Country: Canada
Editor/Art Director: Ken Paul. (Ken made an underground 'zine called Backdoor before he got to work with full colour pages.)
Design/Layout: Ken Paul, Chris Young.
Business Manager: Jamie McIntosh.
Publisher: World Bicycle Sports (Jay Miron)
Jay Miron, www.fatbmx.com, 1999: The name CHASE has nothing to do with Chase Gouin. Ken Paul, the editor, and I were sitting at my office thinking of names and he was looking up on the map on the wall and he remember going to a BMX national in Chase, BC and he looked at me and said: Chase BMX magazine! and I said, sure, sounds good. That's where the name comes from and it has nothing to do with Chase Gouin or anything like that.
Jason Enns with a clicked one-footer on a mini ramp on the cover. Photo by Jody Morris.
Montreal's Taz Mahal skatepark.
Edmonton's Empire Ramps.
1664's Steve Roy and Bernie Tomazuskie.
Interview with Andrew Faris.
Rookies with Greg Nicholson and Matt Voynovich.
32 pages.
Bob Holliday cranks a 360 off a large set of steps in downtown Vancouver on the cover. Photo by Jody Morris.
1999 Elite Men predictions.
OLN Pro Vert Challenge.
Fruitless Festival Round 1.
Interview with Bob Holliday.
Hogtown Games.
Rookies with Tyson McCrea and Phile McFadden.
40 pages.
Rating: /5
What do you do when you have a BMX business and need to spread the word? Start a magazine. World Bicycle Sports (Jay Miron) has published CHASE BMX magazine for a while now. Also Chase BMX magazine is free of charge, we like free stuff. Ten Pack Distribution (Jay Miron) is distributing the magazine to bike shops all over Canada. The content is based on everything that is going on in Canada (BMX-wise), or about Canadians representing somewhere else. Ken Paul (Jay's friend) is responsible for the biggest part of the full colour magazine. It has a fresh lay-out and covers everything from racing to freestyle. Although you could see this magazine as Ten Pack's quarterly promo catalog, I say praise the ones who put back into the sport! Fuckin' ey right!
Dave Mirra at the X-Trials in Virginia on the cover. Photo by Josh Root.
New products. Specialized 415 Pro and FBM frame and fork.
CBA Nationals.
NBL Nationals in Milton and Kingston.
Richmond, Virginia X-Trials Round 2.
Nelson '99 Contest.
Rookies with Maxime Vincent.
40 pages.
Simon Barry at New Westminster, BC skatepark on the cover. Photo by Josh Root.
DV8 Contest in Calgary.
Interviews with Greg Calette and Colin MacKay.
Race/Jumping Contest from Crabtree.
Stouffville scene report.
Nanaimo King of Dirt.
Rookies with Francois Cote.
40 pages.
Paul Buchanan on the cover. Photo by Sandy Carson.
Interview with Rob Tex Thayer of Gouin Bicycles.
Road Fools 5.
Interview with the Krusher Boys; Pedro dos Santos and Stéphane Lavigne.
Nelson Contest.
Eastern Elite Champions Interview.
Norco Guys Interview.
Trails Article.
48 pages.
Dave Osato superman’s over 6ft double coping spine on the cover.
Ring the Bell - Insight to the world of concussions.
Stéphane Royer interview
CBA Winter Nationals (Calgary, AB)
CBA Dirt Jumping Contest (Calgary, AB)
Toronto International bike show
CBA Easter Nationals (Vernon, BC)
John Heaton on the cover.
John Heaton interview
George Scase Interview
Skatespace Contest (Whistler, BC)
Europe Bound, Huge European Section: Freestyle World Championships, Fat Jam in the Netherlands, and hanging out during the filming of the European Road Fools trip.
Dennis Seldon disaster at SkateSpace on the cover. Photo by Eric Myre.
2000 Canadian BMX Championships + Jumping Contest (Crabtree, QC).
Pro Bike Inspection: with Cory Stratychuck.
Seven Days at Woodward Camp.
2 Hip Meet the Street contest - San Francisco, CA.
Rookies: Jeff Hayward and Travis Collier.
Jarrod Creally hooks up a peg grind in front of the Calgary Tower on the cover. Photo by Craig Douce.
Route 1: Calgary, AB Roadtrip -- Scene check of Calgary, visit to the Millennium Skatepark and Mini Interviews with Ken Dowdle, Jarrod Creally, Tony Seligman and Andrew Gomez.
Taj Mahal Bike Jam.
Rookies: Jeff Desroche and Jay Rutherford.
48 pages.
Ewen Forrest on the cover.
Two Bros from the Sunshine Coast: The Nathan Penonzek and Dustin Gunther interview.
La Revolution Toronto contest (or was it a jam?)
Bruce Crisman mini-interview at the Toronto La Rev.
Ryan Crowley memorial.
Darren Berrecloth hits up a retaining wall in Kenmore, WA. on the cover. Photo by Josh Root.
Destruction Island Road Trip.
Darren Berrecloth Interview.
Phill McFadden Interview.
Interview with Don Selby from Ride On.
Jai Pereira memorial.
48 pages.
Ted Hale at Woodward camp, PA. on the cover. Photo by Eric Myre.
Park Etiquette
Diary of a Scene Report - Nova Scotia
Journey To The East Bay 2 Hip MTS 2001
Fruitless Festival '01
Rookies: Harrison Boyce
Rookies: Robby Compartino.
Jon Pratt lookback in Central Park, Trois Rivieres, PQ. on the cover. Photo by Eric Myre.
Rookies. Chris Smith.
Mike Wilkinson Interview.
Who Cares? What's up with the current state of BMX. Interview with Robbie Morales, Ian Morris and Jay Miron.
The Seattle Sea Hags. Seattle Scene Report.
Winter In The Heartland. Winnipeg Scene Report.
Wheel Building 101. Al Mohr teaches you to do your wheels.
Shane Neville and Ronin Bikes.
72 pages.
Coverboy: Travis Collier
Roots Jam 2002
La Revolution in Toronto
FISE de Palavas
Rookies: Ben Macpherson, Wade Lajlar, Sebastian Keep.
Karl Engstrom on the cover, Illustration by Ken Paul.
2002 Worlds.
Backyard jam
Street justice.
Matt Beyers on the cover.
Matt Beyers interview.
David Lombard on the cover with a wedge fakie in Nagoya, Japan. Photo by Manu Sanz.
Steve Crandall shot by Rob Dolecki on the cover.
Rookies: Rob Parsons, Damien Croce, Jeremy Hooper.
FBM and Steve Crandall.
Toronto Metro Jam.
Rob Sigaty interview.
Backyard jam Bournemouth.
An inside job: Brent Oswald, Nate Wessel.
Chenga World: interview with Scott Powell.
Jamie Bestwick photography.
FISE Montpellier.
www.chasebmxmag.com, about this cover: For some reason, there’s a lot of people giving us the finger in this latest issue, which begs the question: Are we doing something wrong, or are we doing something right? For all you “graphic designers” out there, the font we used on the cover is Aachen Bold, watch it become the next Cooper. Usually, the cover is kept a secret until the mag hits the streets. This time, however, after much interrogation, I had to admit to a few people that yes, Crandall was on the cover. Only Steve Crandall can break with tradition, kicking ass like he always does. Shot by Rob Dolecki.
Dustin Guenther on the cover. Photo by Darren Bolton.
The End.
Rookies: Rick Harding, Cole Dow, Cory Fester, Dan Buchanan, Steve Johnson, Chris Silva, Nick Hlavinka.
The bar is closed: Street Justice 03.
Photos spread.
Bruce Crisman interview.
La Revolution, Binghamton, New York.
Las Call Distribution Trade Show.
www.chasebmxmag.com, about this cover: The Final Cover. With this being our last issue, there was only one person we wanted on the cover, and that's Dustin Guenther. Darren Bolton shot it on a days notice and came through once again with the goods. Since Chase's inception, these guys have come up with some of the coolest photos in the mag. Thanks guys. This is a pretty big fufanu on a 6 foot fence at the Kirkstone Park in North Vancouver.
Ken Paul, www.chasebmxmag.com: When we started Chase, I imagined it going for five years—tops. I was working part-time at a printing shop, and slinging each issue of Chase together in my bedroom on an old 33Mhz Mac LC630. Man, how times have changed. It was always my dream to do this, and to have a dream fulfilled, no matter how far fetched it may seem is always the greatest reward. It goes with a little bit of sadness that this is the last issue of Chase. It’s been about four and-a-half years, and I figured I’d get out of here while the going is good... sort of good. The mounting debt of producing this thing (which is in the tens of thousands each year), the politics, and the sleepless nights have finally forced me (and everyone involved) to make a decision. When the first issue of Chase rolled out to the shops in early ‘99, the scene in Canada didn’t have an identity and it didn’t have a voice. We set out to change that, and in five years, I’ve seen how we’ve taken this whole country (or most of it, anyway) and managed to unite people from coast to coast. Sure, there are those who will never really understand and never support it, and that’s fine. Without them, we probably never would have progressed. I’m not here to bitch and moan about having to fold my little baby, I’m just here to say goodbye and to say thanks. In the end, we just can’t afford the cash to keep Chase afloat, and I’m forever grateful to Jay Miron and everyone else at Ten Pack Distribution. I believe we’re leaving behind a scene that has prospered and has come to its own, and it’s time to move on. Our last issue, Fall, 2003 (#19) has been shipped to the printer and will be available by the end of August. There's a great interview in there with Bruce Crisman along with a few surprises. Thank you to those of you that have supported us or helped us out along the way. It was fun, wasn’t it?
Chris Young, www.chasebmxmag.com: It was great to be involved with Chase as long as I have been. When Ken called me that day to help out with the Nelson 7 layout back in issue 5, I was stoked as hell. A few months later, Ken wanted to know if I wanted to design and manage a Web site for the magazine. I’d never fully done a Web site on my own, so what a great excuse to learn. The Web site never really got the time put into it that I wanted, but there’s only so many hours in the day that I can stare at the computer... For almost five years Chase beat the stacked odds against it, and I believe the impact of the loss of Chase to the Canadian riding scene is something that won’t truly be felt until it’s gone. Ken deserves all the respect in the world for fighting the uphill battle of publishing a BMX magazine in Canada. I’m not sure that there’s another person in the country with the patience, determination, skills and passion to do what Ken did. Sacrificing hours and hours of personal time, and more importantly, time you’d rather spend riding is not easy. Chase grew far beyond what its original expectation was, which is a real credit to Ken and his dedication, so a tip of the proverbial cheese grater hat to ‘ya. Thanks to everybody who stood behind us through it all. All my thanks to everybody on Ken’s list—as it looks like he got just about everybody, (the list is in Issue 19) but I do want to pass thanx along to London’s Les Kalman and Mike Bennett. I don’t see you guys enough. Special thanks to Jay Miron for keeping Chase going as long as he did—you can only lose money for so long before you have to pull the plug. I’ve worked with some very incredible people over the years: Jay, Ken, Darcy, Stefan, Terry and all the photographers, thanx for all the hard work. It was a dream of mine to work at a BMX magazine, so I can check that one off the list and move on to the next chapter. After 25+ years of riding, I look forward to being able to ride my bike more, which I’ve been making a lot more time for lately. I hope to see you out at the contests, and I look forward to see where this next chapter is going to take us. We’re leaving behind a healthier scene, both in Canada and abroad, than when we started, so we can be happy we made a difference.
Aaron Gates, www.chasebmxmag.com: When everything with Chase went down I was in the middle of nowhere so I didn’t really get to say my piece and close on a good note, I guess this is it. I first got involved with Chase in the summer after I finished grade ten, I had just been to a dirt jumping contest in Calgary and I asked Ken if he wanted an article on it kind of out of the blue. I thought that it might be a fun thing to do so I fired it off and somehow it ended up in issue four. It blew my mind that a real magazine was willing to give a kid like me a chance like that, but I guess that’s what Chase was always about - giving any kid from Kelowna or anywhere a chance to be recognized as a bike rider or as a writer or photographer or whatever else. As the magazine got better, I feel like my writing did too, or at least I hope it did; I even shot a couple photos along the way (though I’m hardly a photographer). I really feel like I grew up with Chase, my relationship with the magazine was sometimes sporatic, there were ups and downs but the good times far outweigh the bad times. As the years went by I also watched my scene grow; when Chase started up there were maybe five people who rode in Kelowna, now there are too many to keep track of. I’d like to think that Chase had something to do with that, bringing BMX to the masses in Canada and giving kids semi-local content to care about. I will definitely miss opening up the new issue and trying to find people I know inside, or spots that I’ve ridden; I’ll miss late nights before deadline and getting packages of new stuff to review in the mail but most of all I’ll miss the sense of community that Chase helped build among Canadian riders; hopefully it will live on in some other form. If you ride a bike in Canada, you owe a small part of yourself to Ken and Jay for making Chase happen for as long as it did. Since I did music reviews more than anything else, I’d like to leave you with one album that it would be a shame if you didn’t own. The Weakerthans Left and Leaving has always stood out as my favourite album ever; smart, poetic lyrics, well placed emotion, a bit of variety in pace, a large array of normal and strange instruments and a good dose of Canadiana define the songs, but most of all it’s music that ends things on a good note; I’d like to think that this album would be playing as Chase entered it’s proverbial coffin. Even though I played a small role, I hope you enjoyed what I had to say over the years.