Koji Kraft Jared Souney © Lat34
Koji Kraft: Not as Young as He Used to Be
Sep 24 2006 / Los Angeles, CA Lat34 interviews Koji Kraft while he's getting ready for the Action Sports World Tour USA Championships. Koji discusses why he is one of the only young guns on the vert scene and the tolls of the tour on his mind and body.
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At 24 years old, Koji Kraft is a mere child in the BMX vert class. Consider that most of his competition is in their mid 30s, and some — I won’t mention Dennis’ name — are pushing the forty mark. By the standards of the BMX vert contests, Koji is a kid.
But, in a sense Koji is a veteran. He’s been in seven X Games (as far as he can remember), and he’s been in the finals of most every vert contest for as many years. In a way, the youngster/veteran is helping to keep BMX vert alive. There aren’t a lot of new vert riders, especially on a competitive level, and guys like Koji are keeping it going for the future. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that the future of BMX vert is in Koji’s hands, but he’s likely going to be a big part of it. Guys like Zack Warden, Francisco Zurita, and Koji Kraft are really the youth of the vert class.
Part of what’s holding vert back participation wise is the accessibility of vert ramps. There are a handful of public and private skateparks in the US that still have vert ramps, but Koji was lucky. “I pretty much would go to Scrap skatepark every day. They have a vert ramp there, so… I just started riding it” Koji says of his early days.
Scrap, Koji’s local skatepark, sits just outside of Chicago, and happens to be the same park ridden by some legendary names in BMX vert. Brian Dahl originated the candybar (amongst other tricks) in the late 80s and continues to ride at Scrap on a regular basis, along with a name you might recognize as a regular top ten finisher at competitions — Jimmy Walker. BMX vert legend Bob Kohl (also the first guy to do a backflip on an 80cc motorcycle) is also known to frequent Scrap skatepark. With a vert ramp at his fingertips, and some of the best vert riders past and present to ride with, the vert ramp was a natural path for Koji.
“We have a part of the original Soul Bowl that Jimmy [Walker] bought. It’s like 50 feet-wide, so it’s pretty cool.”
Koji isn’t just one of the top names in vert, he’s also an incredible park rider and can hold his own on the dirt course. Koji was actually one of the first riders to land double backflips on a park course… that’s pretty serious business. He’s not just about burly tricks either. Koji can shut down a mini-ramp session in a matter of minutes with a barrage of cool tech tricks. When asked where his riding focus is when he’s at home, Koji says “Lately there hasn’t been much to ride. Every summer the skatepark gets re-done, so we don’t really get to ride it in the summer. I pretty much just go to the contests, and then maybe go to Woodward. It seems like I ride enough vert at contests though, because there are a lot of vert contests happening.”
Koji can also crash as well as anyone. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but when you’re riding full throttle all the time, it’s bound to happen… a lot. He’s had his share of hard falls, and he’s eventually walked away from a good percentage, but some of them have left him down for the count. This year has been particularly rough for Koji’s body.
“At the beginning of the season when I got hurt there was a lot of pressure I was putting on myself, because I had to make my bills somehow, and at a few of the contests I was riding pretty hurt. Earlier this year I broke some ribs, then after the first Dew Tour I got hit by a car and broke my ankle. It’s been one thing after another this year. It’s been stressful because the more I thought about [having to do well], the worse [my riding] got, and the worse I did at the contests. When I got back from the Amsterdam LG World Tour, I just figured, ‘Who cares, just have fun. It doesn’t matter what you do you’ve just got to have fun.’”
Worrying about contest placement isn’t a big deal for some riders carrying a slew of sponsors, but Koji’s only paying sponsor is Oakley, so a lot of his income comes from contest placement. “I haven’t done many demos in the last two years. It’s pretty much all contests. If you don’t do well at them, you’ve pretty much wasted your time. It kind of sucks… I’d love to just go and hang out and have fun, but it’s not always like that. It comes down to the real world after a while.”
As a rider that also competes regularly in the park competions, Koji’s contest schedule can be particularly rough on both the body and the mind. “I ride in the Dew Tours, the LG world Tour stuff. I went to that New Zealand X-Air contest… that was a lot of fun. I went to Ratty Fest a few months ago, and some other local stuff in the Midwest.” But with all that travel, Koji says he likes the mellow atmosphere of the LG Action Sports World Tour events. “They’re just really laid back. You can have a good time, instead of stressing and worrying about doing good at the contest. It’s not like everybody is trying to show everybody else up. It’s more like you just hang out and ride, and then party. Then the next day you go back out and ride.”
“I wish I could ride [both park and vert] contest again at everything like I used to, but I’m not as young as I used to be I guess. My body is pretty beat up.”
You can check out more of Koji Kraft and the rest of the BMX vert crew at the upcoming Action Sports US Championships in San Diego September 23rd and 24th right here on lat34.com.
-Jared Souney
