Jack Miller

Jack Miller is one of the burning stars of the UK BMX scene. Growing up in Inverness, nestled deep in the Scottish Highlands. Jack honed his skills from a young age, following his father’s footsteps as a BMX rider. Riding his home park of Inverness, his aptitude for street really came out having moved south of the border to Newcastle in the North East of England. Now, Jack is part of a new wave of street riders – super tech, high seat posts with an ambidextrous skillset to back it up - as well as an on-trend clothing style with a firm nod to the nineties. Coinciding with Jack’s upcoming High Flyers part with Dig Magazine, we picked up the phone, hit the +44 and gave the man a call to see what’s good.

So Jack, give us a little background on yourself.

I’m Jack Millar, I’m a BMXer, 22 years from Inverness in Scotland but now I live in Newcastle. My mum moved here when I was 17 and I decided to move down as it was more of a vibrant scene than staying back up in Inverness.

Talk us through your journey in BMX

I started off pretty young, when I was about 3. My dad got me into riding, as he did BMX and still does. Him and I rode together until I was 16 or so with friends growing in Inverness, we had a tight crew that would always go out riding and film little videos. I slowly progressed, making more videos and the like. When I moved down to Newcastle I started getting hooked by Waller BMX in Sheffield who I still ride for now – always grateful for them. From there I got on the Ride UK BMX page, from there I got onto seventies, then Stranger, Federal and Cinema – then Alex the Team Manager from Vans reached out to me a few years back. That was crazy, a real turning point for me.

Describe your local scene.

The local scene here in Newcastle is pretty sick, everyone has full time jobs as you do. Usually it’s just me and my filmer; Charlie who is filming and taking pics. On the weekends when the weather is good there’s more of a crew. We always focus on street, there’s this spot called Sandman, as there’s this hotel right by it called Sandman. It’s a ledge spot, which you could say is our equivalent of Parallel in Barcelona. We session that spot a lot!

How does your average day shape up?

Usually wake up, straight on the computer and put on some music. Music is a big part of my life. Look out the window, scope the weather – if it’s dry, I’ll meet up with Charlie and ride and film. From there, we’ll head back to his, check the footage, edit and eat. If it’s wet, I’ll try and stay active, usually that takes the form of climbing. Something different!

And where do you most like to ride outside of Newcastle?

Hard one! Definitely where I grew up in Inverness; that’s in my opinion the best skate park I have ever ridden. Other than that, Glasgow is sick, I love to ride there. The parks in Brighton are also really good. I went to Porto last December with Doomed, the clothing company I’m on. It was a little like the UK weather-wise, not the best but we made the most of it, the spots were crazy and the company was even better.

However that being said, I love Barcelona the most. That’s the best for me. There’s such a nice community to ride with, everyone just wants to ride and have fun – it makes you want to move there. Every time I go there, I just want to stay, I don’t want to leave.

How would you describe the UK BMX scene?

It’s insane at the moment. There are these Backyard Jams that they do here and the level of riding is really impressive, everyone pushes each other to go harder and harder. No one has any sign of slowing down at the moment, the level of progression is so high. Glasgow is really leading the charge at the moment with the BSD Boys, and Hastings is a big one as well with the Source Park there and the Battle of Hastings event. Bristol as well has a huge scene, it’s popping off everywhere right now.

What have you been working on recently?

Recently Charlie and I finished our Vans part as part of the High Flyers series with Dig magazine. We filmed it in two or three months which was quite a quick turnaround – we like that, it keeps us on our toes. We mainly shot in Newcastle which was rad to shoot at home and then had a little week in Barcelona to finish things up.

How would you describe the vibe within the Vans BMX team?

It’s the best. It doesn’t register in my head at times - it feels like a dream every time I think about it. I looked up to all the riders on Vans, my dad bought me Vans as a kid. I’ve always dreamt of this. Having Alex as a TM is incredible, watching him in videos back in the day as a kid got me hyped to ride and now I can pick up the phone and go on trips with him. It’s crazy to me.

What and who inspires you in BMX?

My dad inspired me the most - to ride more, to progress. Seeing him ride always got me hyped. As well now, seeing kids ride, the younger generation coming up really gets me excited as they remind me of my younger self. Also seeing my friends ride and learn new tricks really fires me up. The Barcelona scene is a massive of inspiration for me, it’s a huge source of energy for me, everyone is keen to ride and have fun – that’s the main thing about it.

And outside of BMX? What gets you fired up?

I’m really interested in Fashion. I feel it’s a really important part of BMX, you always feel better riding in a good outfit. I go to a lot of DJ events, a lot of my friends DJ and I’m always there dancing and enjoying the music. That interest in Music always transcends into BMX for me as I like to be pretty selective with the music choices Charlie and I use – we like to use dance music to give it that fun, want to go ride vibe to our films. I’m also into art and that intersection with fashion, I’ve been drawing on clothes a lot recently and really enjoying that process.

Favourite Vans Shoe to Ride in?

The Half Cabs!

Any last words? A message for the internet? A message to your former self?

Thanks to all that support me, friends, family and sponsors. Get out on the bike, go film and have fun with your friends.