UPDATED WITH WINNERS
Congratulations to our winners!
@Kingjohnnie_bmx
@Radical.ryden
@Finmx_
@Bmx.bubby
@Naribmx
Didn’t score a pair? You can buy your own set right here:
We have teamed up with FIST Handwear for the first giveaway of 2022 with custom DD Airbags / FIST gloves.
With FIST being one of the largest supplier of gloves to the top athletes in action sports community we wanted to make something special and now we want to give some away!
GIVEAWAY RULES:
-Repost/Share Image
-Tag/follow @DDAIRBAGS
-Tag 3 friends
4 winners will be announced on the 20th of Feb at random on www.ddairbags.com
Shoa Matsumoto is one of Japan’s top groms coming up in the BMX world.
At DD our goal is to grow action sports by helping the next generation of athletes and that is why our first rider to Team DD is this young shredder. At only 12 years old Shoa Matsumoto is doing tricks that the top BMX athletes are doing and without a doubt has a very bright future ahead of him. Check out the interview we did with him as well as this skatepark session of him riding his new local skatepark!
INTERVIEW WITH SHOA MATSUMOTO
DD: How old are you and at what age did you start riding BMX?
SHOA: I'm 12 years old now! I started BMX at the age of seven.
DD: How did you get into BMX riding?
SHOA: Watching the Kaden "Dubby" Stone video on YouTube made me want to try it too.
DD: Who are your top 3 influences in the action sports?
SHOA: 1st: Rim Nakamura🇯🇵 2nd: Mizogaki Joji🇯🇵 3rd: Kevin Peraza🇲🇽
DD: The first ever BMX Olympics were in Japan this year, how does this make you feel? Do you have future goals of going to represent your country when you get older?
SHOA: The Olympics looked great to me, but it's a passing point. Now I will do my best toward that passing point.
DD: What is your favorite thing about riding BMX?
SHOA: It's when new tricks work, but at the same time it's nice to make friends all over the world.
DD: How do you overcome the fear of learning new tricks?
SHOA: It's about believing in yourself. After that, if there is a DDAIRBAGS at the landing point, you do not have to be afraid of anything.
DD: What are your future goals in BMX?
SHOA: I want to make many friends all over the world. All you need to do is stay on BMX as you grow older.
DD: Do you have any future plans on heading to the USA and if so what are they? What are some of the thing you want to do and ride when you make the trip?
SHOA: I always want to go to America. Of course I want to go to Australia and England. The purpose is to ride with different people and ride in different parks.
Japanese Translation (via Google Translate)
DDでの私たちの目標は、次世代のアスリートを支援することでアクションスポーツを成長させることです。そのため、チームDDの最初のライダーはこの若いシュレッダーです。わずか12歳の松本翔亜は、BMXのトップアスリートがやっているトリックをやっていて、間違いなく彼の前に非常に明るい未来があります。私たちが彼と行ったインタビューと、彼が新しい地元のスケートパークに乗っているこのスケートパークセッションをチェックしてください！
松本翔太さんへのインタビュー
DD：あなたは何歳で、何歳からBMXに乗り始めましたか？
SHOA：私は今12歳です！私は7歳でBMXを始めました。
DD：どのようにしてBMXライディングを始めましたか？
SHOA：YouTubeでKadenの「Dubby」Stoneのビデオを見て、私も試してみたいと思いました。
DD：アクションスポーツで影響を受けた上位3人は誰ですか？
SHOA：1位：中村輪夢🇯🇵2位：溝垣城司🇯🇵3位：ケビン・ペラサ🇲🇽
DD：今年初めてのBMXオリンピックが日本で開催されましたが、これはどのように感じますか？年をとったときにあなたの国を代表するという将来の目標はありますか？
SHOA：オリンピックは私には素晴らしく見えましたが、それは通過点です。今、私はその通過点に向けて最善を尽くします。
DD：BMXに乗るのが好きなことは何ですか？
SHOA：それは新しいトリックが機能するときですが、同時に世界中で友達を作るのは素晴らしいことです。
DD：新しいトリックを学ぶことへの恐れをどのように克服しますか？
SHOA：それは自分を信じることです。その後、着陸地点にDDAIRBAGSがあれば、何も恐れる必要はありません。
DD：BMXでの将来の目標は何ですか？
SHOA：世界中にたくさんの友達を作りたいです。あなたがする必要があるのはあなたが年をとるにつれてBMXにとどまるだけです。
DD：アメリカに行く予定はありますか？もしそうなら、それは何ですか？旅行をするときにやりたいことや乗りたいことは何ですか？
SHOA：私はいつもアメリカに行きたいです。もちろんオーストラリアとイギリスに行きたいです。目的は、さまざまな人と一緒に乗り、さまざまな公園に乗ることです。
Want to know how Olympic Gold medalist Logan Martin stayed motivated and prepared for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics? We are very grateful for the following Q&A with the Gold Medal BMX Freestyle champion.
After reading the below interview you can clearly see why Logan is one of a kind.
Enjoy the read and Congratulations Logan Martin! Be sure to check out the BMX how-to videos afterward to learn tricks from an Olympic Gold winner!
DD: Congratulations on what everyone would call the biggest win of your career and every athlete’s wildest dream. What an incredible achievement!
How does it feel to win the 1st ever olympic gold medal for BMX Freestyle?
LOGAN: Thanks so much! It honestly feels so amazing! By far the biggest win of my career. I wanted it so bad. I invested a lot of money and time into achieving this goal and it feels so amazing that it worked out!
DD: How did you prepare for this event? Did you do anything different for this vs the usual UCI events?
LOGAN: I didn’t do anything different. Leading into Tokyo, I was asked if I was going to change anything in my preparation, and my answer was always ‘no.’ My preparation for events has always worked, so my thought process was “why change anything when I’m literally riding the same-style course against the same people that I’ve beaten before.’
DD: 4 years is a long time to work so hard on something everyday! It takes massive amounts of motivation, focus and strength. How did you stay motivated and focused during pre-selection as well as when Covid hit and the future was so unclear?
LOGAN: It is a very long time! I think for me it’s as simple as taking it day-by-day and just showing up: showing up to the session and showing up to the gym even on the days I don't quite feel like it (which is rare). I just enjoy riding my bike, it makes me feel good each day when I know I’ve put in the work or done all my big tricks for that session.
I took the Covid lockdown as an opportunity to progress my riding, learn new tricks and just dial everything in! And purely just stay ready for whenever the next event popped up.
DD: There is an insane amount of work that goes into such an incredible accomplishment. What would you say was the most challenging aspect of the whole journey to gold?
LOGAN: The most challenging thing for me is battling ongoing injuries. I have a bad lower back which not many people know about because I never talk about it. It played up again at the end of last year so I had to fully re-evaluate how much I rode and how I trained at the gym. If I worked out my back got bad when I would overload it with too many days in a row. But for me, I only felt content with having a day off only when my muscles were sore and my body is tired from doing so many gym/riding session days in a row. So I had to change my mindset and change my schedule to not overload my body too much. For the first couple of months I just felt like I wasn’t working that hard considering my body wasn’t sore. I had to really focus on recovery days. I also switched from doing CrossFit type stuff to a more standard gym-type session.
I believe this change in routine helped me so much though!
DD: Leading into the Olympics, how often were you training and what was your schedule like?
Since that change in my routine last November my schedule looks similar to this most weeks:
Monday - 60-90 minute strength workout in the morning, then I would ride for around 2 hours
Tuesday - Ride then a cardio session in the gym
Wednesday - rest/recovery
Thursday - Ride
Friday - gym/strength then ride
Saturday - ride
Sunday - rest/family day
DD: Did the day of the contest feel like any other event or was it a bit more challenging to stay calm and focused?
LOGAN: The day of finals felt like a normal contest day! Battling a normal amount of nerves. The seeding round the day before I had way more nerves, strangely enough. Even though the seeding round didn’t matter too much and nobody was getting eliminated, I just felt more pressure for some reason.
DD: There would be a lot of excited groms out there knowing they too could have the opportunity to one day make it to the olympics. You are by far one of the hardest working BMX athletes out there, what would your advice be to the up and comers that have hopes to one day be a professional BMX athlete?
LOGAN: I think the best advice I can give is to have fun! Enjoy riding your bike, enjoy the process of learning and becoming better on your bike, but also work on all aspects of your life. If you can work hard in all aspects of life and not just on your bike, you will learn to be content and happy and that transitions into success over time! It takes a long time to be successful in anything so don’t expect it to be anything quick.
“If you can work hard in all aspects of life and not just on your bike, you will learn to be content and happy and that transitions into success over time!”
DD: After winning Gold in the Olympics, most people would be going home and taking some some time off. What do you have planned for the rest of 2021?
LOGAN: I enjoy riding my bike, that’s what makes me happy so I’ll definitely be still working hard on and off the bike still. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself but I’ll definitely enjoy this win and live my life with a bit less pressure. I’ll do Nitro World Games in October and then get ready for a big year of contests next year!
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The PRO NextStep was the very first airbag we designed here at DD. The initial idea was to create an airbag that would fit most riders. It sits at 6.5” tall and is the perfect size to travel around with for shows, or if you just want a fun ramp and airbag setup available at your fingertips. It only takes two people and around 10 minutes to set it all up, meaning you can pull this out of your garage and get your adrenaline pumping any time you want.
After the PRO NextStep had been out for a while, we noticed that people were really taking things up a notch - using the airbag to try things we didn’t even think about when we designed it. We decided to design and create the PRO NextStep PLUS - a version with some upgrades that provides even more safety. We widened the bag from 11.5 feet to 14 feet, along with adding an extra 4 feet of flat bottom. There is already plenty of flat bottom on the Pro next step so this bonus ads even more confidence to your riding.
Both airbags have vents on either side that you can open up to make it even softer - helpful if you are trying those bigger, scarier tricks for the first time. And both bags have a flat bottom in case you bounce at the bottom coming off a trick - the main difference between the two is the extended airbag dimensions and the extra safety you are getting with the PLUS. The size for both the pro next step and pro next step plus, is a size that you will never outgrow and something you will use as long as you ride.
This is used by 6 year olds all the way up to being the preferred choice by the top pros in action sports and by companies like Nitro Circus. Both airbags can be set up by 2 adults and can guarantee they will blow you away with how easy they are to set up/pack up and store away taking very little room up for space.
If you still have any other questions about these airbags, please do not hesitate to send us an email. We are here to help you make the right choice.
-DD
Even the smallest riders in the world need to send it safer - which is the idea behind the GROM FLAT AIRBAG - our newest airbag release!
With kids getting into bikes younger and younger these days, we knew we had to start making it safer for the youngest riders to progress. Back in the day we were around 5 when we got our first bike with training wheels. Now 2 and 3-year-olds are zipping around on bike striders and balance bikes, which we think is one of the best things for kids wanting to get into action sports.
Now we are watching these same 2 and 3 year-olds jumping their bikes on Instagram, and we wanted to create an AirBag that made them and their parents feel safer as they embrace this crazy sport.
The new GROM Flat AirBag is 14.75” long by 11.5” wide - plenty of space to work out new tricks and bail safely - and it’s only 1.6” tall so small riders can pair the GROM with a ramp like the JUMPACK - an awesome little ramp that folds up into a backpack.
Throughout my 20 years of riding, I’ve seen hundreds of kids bring a mattress to the skatepark so they could try and send their first backflip to wood or concrete, after spending weeks working it out in a foam pit or on a huge airbag. The GROM is made for those riders looking for a quicker, safer setup.
QUICK SEtuPS
The GROM takes less than 5 minutes to setup and packs down small enough to easily fit in your car’s trunk.
Like all our DDAIRBAGS - the GROM FLAT is delivered to your door - Total price includes shipping and or any import/duty costs on arrival -NO EXTRA COSTS
DD AirBags is about progressing action sports and making the next generation a priority — creating new airbags that can help any rider progress and feel safer while doing it. There are no limits to what we will try to continue progressing the action sports community.
We are very interested to hear what you think of the new GROM AIRBAG. Email us or hit us up on Instagram or Facebook with your feedback or ideas.
We have more releases on the horizon! Thank you for taking the time to read and stay safe.
Last week we saw a video clip of Japanese rider Aou Matsuura go viral - who landed a corked 720 at only 10-years-old! We were blown away by this and coincidentally it was on our NextStep Lander so we took the opportunity to ask him a few questions.
The Japanese grom BMX scene is on fire at the moment with so many amazing, young, fearless riders doing things that are absolutely mind blowing and the progression at which these kids are learning is just incredible. Aou has done many wild moves including flair barspins which is still is a big trick for a professional riders. Japan’s BMX scene is growing fast and with riders like Rim Nakamura and Daniel Yoneta to look up to, these kids will be unstoppable!
Watch and enjoy! Be sure to follow Aou on Instagram at @aou_bmx
DD: How old are you and what age did you start riding BMX?
KOBY: I’m 8 years old and I starting riding when I was 12 months old on a balance bike, but I saw my first skate park around 2 1/2 and have loved it ever since.
DD: You just recently learned to backflip! Congratulations - What was the scariest part of the learning process?
KOBY: Thanks. Telling myself I’m about to go upside down… the fear was real and such a mind block but also I was worried about landing on my head. Once I got that sorted I loved the feeling. Than the lander came out and I was back to the fear of landing on my head but as soon as I threw it once it was on. 🤘
DD: After learning it to the flat airbag you took it straight to the airbag lander. What was the biggest challenge mentally, going from the flat airbag to the lander?
KOBY: Biggest challenge was just the lander I had it in my head that it was going to be such a different feeling. An hour later I realized it’s the same and finally sent it.
DD: What was the scariest part of the whole backflip journey?
KOBY: I have wanted this trick for a year but every time the thought and fear of getting on your bike and going upside down, was the biggest mental block and just couldn’t bring myself to do a full rotations. It wasn’t until I came to Perth and tried on the bag with Todd Meyn who is one of the raddest dudes I know - his words and inspiration got me in the best headspace to get this backie done. Going from bag to lander was definitely a huge fear.
We all know the hardest part of a backflip is the commitment.
DD: What would your advice be to all the other groms out there trying to get over the fear of committing to pulling back?
KOBY: Just send it it’s easier than u think!
We heard the next time you rode a skatepark you took it to concrete, congrats little legend, super proud of your achievements and excited to watch you grow!
-DD
The PRO NextStep AirBag Landing was one of our first airbags to sell when DD AirBags first launched. This airbag was an idea to not only make it safer to learn new tricks but also an easier way to travel with ramps.
Action sports has become even more mainstream over the last 5 years and the demand for action sports shows has increased, despite Covid. One of the biggest problems with such shows is the cost of shipping and setting up ramps. With this new airbag technology these worries have been taken away, now making set up not only easier but also saving hours of hard labor, reducing costs.
We wanted to scale down these action-sports show airbags for the everyday person, so we came up with the dimensions that we thought would be easiest to travel with and fit the standard contest box jump height which is around 6.5 ft. With extra-flat bottom for safety and a width of 11.5 ft it makes it the perfect airbag setup to travel with for smaller action sport shows, eg: fairs and school shows.
This is still to date one of our most popular airbags though with the new release of the PRO NextStep PLUS Airbag slowly becoming a new favourite.
How old were you when you first started riding?
I started riding with training wheels at about 18 months, and without just after 3, and I started hitting the local skatepark at 5.
Whats your favourite thing about getting on your bike?
Trying to challenge myself to the trick.
Who inspires you the most?
I like to watch Nitro Circus videos on YouTube, especially the live show videos. Or things that happen at Pastranaland.
We’ve seen you riding some airbags lately, what’s your favourite thing about riding them?
I like airbags, because I can send new big tricks without much chance of getting hurt. It’s nice to practice on, before I take them to solid landings.
You just landed your first ever tail whip, how long have you been working on it for? And how does it make you feel rolling away from something you have put so much work into?
I started working on the tailwhip about a year ago, but just wasn’t strong enough for my bike. Really started putting sends in hard in late August 2020. Landed a few in foam, then airbag and solid in mid October 2020. They are still a struggle to land, so everyone is a celebration now.
Is there any tricks you’ve been working on to the airbag?
Backflip combos and double bar 360
Whats the highlight of your bmx career so far?
Placing 2nd in the nitro circus hot wheels superchargers bmx advanced
Plans for 2021?
I hope in 2021 to get more in person competitions. I love riding for a crowd, it pumps me up.
Follow Benny on Instagram @Energizer_Benny
MTB athlete Levi Goodall sent in this story of his progression this last year using an airbag. Levi has a great YouTube channel where he has heaps of great MTB vids: dirt jump, downhill and skatepark setups, as well as a few airbag videos, too. Thanks for sending this in, Levi!
I bought my DD Airbags Pro Next Step Lander just on one year ago now. At first I wasn't 100% on how well it was going to work out or how my goals of doing coaching and riding shows was going to go with it. I can confidently say now I am very happy that I bit the bullet and was able to get my hands on one of these landings as it has been one of, if not the best year of riding I have had so far.
Having the airbag landing has changed riding so much for me.
FIrstly it has allowed me to progress so much quicker and safer than I ever have before. Previously a lot of my bigger flip and 360 combination tricks were tricks I would only ever really do if I were filming an edit or at an event and now because of the airbag landing they have become every session tricks which gets me stoked! The airbag landing has also saved me a number of times which I think has been the key to the progression. If some of the crashes I have had on my airbag landing had been on hard packed jumps I don't think I would have been walking away uninjured. The landing has also allowed me to land my dream trick (and possibly everyone's dream trick) multiple times in the past year, double backflips. I never dreamed I would be able to stick a doubleflip to a landing but thanks to the airbag landing I have been able to multiple times which is a crazy feeling!
While the personal progression of my mates and I has been awesome the thing that really stands out to me about the airbag landing is how it has enabled me to grow the sport we all love in my community and get more people on bikes. Just today I got to ride in my 3rd school show and like the two before it the kids and I were absolutely fizzing. The easy set up and pack down and added safety for when you do crash has made show riding so accessible which is awesome. Additionally I have also been doing heaps of A & P shows, children's events and coaching getting our sport out there and hopefully inspiring others! I personally really love the school shows as its a unique opportunity to showcase what I love doing and do it in a way that really role models to these young people how fun this sport can be and what you can do and achieve if you put your mind to it, bike related or not. This is super special to me as I think our sport is often portrayed negatively to the public as being a bunch of bogans drinking beers, smoking bongs and getting up to no good on bikes when it is really not. It also allows me to hopefully inspire others. For me this is what gets me the most stoked about the DD Airbags landings. They have allowed me to do stuff I previously never dreamed I would be able to do and I am so grateful for the opportunity.
My plans in New Zealand this summer are to ride at as many shows and schools as possible and get heaps of people stoked on bikes and stoked on life! I currently have 2 more schools booked in before christmas and 8+ shows currently booked in over the summer so it's going to be a good one! Personally one of my longer term goals I am working on is trying to add double flips and 360 flips/cork 720s to my shows. Off my 6 foot ramp it is a bit of a pull to get it on a MTB but I think it would be pretty sick to be able to showcase those tricks to heaps of people. Other than that I am always on the lookout for unique gaps or setups to do with the airbag, will be setting it up heaps with mates and doing a heap of riding. Be sure to check it out on my youtube channel as I film it all and love sharing the videos!
-Levi Goodall @levigoodall
A couple weekends ago we had our first major contest held in New Zealand called Battle of the Bags — which consisted of our MegaBox and a custom Pro NextStep Lander back-to-back. This contest was run as a knockout style contest with the top athletes in New Zealand who put on an epic show for the spectators in a beautiful location, located on the beach front of Napier City.
The idea of this contest was to create a head-to-head battle of the best BMX riders in the world on a safe setup to make the riders feel safe to send their biggest, scariest, wildest tricks to make for one insane show!
Safe to say this is exactly what happened.
This is the first of many to come!
“BOB was the perfect way for spectators to be able to follow and gage the riders skills. Being crowd judged made the event the ultimate spectacle. Can’t wait for the next battle!
-Jed Mildon
If you are interested in bringing this to your city, please contact us for more information.
Caiden Cernius messaged us in early 2019 asking to purchase an airbag and we were beyond honored to send him out one. Fast forward to now, Caiden is up to his 3rd DD AirBag! He owns a SendIt Standard flat airbag, a Pro NextStep Lander, as well as a custom Megabox Lander.
Caiden has now joined the Nitro Circus shows after a wild few months of stomping some big tricks into the Megabox, proving himself and earning himself a well earned spot. At 9 years-old, Caiden is doing tricks that some pros go through their entire career without ever stomping.
We sent Caiden a few questions about his latest trick - The double backflip. Enjoy!
How old are you and when did you start riding BMX?
Hello! I am 9 years old. I started riding on a balance bike but we started actually riding a few times a week around 5 years old.
When did you land your first backflip?
I landed my first backflip at age 8! It really just took a couple fully committed tries.
How did you learn to double flip?
It’s hard to say how I learned to double. It’s really just a matter of pulling a lot harder than a single and staying in it!
How many attempts did it take you to finally stomp it to the airbag landing?
The first one I took to the airbag I alllllmost rode out. Second was sloppy but by I nailed it on the 3rd try!
How did you feel after landing it?
It was amazing to ride it out! I threw my bike,m did a backflip on the ground and went to get sushi! That’s my favorite meal and we usually go on awesome nights or after a competition.
Whats your favorite thing about airbag landings?
Airbags are amazing! First off - their giant bouncies and I can just backflip off my roof and high dive from trees onto the SendIt. Of course they are super good for learning new BMX tricks too! With an airbag I’m kinda able to try some video game tricks without smashing myself on a box!
We are still learning how to make them extra soft and only let about half the air in for a first time trick and then fill them all the way up and close the vents when it’s time to take a trick to a box or concrete.
As it comes to the end of the year, do you have much planned for the rest of 2020?
2020 started off slow but in just the last couple weeks some crazy things are in the works! Like right now I’m in Texas with Nitro Circus and hopefully a lot more of stuff like that!
What the next trick on your mind? Or is it a secret and we will have to wait and see?
Next trick....I’m working on a few, let’s see if I can pull them before I throw it out there :)
Follow Caiden on Instagram: @caidenbmx
Follow Caiden on YouTube: CaidenBMX
Check Out Caiden’s Website: www.CaidenBMX.com
Dreaming of landing a double backflip? BMX Pro and absolute Legend Jed Mildon does a quick rundown of the steps in a double backflip, along with some slow-motion footage so you can see the trick in action.
Along with the video, Jed sent through some step-by-step instructions for how to land a double backflip:
When you are at the top of the take off ramp you want to rip back like your doing a manual on the flat ground to your back… this will send you into a quick rotation.
Next objective is to pull your knees into your chest because the G-Forces will want to open you out and straighten your body, so pulling the knees into your chest will help re-tighten your body position and help get you the extra rotation.
At the same time as pulling the knees in you want to holding your forearms solid and pulling their flip around. When you get to mid-height you should have completed the first flip and should be able to spot the landing and sense exactly where you are.
Now you must quickly figure out whether to speed the flip up by keeping tight in the ball and pulling again on the bars OR slow it down by opening up and penciling out or you got it perfect and just need to wait patiently for the landing to open out the landing gear and stomp it.
Best mindset to remember when sending it is, flip up flip down.
Good luck be safe have fun. Yeeeeew!