As you all might of heard a while back Pete from Dead Sailor decided the time was right to take a new avenue in life, which meant the doors at Dead Sailor shut, and up until recently that was that. Then there was rumouring that they might be re-opening. This is where long time UK legend (Anthony) Pill steps into frame. You might of seen Pill on the Ride UK Instagram page or even at your local park dealing in his lip tricks, but now that their new doors have opened we thought it would be a good time to catch up and see what is in store for Dead Sailor and its future…
Photos: Jack Wilkes
Ride: Hi Pill, for those that don’t know, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little about your history in BMX and what you’re up to these days?
Pill: My name is Anthony Pill, most people in the BMX world know me as Pill. I’m 47 years old and I’ve been riding for about 40 years. I used to compete internationally for a bit and had various sponsors like Haro, GT, Adidas, DC, Standard Bykes, Eastpak etc. Now I ride just for me; which is a far happier place to be! The bike has taken me around the world; I’ve been privileged enough to have travelled to some really crazy places and made solid friends for life. I just love BMX and I owe a great deal to it! These days I mostly ride mini-ramp tech sort of stuff. I try to get out a few times a week. I’m probably riding more now than I did in my thirties! I ride with Waddy and Sheila mainly, though Waddy’s been a bit slack recently!
R: When did the idea of taking over reigns at Dead Sailor start and when did it turn into a reality? I feel like when I was younger the idea of owning a shop was something a lot of people dreamt of but seems very much less so these days.
P: I’ve always had the dream of owning a BMX shop; always loved the idea. I’m getting a bit older now and I’m of the mindset that tomorrow never comes, so if you want to do something, do it now. I was already a customer of Dead Sailor and I knew Pete, so when it was put up for sale, it just seemed right. Pete didn’t own it at the time, so I was able to get a decent perspective on the business from him without him trying to sell it to me. There were a few people interested, but the others wanted to drastically change it – one wanted to change the name! – so Pete spoke with the owners and asked them to give me first refusal, which they did. And here we are. It sort of spiralled out of control after that! Originally it was supposed to be in Mount Hawke skatepark in a 30ft shipping container out front. Barry the manager was into the idea and so were the rest of the staff; seemed like a win win situation; the shop would bring new people to the park and the park would bring new people to the shop. But, the trustees voted against it, after I’d already bought the business and taken all the stock to my house! So I then spent about a month trying to find an affordable shop, 2 of which fell through for various reasons and 1 I put an offer in on never got back to me. So, I ended up in a shop that’s a little bit more expensive than I wanted, but also much bigger than the others; hence the mini ramp!
“I’ve always had the dream of owning a BMX shop; always loved the idea.I’m getting a bit older now and I’m of the mindset that tomorrow never comes,so if you want to do something, do it now” – Pill
R: The industry/retail side of BMX has been on a bit of a rollercoaster the past few years, how much did you know about the state of retail/bike industry before taking this on? Did it have any influence on your decision?
P: I’ve always been quite involved in the industry side of things. I was team manager at Haro and Eastpak for a while and I worked at Ride for a few years (when it was still in it’s regular magazine format), plus I’ve had a whole load of sponsors of all sorts over the years and they’ve always been quite open with figures and the state of the industry, plus I’m friends with Matt at Entity and we chat about these things on a semi-regular basis. I’ve also got friends who own BMX companies, so I get a bit of insider knowledge there. I knew about the ups and downs through lockdown, I had a reasonably good idea about the state of it all; I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I had a phone call with Stu Dawkins just to get his take on it all and he gave me some incredibly helpful advice and insights. He’s been in the BMX industry since before I started riding and has seen all the ups and downs and he’s still here, so who better for advice on this?
R: Core BMX shops are obviously a crucial part of the BMX scene, what do you think riders can do to help their local shop and scene?
P: Well, the obvious one is to simply buy from them. I understand that people are strapped for cash at the moment and the cost of living is becoming ridiculous, so it’s understandable if people go online to get the cheapest price, I get that, but if you want your BMX shop to still be here next year, the revenue has to come from somewhere! It’s also helpful to tag your local shop in your social media posts and run the stickers to advertise. Also, and this is a big one, if your mate owns a business and you want their business to succeed, don’t ask for a discount! You should want to pay full price to support your friends and help them to succeed.
R: And what can shops do to help their local riders and scene?
P: There is so much a shop can do to help the local riders and the scene. Regular events is a big one. We did a video premier for the Fiend film in the shop, which was awesome, and we intend to do more of those. I also want to start doing shop showings of classic BMX vids on their anniversaries – BMX shops across the country could do this at the same time. Everybody loves a jam; I intend to bring back the dead sailor easter Jam; they were always excellent. Get a shop team together. We have the main shop team with guys like Aaron Wilson and Casson Downing, and I’ve added a Legends team with the likes of Simon Tabron, Rob Ridge and Mike O’Connell, plus we have a new groms team with Luka Davies as the first member. We’re also doing signature clothing items for all of the team members for which they will get paid per sale, so they can choose to either take the money or put it towards something to help the scene. For example, we will be doing a Black Mine Trails T for Sam Coleman and he wants all of those profits to go towards the upkeep of the trails and/or events at the trails. So essentially, these products can build up little pots of funds here and there to help with the scene. And it’s all merit based; the more you promote the product, the more it sells, the more the funds build, and it also brings more people to the shop. Everyone’s a winner.
R: What is your main goal(s) with DS and do you have any other big future plans for dead sailor?
P: My main goal is to provide a service for the BMX scene in Cornwall and to help strengthen and grow the scene. I don’t need to make any money from the shop; I just need it to pay for itself! So my decisions on how to run things here are really based on what I think would be awesome. I want people leave the shop stoked! A lot of people who come in are blown away by the fact we have a mini ramp in the shop, and that makes me stoked. Some of the kids who come in are so excited and so into everything BMX, it’s awesome to see. I remember that feeling – my first ever mail order part when I was a kid was a fusion double-bolt seat clamp, and I still remember how excited I was when I opened it! It’s that exact feeling I can see in these kids, and that makes my day. We have big plans for the future. As mentioned earlier, we are bringing back the Jam, all the clothing stuff I mentioned, and some more Cornish style niche things – like Dead Sailor Rum are in the works. I have one very big plan I’m currently working on – but that’s a secret for now! I’m also looking at putting together a video featuring team and locals; just need to get the ball rolling on that. We are currently working with Rick to get Standard Bykes in the shop and we are now distributing The LAB clothing brand. I think We’ll do some collab stuff with Entity at some point too.
R: You’ve moved locations, can you tell us the new location address and opening times?
P: The new shop is in the Wharfside shopping centre in Penzance, TR18 2GB. If you park in the main harbour car park and go up the escalators, you’ll find us on the right. We are open 9-5 Monday to Saturday and often Sunday too, depending on what we got up to Saturday night, or if there’s a riding session happening at the Dead Sailor compound, or if there’s some good surf…
R: Any last words?
P: I should mention ‘the wall’. We have a mini ramp in the shop with a wall next to it. If you come into the shop and do a trick on the ramp nobody has done here before, you get your name on the wall. Because we have only been open 3 weeks, there’s not many names on there yet, so there’s loads of easy tricks to be snagged to get on there – low hanging fruit! But, as time goes on and the list gets longer, it will become harder and harder to get on there, so get down here asap to claim your spot! The question is, will you be happy with your name next to an easy trick? Or do you want to lay something down that you’re proud of? Get down here and make your mark. Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Pete (former captain of dead sailor), Dom and Fred at Clive Mitchell Cycles, Will (web designer), Stu at Seventies, Tom and Ian at 4down, Grant at BSD, Lee Potts for the ramp removal service and general help with everything for the shop, My wife Zanna for all her help and support (and for putting up with a house full of stock for so long!), Barry at Mount Hawke for helping me out with the ramp, Michael Henry Singh for donating some awesome tools for the shop, Waddy for helping out with videos and flyers (even though he’s not been in the shop yet!!!!), the team, especially Simon Tabron for rocking the Dead Sailor T at the Tony Hawk’s Vert Alert event! And, Stay RAD!!!
Check the website at: www.deadsailorbmx.co.uk
Follow Dead Sailor at : @deadsailorbmx & @deadsailorstore.store and follow Pill at @pill_bmx
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