BMX Party Time!

WHO: Kurt Wolff Hohberger. Yeah, Wolff is my middle name, get stoked.
WHAT: A dude who found a way to give back for what BMX has given me.
WHERE: Born in Chicago, raised in Rochester, Minnesota!
WHEN: Started BMXunion September of 2007
WHY: I had the idea in my head, and then got assigned a semester long project that asked
for me to “show how blogging can reach many people.” After that, I really didn’t have an
excuse for not trying it out.

BMX Union has over 150 interviews under its belt and a lot of them are with some big names in BMX. Was there ever anybody who you were nervous to ask for an interview with and send questions out to? If so, who was it and what was going on through your head when you sent out the questions.

Even though I do all the interviews through email, it is kind of like when you meet a pro in person for the first time. You are unsure what to say to introduce yourself, and don’t want to come off as that creeper who knows their life story. I was nervous when I started BMX union because I didn’t know how people would react. Luckily, I had met Catfish a few times and he has always been down to help me out. After Catfish, things started rolling and evolving into where it has become today. Looking back at “the list” the ones who I was really nervous about were Chris Doyle, Mike Aitken, Van Homan, and Ryan Nyquist. I think it was mostly because those are the guys who already have so much going on, and have done so many interviews that it was hard to be original you know? I think trying to ask some original questions is about the hardest things to do.

What are some of your favorite interviews so far?

To be entirely honest, everyone I have had the chance to get an interview with so far. I know that seems like the easy way out, but I have always been that weird person who always wants to know what is going on even if it isn’t my business. I could literally ask anyone the same questions and rarely would you see the same answers. That is why I like all of them! People are unique and BMX has a lot of personalities mixed in, throughout all of this I get to see it all.

Are there any interviews whose answers completely surprised you?

The ones that usually catch me off guard are the guys like Chase DeHart who seem like they are really quiet and shy, but pull through with some really solid and long answers. I like when people go really into detail. To be honest, when I just get interviews back from the real big name guys that is usually the biggest surprise since BMX union is a pretty small website compared to the other guys.

What do you look for when putting somebody on the hot seat?

I mostly look for people who are doing things with BMX, guys who kill it on a bike, photographers, filmers, editors, and company owners. I like doing interviews with people who are really truly in BMX for the right reasons. From time to time, I will email companies and see if they have anyone they would like to see get an interview. This is always cool because a lot of the time there are names I don’t even think of that they suggest. Finally, the other thing I look for are kids who are completely unheard of who I meet, or see videos of when I am helping Adam update The Come Up. A lot of really talented kids go unnoticed and maybe something I can do for them could get them hooked up.

Is there somebody you’ve always wanted to interview but haven’t had the chance yet?

The one person I haven’t had the chance to interview but wish I could is Stephen Murray. He is an amazing person who has gone through the most life-changing event ever. He is a huge inspiration because even in his condition, he still loves BMX more than anything and always has a smile on his face. I hope I can make it happen someday.

If you were to interview yourself, what’s one question you would ask? What would the answer be?

I think it would have to be the question that I get emails about quite often. That is “Why are you such a douche bag?”… Nah, I am just kidding. It would be “how did you get into doing what you do, and how did you get involved with The Come Up?” The answer would be, I honestly have no idea… It definitely had something to do with being in the right place at the right time, with a lot of work put into it. When I started BMX union it was all a learning experience. I was sending out four interviews a day sometimes and putting in some ridiculous hours on my computer. I some how got Adam’s AIM screen name and started bugging him about all sorts of questions like how to get people to check out my website, and will you post this or this for me? Stuff I still can’t believe he didn’t block me from haha. After a while, he was going on a road trip and didn’t have much access to internet. Asked if I would be into keeping things updated while he was gone and I couldn’t say no. It has been over a year now and it is still a lot of fun to help with.

What’s one question you wouldn’t want to answer?

I’ve been sitting here thinking about this question for a while now. I’ve come to accept that I am way too open about my life, and that I would answer anything somebody asked me.

You wrote a blog not too long ago about some of the possibilities of working in the industry, if you could have any job involving BMX, what would it be?

That question is almost unfair haha. There are a few people I would probably kill to be in their position.

I always joke that Adam has the best job in the world. In reality, it probably is too.

Then there is Catfish who is team manager for DK, travels all over the world to announce at contests, and still has time to do stuff with Fuel and NBC. He definitely lives like a rock star.

Kyle Carlson is a contributor for Vital BMX, and Ride UK. He gets to travel all over the country and world to take photos, film, edit, and write. Those four things I only get to do as a hobby.

The same goes with Ryan Fudger at Ride BMX. He gets to write, take photos, travel. That would be a dream and I think he got noticed because he started a website right?

I think if I get to write, travel, take photos, film and edit I would be completely satisfied. Being a Team Manager has crossed my mind a few times, but I doubt a company would want me to do something like that for them.

How many years of school do you have left and do you have any big plans afterwards?

I am in the middle of my second year of college… I am a little behind credits wise, so I will have just about 3 more years to go on my B.A degree. My biggest problem is that I don’t really know what I want to do after college. I have thrown the idea around of starting my own business, or something along those lines but it seems like everyday I want to do something else. Originally my major was graphic design, but once I realized I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I “grow up” I switched to the business side. I figured it would be a safer degree to fall back on if I fail at life or get kicked out of BMX.

If you could ask anybody anything, who would it be and what would you ask?

I usually avoid talking about this, but I figure it is the only truthful answer. My dad passed away in a plane crash when I was two so I never really got to know him at all. I think if I could ask anything it would be “what do you think of what I am doing?” It would be interesting to see what he would say since the Hohberger family for generations were all engineers and inventors of candy machines that made things like Starlight’s which are those red and white swirled mints you find in every restaurant. It would be hard to compare anything I have done to that, so I always wondered if he would be into it.

Thanks?

There are a lot of people I could thank so I will just try and hit whoever comes to mind first… Obviously, thanks to everyone who has done an interview or helped to get one! Adam at TCU, Alex at Give D and the rest of his crew, Team Bitty and the rest of the 507 crew, Robbie at Fit, Chris at Federal/Seventies, Kyle Carlson, the guys at Ride BMX, Defgrip, and Vital, anyone who has ever helped to sponsor one of my events, or been supportive of my projects. The people who have helped with BMXunion in the past and anyone I have met along the way!

EXTRA CREDIT:

Where do you hope to be in 1000 days? That would be about 3 years from now. I hope I will almost be done with college, and have some sort of a career path figured out. If I could make one of those dream jobs I talked about above a reality. That would be about as kickass as it gets. I would imagine I will still be doing stuff with BMX union too.