Bryan has been riding forever. He has been a part of the East Coast riding scene for about as long as I can remember. He used to say that he never practiced but now he is showing up at more and more of the contests with new tricks that he is pulling off and a really smooth flowing style. He didn't make the cut for the X-Games this year but he continues to pull off excellent finishes in the X-Trial events. This is especially tough for a pro rider who finds time to learn while still working a regular nine to five job during the week... if not a little bit more. There may be a ton of people who are in grade school that think they don't have much riding time... but when you don't get off work until 6:00PM during the winter and it is already dark outside... Well practice becomes something you wish you had time to do. Bryan is always a great guy to go up to and talk about stuff with. His sponsorship situation has been on and off... a little while with Morales, but now he is on his own and not complaining about it.

~P~ Name, where are you from, age, and if you want to give it out- what's your e-mail address?

My name is Bryan Huffman and I'm from Winston Salem, North Carolina. I'm 28 and my e-mail address is Bryan_Huffman@siecor.com

~P~ How long have you been riding now?

Somewhere between ten and twelve years. Since 1987.

~P~ You've been all over the place with contests results. Some contests you are on and some you're really not on. What do you think of your riding and how you are doing in competitions.

As far as how I do in comps it usually depends on the flatland area. I do a lot of spinning tricks so if it's dusty or slick or something I usually don't ride that good. Right now I'm just trying find my way back. I've been dealing with a knee injury the last couple of years and I finally had that fixed. I'm getting better. I'm learning some of my old tricks again. Mostly I just continue to get better and better throughout the year.

~P~ Who do you ride with?

Most times I ride by myself. Sometimes there are some local guys- Corey Stokes, this guy named Brian Ledbetter, and there are a lot of street riders that I hang out with but for the most part I just kind of ride by myself.

~P~ You've had some various sponsors over the years. But, I guess you are riding a Tao right now and are unsponsored. What's the deal with that?

Yeah. Not really looking for anything right now even. I want to get to a point where I can qualify in the pro class. Then I will go and look for some sponsors. Right now I don't feel like I'm good enough. There are a lot more guys out there that deserve stuff more than I do so I'm just kind of hang out and waiting to see what happens.

~P~ What's your favorite trick?

Favorite trick? That's a good one… Right now, probably time machines on the pedal. It's probably just because it's the last trick that I learned and that's kind of cool so I've just been messing with that for a while.

~P~ How many contests are you going to this year. Which ones are you planning out?

Pretty much all of the ESPN comps except for the X-Games and I'm still thinking of heading out there just to watch. I'll go to all the ESPN comps, whichever local comps come up, probably a couple of the 2-Hip's, and whatever else I can make it to.

~P~ Where do you think flatland is headed in the future?

From what I've seen in the last couple of contests the riding level has gotten pretty crazy. It's gotten pretty hard the last two comps- a lot harder then last year. I think it's going to gain a lot of momentum this year and I actually think flatland is going to blow up this year.

~P~ I know you've had the knee injury and other things that have been going on that have been really messing with your body. What do you do when flatland gets you down?

Right now I'm just working. If I'm not riding I'm working. That's pretty much it.

~P~ You've got the good job and good degree. Where are you working what are you doing with that?

I'm kind of like a customer service manager. I do computer networking and kind of run the computer operations at Siecor. They make fiber optic cables. It's a good job. It's kind of stressful because you have to be on call all the time. You have a lot of job responsibilities.

~P~ You're on call this weekend?

(laughs) No… No, I'm not on call this weekend. I got out of it. But, they're pretty cool. They seem to let me have the days I need off. They're pretty flexible about my riding schedule so it works out pretty good.

~P~ What do you think of ESPN's coverage of flatland?

It sucks! From what I heard especially of the Kentucky contest they had maybe five minutes of coverage of flat. I definitely think that the interest is there from the crowds that you see at the flatland comps. I think they ought to show it more. It's just pretty lame.

~P~ What do you have to say to beginners or people interested in getting into the sport?

Basically if you are going to go out and get a bike try to spend as much money as you can and get a quality bike. Because one of the first things that's going to happen if you get a piece of junk is that you'll get discouraged because your bike never works. Spend the money if you can. Keep at it, don't get discouraged, work at your own pace, and do whatever you fee like doing.

~P~ What kind of music are you into?

ANYTHING BUT COUNTRY

~P~ Opera?

Well maybe not that…. But, old rock and roll, hip-hop, rap, metal… pretty much anything but country music, opera that kind of stuff I'm not into.

~P~ Dedication and time to get to where you are today and for other people to get where they may want to be… what is involved?

Obviously ride as much as you can. Right now I'm only riding three or four hours a day. I usually get home from work about 6:00PM and go out and ride till 10:00 or 11:00. Then I go to bed and do the same thing again.

~P~ Favorite riders?

Actually I think Day Smith is one of my favorite riders. I just love his style. His real fast punchy style- real strong. He's really unpredictable because you really don't know what he's going to do next and I like that style of riding. People go out there and don't do the same thing every single time.

~P~ Any last words, people you want to say thanks, hi, or give props to?

Yeah, I'd like to say hello to all the boys in Winston Salem. I'd like to say thanks to Fish Pond Skate and Bikes, a skatepark in Winston Salem, they've been helping me out, trying to get my bike working all the time. I'd like to thank my girlfriend Kirsten for being supportive. That's about it.