Freestyle BMXer Tom Haugen is answesing the Who? What? Where? Why? And How? From the GO211 community as he gets ready to head to his home town of Minneapolis for the first stop on the ASA Action Sports tour April 25th. So ask this music savvy ripper anything and everything about being a part of the infamous Free Agent crew what it's like to compete in virtually every BMX event known to man....fire away he's all yours..

i'd probably make him mow my lawn for the summer. and fix all my flats for a year.

that's easy- my mother.

deal :)

i'd like to learn them all, but i only ride foam pits once every year at the most, so i just work with the resources i have here.

the key to doing a 360 off anything is turning your head over your shoulder and to keep looking. if your head is turned, your body will follow. also, don't start trying to spin the 360 too early; if you do you'll hit your back wheel on the top of the ramp or spin off to the side. as you leave the ramp, turn your head and use your arms and legs to move the bike with you.

i'm really good at not worrying about who is watching me or how many people are around when i ride. i listen to music when i ride, and this allows me to stay in my own little world in my helmet. when my name is called and it's my turn, i just hit play on my music and focus on what i'm doing till i'm done. whether 1 or 10,000 people are watching really doesn't matter.

last i heard, Bmx park will be in the next Olympic games. however, i can't tell you if this is 100% for sure- it's just what i've been told.

framestand air? you may have me confused with someone else- what is that?

well, pretty much every jumping trick i learned began at Dover in Golden Valley, Minnesota from 1991-1995. i rode there all day, everyday and during that time i went from learning basics like x-ups to 360 tailwhips. i think back then it seemed pretty amazing to be doing hard jumping variations, but at the same time the jump was a big flyout so you could basically try anything without the fear of having to do it perfectly cause there was no downside. it was a great place- some of the best times i've had on a bike were there.

these days, park contests are essentially jumping contests. i've always relied on my other strengths to make up for my lack of difficult box jump tricks, but last time i had a good park run at Dew Tour i ended up 13th while guys who fell off their bikes but later did a big box jump trick made the finals.

the only box jump i ever ride is the one at Merritt Island and the landing is rounded so it feels odd to jump backwards. i can do some basics over it backward- x up, barspins, no handers, etc. but certainly nothing really difficult.

attending events, exchanging kind words, or even shaking my hand in person- those kind of things mean a lot to me, to be able to make a personal connection with someone in real life.

the craziest show i ever did was in Tahiti with Josh Heino, Ryan O'Connell, Kanten Russell and Chad Knight. we came out a week early to promote it around the island doing demos, and at the end of the week it was in a makeshift stadium on the island. it was made out to be similar to the Boom Boom Huck Jam, with moto, skate and bmx. there wasn't much to work with in the way of ramps, but everyone rode and skated the best they could and Kanten and Chad (Osiris skaters) threw their used shoes in the crowd after the show. we stayed in some type of youth hostel most of the time with no AC and cockroaches as big as my hand. i've never had to wear anything outrageous doing shows. if i'm asked to and i don't want to wear it i make it clear it's not going to happen. one time i was asked to do something for City Walk here in Orlando that required some awful costume. after i saw what they wanted me to wear i turned it down.

i haven't seen Chase in years, but he was always very fit. Trevor is still in great shape, too. Didn't one of those two challenge the other to a fight in a magazine interview?

RAD was definitely a huge influence. i used to watch the beginning and end credits repeatedly trying to get ideas for tricks to learn. Minneapolis had a very talented riding scene back then too and seeing all the older guys riding at the MFS events really inspired me. guys like John Mulhouse, Krt Schmidt, John Wold, Jamie McParland, Andy Johnson, Mark Lukens, and even Prince's buddy Shad Holland!

i rarely ride street; if i'm on the road and staying in a hotel i'll go pedal around to find something to ride, or if I'm back in Minnesota I'll go out Jay Schlie sometimes. The U of M in Minneapolis is probably my favorite spot, though. that dumptruck manual started out as a joke; i did it the first time in France on the GT tour in 2000 for a laugh. pretty soon people started asking me to do it and Losey was insistent on shooting a sequence of it for the magazine. he hounded me for a year to do that before i shot it, until i gave in. i actually just did it last week just to see if i could still do it...

i ride strictly for the feeling of personal satisfaction. it's not a social thing for me, it's not for money, it's not for 'fame'- i do it because at the end of the day i love the feeling of doing something that i previously only imagined myself being able to do.

that's funny, cause i just got done giving someone a ride on my handlebars not even ten minutes ago!

the business side of Bmx leaves a lot to be desired i've come to find out. while i've worked with some very sincere, genuine hard working people in this sport, i've worked with twice as many people with a dire lack of moral character and a penchant for questionable ethics- and that's putting it charitably. i don't doubt that someday someone in this industry will write a behind the scenes book and reveal what really goes on behind closed doors in Bmx. people are only human and mistakes do happen, but i've seen a lot of very deliberate behavior executed against good people.

well, you really could wear any shoe you wanted and i've even seen video of people riding barefoot. but a good, well padded shoe will make it more comfortable and safe. flat soled shoes are more desirable because that way the entire bottom of the shoe will make contact with the pedal. but like i said, it is feasible to ride with any shoe if you really want.