Is that near Chicago?
Yeah, pretty close. It's about ten minutes outside the city.

How long have you been riding?
I've been riding for about seven or eight years.

Koji Kraft tosses out his favorite trick during the Mervyn's Beach Bash.

How long have you been competing professionally?
I've only been competing this year.

Describe your first contest as a Pro. Was it intimidating?
It was a little intimidating because you're up there with all the people you have looked up to for so many years. It was alright though, it was fun. I went with my friend Jimmy Walker. He got me in [to the contest] somehow.

What contest was that?
The Nashville, Tennessee, contest. I think it was an X Trials.

How did you do?
I think I got eighth or ninth. I did pretty well.

Do you mostly ride ramps, or do you ride street and dirt, too?
When I started riding I rode dirt, but there aren't any trails around me anymore. I usually just ride vert, street, and a lot of miniramp now.

Who are your influences? You seem to ride similar to Jay Miron.
I like the way Jay rides, and Dave [Mirra] and [Mat] Hoffman, too. But some of my favorite riders are Tom Haugen, Ruben Alcantara, Bruce Crisman, and Dave Osato. I really like the way they ride.

Who did you ride with growing up?
I pretty much just rode with Jimmy Walker and my friend Jason Brown. He's the vert amateur champion this year for the CFB. But my friend Casey Burke is the main person that I grew up riding with. We rode mostly miniramp, just doing a lot of tech stuff together.

You've become known for getting beat up pretty bad at contests. How do feel about and deal with injuries?
The only reason I get hurt so much is because I'm so nervous all the time. I don't know why. I just get nervous before every contest. I feel weird when I drop in; it doesn't feel the same as it does in practice. I've got to get over that somehow, one day. [Laughter]

Do you ever just cruise when you ride, or are you always going wide open?
I usually ride just to ride…So, that's just how I ride I guess.

What has been your worst injury?
Texas, two or three weeks ago at the X Trials. I broke four teeth back and broke the bone above all my teeth. That was probably the worst one I've had so far.

Did you go to the hospital?
Yeah, I was pretty much out of it until I got to the hospital. Then I woke up a little bit. I knew what was going on after that.

Koji blasts an indian air.

What did they do for you?
They didn't do much of anything. They took some X-rays and a C.T. (CAT) Scan, then they told me I was alright. They pretty much just slapped me on the back and told me to get out. [Laughter]

Did you have to go to the dentist?
Yeah. I went to my dentist back home. He glued all my teeth together and put a wire in to make sure everything is straight. Hopefully they'll just grow back in place normally.

Do you think that injuries are worth it?
I guess. Nothing is going to stop me unless I can't ride my bike anymore. Nothing has been too bad so far.

How many concussions have you had?
Jeez, I don't know. More than I need to have.

What do your parents feel about what you do?
They’re a little shady on it, but my Mom is starting to see that it's taking me places I've never been to and I'm having fun with it.

Do they get worried?
My Mom doesn't watch, so I'm sure she worries.

Are you stoked on going to contests?
Yeah, I like going to contests. They're so much fun. You get to meet new people and hang out with all the top riders from around the world. What could be better than that?

Who do you usually hang out with at contests?
Usually the Schwinn guys, or whomever I happen to meet up with.

How did you get on Schwinn?
After Nashville they realized that I didn't have a sponsor to take me to the Gravity Games, so they called me up and asked me if I wanted to ride for Schwinn. I was stoked on it, so I said, "Sure."

What's your favorite trick right now?
Probably tailwhips. I'm getting really psyched on those. I don't know why. I try to do them on everything. Doing it on the ground is hard enough, and now I'm doing them off of little curves. I don't know why, it's just fun for me.

What's the next trick you want to learn?
I don't know. Things just come to me usually. I'll think of something and I'll try it, and if it works out, it works out.

Like I said, a bag full of tricks. Lookback on the Red Bull ramp at the Lake Perris CFB.

Do you ride every day?
I try to.

Where do you usually ride?
Scrap Skatepark in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. We just finished remodeling, and it's super nice now. There's a dope six-foot miniramp, and a little kids street course, and we have the rhythm section and a street spine. There's a whole lot of stuff there. We also made a wider vert ramp. There's everything I need.

How do you work school in with your busy travelling schedule?
I just graduated, so I don’t have to worry about that right now.

Do you have any plans for college?
Not yet, but if I could do it over the Internet it would be nice.

Did you do much travelling before being sponsored by Schwinn?
Not as much as I've been doing. I've always done shows, but that only takes you so far. Usually just around the Midwest. When I started competing, and got a sponsor, they sent me to Thailand, China—all over Asia. It's nuts; I've been travelling so much.

What does riding a bike mean to you?
It's like an escape from reality. Nothing else matters when I ride my bike. I'm in a zone; having fun and not worrying about the real world problems I have to deal with sometimes.

It seems that John Povah has taken you under his wing.
Yeah, he's given me some good advice about things to stay away from. He's been helping me out. Kind of like a father figure, you know? He's a really good guy. Someone I can trust.

Anyone you'd like to thank?
Thanks to Schwinn, Scrap Skatepark, Jimmy Walker, Povah, Duncan Gore, Justin Marchak, Axion Shoes, and the guys from Oakley who have helped me out a lot. I think that's it, but if I've forgotten anybody, thanks also.