Name: Paul Lincoln Chamberlain

Age: 23                                   

Where are you from? Southend-on-Sea, Essex.

How long have you been riding? I’ve been riding flatland for almost 3 years now. Before that I rode but not that much - At skateparks and mostly just at weekends.

How did you get into riding? My fiends at school were into mountain biking and I wanted to tag along – more sociably than anything else. I couldn’t afford a mountain bike so I got a cheap BMX from Action Bikes. I just used it for cycling to school and going to basketball practice back then mostly. One day I saw this guy called Al busting some grinds on a bench near a local bike shop. I remember wanting a piece of that pie. I went out and learnt how to grind benches the next day. Then I met a local kid called Arron and we started riding street together most evenings - until I went to uni and he had a kid... They were good times – we used to travel around all over the place together. Riding was always an adventure back then.

How often do you practice? I like to ride for at least an hour each day. When I’m not working and don’t have anything else on I’ll ride for at least 6 hours, sometimes more sometimes less. I ride until I am satisfied with what I achieved that day.

Why do you ride brakeless? I don’t think that brakes can contribute anything positive to my riding. I would not want the wheel to stop moving I guess…

Last trick you learnt? Opposite pedal hang fives. I’m actually in control of them – I was flowing them for ages yesterday. Takes me a few goes to get one in the right place but hopefully I’ll be linking out of them in a couple of weeks.

What motivates you to ride? Everything I think. I always want to ride. I guess new ideas and having to do things with my time that I don’t want to do are my two biggest motivations. I like to see if I can pull a certain link when the weather is really bad – like a test or something… I will ride no matter how I am feeling. Adapt to suit.

Describe your style? Free. I want it to be my own. I want it to be flowing.

What sort of music do you listen to? I like a lot of different stuff. I don’t listen to music when I ride. I used to say that I like to hear the bike moving, but I want an mp3 player now, as my main spot has been getting very busy lately. At the moment it’s The Streets, The Pet Shop Boys, Four Tet, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lethal B, Radiohead and Bob Dylan. My favourite songs are Witness (1 Hope) by Roots Manuva and Thrasher by Neil Young.

Most inspirational video? I would have to say Etnies Forward. That video had a huge impact on me when it came out. I don’t get that inspired by videos anymore. I think that is because as a flatlander you can’t just go and bust something out. I like Adversity; anything with UK riders in it makes me feel good. Any footage of Japanese riders gets me going to – KOG section on one of the Manifestos, that gets me so motivated to ride that I’ll go out in the snow.

What do you associate inertia with? Purity. Innovation. Passion.

Plans for the future? I really don’t like making plans. For now I just like to each day as it comes and strive to make each one happy and rewarding. I want to keep riding obviously. Oh, I am getting married… That’s a long story…

Thanks: Firstly I’d like to thank Lee at Inertia for the opportunity. Jen for everything. Eddie Chan for getting me into flatland. Al for helping me out in the beginning and driving me to different places to ride (ROM, Playstation – good times). Dave Leslie for opening my eyes when I first started riding flat. James Smith for a lot of things over the past couple of years. All of the riders in Southend - Jack, Steve-O and the Sale family.