Jaws Interview

Posted: Aug 17, 2009

Jaws recently contacted us in regards to an interview he'd done with a Polish riding site to see if we could run it for him here on Pinkbike.com. After much translating was done by Damian Knapik, we're happy to present to you the "Jaws Interview"!

Enjoy the pics and interview inside,

Damian Knapik – www.joy-ride.pl: Pretty much every Polish biker knows that you are Bartek Krzyszton and you live in Cracow, but... Why do you go by the name 'Jaws'?
Jaws: A long, long time ago, when I was a very beginner freerider, I used to ride in 'Lasek Wolski'. Once, while waiting with friends for bus number 134, I decided to buy a few rolls, some drinks and sausage for campfire. The bus arrived at the very moment I was leaving the shop, so I just put all the bread in my mouth and ran as fast as I could. When my friend Artur saw me, he said 'That's Jaws!'.

Since we're on the topic of a 'long, long time ago', tell us something more about your beginnings with bikes. What caused your passion for riding?
The first bike I used to jump on was a BMX that I won in a drawing contest for the TV programme 'Ciuchcia' [kind of a train] with Kulfon & Monika. However, the true passion came from my friends. They pulled me into riding, showed me the local trails and next things seemed to happen automatically...

Do you still work on your artistic skills? I mean, not everyone wins a BMX in 'Ciuchcia'.
No, no. Exactly, I finished artistic high school, but it's not what I would like to do in the future.

Have you always been such a 'hardcore' guy? Because that's your image on the MTB scene.
Most likely as right from the beginning I've wanted to hit jumps. My first weird jump was done on a Cyclecraft with an old Manitou fork. I jumped from a wall near our largest river - Vistula and it was like 4 meters high. The result of that jump was a broken saddle and I won't tell ya which part of my body did that.


One of your most impressive stunts was pulling a back flip on the huge step down slope...
Yep, but I crashed all attempts. First three times went wrong, forth one I landed properly, but I was really unlucky, cause my wheels sunk in sand. I broke my arm then and couldn't try it again.

Why is the spot kept a secret?
It's in Cracow and few riders know where... We are trying to protect it from destruction. Riding there is illegal and proper institutions would surely notice the presence of bikers there.

How did you find that jump?
Via google earth.

Jaws early season 2009:

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Let's continue topic of spots... How about other FR trails in Cracow? Recently, Piotrek Szwedowski has been building a lot of new stuff. Do you co-operate with each other?
No, I prefer to build trails in the forest near my house, cos it's pretty quiet there. One of my favorite places to ride is also Nielepice (Last year's Freeride Jam took place there). It's hard to find me now on Cracow's trails - these are too popular.


We all thought that Jaws put his bikes away during the cold winter and relaxed at home, but you surprised everyone with the pics from Zakopane, where you were flying on Polish Freeskiing Open kickers. Jumping on snow is much harder than typical biking terrain as far as conditions go is it not?
Yes, I'll admit that landing on a soft snow pack is very hard – bike is shaking from side to side, it's pretty easy to loose your balance. On the other hand, when pulling tricks on such big gaps, I have much more time to correct eventual mistakes and in the air I can do exactly what I want.


So, you're not ruling out the possibility of flipping that jump another winter?
(mysterious smile)

Ok, I understand. How about ideas for other big jumps in your life?
I've got few 'big' ideas. One of them is to jump over the bus connected with an FMX show in autumn. I can't tell you anything more than that.


All these P.O.D.s you're hitting up, are you just trying over and over until you have a successful jump?
Nah, usually I've hit the jumps a lot over time and then Tommy appears with a camera and makes a P.O.D happen.

Do ya remember your first sponsor?
Of course. I don't think I will ever forget my mom and dad.


Do they still support your bike passion like they kid when you were starting out?
No. They stopped few years ago, now I receive a lot of help from Pinkbike.com and Transition Bikes - they support me as much as they can.

Ways of support from Transition Bikes seems to be obvious, but about your collaboration with Pinkbike.com, could you tell us a little bit more?
For example, recently they sent me brand new Marzocchi 55 and I'm really grateful for that. I love them! I also receive stuff like tees and hoodies. I owe them even for the sponsorship from Transition. Cheers to the Pinkbike.com Crew! I would like to meet them one day and thank them for all of that in which they have done for me.

How did you convinced Pinkbike.com to sponsor you?
I didn't really have to convince them. I had asked if they knew any brands in which were looking for a rider and instead of an answer, they added me to the Pinkbike.com Team along with Casey Groves last year.

Nowadays we seem to run into you mostly on local trails. Don't you any foreign trips planned?
Actually, I don't have the money for that, but I'd like to visit some European bike parks in the future. Of course my dream is to ride in Whistler or Kamloops.


It's hard to overlook that most of your stunts have been captured by Tommy Rakoczy. How did your partnership begin?
One day I saw inline skating photos shot by Tommy. I talked to him then and from that time we've been working together a lot. We've got various ideas and we've been trying to accomplish them.

What gives you that much creativity in regards to inventing new spots for riding and shooting? Good party, beer with friends, riding on a bike?
Mostly from bike ridin'. But usually, when I see an interesting place, I start to imagine what I could do there on bike.


Are you sometimes looking for new trails by roaming on a motorcycle or by car?
Yeah, I do that with a Melex! Hahaha


Exactly you have a lot you can do with a Melex Golf Car...
Yep. I'm riding the Melex everyday with some old men and showing them monuments in Cracow! Generally, I am also interested in photography.

We're close to the end of this interview, would you like to thank anyone?
First of all, greets to Pinkbike.com & Transition Bikes. I'm also thankful for the support from Hayes Disc Brakes- velo.com.pl, zeit.com.pl, Bunnyhop.pl, gofox.pl, hcfr.pl and of course my girlfriend.

What should we wish for you now?
Hmmm... Huge jumps and brain waves for innovative lines.


Tell us about your train gap ideas and last year's adventure looking for one?
Ha ha! Last year I arrived with Tommy, Ryys and Motomysz to our southern neighbors in search of a place to build a train gap. We found one and spent two days on building the take off. Unfortunately we didn't have time to build a landing, so we planned to return there this year. Although it appeared that we were cutting trees from a Czech national park for 2 days. So we gave up further fruition of the project. Currently we're still searching for a proper place.

Tommy: So glad he gave up with that idea, cause I wouldn't go back there without a chain saw!

Photos: Tomek Rakoczy – www.tommysuperstar.com
Text: Damian Knapik – www.joy-ride.pl

-szczeki.pinkbike.com