Most people will see the occasional or, depending on where you live, habitual skateboarder on the suburban and city streets. Most people, however, will not see BMX bicyclists frequenting the streets.

For a group of college aged kids from Michigan, BMX bikes are their lives. They call themselves Team Young BMX and they started as a joke on a road trip.

Davey H.K. Cooperwassser (Michigan State University) and Joe Gall (Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts Southfield Michigan; full-time video editor now), both students pursuing careers in freelance film, were on a road trip with about 10 friends when Gall joked that he and Cooperwasser should form a team and call it Team Young.

“We were the younger ones, when the older guys would take it easy, we’d party and stay up real late. We kept saying ‘Team Young, Team Young’ and it just stuck,” Gall said.

Cooperwasser and the rest of the party laughed it off, but Gall’s persistence made Team Young what it is right now.

About two years ago the team began to tour different skate parks and live concerts around Michigan, wowing spectators with back flips and other BMX tricks.

Besides doing events locally in Michigan, Team Young travels to Florida and Texas annually and on March 20, they did an event called Ratty Fest at Four Seasons Skate Park in Milwaukee.

After the events, Team Young always hits up the bars and clubs. After Ratty Fest, the team headed over to Cans in Milwaukee.

Cooperwasser and company started handing out stickers and selling shirts and the Web site took off. Before they knew it, they were sponsored by Bookoo Energy drink out of Dallas.

“Whenever an event occurs, Bookoo is always there to give away free products,” Cooperwasser said.

These bikers are not just your average bikers — many have been riding for at least six years. Cooperwasser even landed a stunt that only one other biker has ever landed over a 25-foot gap.

Team Young’s philosophy is very simple: “(We) started on a trip to get away from those places that get you down. However it has been realized that you don't have to go somewhere else to enjoy yourself, you can make that good time happen right where you are. Get creative, open your mind, do it for yourself,” the Team Young Web site says.

To find out more information on Team Young visit teamyoungbmx.com.

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