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031

Nick Murphy writer

28 July 2010

designtransport

Wheelie Good*

Emer is a BMX clothing brand that I remember from the 90s. I would occasionally see an Emer-clad Phil Dolan in his world-beating days or maybe spot the infamous Igo brothers sporting Emer during their reign of carnage. Turns out Level contributor—and man behind Emer—Johann Chan is firing up some new Emer products again.

There are a couple of nice t-shirts and, more interestingly, a prototype for a new bike, the very agile and tight-looking Emer Swift: “The Swift is designed with modern BMX geometry so it retains the same riding position as a modern BMX, but runs high-set gearing and big skinny wheels for greater speed,” says Johann. “It’s still nimble enough to ride as a BMX, and it’s also quick.” The Swift boasts a very tight back end for a cruiser, making it more manual-friendly than other cruisers. The striking graphics were designed by top type designer Seb Lester [see Goodstuff 009], who also has a background in BMX. (This is proven in his profile on the Emer site, which includes an excellent picture of him performing a backwards rubber ride.)

Johann breaks it down for us: “It’s a cruiser for people who want to beat fixies to the pub.”

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glimpses

LATEST: 27 July 2009

ANDY JENKINS WRITER + PHOTOGRAPHER

Only numbers

The drive thru line is long, so I decide to park and go in. Never been inside this particular fast food joint, but they make a good chicken pita pocket, so I go for it. The parking lot is tight. Ridiculously tight. I wait for a giant Suburban to struggle its way through a twenty-point turn, before slithering into the spot it vacated. As I walk in, I pass a line of homeless folks sitting on the stoop out front. The cement is black with their time spent. Inside I instantly get a turnaround from a tall, bald, flame-tattooed white man waiting his turn at the register.

“Number 911!” shouts the Hispanic girl from behind the counter. “Your order is up!”

Flame man turns towards me. He’s looking at me but not looking at me. Then he leans into the elderly black woman between us in line and practically spits out the words, “911! Fuck. Remember that?”

“Uh-huh,” she says, shaking her head. “Terrible. Just terrible.”

“Shit… I was doing just fine before 911. Mother fuckers. We used to deal our drugs through the mail before that day! FedEx that shit! Damn.” The woman shakes her head again. I can’t tell if they know each other, but I’m thinking she’s his parole officer and humoring him. He’s fidgety, she’s stoic, her chin up, dressed nicely. He orders, gets his bag and walks past us. “Nice talking to you, ma’am,” and swaggers out.

—27 July 2009

Postcard by Tucker Nichols