We headed out to Da Compound this month in Lake Perris, CA to catch up with Rick Thorne at the end of his “Join The Army Tour” sponsored by Monster Energy drink to see some young guys tear it up on the freestyle BMX street course.  At the end of the day, tucked in behind Rick’s tour bus, we got to ask some questions and get to know the Biker in Black a little better.

OBSCENE:  Where are you from?
RICK: I’m originally from Kansas City Missouri, but I live in Los Angeles, Californ-I-A!

OBSCENE:  How many years have you been riding?
RICK:  I started riding when I was 12 in 1982.  We always rode, you know… that’s the way I got out of the house; wanted to jump little dirt jumps or curbs or whatever.  I considered myself a freestyler when I started riding quarter pipes in 82, yeah 27 years.  I’ve been touring for 24 years.

OBSCENE:  So what is your favorite part of riding?
RICK: The best part of riding for me is the sense of accomplishment.  When you set out to learn something and you do it then you apply it, it’s a rad feeling.  It gives you a sense of confidence and a lot of self motivation.  So I think the feeling of pulling off what you set out to do is the best feeling

OBSCENE:  Tell me about your worst crash?
RICK:  I say my worst crash is I broke my pallet and I deviated my septum, I had fluid leaking from my brain.  So what they did is cut my head from ear to ear, pulled my skin down, took fat from my stomach to stop the leak between my brain and my skull.  I had a hair line crack along my eye socket that broke in the corner. So I have screws and plates in my left eye.  I have screws and plates in my face were they cut my lip  and they lifted my face to realign my pallet.  I had a tracheotomy during surgery to breath. I woke  up my mouth wired shut, one stitch across my head, catheter, IV.  I had double vision and lost all  sense of taste and smell.

Wow! After hearing that I asked him if he had gotten his taste and smell back, which he did and he says it’s better now.  I still was so blown away by the story I completely  blanked on asking Rick how he actually smashed his face in.  Now when he was  explaining this story to me he is pointing at all the places on his face, and all of it  is graphic enough to get a serious visual but the part where he says’” They cut  me from ear to ear,” it was up and over his entire hair line.  I’ve heard some  stories of bad injuries before but never one about a broken pallet.  That is hands down one of they most hardcore injury stories I have ever heard!

OBSCENE:  Who are your major sponsors?
RICK:  Well Monster for one, Famous Stars and Straps,  Boost Mobile, Draven Shoes, Von Zipper sun glasses,  Skull Candy, Freestyle Watches, KMC Wheels,  Continental Tires, and ESPN Action Sports.

Now just to let you know how Ricks holding it down when he showed up for the photo shoot in a back alley in LA.  He had some kind of custom made bling on from each one of his sponsors.  All they way down to a diamond outlined Boost Mobile dog tags.

OBSCENE:  Tell us about the craziest stunt you’ve ever done?
RICK:  Ok it was something I’ve wanted to do sinse I was 19 is to ride the side of a moving semi, and I did a show called Stunt Junkies where I got to do that.  Basically I got towed 50 MPH at a semi as it passed me at 20 mph and I rode the whole trailer.  I would say that was the coolest, I was pretty nervous on that one.

That had to be one of the feelings of accomplishment Rick was talking about, to think of a stunt, then 20 years later getting to pull it off on a TV show has to feel good. If you didn’t get a chance to see this on Stunt Junkies you need to check it out.  He wall rides a moving semi truck.

OBSCENE:  You’re in a couple of video games.  Which ones are they and what is your favorite one?
RICK:  I’m in Matt Hoffman one and two, Tony Hawk three and American Wasteland with Tony.  I’d say American Wasteland, because you have an option to ride a bike in the game or skate, but the technology was so much better.  I try to captivate not just the BMX crowd but also the skate crowd and all sports, so to be in a multi kind of game were it gives kids a chance to ride a bike in a skate game is cool.

OBSCENE:  So we’ve seen you in MTV Cribs and Stunt Junkies, and some big screen action, what’s that all about?
RICK:  I tried out for this movie called Mall Cop, and got a call back and got the part.  Turned out to be the number 1 movie in America, I played a bad guy with Mike Vallely. We don’t play action sports heroes, it’s a Happy Madison film and it blew up.  It’s pretty crazy.

OBSCENE:  You’re on this Monster Army Tour tell us about that?
RICK:  This is my first tour called Join The Army with Monster Energy basically we are looking for the BMX and skating soldiers in each city.  We did twenty stops in twenty four days.  Basically I booked, managed, created, ran the whole tour, hosted, rode and played music with my band Good Guys In Black.

OBSCENE:  How many soldiers did you pick up on the tour?
RICK:  Two at each stop and one here.  So 39 guys.

Taking it to the streets to find the real untouched talent and giving them a shot to get big with a serious sponsor.  Rick’s plan was to go into the cities were sponsors don’t go and inspire guys to ride hard, and give them a chance to get recognized.  This is his way of giving back.  Coming from a place like Missouri, he stays true to his roots of understanding how tough it can be to come up.  Maybe Good Guys In Black isn’t just a name of a band.

This was one of the smaller events on the tour because all cities had both BMX and skate, but there was no lack of talent in Lake Perris that day.  These guys were killing each other for the right lines through the street course, but at the end of the day there can only be one.  When asked what city had the most talent? Rick said, “I can’t say.  Everyone has killed it.”  But if you were there, you would have a hard time imagining the talent getting any better, unless it was professional.

OBSCENE:  How long has your band Good Guys In Black been together?
RICK: I started the band a year ago.  The  line up is now with Ivan Michel and Nick Stagnero and me.  We did Warp Tour last year and been together since.

So when I asked Rick when his next show was he tells me it is on Feb. 23 and they’re opening for Metal Skool (which is Steel Panther now) in Hollywood at the Key Club you know Obscene had to be there!  The Good Guys in Black lit up the stage for a packed house.  I know it’s too late for the Good Guys In Black/Steel Panther show, but we got all the info you need to keep up with Rick and his band.  All you have to do is MySpace the band or go to RickThorne.tv.  He also has radio show he broadcasts for ESPN Action Sports.  Go to iTunes and download it now!  Rick even did an interview on Obscene.

So the kid from Missouri jumping dirt jumps to get out of the house is now hustling it up in LA.  From action sports star, to video games, to sponsored tours, to his bands new album Rollin With The Punches, hitting the big screen and a radio broadcast, Rick Thorne is in it all.  Doing big things and still having enough time to hang out with Obscene.