Karl Poynter Q&A

What made you decide to stay away from brakes?

Do you ever hit the trails for a change of pace?

If you could live in a house with 3 other riders, who would they be?

Bees?

Top 3 beers?

I'd just like to state that my brother loves your riding and constantly tries to be you. Too bad he can't manual. I also dig your riding and positive message to BMX.

You had an Odyssey Reloader coaster for a while, do you still have it? I had mine and honestly that was the most fun coaster to play with and mod. So much room for creativity in design. Any mods on it when you had it?

When you were with Ezra, what went into the initial idea of the design? Did you think it up or was it more of a team idea and everyone had ideas on it? Do you still run the Ezra?

Have you ever had a ticket for riding your bike?

Do you have trouble slipping a lot? Your riding is such butter, it's gotta be hard to hold on when there is that much butter everywhere. Does it help you do sliders?

What type of music do you like?

Favorite memory/story from any road fools trip you were on?

1. Thoughts on sickdude?
2. Whats the secret to having fun

1. Give us a brief rundown of your bike setup.

2. You shoot a lot of photos. Are you into shooting BMX photos? If so, can we see some?

3. Remember that time I met you at a coffee shop in Indiana?

Ever want to pair a front brake with that coaster?

Is there any chance of a vital sponsored midwest bmx jam?

Watching your web edits and video parts was definitely a big influence on my decision to ultimately get a freecoaster about 5 years ago.
Who were some of the riders that inspired you to try out a freecoaster?

Ever liked riding chainless before you got a freecoaster?

Is Eastern still alive or bankcrupt?

NewAndImprovedClancy wrote:

Is Eastern still alive or bankcrupt?

NewAndImprovedClancy wrote:

Is Eastern still alive or bankcrupt?

...more

alive

NewAndImprovedClancy wrote:

Is Eastern still alive or bankcrupt?

NewAndImprovedClancy wrote:

Is Eastern still alive or bankcrupt?

...more

Jon Byers wrote:

alive

Jon Byers wrote:

alive

...more

Let me buy a frame please.

Shit dude lets get a John Byers q&a

Opinions on the constant bashing vital gets from oss/tcu?

New profile pedals?

What do ypu do for vital?

I always admired how meticulous you are with your bikes.. You've always built your bikes up with awesome colorways (My favorite being green spokes/ black parts/ green stickers).. Any advice for riders on how to get a cool looking bike without over doing it ?

One of your initial forum posts working for Vital was a banger (I'm sure everyone knows which one I'm talking about). Where would you like to see BMX in 5 years ? and how do you see "BMX" as a whole getting there ?

You could be considered a street or a park rider. Do you have a preference ? what are the 5 essential skills for each ?

Who are your top 5 favorite riders at the moment ?

dave lawrence wrote:

What made you decide to stay away from brakes?

Do you ever hit the trails for a change of pace?

If you could live in a house ...more

dave lawrence wrote:

What made you decide to stay away from brakes?

Do you ever hit the trails for a change of pace?

If you could live in a house with 3 other riders, who would they be?

...more

That's a good question. Honestly, it's kind of hard to remember exactly why. I've been riding BMX brakeless for a very long time now. I actually rode with brakes for a few years at the beginning because I used to race. As I started riding freestyle more heavily, I just decided to take them off to see what riding would be like. I first remember seeing riders like the Gonz ride without brakes. The simplicity of it, but also the difficulty aspect it added to riding is what drew me in.

I used to ride trails more often years ago, but I still enjoy riding dirt from time to time. I've even tossed the idea around of hitting up a race every now and then. However, I do ride my 26" dirt jumper at various MTB trails a fair amount.

My good buddy Andy Sizemore, Johnny Devlin, and Zachery Rogers are the first 3 that come to mind.

josh betley wrote:

Bees?

josh betley wrote:

Bees?

...more

And the question is what exactly? haha

eskimojay wrote:

Top 3 beers?

eskimojay wrote:

Top 3 beers?

...more

1. IBC root beer
2. Mug root beer
3. A&W root beer

Which has payed more, paintball or BMX?

MaximusBikes wrote:

I'd just like to state that my brother loves your riding and constantly tries to be you. Too bad he can't manual. I also dig ...more

MaximusBikes wrote:

I'd just like to state that my brother loves your riding and constantly tries to be you. Too bad he can't manual. I also dig your riding and positive message to BMX.

You had an Odyssey Reloader coaster for a while, do you still have it? I had mine and honestly that was the most fun coaster to play with and mod. So much room for creativity in design. Any mods on it when you had it?

When you were with Ezra, what went into the initial idea of the design? Did you think it up or was it more of a team idea and everyone had ideas on it? Do you still run the Ezra?

Have you ever had a ticket for riding your bike?

Do you have trouble slipping a lot? Your riding is such butter, it's gotta be hard to hold on when there is that much butter everywhere. Does it help you do sliders?

What type of music do you like?

...more

Thanks so much man. That's awesome. Hopefully I can get in a session with the both of you someday. Be sure to tell your brother hello for me.

I actually do still have it. haha That was my very first freecoaster. Crazy to think that thing still runs with how old it is. I didn't do any crazy mods to it. I remember having Odyssey send me a couple of those after they decided to quit making them. Those turned out to be a nightmare, which was a bummer. I never had any luck with any of the Reloaders I got other than the very first one I received as a X-mas present.

Ezra's designer already had a freecoaster idea started within the mix of the rest of the products before the brand was announced. When I stepped into the picture, we all decided to really give it a big push to bring it to life. It then became a group effort and developed into my signature part with the amount of effort/knowledge I put into it. I'm currently running an old prototype of mine from years ago.

Thankfully, I have yet to get a ticket. Many close calls, but I always seem to luck out and get out of it.

I actually have a butter dispensary button on my bike, which enables me to keep the sliders going.

I love music. What I've listened to over the years has changed a little bit. I've never been into rap. I can do an instrumental hip-hop song if it sounds good, but that's about it. I used to listen to a lot of real hardcore. I still do, but not as much. I try not to stay in one specific genre of music though. I've picked just about every song for all my video parts and edits, so those should give you a pretty good idea of what I'm into. Some bands I've been listening to this past week have been The Evens, Fugazi, Hot Water Music, At the Drive In, and Snapcase.

blaaaaaaaaa wrote:

Favorite memory/story from any road fools trip you were on?

blaaaaaaaaa wrote:

Favorite memory/story from any road fools trip you were on?

...more

Man, that's going to be tough to narrow it down to a favorite. The Props Road Fools trips were great experiences. One of my favorite parts of the first Road Fools I was on was riding my bike literally all night till the sun came up everyday. On that specific trip, most of the time, the cast of riders were split up into 2 crews. One that rode during the day and one at night. It wasn't designed that way. It just happened to pan out like that. I was so excited to be there that I rode with both crews a lot of the time. I would ride all night till sunrise, sleep for a little bit, and then get up and ride with the day crew. I was just super motivated. That trip was a ton of fun to say the least! I'll always look at it as one of my career highlights.

Krooked wrote:

1. Thoughts on sickdude?
2. Whats the secret to having fun

Krooked wrote:

1. Thoughts on sickdude?
2. Whats the secret to having fun

...more

Can you elaborate on sickdude?

No special secret. Have a good attitude and surround yourself with good people. Simple.

kylecarlson wrote:

1. Give us a brief rundown of your bike setup.

2. You shoot a lot of photos. Are you into shooting BMX photos? If so, can we ...more

kylecarlson wrote:

1. Give us a brief rundown of your bike setup.

2. You shoot a lot of photos. Are you into shooting BMX photos? If so, can we see some?

3. Remember that time I met you at a coffee shop in Indiana?

...more

A bike with good air pressure, no noises, clean, 4 pegs, freecoaster, somewhat wide bars, and good color scheme. I run all Deco and Profile parts, along with some good tread Stolen Bikes hooked me up with. I'm about to build an all new Deco Self-titled V2 frame. Maybe we'll get a bike check going.

I'm definitely into shooting BMX photos. I'll round up a few and post them on here ASAP.

Yep. Good times. Next time let's make it not in the middle of winter though. I don't like coffee, but I like coffee shops. Weird.

adamnmexican wrote:

Ever want to pair a front brake with that coaster?

adamnmexican wrote:

Ever want to pair a front brake with that coaster?

...more

I've came close to throwing front brakes on, but never pulled the trigger. Front brakes are fun. Maybe someday.

Thomas_Kerrigan wrote:

Is there any chance of a vital sponsored midwest bmx jam?

Thomas_Kerrigan wrote:

Is there any chance of a vital sponsored midwest bmx jam?

...more

Possibly. I've done a countless number of BMX events in the past. Have any ideas? Let's hear it.

LorenzoGallegos wrote:

Watching your web edits and video parts was definitely a big influence on my decision to ultimately get a freecoaster about 5 ...more

LorenzoGallegos wrote:

Watching your web edits and video parts was definitely a big influence on my decision to ultimately get a freecoaster about 5 years ago.
Who were some of the riders that inspired you to try out a freecoaster?

...more

Hey thanks a lot, Lorenzo. That's rad. Honestly, looking back, I don't think there was ever a certain rider who influenced me to put one on. I've always enjoyed trying to be creative with my riding. The freecoaster looked as if it would be a perfect tool for me to use to help further the creativity. Now, a couple riders who come to mind that I enjoyed watching ride who had freecoasters at the time were Rick Moliterno and Paul Osicka.

cro tec wrote:

Ever liked riding chainless before you got a freecoaster?

cro tec wrote:

Ever liked riding chainless before you got a freecoaster?

...more

No, I personally was never into it. A chain is a crucial part that makes it a bicycle. For me, it just didn't make sense. I did a lot of fakie stuff before I put a freecoaster on. I just pedaled backwards.