Bobby Kanode is a student athlete, but you won’t find him listed on the ASU athletics website or competing for any team.
Kanode, a senior at the W.P. Carey School of Business, has ridden BMX freestyle for seven years. He recently obtained a sponsorship from Stranger, BMX company in Long Beach, Calif.
When he was 15, Kanode would jump his old mountain bike off sidewalks in his neighborhood until he discovered BMX-street riding videos online.
Kanode’s uniqueness developed early and his talent quickly progressed. When he was 16 he entered a video of himself in a contest held by a popular BMX website. Although he didn’t win the contest, his skills caught the attention of a longtime BMX brand.
Shortly after the contest he was contacted by GT Bicycles, a bike manufacturing company founded in 1979, and was offered a sponsorship. Just two years after punishing a defenseless mountain bike, Kanode was fully sponsored and receiving free bikes and clothing.
“I entered the contest when I was 16, got sponsored at 17, and flew back home from Australia a week before I turned 18,” Kanode said.
During his senior year of high school, GT Bicycles flew Kanode and a few teammates to Australia where they spent 11 days traveling, riding, filming, and chasing and eating kangaroos.
“Kangaroo tastes like cheap steak,” Kanode said. “The experience was eye popping, humbling and invigorating. I came back with more aspirations to do better and bigger things.”
Now, Kanode is enjoying the summer and focusing on his last semester at ASU.
He’s your average college student, working a part-time job delivering sandwiches. However, much like his sport, his second source of income is also unique.
Kanode films and edits short BMX videos that are highly popular online.
“Buying a camera was the best decision of my life,” Kanode said.
He is a perfectionist when it comes to filming every rider’s trick.
“I love the fact that it can never be perfect because the pursuit of perfection is what I enjoy the most,” Kanode said.
His videos have been featured on ESPN’s action sports website and Network A, a YouTube channel focused on promoting action sports athletes. Several three to five minute videos a month allow him to pay rent, and delivering subs gives him spending money.
Kanode’s riding and filming are primarily focused on the street riding aspect of BMX.
“I love just hanging out in a random part of the city,” Kanode said before adding that being with friends, riding bikes and people watching just adds to the appeal.
BMX street riding is one of the most popular disciplines within the sport. Riders take to urban obstacles such as handrails, benches and stairs to produce various tricks. Often the creativity in selecting the obstacle outweighs the actual trick. It’s not unheard of to find BMX riders meticulously searching through city streets just to find a unique setup to ride.
Street riding has drastically taken off in the past 10 years, in large part because of online videos hosted on popular BMX websites and ESPN introducing the discipline at the X Games in 2008. This year’s course is made to look like an urban setting with handrails going down stairs, picnic benches, and even school lockers to resemble popular street spots in California.
Although Kanode’s skills have landed him a new sponsorship that provides him with clothing and bikes, he will not be competing in this year’s X Games. Competition is something very few BMX Street riders seek out. Many of the sponsorships and pay checks are based on a rider’s ability to put out videos and get coverage in magazines.
Kanode plans to keep his options open after graduating in the fall. He hopes to continue to pursue his passion for filming and riding BMX, but like many students he doesn’t know what the future holds.
“I’d like to work in finance, sales or marketing making a substantial living so I can live life comfortably,” Kanode said.
Reach the reporter at Michael.g.hines@asu.edu
