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The following is a rundown of how OSS devolved from a company devoted to riding and its crew, into the current mess it is.Could you even imagine if one of TCU’s competitor’s started a clothing line, built a brand up around a core of riders, and then opened up a shop in downtown LA with a website that features no team list or mention at all? Not only is there no team list, the interior of the shop doesn’t feature an image of single person on a bike, OSS or otherwise. It sounds like the type of corporate exploitation that BMX has tried so hard to keep out.
As far as I can tell the current aim of OSS is to build up the brand to the level of a legitimate street wear company and then phase out the BMX aspect of it altogether. Are you aware that OSS has not taken a team trip in over 2 years? I went to the last event at OSS, a Scott Marceau photo show, and not a single OSS team member was in attendance. Wonder why? Because Adam has fed empty promise after empty promise to all of them, and then treated others extremely poorly.
To start with Adam punched Mike Mastroni in the head multiple times, after berating him for months on end. I was in town when this happened, and a whole bunch of us were going out riding with Jeff Z in LA. In addition to Mastroni’s van, Jeff drove his car along and I hopped in there with him and the van followed us. During the ride to the first spot I mentioned to Z that tensions at the house were really escalating and that I felt Mastroni would soon snap due to Adam’s harassment. As we neared our destination, the van inexplicably stopped behind us at an intersection, but since they had the GPS coordinates we kept on going. When the van finally arrived at the spot, the crew poured out, but were uncharacteristically silent. It turns out Adam was fucking with Mike, and Mike punched him Adam in the arm, and then Adam proceeded to pummel Mike’s head until Lee Dennis and others intervened. I discussed this incident with Mike recently and he expressed that it was a true low point in his life, and he seriously considered moving back to Connecticut. Fortunately he landed a job at Volume shortly thereafter, and his involvement with OSS decreased dramatically from that point forward.
If this was the only incident of excessive and unnecessary violence towards the team, maybe it could be chalked up as an isolated incident. However that’s not the case. In March of 2011 I joined Adam22 , Mike Mastroni, Charlie Crumlish, Alex Raban, and Scott Ditchburn on a trip to Austin. We would be staying with a group of girls whom they’d met previously. One of which would develop into being Charlie’s girlfriend. I left trip early, as I had work obligations to return to in Massachusetts, but others recounted the assault that ended Adam’s stay in Austin. Adam and Charlie’s girlfriend got into some sort of argument while they were out a bar. Adam’s response was to latch his hands around her throat and choke her. As you can imagine Adam was no longer welcome where they were staying and drove straight back to Long Beach alone.
The third physical altercation occurred at the OSS house in Long Beach. I was in town once again, and the house had a quite a few people over the house for a party. Adam was constantly messing with Zach Krejmas and his girlfriend and that night was more of the same. Despite the fact the place was trashed, and any hope of a returned security deposit was long gone, Adam flew off the handle over Zach’s girlfriend smoking a cigarette inside the house. He got up off the couch screaming at her and told Zach to “control his bitch.” That’s when Zach walked over looking to calm things down. Adam started swinging his fists, but didn’t manage to connect very hard as Chris Long and Zach’s brother Joel broke it up before it got bad.
Around this time OSS were working on Ruin Your Whole Summer, but the crew wasn’t as enthused with the project as Adam had hoped. Adam’s selfish and ignorant ways had severely diminished any close knit crew vibe that had once existed. A group message was sent out regarding the progress of the video looking to get things back on track. Garrett Reeves and Jake Seeley both said that regrettably they wouldn’t be able to make the DVD a priority. They were both recovering from injuries and had obligations to paying sponsors. Adam accused them of “acting like they are big time.” Seeley was off the team within three months and Garrett didn’t film another clip for the video. It was interesting to see the video released in July of 2013 as a ton of the clips were old and a lot of longstanding members of the crew could hardly care less. To the best of my knowledge the following sections were a bit dated by the release date.
Mastroni - last filmed clips was in SLC in April 2012. 15 months prior to video release.
Garrett Reeves - last filmed clip was at least a year old by video release.
Tate Roskelley - last clip was filmed in SLC in March of 2012. 16 months prior to video release.
Alex Raban - last filmed clip was at least a year old by video release.
Myself - last filmed clip was in California in March of 2012. 16 months prior to video release.
Doesn’t exactly paint a picture of a crew with much enthusiasm for Ruin Your Whole Summer now does it?
Due to all of these transgressions there was a need to infuse new blood into the company. Young guys like Stevie Churchill and Brandon Begin are willing to work their asses off and let Adam profit. Without any written team list it should be a lot easier for him to implement a short term strategy of using riders and moving on from them. If he loved BMX so much, and wanted to support his riders the best he could, he’d surely be proud enough to display their names on the company website.
It’s not like anyone who has ridden for OSS has ever gotten paid for endorsing the brand. I think some people would be surprised to hear a clothing company connected with the “number one website in BMX” has never cut a sponsorship check for any of its riders. Not a single monthly check. Not even for contingency, web or print. Everybody involved did it because we believed in Adam’s vision of the company. As stated in his ESPN interview regarding the launch of the brand “Animal has always inspired me. It's just such a direct manifestation of how Ralph [Sinisi] sees BMX, which is how things should be. No image, it's just all about the riding.” It’s a flat out disgrace to Ralph, Animal, and the entire BMX community for Adam to have ever uttered those words.
I also want to address two likely questions. First being “Why would some of these guys put up with this and not quit.” The answer is simple. Adam is a bully. If you cross him he will do what he can physically or professionally to harm you. A lot of these guys probably worried Adam would smear their names, potentially losing sponsors and exposure. As recently as 4 days ago Adam posted on his twitter the image of a young rider along with the message “This person called me a "shit person" on Instagram. Can somebody who isn't a 12 year old dork talk shit on me plz.” In Adam’s mind this completely absurd response is appropriate way to respond to a preteen’s insults. When asked by Breaks Mag “8 Things I Hate About Vital” part of his answer was “I knew that nobody at Vital would be able to fuck with me when it comes to talking shit so I just popped off and they didn’t really respond and everyone had a good laugh.” Like a typical bully he picks on those he thinks either can’t or won’t stick up for themselves. I accepted the fact that if I spoke out I was risking possible alienation from the industry. If I never make another dime in BMX that is ok with me. I have loved this sport for way too long to keep my mouth shut.
The second thing to address is that a couple of people have asked whether I feel hypocritical for calling Adam and TCU out after years at company? No, absolutely not. TCU and OSS have changed since I joined both companies, and so has my opinion of them. I did my best to contribute in a positive way, and push for changes to improve things further. My suggestions fell on deaf ears and my efforts were in vain. Plenty of people work for individuals/companies and over time they realize they are terrible. Some stick it out. Some move on and don’t say a word. I chose to say something. And I don’t feel hypocritical for doing so.
If riders and companies keep supporting Adam/TCU/OSS they will have years of his wonderful contributions to BMX to look forward to. If anyone out there doubts my claims, there are plenty of witnesses for all of this. Just ask around.
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