Last year at X Games 17, Jackson, N.J. BMX Park rider Scotty Cranmer was on my very short list of favorites to win BMX Park, which he had done in the past (in 2006 and 2009). Scotty came up just short at XG17, grabbing the bronze medal, and followed that up grabbing the year-end Dew Cup for 2011. But it's a new year now, and Scotty seems poised to return to the top of the X Games podium.
In the above video, Cranmer runs through some recent developments in his life, including the addition of a new backyard mini ramp to his home. If you've ever seen Scotty ride a contest, then you know that he pedals wide open at whatever obstacles are in his way. And he seems to have taken the same approach to his mini ramp, allowing for enough flat to get at least one crank in between transitions.
But there is much more to Cranmer's riding than just huge airs -- he does everything, from technical to switch to creative to stylish, and that combination is something that doesn't come along often in BMX, maybe not since the likes of Dave Mirra, Dave Voelker and Mat Hoffman (with the addition of switch riding.)
And then there is Scotty's bike shop, which he took ownership of in 2007 and claims to have built up his first BMX bike there. Being old, and from New Jersey, I have spent some time at Cranmer's shop in the mid to late '80s and early '90s. Then called Bicycle World, the same spot that Scotty Cranmer now calls home was once also the summer tour stomping grounds for teams such as Haro and GT, and riders that I witnessed in person ride in the parking lot of Scotty's shop include Mat Hoffman, Rick Moliterno, Josh White and many more. In other words, there's about thirty years of BMX heritage on that ground, which Scotty Cranmer and his family are upholding.
Check out Scotty's bike shop online here, and look for Scotty to be returning to the X Games BMX Park course in just over a month.
