20Twenty X Shredder MTB Zine

Longevity

Video And Collaborative Merch Line

Longevity

I can still clearly remember my first time in the 20Twenty shop and the excitement I gained from stumbling across such a cool shop located in my home city. That was back in 2004 when I discovered this underground haven for BMX riders; the shoes in stock were extremely chunky, the clothes rail consisted of baggy jeans, oversized hoodies and a selection of A>>Risk t-shirts (if you know, you know!) and the parts that littered the shelves were overbuilt, heavy and could more than likely survive a nuclear bomb. Little did I realise on this first encounter just how much of an impact the shop would have on my life, and the Aberdeen riding scene as a whole.

I knew of the owner Mike from him working in another local bike shop previously, years prior to him opening his own store. I got to know him better over the first ten years of 20Twenty after spending so much time in the shop gawking at shiny bike parts and buying almost every BMX DVD he ever stocked. Over these years there were numerous video premieres, big name pro’s were added to the team roster and many jams were held at various skateparks all over Scotland. In 2014 I started working at the shop part-time whilst studying at college, which was a dream job for me at the time. A few personal highlights, aside from getting to work with such a fun, like-minded crew, were the after work street rides, getting involved with graphics for event posters, designing 20Twenty merch and getting behind the lens to film some riding edits. I left the shop in 2018 when the McCombies Court store closed its doors for the last time, but I still often reminisce back to those times with fond memories.

This period began a whole new era for 20Twenty. Mike set up a workshop in his shed, still repairing BMX’s occasionally, but putting more focus on mountain bikes. This is a move some BMXers may view as ‘selling out’, but for the more open-minded individuals, bikes are bikes, and riding can be fun no matter what the wheel size. The sheer amount of BMXers who have started mountain biking in the Aberdeenshire area over the past 10 years is pure testament to how much fun it really is. Not many know of Mike’s past as a junior downhill racer, lofting his questionably shaped Klein Mantra through gnarly rock gardens at various SCU races across the country… so if anything, he merely just returned to his roots.

As the years went by, Mike’s customer base grew. The shed wasn’t quite cutting it any more and the demand for a high quality MTB specialist in the Banchory area saw the need to expand. In steps Lewis Watson, a passionate rider and long-time 20Twenty family member whose history with the shop dates back to 2005, when he was an employee at the Crown Street shop. It’s safe to say he’s honed his bike mechanic skills a lot since those days… he can be found actually using the correct tool for the job nowadays, rather than the age old BMX mindset of trying to use a hammer to fix literally everything.

Lewis joined forces with Mike in 2021, opening up the Scott Skinner Square shop in Banchory on the 2nd of March. I have to admit, at this point in the 20Twenty story I was slightly disappointed that the shop name wasn’t updated to reflect mountain bike wheel sizes, but I guess 29Twenty Nine, or 29Twenty Seven Point Five maybe doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the same way. Anyway, since day one Mike has always made it clear that people are the main premise for running the shop, and he’s continued to emphasise this by building a community; demo days and afterwork rides are prime examples of that. Not only should I credit the guys for their customer service and general business ethos, but they can also hold their own whilst out riding the local trails too, both being able to granite bash their way through the jankiest of Scottish terrain at a hefty pace.

With a brick-and-mortar store and a stacked team of shredders, 20Twenty still maintains the same foundation of morals the shop started with back in 2004. I wanted to create this collaboration as a fun way of acknowledging the shop’s importance and highlight just how vital 20Twenty has been within the local scene and beyond. Mike and Lewis aren’t the type of guys to toot their own horns, so that’s why I thought I’d put these words together as a small way of celebrating what 20Twenty has achieved, and as a way of saying a big thanks on behalf of all of the shops customers – here’s to the next 20 years!

Check Out The 20Twenty X Shredder Collection Here