South Windsor student recognized for BMX bike riding

South Windsor student Brandon Wallach is featured on this clothing company ad, which was published in the 'Transworld Ride BMX' magazine. Photo courtesy of Brandon Wallach. - Contributed Photo

South Windsor High School junior Brandon Wallach is a BMX freestyle biker, riding a 20-inch bike. A couple of months ago, he posted a video on the website www.vitalbmx.com, showing him riding and doing tricks. Wallach edited the video, which was filmed by many people throughout the summer of 2010, as well as at a BMX camp in Pennsylvania called Woodward East, which has one of the largest skate parks in the world.

In response to that video, Chris Venturi of CMFA Clothing contacted Wallach to become one of Wallach’s sponsors, providing him with clothing to wear while biking. Venturi talked with Wallach about shooting a photo of his favorite spot, which CMFA could then use in its ads.

Wallach's friend, Michael Lambert, took a photo of Wallach biking at Heaven, the well-known spot in Hartford for skateboarders and bikers. Venturi liked the photo, which he then used for his clothing company’s ad in the February edition of Transworld Ride BMX magazine.

“It means a lot of me,” explained Wallach, “because I’ve been working hard to learn new tricks and get my name out there for the past three years.” He recognizes the value of having something that started out for fun turn into more. “This ad in the magazine definitely equates to the old saying, ‘Hard work pays off,’” added Wallach.

Wallach's videos can be seen on websites including vitalbmx.com and cfmaclothing.com.