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Jon Pratt- (Interview By Jon Frye)
If you don’t know who this guy is yet, you probably will soon. Jon Pratt is a really good guy and an even better rider. Park/street/dirt/vert, hell I even saw him do a decade from a curb endo a little while back. I’m not exactly sure on how he got so good on his bicycle but he’s good and that’s all there is to it. His personality (quiet & calm) is the opposite of his riding style (huge/tech-smooth) Here’s what he had to say:

Give us your full name and age, tell us where you’re from and how long you have been riding.
- My name is Jonathon James Henry Pratt I’m 17, I live in Caledonia Ontario and I have been riding for 4 years.

How’d you get into bmx?
- I saw the movie RAD and it was so cool. I also saw a biking magazine at the grocery store and decided I needed to get a bike.

What’s your favourite thing to ride?
- I like to ride park mostly. But other than that I ride dirt, vert and street

What’s the scene like in your town?
- There are a lot of riders in our town, it’s just there’s nothing to ride.  But yeah, there are a lot of guys here that are really good.

Who do you usually ride with?
- I usually ride with Tom & Justin (Clappison) as well as Josh Lichi, Jeff Myke, Big John and Steve and all the little guys in our town.

Any favourite spots?
- My favourite spot to ride right now would be X-Up Skatepark, it’s wicked.

What are your favourite tricks to do?
- I like trying to do those little tech spine tricks, but those piss me off sometimes.

What’s more important to you; tricks or style?
- Uh, I don’t really care about all that too much. It would be nice to do tricks with style but if I can’t do it, I don’t care. They are both good.

How would you describe you’re style?
- Uh, my style would be doing tricks. (laughs)

Are you influenced at all by magazines, videos or pro’s etc;?
- I like to read the new magazines and watch the new videos, just to see how good everyone is. It’s amazing what they do.

Who are your favourite riders?
- I think that John Heaton is an amazing rider. I don’t know who else, it’s so hard to choose.

How did the Hyper deal come about?
- I was hooked up with Hyper by Brian Hunt. He mentioned my name to them and things turned out the way they are now, I have a one year deal with them.

Do you wish to be a top pro some day?
- It would be nice to be pro, but I don’t mind if it doesn’t happen.

What’s your current lady situation?
- I am going out with a girl from my little town. We’ve been together for the last year.

Does anybody ever say your sister is hot?
- No

You seem to do pretty well at contests, what’s your take on them?
- I think contests are really fun, but I always get scared and worried before them. I like them though.

How was your experience at the SkateSpace finals in B.C.?
- I thought it was amazing to get to go there for a prize. I wish it didn’t rain as much so we could have ridden more, but it was still really fun hanging out with Mike Clow, Robbie and Patrick from Quebec.

What does your girlfriend & family think of your riding?
- My girlfriend supports my riding, she just doesn’t like it when I break plans with her to go riding. I’m not sure what my family thinks. They support me, but I dunno if they think it hopeless for me to get anywhere with it.

What has been your best experience so far on a bmx bike?
- I think my best experience is every time I get to ride when I’m really craving it. I don’t know if I can pick one particular moment.

Ok now it’s time for some one-word answers:  Boxers or briefs?
- Boxers

Metallica or Slayer?
- Slayer

Van Homan or Brian Castillo?
- Van Homan

7ft quarter or 5ft street spine?
- Street spine

What are you into outside of riding?
- Outside of riding I don’t do much of anything. (laughs) I just go to school, see my girlfriend and ride.

Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
- Probably a bum, out living in the streets.

Where do you think bmx going in the next 5 years?
- Uh, I think bmx is just going to bigger every year. It’s nuts what tricks are being done, and I think it’s going to get a lot more crazy. There will probably be more injuries and stuff because of the level of riding as well.

You seem to tear every skatepark a new asshole when you ride, do you ever ride real street?
- I ride real street sometimes. I just got into doing handrails a little before the winter. It’s fun, but I don’t know where to go ride real street.

Is there a reason why you go so damn high on quarter pipes?
- I don’t go high, you just imagine things.

Is it true that you and Alistair Whitton have signed a contract that keeps either of you from cranking more than 6 lookbacks per week?
- (laughs) I don’t know where you get this stuff…

Tell us Jon, what kind of music are you into?
- I like everything. Emo, punk, I really like hardcore metal and sometimes I listen to sissy music like Backstreetboys to.

Do you ever plan on getting a job?
- (laughs) I think I might be getting a part-time job this summer
 

Are you a back up singer for N*Sync?
- No, but if I could sing like that I’m sure more girls would want me.

Since you can pretty much do any trick you want, are we gonna see some flips or 360 whips in the future?
- I can’t do flips, they aren’t possible for me. I don’t want to kill myself trying that stuff either.

Are you into to big tricks like that, or do you try to stick to stuff that won’t kill you?
- I think I would be into it if I could do it. I like trying some crazy stuff sometimes, but not a lot. I just like doing stuff I already can and when I’m in the right mood I’ll try something new.

This is the end, would you like to thank anybody or give a shout out?
- I would like to thank my parents for supporting me, as well as Hyper Bikes and Scattalon Bike Shop. Mark Squires at X-up, for building and letting me ride the best indoor park around. And hello to my girlfriend Devon. I’m done.
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