The Forgotten Riders??

For a while now something has been bothering me about the sport and its community. Every so often we get a thread on a forum talking about “the best riders” or “your favorite rider”…and every time I feel like we are not only forgetting about a certain group of riders, but their entire continent.

Some of this sports best riders I feel, are from Europe. England, France, Switzerland, Russia, The Netherlands, and more. All these places play home to some of the most overlooked and underrated riders in our sport today. I’m talking about street riders, park riders, tech riders, and some of the best Overall riders as well. It seems like once they drop a video, everyone realizes they exist…and starts to favor them. However within a month, it seems the videos have been literally forgotten, and the riders in it also. So why is this? Is it because we are too focused on the riders from the US and Aus…where some of the most of the dominant riders come from? I really don’t know. What I do know, is that these riders all deserve a little bit more from the community. If names haven’t popped into your head by now, on which riders I might be referring to…Let me jog your memory for you.

Lets talk street riding, the ever so popular street riding. Popular in the US, not as big in Aus…but in Europe, the street riding scene is huge. One of Europe’s best street riders…is without a doubt. Johann Moreau. Let’s talk about Johann for a bit. First off the video I have below, is near 2 years old…but it shows some of the most progressive street riding caught on video to date. One thing about Johann’s riding…he is not out there playing it safe while riding street. He sees a trick he wants to do, and he goes for it. You’ll never need to comment Johann’s video and ask him to go a little faster on his tricks either…because Johann only knows two speeds…1. Not moving…and 2. FAST. In my opinion Johann defines a street rider. And yet, when it comes to “Top Street Rider” lists…you will rarely find his name listed by the community...A couple other riders that are known for insane street from Europe are without a doubt, Lucas Wisdorff, and Thomas Obadia, better known as “Bibito”. Each new video from either of these three riders promises fast paced street riding, and progressive, unique riding as well.

Johann Moreau


Lucas Wisdorff


Now when it comes to park riding…a couple names stick out in my mind. Terry Price of course who is one of the highly regarded riders from Europe here in the US. But also two riders who aren’t as well known as they deserve. Those two riders are BenJ Friant, who is not just a park rider…but an all around destroyer on a scooter, and the other rider is Martin Nogol. Both BenJ and Martin, make tricks that riders struggle with today look incredibly easy. On paper, and if you watch their videos, it is clear they are on another level when it comes to park riding. No, that doesn’t mean they are flipping their scooters around doing bri to whip to bri to flip to whatever. They are boosting tricks on quarters, and throwing some of the most difficult tricks over boxes that you can do. They are purely progressive…pushing the sport with every video they make. The videos below…are OLD…and still can easily triumph over 85% of what is put out today.

BenJ Friant


Martin Nogol


The list really does go on with European talent. Two that come to mind that I feel really don’t get enough respect…are Maxime Legrand and Jean Yves Randriambelson , better known as Jandiv. These guys a long with a large group of others are some of the best all around riders in the sport. In their videos you see them doing it all. Maxime is an amazing street rider, and in park it is rare to find anyone throwing bigger 540’s on quarter pipes, or airing spines as high as he does. The same can be said for Jandiv, who has a huge trick list, and is overall one of the most diverse riders in the sport. Whipping and spinning both ways, and throwing down equally hard in street and in park. Like I said above, when they drop videos…everyone seems to notice them, however all it takes is a month or so…and they seem to disappear to most. It baffles me that riders of this caliber can be forgotten that easily. The two videos I have below of Jandiv and Maxime, like the other videos I have shown today…are old videos…and having said that, it amazes me how good these videos still are. It makes it really exciting to see what is going to come from these guys in the near future.

Maxime Legrand


Jandiv


All of these riders in Europe, and MANY MANY more deserve a little bit more respect and recognition. Believe it or not, the scene in Europe for the sport of scootering is really big, and it is all thanks to the European riders. They push themselves as hard as any top riders in the sport, which is clearly evident in the videos we see of them…or in some cases, don’t see of them. So watch these videos closely, and click on all of the “related videos” on the side…open your eyes to the European side of scootering. These guys are out their throwing down hard everyday, and I think we need to recognize that a little more. So next time there’s another “Whos the best” or “Your favorite rider” thread on a popular forum…which I’m sure there will be….Lets get some European riders up there shall we?




-Written by Steven Tongson

Below is a couple more videos you should all check out.