Langlands is a known as a true BMX dirt warrior who has taken the sport to another level with trick variations, distances and building some of the sickest parks available. His riding is about as insane as they come which is a direct reflection of his crazy personality. Coming off multiple injuries which would put an end to many careers, Paul just pedals on and never gives up. Check out what Paul has to say in this week’s Sit Down interview…
MM: What do you got going on today?
PL: Well I checked the weather last night and it was supposed to be shit today, so I went out and got hammered last night! So to answer your question… today I am spending my time recovering from the all the action I can’t or shouldn’t remember haha.
MM: So what really got you interested in starting BMX?
PL: I just like it because you can do whatever you want really. Plus the feeling you get when you land something really huge and you’ve been intimidated by… it’s like nothing else and makes you want to do more!
MM: I know over the years you’ve really stepped it up and have gone down HARD! What’s the craziest injury you have ever had from riding?
PL: The injuries seem to give me motivation to get back on and go harder each time. The worse injury would be my head injury I suffered last October. The craziest would be when I lacerated my spleen and kidney at a comp and not feeling to flash. I was just winded and felt like I bruised my abs so I decided to drive home. A quarter of the way through the 2 hour drive I was feeling this really heavy pain. So I just drove straight to the hospital to be told how stupid I was by the doctors and then didn’t leave for 2 weeks.
MM: What do you currently have up your sleeve?
PL: Currently I have built some new sets in the yard and I’m working hard on getting my riding dialed again to come back strong this coming season. There will be a new video edit in the works and another ‘Jam’ coming up this summer so keep an eye out for that! Pretty amped and motivated to get shit done so be ready!
MM: Do you have any other riders who really motivate you these days and make you want to go harder?
PL: My main motivation would be my friend Dane Searls who passed away after setting the world record of flipping 60ft dirt-to-dirt, he would be my biggest inspiration! Another buddy of mine Jed Mildon is going to be setting some records on some other big dirt hits here in NZ so hanging around with ‘like-minded’ people helps push me a lot. Back when I was younger from age 10 before I even had any idea I wanted to become a pro rider, the riders I looked up to the most was those of the Metal Mulisha. I followed FMX more than BMX and was the biggest fan. I think I was the only person I knew running M/M in my whole country at the time haha. Now Mulisha has taken over the world so I’m pumped to be part of the team!
MM: Let’s say you could load up with any 3 riders and spend a month filming anywhere in the world… who would you bring, where would you go and why?
PL: I would take any 3 of my mates I ride with these days as they’re all good cunts and it’s hard to single out just 3. But I would defiantly have to take some Maidens along too… can’t leave them out of the good time! I would love to go to some island in the middle of nowhere that has nice gold clay dirt and machinery to build a massive park. Just hangout, ride and do whatever dodgy shit we wanted to with no one to disturb us the mayhem.
MM: What are your travel plans looking like for the rest of the year?
PL: I was booked to head back to the states but now I’m out of this fucking arm cast and the weather has sorting itself. So with that said… I’ve decided to stay in NZ and build up my yard and pump out some riding. After this NZ summer next year I will probably head back to Cali and Europe again and hit some comps.
MM: What are you getting into when you aren’t riding these days?
PL: Digging everyday and shoveling jumps because they don’t build themselves. I do a lot of physical work to try stay strong to be able to handle the hits and always keep up on my fitness so I can ride harder for longer. Don’t have many days away from riding lately though as I’ve had so much time off with injury I’m putting 100% into it whenever I can. In my spare time away from all of that though I do a bit of welding to make cool shit and I’m pretty impatient so my quality isn’t always the best haha.
MM: We all know you are plenty capable of getting down to party! What makes for a good night out for you? Any choice drinks or other party materials you like to work with?
PL: Haha materials… Well I’m a Jack Daniels man, if it’s being mixed it’s got to be strong because it’ s the whiskey you’re drinking and the fizz is just there for a little bit of flavor not the other way around! A good night consists of plenty of Jack, hanging with mates with no fucking clowns around and some nice looking lusties!
MM: Tell us something about yourself that might surprise people?
PL: If you step on the wrong side of me you’d get a surprise. I’m a good cunt to those who are good to me but as soon as someone crosses me… they’ll know about it. If there was a way for me to fight a clone of me I wouldn’t want to have to do it, shit would get savage.
View more of Paul’s BMX Compound in our photo gallery.
Follow Paul –
Twitter: @langasbmx
Facebook: Langlands
Instagram: @langersbmx
Check out some of the latest items you can find Paul riding in available right now at a local MM retailer or in our online store!
