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JOE FERGUSON: Who is Fergy?

Question time with the talented Yorkshireman

Joe Ferguson aka Fergy is one of those naturally talented bike riders who can seemingly pull any trick he can dream up. I remember the first time I saw him ride, my mind drew a direct comparison to Kevin Peraza – he’s got that kind of smooth confidence on a bike that makes the toughest tricks look both easy and fun. It’s quite a knack. Adam Lievesley spent some time with him recently as he built up a new frame and tested it out at Hyde Park in Leeds.

Interview and photos: Adam Lievesley

Q&A with Joe Ferguson

– Who is Fergy? Tell us a bit about yourself.

I’m 22, I’m from York in (you guessed it) Yorkshire and I’ve been riding for what will be 11 years this Christmas. There’s not much else to it really!

– What’s your usual ritual for riding? Where do you go? Who with?

I don’t really have a usual ritual any more and I’m a bit all over the place now! The scene where I’m from is pretty much dead and I’ve always felt myself going further afield to ride new places and with new people since I was young. Through that I met many great mates that I still ride with today! I end up traveling further to ride as my local skateparks aren’t the greatest and I’ve ridden them all my life. I have been going to the Asylum most regularly with Ben Towle before lockdown hit us, I love that place so much.

“We have just built a mini ramp in my garage which is pretty tight and sketchy but it’s the only indoor skatepark in Yorkshire we can ride for the rest of the month!”

Now we’re in lockdown again I’ve been hitting up my more local outdoors, the likes of Hyde park, Thornes Park and others. This question is hard for me to answer because I’ve just felt myself being all over since the beginning. We have just built a mini ramp in my garage which is pretty tight and sketchy but it’s the only indoor skatepark in Yorkshire we can ride for the rest of the month, so we’re pretty stoked!

– How old were you when you started riding and who did you look up to?

I was 10 years old when I started riding and I would say I used to mess around jumping them Halfords kicker ramps on little kids bikes since I can remember like most of us. I got my first BMX for Christmas of ’09 and that was it. I’d say my first hero was Chase Hawk when I started riding but I’ve always had so many heroes I’ve looked up to, the likes of Pat Casey, Harry Main, Dennis Enarson, Mike Varga and Simone Barraco, the list goes on.

– You’re quite a regular at some contests. What events have you been to and have you got any planned?

I would say I’ve been to more competitions in France than I have the UK for sure. I’ve always loved it out there, the atmosphere isn’t like any other. Everyone’s always so stoked for each other, it’s a good laugh and most importantly the weather is pretty good. I’ve been to a lot of FISE Experience series contests since I started going to contests in about 2014/15 and have been a regular at the NL contest for the past few years. They’ve always looked after me pretty well and I wish there were more contests like Backyard Jam in the UK. It’d be so sick to see more contests in the UK like that.

– What results have you had from any competitions?

Well I’ve never been a consistent contender in competitions. I mean, I’ve had some decent results in the FISE Experience series over the years and got 2nd in pro park at NL contest in 2017 and 2nd in dirt the following year but wouldn’t say it’s been my forte, but I do want to be more consistent at the events. I just love travelling to these places and getting out there and I mean if you do well it’s a bonus and maybe some cash to cover the trip!

– I’ve seen you’ve recently been riding a Radio Bikes Nemesis frame. What’s that about?

The Radio thing has actually been in the works for around a year. There’s not really much more I can tell you, I was just stoked that Rob (Andrews) could sort me out with a fresh frame and bars, especially when my bike felt so sketchy and the bars were so old I just knew they were going to snap some time soon and to be honest the Radio frame feels so good. It’s a little longer front end but a shorter back end, so it feels like it’s easier to trick but nicer to flow around on. If you ask me, it’s a pretty hard geometry set up to master so props to whoever came up with that frame.

“I want to get back to Barcelona ASAP (best city on earth!)”

– 2020 has been a crap year for most. What have you been doing to keep occupied, did you ride much?

Well 2020 was definitely a weird one for us all but for me personally it started pretty well with going to the DUB Jam in Barcelona. Then boom, the Rona appeared and I wasn’t riding at all really through the first lockdown because where I’m living at the moment we don’t have any local outdoor parks and the closest isn’t even worth riding so I found myself just gaming for weeks on end. As the lockdown eased, we then built a trick jump and got right back to it and I was feeling good on my bike again until around July when I looped out going to do a nozzie bar. I busted up my knee which set me back for 3 months but since September I’ve been back riding again and feeling good! I just hope there’s no more bumps in the road for a while.

– If 2021 is back to some sort of normality, what are your plans for it? Any trips, videos or events planned?

First off I’d like to hope that we can all get back in the indoor parks for the cold months ahead. The British weather is not great in the likes of Jan/Feb (not even great all year round.) I hope the contests start up again next year as well and I want to get back to Barcelona ASAP (best city on earth!)

I’ve started filming a video part recently just before the second lockdown hit and I’ve been finding it hard to find the right spots for the ideas I have at the moment. But I’m stoked on the clips I have so far, so yeah, I’ll finish that off and I’ll go from there.

– Any final words or shout outs?

I’d like to thank my grandparents for all that they’ve done for me throughout my riding life. My girlfriend Jess and my family have supported me always through competitions and also helped me travel to different parks across the UK and abroad. I really appreciate Rob Andrews at Moore Large for hooking me up with the freshest bike and Adam Lievesley for shooting some mint pictures for me. Also, for the opportunity to have my first real piece in Ride UK BMX.