Puerto Rico. A Love Letter.
Puerto Rico <3
So I am about week number three healing up from this broken elbow. I have broken bones before and it always sucks, but this one feels different. I’ve been extremely motivated to make more photographs and work on some personal projects. This little injury has for sure, but a damper on that. Fuck it though, it has given me space to look through some archives and share some work that I haven’t put out into the world.
The photos in this post are from a trip that I took with the BSD team out to Puerto Rico. Growing up I used to love the BMX roadtrip articles in my favorite magazines. They inspired me as a kid to explore the world with my BMX bike. Sadly I wasn’t a great documentarian in the early days of my travels, so my early trips were filled with more riding than photography.
This trip happened super last minute. I was working in a weed warehouse during covid and got the call that BSD needed a photographer for their team trip to Puerto Rico. In a flash I had a flight booked to have two weeks of fun in the sun. Luckily I knew most of everyone on the trip so the vibes were high.
We landed in San Juan and drove to Rincón on the westside of the island. This would be our home base for two weeks. The mornings started with a hill bomb, coffee, and a swim in the ocean. From there we would pile our bikes in the truck and explore the island looking for spots to ride.
This was my first time traveling with a team outside of smaller trips in the US and I have to say Puerto Rico did not disappoint. That island is a magical place filled with adventure. Those two weeks were spent eating good food, meeting some amazing locals, exploring nature, and some amazing riding. These are a few of my favorite flicks from the trip. If you want to watch the video here’s the link.
Salud.
This was the first BMX photo I shot on the trip. We pulled up to this skatepark and it had just finished raining. With a little bit sweeping, Curly Man was ready to blast this little set up.
Denim Cox eyes up a wild rail to put his pegs on.
It always amazes me what some of my friends can accomplish on a bike. This set up had no run and Denim Cox handled this over grind like a champ.
Reed Stark poses for a portrait during one of the most colorful bike checks I have ever photographed.
We randomly discovered this little obstacle and I set up the flashes to make this happen. I was a little late on this one, but it the spot was so steep I couldn’t ask Reed to get it again. I still love this flick though.
After riding the most scenic skatepark I’ve ever been to we explored the jungle around it. We found this bridge and Reed had to get a kendama trick that would make the inexperienced tremble in their shoes.
Not sure why I like this flick, but there is just something about it. I used to turn my lens only to the action, so it’s moments like these that I have learned to cherish.
Denim Cox on top of a beat up car. I’m sure if he had it his way he would’ve taken this thing home and fixed it up.
Late night footage watch.
We randomly found this rail in the projects. When I was setting up the lights some locals started gathering around us mentioning how nice my gear was. I politely agreed and continued to set up. It felt a bit shady at first. Last minute a young man strolled up saying he used to skate and hadn’t seen anyone do anything on this spot in like 15 years. We ended up hanging out with them for a few hours drinking beers and chilling. It was a pleasure.
Reed Stark making something out of nothing.
We found this ledge next to some houses that were affected by the hurricane that blasted through Puerto Rico a few years ago. I believe that there were people inside watching television, so Denim sneaked up on the roof to handle this ledge.
BSD. One of the best companies to ever do it in BMX.