I’ve known Twaffy for a few years now, first from hanging out in Sydney when the BMXgames used to go down at the Monster Skatepark & now more recently as he just lives down the road from me in Brisbane. As we both coincidentally started living here since September 2009 we’ve been riding solidly together that whole time. I’ll say one thing: the dude is definitely motivated to ride! For someone who’s been in the game as long as he has, it’s refreshing to see that he still has the same eyes for it now as he did back in the day.
It’s been long overdue – here is the world according to Twaff…
Full name & years involved in riding.
Leigh Warren Waddingham & started riding back in grade 7 at school… so would have been around 1990.
How did you get involved in Flatland? And what are you earliest memories?
Started riding out with Damon Fox & with the local crew at Geared Cycles who had a trick team together. They started running contests & doing demos & a couple of the guys that I went to high school with were also involved in the trick team. So it was an early introduction through seeing them at school & then seeing them later on in the trick team that got me into it.
My best friend at school at the time, Shane, was also getting into riding & it was pretty much the case that we would session on the way to school & straight away after it. Back then we rode everything: dirt, street, flatland – you name it we were involved in it. Getting quality parts was pretty tough back then, so we didn’t limit ourselves by only riding one thing.
One other thing that also got us really hooked was watching the movie Rad. The intro & outro sections just showed us a new way of riding & we wanted more!
I also remember that before I was really into BMX that my mum would buy me magazines. So I was expsosed to it through that & I was constantly pestering my mum to buy me one when I saw all the advertisements in the magazines for new rides. Eventually she gave in & I had my first bike!
I understand you’re originally from Tasmania. Please describe what it was like growing up in the southern most part of Australia.
It was pretty good, especially from a riding perspective. Because there was not a lot to do back then, we were really motivated to get around the boredom & do something. The culture of the island is also pretty laid back & you don’t have the same type of stresses that you would experience in other big cities. With the majority of people down there really friendly, it it’s pretty easy to get things done.
Because of the islands size, things can get repetitive & eventually you will get to know the place like the back of your hand. I guess this can lead to routine & things getting quite monotonous, but we felt it was pretty good motivation for riding.
We’re always hearing of rippers from down there. What is it about living on the island that makes so many riders sick??
It goes back to what I was saying earlier. Because there are only a limited amount of things to do you just really have to take the initiative & find things to do. You can get around pretty much most of the island in one day so searching & hitting up spots is pretty straight forward.
One other factor that gives the scene a lot of uniqueness is because it’s quite separate from the rest of Australia it basically came up with its own way of doing things.
But I think the biggest inspiration that made it boom would be the Terrible One roadtrip that went through there around 2004. For a lot of the guys it was seeing there heros hanging out & riding with them at the local parks, it was crazy. I can remember that it was pretty much unannounced, they just kind of rocked up. Phone calls started going crazy & pretty much the entire riding scene descended on the local parks to hang out & ride with them. They left a pretty strong legacy as right after that the level of riding went through the roof!
From a flatland perspective it was a combination of Damon Fox returning to Tasmania from Canada & the local Australian comps (DownUnderground & BMX Games) that really got it growing. Damon was constantly on the push & travelling to the contests & doing well as were the other Tasmanian riders. It was really just a case of continuing the momentum once it was started. Everyone was & still is, into riding.
How is the flatland scene in Tassie?
There are only a small amount of flatland riders around Tasmania. Given the conditions in term of spots & places to ride, the scene is actually pretty good. The winters are always a big challenge with the amount of rain we’d have so with the regular riders such as Damon & Chris Letchford we would make an effort to get out and session whenever the sun was shining. Despite all of this, we’d all still be riding a good 4-5 times a week regularly.
On a progression scale I felt the scene was pretty active whether it was through yourself wanting to pull tricks that you’ve been trying to pull for a long time. Each rider was pretty individual in their approach & would generally be busy learning their tricks & each time we would meet up we would all try & have something new to contribute.
The original riders didn’t progress much past the power moves & hopping tricks of the 80′s & it was the current generation that through the “new school” type of rolling, spinning tricks to the table. There were also a small group of riders that when they started learning didn’t worry about learning the older tricks, just went straight for the modern tricks. It was something new, fresh & exciting & it motivated us to ride as much as possible.
I know that you’ve travelled quite a bit around Australia. Where have you been & what experiences can you share with us?
Yes, I’ve been lucky enough to travel quite a bit around the country. One of the more memorable trips was driving from my home city of Launceston in Tasmania to Cairns near the top of Australia in Queensland. Along the way I stopped off in Sydney for a long while. That was a great period of time for me as I had the chance to meet a lot of the Sydney riders such as Tomasz Hantke & Rhys Mason & then all the regular riders as part of the scene.
Because of this stop-off in Sydney I progressed a lot in both my work & my riding. After a while I decided that I wanted to continue travel so I made the trip down to Melbourne & had a brief stay there & caught up with the local riders there at Anchor BMX shop. From there I headed back to Tasmania across the straight via the Spirit of Tas ferry.
Because of the DownUnderground contest series I’ve also had the opportunity to visit Perth. It was a great city, really beautiful & laid out – very good overall quality of life & great people. Shaun Jarvis was a great host & took the time to show us around the city – thanks mate!
You made most of the rounds of the Colony DownUnderground series in 2008/2009 & I remember you & I hanging out quite a few years ago at the BMX games in Sydney – what are your impressions of BMX & flatland in Australia having now seen it from a few different angles?
The DownUnderground has been a great contest for Australia & the riders here as it’s been important for getting all the riders together on a regular basis. The huge amount of space between each scene/rider makes it pretty challenging at times! It’s great to see that all the riders are keen & prepared to travel & DownUnderground has been a great inspiration to do this.
It also gives everyone a bit of a push as when they leave the contest a lot of riders are already mentally preparing themselves for the next contest & what tricks they are going to have ready by then.
Meeting all the individual riders has been a great experience & it gets me really motivated to see how positive all the riders are in Australia. One thing that i’ve really noticed over the years is the variety in styles. I guess this has been encouraged to some degree because of the huge amount of space that exists between everyone but basically there are no two riders in Australia that have the same “style” or look similar in their riding. Even the riders that regularly ride/jam together generally don’t do similar tricks – a good example is Ronnie Rampton & Brett Dighton. Brett has a strong rolling style, where Ronnie is more flip, switchs & a more fast, snappy style.
Also seeing Ross & Shane with getting Newcircle up & running has been something that has surprised me with how much is involved with the amount of hours that you have to put into it to make it move. It’s been great as it’s been able to take the scene to the next level & making it stronger overall. There is now regular coverage that is coming out of Australia for the world to see which has been great for keeping flatland moving forward. As an example, when I first started riding it was basically looking at things in a magazine & there was little to no contact with anyone, but all that has now changed which is great!
Now that you’re living in Brisbane how are you finding living here?
So far so good! It’s been great to be able to ride with Brett & Ronnie on a regular basis & with you too Shane now that you live here. I’ve also been able to sort it out nicely with my work as well so I now have a nice job, nice place to live & good scene to ride in which has had a great effect on my riding.
So what are you plans for the future? Travel? Riding? Life?
Plan to stay in Brisbane for a while & ride, work & see how everything goes. I’m also thinking about moving down to Melbourne, working & riding. Hopefully a riding trip overseas at some point is definitely a possibility – either in Japan or the U.S.
Eventually I imagine I’ll probably end up back in Tasmania & continue riding with Chris Letchford, Mattthew Wootton & Damon Fox – & maybe others if there are new riders that have started?!? Would also be great to catch up with family & spend more time with my son there.
Any final thanks & words of wisdom?
Words of wisdom: Never assume that it doesn’t rain in Brisbane!
Thanks: Everyone at Newcircle for helping me with a lot of stuff, all the Launceston crew, anyone that I’ve ever met along the way in my travels & have helped me out, ridden with me or just been good company – cheers!
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