TUMULT EXCLUSIVE - HANSON LITTLE INTERVJU

Yes yes, en intervju med Mutiny's Hanson Little.
Orkar inte översätta, men du har minst ett G i engelska.


So, first off, how old are you and what were you doing an hour ago?

An hour ago I was doing what I'm doing right now: sitting in the back row of a van on the way to Arizona with all of the vclub guys from Texas. At 26 I'm not the oldest in the van, but I'm close.


How long have you been riding?

I started racing when I was ten at my local track, which at the time had the nation's tallest starting ramp. The ramp was wooden and old and the gate fell slowly so it didn't break through and drop to the ground. I never knew how terrible my gatestarts were because of it until I tried racing again last year on normal starting hills. I was always the last off the line.

Are you a born Texican?

I was born in Austin and there's no changing that.


Some swedes has done some sort of pilgrim journey to Austin because of it's BMX scene. How would you describe the scene there and what makes it so special?

The winters here aren't much colder than a Stockholm summer, so that might have something to do with it! Truly though, there is a certain type of person that can thrive in Austin and living with an open-door, communal attitude is something most everyone does here. Everyone is welcome here, the ones who fit are the ones who stay.


I've also heard that Austin stands out pretty much from the rest of Texas when it comes to the cultural, musical and living aspect, is Austin more laid back?

Austin is extremely liberal compared to anywhere else in Texas. I think the big university here has a lot to do with it, there are always so many new people here that are open to different ideas than what they've known. Of course there are still a bunch of closed-minded "good ol boys" around, but they aren't the majority here like the rest of the state.


Here in Sweden we never really get in trouble with the law for riding our bikes. Have you got tickets and shit for ridng a spot?

I've never been ticketed on my bike, but in the town I grew up in my brother and I had a reputation with the small police force there. We were kicked out of the same spots more times than I can count. To ride free like you get to in Sweden doesn't even seem possible.

I know there is a story behind your all chromed Mutiny bike. Would you share it with us?

I wrote a lengthy recounting of the story in rideuk not long ago, so I'll give you a condensed version now. I asked mutiny for a chrome frame just to see what Gaz would say. He really didn't want to, so he told me I had to grind a handrail that night and he'd make me the frame. He made that the task because I've been a committed pegless rider for over a decade and I'd actually never grinded a rail. He figured I'd never do it, but My desire for a shiny bike was greater than my disgust for pegs.


The "Let's Get Mystical" video was in my opinion one of the most "feel good" BMX-videos in a long while and it was very inspiring, documenting all aspects of BMX. Which one of the trips was the most memorable?

The very first trip we took was certainly the best in my eyes. I had wanted to visit Vancouver for a long time and it totally lived up to all my expectations with the amazing concrete parks, nice people, and endless trees. The perfect getaway from Texas summer heat.


Speaking of trips, how the hell did you end up in Stockholm? Was it like flipping a coin or is Stockholm a place all of you had wanted to see?

Since I was a little kid I imagined visiting Scandinavia where I thought my name wouldn't be quite so awkward. Walter Pieringer was just finishing up a very long time away from home and was in need of a vacation from work. He thought Stockholm would be a good place to unwind and asked a few of us to come hang out with him. I jumped at the chance for my first visit to Europe and a place I'd long thought about.


What was your impression of Stockholm? Was there any setups/spots you saw that you thought might be cool to ride?

It was a huge mess trying to get everyone in to the country with delayed flights and lost bags/bikes, so for a lot of the time we were nothing more than typical tourists. We walked a lot, did a boat tour, went to museums, and slept A LOT. We were in full-on vacation mode. Eventually everyon's bikes showed up...except mine. I didn't want to hold anyone back from a good time so I rented one of those dorky blue "city bikes" and pedalled that around while everyone else had fun at a few really cool spots. I really wish my bike had shown up so I could have rode with everyone we met there instead of just popping wheelies on that dumb city bike.

Can you agree on that the average girl in Stockholm looks better than the average girl in other cities/countries?

I'm positive I saw more beautiful girls on the stockholm streets every day than I had seen everywhere else in the rest of my whole life combined. Too bad they all laughed at me on the city bike. I guess Stockholm girls can't appreciate a decent sitdown wheelie.

What is your plans for 2010? Any travel destinations?

The empire video will be my main goal this year, I'll be busy filming for that as well as helping Dave Parrick organize the trips and shoots necessary to finish that up. Dave has never made a video that was less than the best of it's time, so I'm anxious to see the end result.

Other than travelling for that, I'd really like to go back to Stockholm with a proper bike and a better approach to the nightlife!

Name three artists/bands that on your iPod playlist right now.

Black Cobra
Townes Van Zandt
Magnolia Electric Company

I'm not really one to stay on top of all the new indie releases, it's overwhelming trying to sift through all the crap to find something unique.

Ok, any shout outs to make an cliché-interview-ending?

Many thanks to Jesper, Adrian Malmberg, and Jocky for showing us around while we were in Sweden, and to Mutiny for the opportunity to travel. See you soon friends!


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