Starboy and S-King of the Lagos Crew perform in front of a crowd of onlookers in Lagos on April 25, 2019.
© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
BMX

BMX breaks new ground on the streets of Lagos

Watch how a group of local riders are reinventing grassroots riding in Nigeria.
Written by Ric McLaughlin
1 min readPublished on
BMX street is one of the most frequently evolving sports in the world. Fashions come and go as pro riders flit between the contest scene and their latest big-budget video release. In Nigeria, as you can see in the video above, things are a bit different.
S-King performs outside a stadium in Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018.

This is a diverse crew of talents and skills

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

BMXers are seen riding in Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018.

BMX rules on these streets; the crew are in their element

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

Rider known as Starboy performs on wasteland i Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018.

This is Starboy; he was inspired to ride by watching BMX videos online

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

Detail of a BMX rider's tattoos as seen in Lagos, Nigeria on June 17, 2018.

BMX has helped most of these lads stay out of trouble and focus on careers

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

The camaraderie and bond among the crew is strong

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

As it is around the globe, riding bikes can be about breaking down walls and allowing an ever-growing group of riders to connect and feed off each other's inspirations and influences.
The bike rider known S-King poses for a portrait in Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018

S-King in his home environment – BMX has been a positive influence for him

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

A local rider is shown displaying his love for BMX by having the words cut into his hair in Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018

Displaying the love

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

The BMX rider known as S-King is seen riding in front of a crowd in Lagos, Nigeria on June 19, 2018.

S-King puts on a show; exposing BMX to more people can only help its growth

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

The BMX rider known as Starboy is seen riding in Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018.

There's no skatepark here, so everything is a playground for Starboy

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

KK Money: Teacher by day, a BMX evangelist any other time

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

Poise and passion from S-King

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

In this film, Starboy, KK Money and S-King lead us through the streets of Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, to illustrate just what a difference riding bikes has made to their lives and what their hopes are for the history of the sport in their town.
Check out even more behind-the-scenes images from the film:
S-King as seen riding in Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018

There's a natural flair to the crew, they want to make people happy

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

The bike rider known as S-King is seen riding under a bridge in Lagos, Nigeria on June 19, 2018

Flatland skills from S-King

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

The BMX rider known as Starboy fixes his bike in Lagos, Nigeria on June 18, 2018

Starboy is an engineer in his day job, so he's a natural at fixing up bikes

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

BMX rider known as Starboy performs a wallride in Lagos, Nigeria on June 20, 2018.

With everything fixed, Starboy heads out to ride

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

The whole of the BMX Nigeria riding crew

© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool

BMX on the streets of Lagos seems to be a blend of both old- and new-school influences and looks set to head off in its own unique direction as the riders and scene evolves. We can't wait to see just what the future brings for BMX in Nigeria.
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