Why Music?

If you grew up watching BMX videos, you already know. The riding got you hyped, but the music got embedded in your soul. I can still hear certain songs and be instantly transported back to a specific video part — the trick, the spot, the whole feeling of it. That's not an accident. The people behind those videos understood that the right song didn't just accompany the riding, it amplified it.

• 

• 

For me, Props Video Magazine was a big part of that. The songs they picked defined a generation musical choices for riders. I'd watch a section and walk away just as stoked on the music as the riding itself, going down rabbit holes trying to figure out who I'd just heard.

That connection between bikes and music has followed me my whole life. I did two years on the Vans Warped Tour — and I'll tell you, it doesn't get much better than riding your bike while your favorite bands are playing a few hundred feet away. That experience kind of sealed it for me. The two things just belong together.

• 

• 

And it's not just BMX. The right song can carry you through the last twenty miles of a hundred mile gravel grind when your legs have nothing left. Or set the perfect mood for a solo mountain bike ride where it's just you, the trail, and whatever's coming through your headphones. Music and bikes work in every discipline — you just need the right soundtrack.

I also spent time as the music editor for Ride BMX Magazine, which gave me a front row seat to how deeply music was woven into bike culture. It wasn't background noise. It was part of the identity.

FrequentLeigh is where I get to bring all of that together. The riding, the music, and hopefully helping you find something new to put in your ears the next time you go out for a session.