 Photos by Rick Ramirez, Jerry Davis, Matt Gismondi and Jason Ryan
So after borrowing a 55 gallon drum from a location that shall remain unnamed, a couple friends and I threw it in the back of my Jeep and ambled into the downtown Phoenix area on the pleasant Saturday evening of December 11th. A detective from the Phoenix Police Department had contacted me a couple days before the big burn to find out exactly what we were going to do. I told him we would be peacefully burning DC shoes as an outward expression of our boycott of DC Shoes due to the bigotry exacted against BMX riders by the Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza Foundation. Surprisingly, he was interested in why we were protesting, and I went into the extendo explanation of why bikes should never be segregated from skateparks. The good detective said he himself, a partner, and a park ranger would be on hand during the protest to make sure nothing got out of hand, but also for our safety, since there are a lot of homeless and sketchy fools (my words, not his) in Deck Park, especially at night.
Heidi Lemmon, executive director of SPAUSA, arrived from Los Angeles mere minutes after I pulled into the parking lot. She didn't end up having room for both the skaters who had been dicked by Dyrdek in LA and the shoes, so she just brought the shoes. Hey, I would have loved to have the skaters join with us in protesting the bullshit and shady tactics of DC Shoes and Rob Dyrdek, but I gotta say that I and everyone else preferred new shoes more.
There were already plenty of
riders at the park when I got there. Most were chillin, waiting for the
protest, but some were getting their gangsta ride on by sessioning the ledges that surround
the now-defunct fountains in the plaza area. Ledges that most likely are
going to be gentrified out soon because of the big Deck Park revitalization
planned for the fountain area. I'm sure they'll build more ledges and
features after they tear the old ones out, but do you think they won't be
skate-stopped with a new skate plaza right next to it? You can bet your
sweet ass they'll be skate-stopped! So as if it isn't bad enough a new
segregated skate plaza is being built in Phoenix, the goddamn thing will be
replacing a BMX street spot we've been riding for dozens of years!
I greeted all the riders, then greeted the detectives and the park ranger. We then went to the vehicles and moved all the product, including 110 pairs of Adio shoes, to the interior of the park. Everyone gathered around, and I gave a little speech about how the Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza Foundation had given $50,000 to the city of Phoenix, with the stipulation in their contract that the city had to segregate BMX riders out of the skate plaza. I then told the crowd of about 65-75 people that we were boycotting DC Shoes for their title support of the bigoted foundation, and we were burning their product because any time we wear their shoes or clothes, we advertise for them. The more of DC's shit we burn and refuse to buy, the less advertising they get out of us and the less sales they get as a result. Then I doused my personal $60 pair of DC shoes with lighter fluid, and lit them bitches on fiyaaah!
I dropped my burning DC's into the barrel, quickly followed by a big DC banner that was formerly hanging in my room. People started throwing their DC crap in the barrel one by one after that, until the 55 gallon drum got filled 3/4 of the way with DC shit! IT WAS AWESOME! The most notable stuff burned was the pair of DC shoes donated by a 3 year old (actually by his dad haha) and a pair of brand new, never worn DC's!
As the rubber, EVA and synthetic leather was incinerated into ashes and smoke, we distributed the free product. Santa McSmallpants was more than happy to pass out the goods. We made sure the top donors got first pick of the Adio shoes, and tried to make sure that people got a pair of Adios for every pair of DC shoes or item of clothing they burned. In the end, everyone got at least one pair of Adios, because we had plenty.
After all the Adios were distributed, the product toss began. Many thanks go out to Kore Bikes for kicking down a bunch of BMX goods and supporting our cause. I tossed out some Psychicflyingmonkey Productions stuff, and Heidi got out a bunch of Etnies DVDs as well. After all DC's shit was burned to smithereenees, the park ranger kindly put a fire extinguisher to the whole mess. Billy Burghout (the model from the poster for The Great DC Shoe Burn) was kind enough to drive the barrel over to the nearest dumpster and deposit the ashes. When he came back, we discovered a mangled, melted mess in the bottom of the burn barrel. It was my shoes and banner that were the first in. It appears that when all the shoes and clothes came piling on top of my stuff, my shoes and banner got extinguished. God, those shoes stank! I've been keeping them in my little storage closet so I could shoot them for the opening montage of this story, and they stunk up my whole carport!
What symbolism The Great DC
Shoe Burn was. If you have a problem with a company, manufacturer or
corporation, just stop buying their shit. And get rid of their shit you
own, because by owning it you endorse anythng the company does (like supporting
bigotry against BMX riders). There are plenty of manufacturers that make
shoes and clothing that work great for BMX riding. We can and must support
companies that support BMX. It doesn't matter how many riders and BMX
events DC sponsors. Do you think a rider that lives a block away from Deck
Park gives two runny shits about Chris Doyle's shoe sponsor? And if the
Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza Foundation is allowed to get away with their
bigotry and discrimination against BMX riders, you'll eventually find them
putting a skate plaza in your own town that doesn't allow bikes as well.
I printed up a bunch of
flyers about the 3BC's upcoming trip to Phoenix City Council which I handed out
at the protest. Ultimately,DC and the Rob Dyrdek/DC Shoes Skate Plaza
Foundation are only part of the problem. Phoenix has the final decision
whether they'll allow bikes in the skate plaza or not, and we need to show there
are a significant number of taxpaying Phoenix citizens that strongly believe
bike riders should be allowed in the skate plaza. If you're a BMX rider
and live in Phoenix or a neighboring city, come out on January 5th. Heidi
Lemmon is coming out again from LA for God's sake! You can drive a few
minutes in your car or take the light rail can't you! See you there!
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