With online content from Ride BMX (the USA one) on hold and everyone in the trade wondering what the hell is going on with the staff there, Ryan Fudger and the editorial team decided to release a little info via Instagram. We’ll keep an eye on this as it develops – hopefully Ryan, Jeff Z and the guys can pull something good together and rescue this iconic title from recent media turmoil. Watch this space. Here’s word from Ryan Fudger:
“So, yeah… On Thursday, January 31st, our parent company ASN was sold and the new owners decided to put Ride on pause and let the staff (Jeff, Adam, and myself) go. Truthfully, it was a brutal day that I did not see coming. I know rumors have been flying and we’ve been actively asking people to not be public about it. It wasn’t our intention to deceive anyone, but we wanted to minimize any damaging rumors to Ride as we were in active negotiations to purchase the brand. Ride has been a core part of my life since I began working for the brand when I was just 21 years old. In most ways, it’s who I am and what I do. And I’m sure it’s the same for Jeff, who’s been with Ride for even longer than I have. We’ve all poured ourselves into Ride and really, being let go from the brand didn’t shake me because I was confident that we’d come away with Ride in our hands. So, it was rather crushing to hear on Monday that the new owners will not be selling. It’s not about money. As far as I can extrapolate, their reasoning may lie in a current national news story that is affecting the parent company as a whole and that’s trickled down to freezing any and all brand sales. So yeah, that’s where we’re at. Ride is stagnant and I don’t know what will happen. I still have hope that it will end up in our hands in the near future, but I also need to take a step back and lookout for myself and my family. If I get any good news, I’ll definitely share it. Thanks to everyone for their support…” – Ryan
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