I first heard of Matt Barchus a few years back on BikeGuide/bmxboard/ 20inchnyc/TCUB, probably all of them. I want to say it was followed by the usual description of an underground rider that goes something like ‘so and so is below the radar but still an absolute shredder, get ready for him to blow up this year’. It wasn’t really one person but a few, so it seemed like a lot of people were backing this guy Matt. Outside the few seldom clips Matt didn’t have much footage so the the readers didn’t have anything to go by but a few well known guy’s word.
As the year went by a small steady stream of footage started coming out and Matt seemed to be making a bit of a name for himself. He was picked up by a underground but still very established brands like Pegleg and Sputnic, both of whom had a strong web presence at the time. Both that Matt Barchus was putting some work into.
Still though, Matt only had a small stash of riding videos but somehow I still remember that name Matt Barchus. Which I guess is the byproduct of so many of his friends constantly backing him up online believing in his riding and personhood. Which is definitely proven true the past few days with his passing.
In this last Shook video which was released solely online, Matt had a section riding some local spots. Even before watching this again I remember Matt had a fearless straight hop.
Matt Barchus
My Girls by the Animal Collective
Shook - Gotta Blast(2008)
Edited by Chad Shackleford
