington Beach. I believe the original four were Chris Moeller, Dave Clymer, John Paul Rogers, and Alan Foster (?). Realizing that you could have really cheap rent in Southern California by sharing bedrooms, the crew added some members and rented a four bedroom, two bathroom house on Iroquois Street in Westminster, CA. Over the course of about five years, 22 people were official residents, and well over 150 top riders from around the world crashed out on the couches or floors at one point or another. The riders dubbed themselves the Pros Of Westminster. The P.O.W. House, as it soon came to be known, was the first hardcore BMX rider house in the country, and a immensely influential BMX scene all by itself.
Check out my epic blog post about why the action sports exploded when they did
I was the sole freestyler who was a resident, and the only video producer when I lived there. But I'd lost my equipment to edit, I was totally broke, and we never put out a P.O.W. House video. But the riders of that house have been in all kinds of videos. So here's my compilation, which is a big start and a work in progress. Enjoy.
Only 28 years in the making (give or take), here is it the official (more or less) video of the Pros of Westminster, the infamous P.O.W. House. Iroquois Street REPRESENT.
The P.O.W. House section from The Ultimate Weekend, the clip above, (1990-Steve Emig), :10-P.O.W. House backyard 1990, first time in a video, :26- John Paul Rogers, :31- Chris Moeller, :41- Dave Clymer, :47- Alan Foster, :51- Eric Millman, :56- Dave Clymer, 1:09- Dave Clymer, 1:12- Eric Millman, 2:00- Chris Moeller 2-Hip Ride Like a Man (1990-2-Hip/Eddie Roman), "2-Hip Street"- 1:50- Steve Emig, "Woodward"- 1:49- Dave Clymer, 2:12- Dave Clymer The Ultimate Weekend (1990- Steve Emig)- 27:33- Steve Emig (before living in the House), 28:28- Steve Emig, 33:50- P.O.W. House section (embedded above), 36:22- Steve Emig, 37:14- Steve Emig ABA Grands AA Pro Semis 1990- Dave Clymer
2-Hip Meet the Street '90 & '91- The Kings of Chromoly, 2014 web edit of old footage by Emil Chervatin, :19- Todd Lyons, :28- Dave Clymer, 1:17 Dave Clymer, 1:22- Todd Lyons, 2:22- Dave Clymer, 2:44- Dave Clymer, 3:03- Todd Lyons, 5:03 Todd Lyons, this is why you never use chipboard on the deck of a ramp. This might be footage I shot of these comps, I'm not sure. Chris Moeller in Feel My Leg Muscles, I'm a Racer (1991-Chris Moeller/Emig) Dave Clymer in Feel My Leg Muscles, I'm a Racer (1991-Moeller/Emig) Mission Trails 2-Hip King of Dirt in Leg Muscles (1991-Moeller/Emig), :07- Moeller, :38- Keith Treanor (friend of House), 1:15- Moeller, 1:20- Clymer, 1:27- Treanor, 1:37- Clymer, 1:57- Moeller 1991 ABA Grands AA Pro Mains- Dave Clymer 1991 UGP Flying Circus jump contest in Columbus, Ohio (contest starts at 17:39) Chris Moeller crash at Backyard Jam (93) 1993 NBL Grands Pro Open Main- Alan Foster, Brian Foster Chris Moeller- 1993 ABA Eugene, Oregon A Pro Mains S&M Bikes 44 Something (1993-Moeller/Emig) Intro-Chris Moeller, 1:26- Keith Treanor (friend of the House), 6:59-Lawan Cunningham, 8:36- John Paul Rogers, 11:50-Chris Moeller, 13:33- Mike Griffin, 14:15-Dave Clymer, 20:13-Todd Lyons, 20:39- Lawan Cunningham, 21:07- Alan Foster, 21:59- Brian Foster, 22:07- Todd Lyons, 22:14- Chris Moeller, 23:00- Chris Moeller S&M Bikes BMX Inferno (1994-Moeller/Dave Parrick) 5:20-Shaun Butler (Friend of House) in P.O.W. House backyard, 13:30- John Paul Rogers, 19:34- Mike Griffin, 22:20- Chris Moeller, 27:40- Brian Foster, 28:14- Todd Lyons, 30:02 John Paul Rogers American Gladiators (1994- Goldwyn Productions) freeze it at :24 and you can see me (Steve Emig) in the background on Wesley Barry's tower. Brian Foster Dirty Deeds (1995-Dave Parrick) Mike Griffin Dirty Deeds (1995- Dave Parrick) 1995 ABA Grands AA Pro Mains- Brian Foster Soil BMX (1996- Barspinner Ryan Brennan) 32:47- Brian Foster This crew, who came to be known as the Sheep Hills Locals (SHL!) were the direct descendants of the P.O.W. House and inheritors of Sheep Hills in the post-3 berms era. Props 21- (1997- Props)Bethlehem (PA) Scene report- 1:14- Jay Lonegran, 3:23- Jay Lonegran American Muscle BMX (1997- Schwinn/Chris Rye/Massei; John Paul Rogers was team manager), 1:48- Brian Foster, 11:25- Alan Foster, 21:32 montage Brian & Alan, 27:59- Alan & Brian, 29:31- Brian Foster Mike Griffin East Coast Destruction 4 (1999- ECD) Todd Lyons JNCO commercial (2000? JNCO) Todd Lyons JNCO raw footage/outtakes (2000-JNCO)- street, Sheep Hills (Check out Death Ride Dave at 6:54) Jay Lonegran in East Coast Destruction (2000-ECD) Brian Foster 2002 X-Games dirt (2002- ESPN) S&M Bikes 20th Anniversary Party (2007?- S&M Bikes) 1:00- Todd Lyons, 1:32- Chris Moeller skating, 2:43- John Paul Rogers, 2:59- Jason Thompson Chris Moeller showing new products at Interbike (2009- Vital BMX) Todd Lyons interview at Interbike (2009- 3V) S&M Bikes Hallowiener Jam (2011- S&M Bikes) Moeller at 2:15, 2:33, 4:31, 4:40 car jump, and at 6:38 they show the photo sequence of Chris Moeller jumping a Cadillac to flat at the 2-Hip Meet the Street in Palm Springs in '89 or '90. I saw that one happen live, it was freakin' nuts back then. Chris Moeller jumps car to flat (2011 S&M) Brian Foster Stay Fit (2012? Fit Bikes) Brian Foster signature stem promo (2012- Fit Bikes) Nike 6.0 The Pool (2012-Nike) 5:22- Brian Foster, Best Trick winner Brian Foster Bike Check (2013-Fit Bikes) Brian Foster- Anthem II Declassified (2013? Fit Bikes) Brian Foster- Tom Dugan does Malaga (2014- Fit Bikes) Brian Foster at 2:35, 4:17, 5:10, 5:34, 6:04, 6:55, 7:20 Todd Lyons BSX Ride session (2014- BMX Ultra.com) Brian Foster Holy Fit- (2015- Fit Bikes) Jay Lonegran Posh Halloween Jam (2015- DIG/Rob Dolecki) Jay at :29, 3:49 Chris Moeller on Brian Foster (2015?) BF-iT trailer- Brian Foster documentary (2015) BF-it Cutting room floor (2015- DIG) Alan Foster- :12, 5:49; John Paul Rogers- :22, 3:59, 9:27; Chris Moeller- :30, 1:34, 5:43, 6:20, 7:59; Todd Lyons- :52, 2:56, 4:56, 5:29. This is the closest thing to a P.O.W. House "where are they now" with the best known guys. Everybody's talking about Brian Foster, but then, we've been doing that for 20-some years. Style never goes out of style. Todd Lyons- Introducing the Fat Ripper (2016- SE Bikes) Summer Cruisin' with SE Bikes (2016-SE Bikes) Todd Lyons at :21 SE Bikes Philly Rideout: narrated by Todd Lyons (2016-Third Eye Productions) Brian Foster at Merritt warehouse (2017- Merritt) Todd Lyons- The OM-Duro: The Worlds first 27.5 inch BMX Mountain Bike (2017-SE Bikes)
The Pro's Of Westminster included:
Dave Clymer, Chris Moeller, Todd Lyons, John Paul Rogers, Bill Grad (RIP), Eric Millman, John Salamne, Alan Foster, Lawan Cunningham, Mike Griffin, Jay Lonergan, Chris Sales, Bill Naggy, Scotty _______?, Brooks Manbeck, Brian Foster, Jason Thompson, Steve Emig, and ???? Who'd I forget?
Two brave women lived there: Suzi, Brooks' girlfriend and now wife, and Kris, Alan's girlfriend and now wife. I'd like to apologize to the ladies for all the grief we gave them.
Honorable mention and Card Sharks contestant: Ned.
Also: Bob the dog, and Thor the Pit Bull (I'm not sure if Thor was there long enough to be official.
I'm Steve Emig, aka Heevin' Steve, Heave, E.Mig, M.Ig, The White Bear, Sluggo, etc. Here's what I've been doing lately. All drawings are 18" X 24", and drawn in my unique Scribble Style with Sharpies. Vic Murphy's classic one foot table off a curb, Dave Vanderspek on his GPV, early pic of Ron Wilkerson, and The Ramones.
I'm going in a new direction with my writing, as of late summer 2023. Check out my new stuff on my Substack:
I'm way out of the loop of the BMX scene these days. But I saw a Facebook post about a Brian Foster documentary called BF-it the other day. I was a roommate to both Alan and Brian Foster at the P.O.W. BMX House in the early 90's, so I was anxious to check it out. I followed the link to watch it. Unfortunately, I have Fred Flintstone's old laptop, and my computer froze up sixteen minutes and 47 seconds into the video. Crap. Tonight I managed to watch the whole thing, and I dig it.
Oddly, the first memory of Brian that popped into my head wasn't riding. One night we were sitting around the P.O.W. House living room. The guys who had some money all had $5 pizzas from What-a-Lotta-Pizza. Those of us who didn't have much money that night were eating ramen or microwave burritos. Brian finished his pizza, but left the crusts. He held his box up and said, "Pizza bones!" offering the leftovers to us human roaches. I grabbed the box and scarfed down the crusts. It was a treat in those ramen days.
Then the other memories popped into my head. Riding the backyard ramps with Brian. Watching him tear it up at Sheep Hills and other local trails. The craziest memory I have of Brian from those days was shooting video of several riders jumping the insane gap jump at Dover. Years later, doing a magazine interview, I asked Brian what the craziest thing he ever jumped was, and he said it was that jump at Dover. I don't know what nutcase had the idea to build that jump, but it would still be big by today's standards. The riders would sprint across the field, and drop in a near vertical roll-in at first straight speed. It went down about fifteen feet, then curved up in to a seven foot high kicker. I actually stepped off and measured the gap, and it was 25 feet, though it looked much bigger. The insane part was that it was a flat landing... eight feet higher than the takeoff. Mid jump, riders were about 30 feet above a brush filled ravine. As luck would have it, one of my shots of Brian jumping there is in this documentary.
I didn't see Brian much after about '95, so a lot of what's included in the video is new to me. For whatever reason, Brian had that timeless style when I first met him in the early 90's, and he has built upon that style in the many years since. He's one of the great BMX riders of all time. If you haven't seen BF-it, follow this link and check it out.
