Believe it or not, it is because of Animal that I started to ride BMX. Back in the days in 8th, maybe 9th grade, we used to sneak into the school’s computer lab to watch some random Youtube videos. One day a friend of mine, I can’t recall if he now rides or not, came in and showed us a video entitled “Animal BMX Roadtrip”. I was blown away, and next thing you know I was replacing my stolen hybrid with a BMX, a DK Fury. Ill suited for a freestyle bike, but that’s the best I had access to at the time.

Come to think of it, I never really stuck to Animal for my bike parts though. After talking with bike shop people and other local riders, I was quickly steered torwards brands like Fit, Odyssey, Primo and WeThePeople. The only Animal parts I ever had were pedals: unsealed metal Hamiltons that still are my Kona, and a pair of plastic Hamilton on my current bike setup. That and many pairs of Edwin Grips, which I consider the best thick grip out there. In the non-hardware related, I also emailed an Animal rep about a year ago to get my hands on the wicked Mike Brennan poster they had running a little while ago, which I got laminated and that now sits proudly right over my bed. Otherwise, I’d just check out their site a couple of times of month lusting over the awesome clothes they were putting out, to then be totally turned off by 3ride’s prices for the stuff.

However I have recently discovered that they have opened a web store of their own, with two extraordinary features: 1) they ship to Canada, 2) the prices are RIDICULOUSLY LOW compared to my LBS and online shops. Without further hesitation, I phoned up a buddy, and we ordered a bit of stuff to try the new e-store out. 96 hours later, I had a UPS box, with no COD border fees (a lifetime first for me) at my door. The contents:

Fine quality products, surprisingly good I’d even say. I knew what to expect from the Flap Ya Jacks, because after all it is a New Era, but for the rest, I had no clue. Turns out everything is solid, made out of quality fabrics and the stitching is clean and solid everywhere; unlike some other BMX stuff I had bought in the past from the now defunct Square One.

Oh and there’s one thing? You’ve probably noticed the INSANE amounts of stickers that was included with my pretty small (100$USD) order. Well I haven’t payed for those… I don’t know if somehow the warehouse guy remembered my name from the emails about the Brennan poster, but holy hell, that is a shitload of free stickers. They even included 3 posters with my order! I was awestruck. That’s what I call kickass customer service.

People (aka Russ from SPRFLS) have kind of been criticizing Animal for going from a respected OG small parts company to a brand that sells almost exclusively clothing. With what I’m seeing in their softgoods… I don’t have a problem with that. According to me, the BMX industry needs brands like Animal who have a respected and established branding to produce stuff that gets attention from the general public.

Anyways, I just wanted to make tender link love to Animal and for making my purchasing experience awesome. If you ever have a doubt on their products, well rest assured, the stuff is legit, and the service is exemplary.

Check out their brand new webstore, buy their stuff.