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Cody YorkJamie Bestwick in State College, Pa. Launch Gallery »

The 2012 vert season kicked off last month at X Games Asia in Shanghai, China, minus one very noticeable vert rider, Jamie Bestwick. He was at home, in State College, Pa., seemingly not too concerned with flying halfway around the world to enter a vert contest. It's a luxury that Bestwick, age 40, can afford. The only rider to five-peat in BMX Vert in X Games history, not to mention the owner of seven year-end Dew Cups for BMX Vert, Jamie Bestwick has remained virtually untouchable on the vert ramp for nearly the past decade. And he shows no signs of slowing down. This year, Bestwick will travel to X Games Los Angeles focused on achieving a record six-peat wins in BMX Vert, on top of serving as on-air talent for NBC during the London Olympics, riding the 2012 Dew Tour series, and racing motorcycles and cars in various events throughout the world. But before his year gets too hectic, we decided to pay him a visit in his adopted hometown of State College, Pa. While there, we witnessed the awesome spectacle that is a Jamie Bestwick vert session, and also sat down to discuss his life as the reigning champion of X Games BMX Vert. Welcome to the Jamie Bestwick interview.

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Keith TreanorMat Hoffman will be inducted into the National BMX Hall of Fame in early June.

BMX vert, street, park and industry legend Mat Hoffman is among the recognized inductees into the 2012 National BMX Hall Of Fame, which also includes pioneer BMX racer John Palfreyman Jr., BMX racer Eric Carter, BMX photographer Windy Osborn and the 2008 United States Olympic BMX team. Hoffman is being inducted under the "BMX Freestyler" category.

The 2012 inductees will come together under the Olympic Flame at the US Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. on June 16, for the 2012 National BMX Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony and Dinner.

Hoffman, who was either skydiving or clicking cancan lookbacks on his backyard vert ramp, was not available for comment. His contributions to BMX freestyle, should go without saying. But since some of you out there may have arrived on the scene after Mat stopped competing and underwent years of issues with his shoulder and knees, let me try to summarize everything Mat has done.

Kevin SpanierSnafu brand manager Matt "Beard" Bischoff and new Snafu recruit Harry Main.

Late last week, it was announced that California-based BMX, MTB and 700c component and bike brand Snafu was sold to new owners based in Malaga, New Jersey. Under the new ownership, Snafu team rider and Failure Bikes owner Matt "Beard" Bischoff was hired as brand manager for Snafu, leaving former Snafu brand manager Harold "McGoo" McGruther to pursue further interests with Revolution Creative, a Temecula, Calif. based ad agency.

According to the press release, "After 13 years at the helm of the boutique brand he co-founded in 1999, the 50-year-old bike-industry veteran simply chose to pursue other business interests."

T-1Terrible One's new Elf signature Salt City bars.

Just a few years ago you would have been hard pressed to find any new four-piece bars in BMX shops besides the popular signature Bob Scerbo bars from Animal. This has all changed with many companies offering their own take on the handlebar that Robbie Morales affectionately told Taj Mihelich were "disgusting" in Props' "Road Fools One." Just recently, Austin, Texas based brand Terrible One worked with team rider Shawn "Elf" Waters to create their take on the four-piece handlebar, the Salt City Bars.

Cody YorkGarrett Reynolds, crankarm grind to barspin. Launch Gallery »

Chad Kerley's Vitaminwater Invitational

Street riding moves ahead a few years in Kachinsky's Bakery. Check the photos. Gallery

On Saturday night, one of BMX's most progressive street riders, Chad Kerley, hosted a BMX contest like none other. With support from his sponsor, Vitaminwater, Chad hand selected thirty of today's top pro street riders to come out and compete at The Bakery in Chicago, Ill. for $20,000 in cash prizes. The format was simple -- four obstacles, best trick format and rider judged. Throughout the night, we heard many riders say it was the best contest ever -- and I have to agree. Garrett Reynolds won three out of the four obstacles, along with the Rider's Choice award, and Stevie Churchill won the secret setup with a 720. So many "first-ever" tricks went down that it was insane, and we were on hand to capture it all. Check the photos.

FacebookJoe "Butcher Kowalski (far left) with friends and Mike "MCM" McCafferty (far right) in the early '00s.

Michael G. McCafferty, affectionately known as "MCM" throughout the BMX community and well known for his endeavors with clothing brand East Coast Destruction, footwear brand Elite and bike shop Source BMX, died on May 10 in Bethlehem, Pa. He was 37.

According to the Lehigh Valley Live website, McCafferty's body was discovered near the Minsi Trail Bridge on Thursday, but police would not comment on the cause of death or whether a weapon was present.

"Rest in peace, Mike 'MCM' McCafferty," said the Terrible One website on Friday, with a link to an ECD video. "One of the first guys I remember doing pegless rail stuff, RIP" said Jeff Brown via the Terrible One Facebook page.

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Next up in the "Video Rewind" series is Kink Bicycles pro Aaron Smith. Growing up in New Hampshire, Smith's relationship to BMX videos grew out of early releases from GT and Schwinn before expanding into more recent classics such as "Road Fools 5" and the Little Devil video series.

In the above video, Smith discusses those videos and gets some riding done at a makeshift park in the Northeast. Video by Joe Cookie.

Courtesy of Todd WalkowiakTodd Walkowiak in 2009, classic no-footed cancan with tree coverage.

Former DK Bicycles and Mongoose pro Todd Walkowiak was a dominant force in the dirt jumping circuit during the '90s and early '00s. He grew up riding one of the most amazing set of trails in the country (Push in Pittsburgh), and as his riding progressed, the amount of tricks and combinations Todd could do on one jump was legendary. He rode for a stacked DK team with riders including Colin Winkelmann, Chris Doyle, Brian Vowell, and Dave Freimuth to name a few. And after DK, he rode for Mongoose, where he had a signature low-end bike called "The Barspiniac" that sold in large box stores across the country.

Tony Malouf recently hosted two midwest premieres of BSD's new video, "Any Which Way." The premiere went down at Pitch Skatepark in Mundelein, Ill., followed by 4 Seasons in Milwaukee, Wis. Both premieres were really relaxed, more just a reason to get some friends together, ride and share some good times. The video, BSD's new full-length DVD, features a lot of great street riding from the BSD team. It's shot and put together very well, so it's a pleasure to watch. And, since it's basically free, everyone into should try and find a copy. In the above video, Malouf travels through Illinois and Wisconsin at high speeds and actually gets some riding, in addition to clips from Timmy Theus, Joe Battaglia and more. Music by Mansions, "Blackest Sky." 

Nike BMXSimone Barraco and Alex Kennedy for Nike BMX.

Every so often a web video is unleashed and immediately hailed as BMX's second coming. Today's offering from Nike BMX is a prime example of that, with Cult's Alex Kennedy and Subrosa's Simone Barraco (and their out-of-control hairstyles) taking to the streets of Tel Aviv, Israel. The city's modernist plazas and graffiti laden back alleys complement the duos smooth, line-based approach to street riding nicely. There's plenty of mind blowing tricks and it's all beautifully documented -- Simone's (spoiler alert) railhop tailwhip is executed perfectly and Alex Kennedy's 360 to smith grinds to nose manual is absurdly smooth. While their creative lines are the focus of the video, it's also nice to see them seemingly out of their element, namely with Kennedy's toboggan hop into a huge ledge and Barraco's nosepress to barspin on a steep, street transition.