Andy Chung interned at MacNeil during spring quarter of school last year. We got to work on a lot of cool projects and it was a blast to have him in the office. Andy’s not officially an “intern” right now, but we’ve been working on some stuff together and riding a bunch. I’ve been meaning to do an interview with him on the site for a while, but since I slacked so much David Lang took care of business and did the whole interview as well as provided all the photos. Check it out after the jump!

This photo was shot one day when David, Andy and I were messing around in the photo studio at UBC.

Andy Chung is a design intern at MacNeil Bikes and a student at the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. He is also the co-founder of gnarwhale.com and has been producing BMX web edits for a few years now. Born and raised in Vancouver, he is part of a flourishing BMX and art scene where he spends his time listening to dreamy French music and building giant triangles. His portfolio site, animalyouth.com, just got a make-over and we took it as a good opportunity to ask him some questions.

How did the internship with MacNeil happen?

Well during third and fourth year at my school we have the option of doing a co-op class where you work within your field of study. It’s half the price of a regular course, and it’s usually more beneficial than any other course you can take in school. Anyway, I figured since Macneil is a pretty design focussed company I would send Harrison an email and see if they would have me in the office for a semester to do some work for them. One thing led to another and eventually I met up with Harrison and worked out a semester long course.

Railhop in Penticton.

You are studying for a BFA in design at Emily Carr right now:
a. How did you know you wanted to make a career out of art/design?

Well basically I finished high school, and it was either go to school or start working. I didn’t really feel like going to a college or something and taking 50 different classes trying to figure out what I liked, so I decided to do what I already enjoyed doing and went to art school.

b. What gave you the confidence to make such a big decision so early on in your life?

I think I was really naive thinking that going to art school wasn’t a bad idea. It was probably more stupidity than confidence, but I’m still psyched on my decision and where it’s going.

c. Do you find the classes useful in the real design world?

Yes and no… The classes at Emily Carr are really concept driven and allow you to explore a lot of visual language that you wouldn’t otherwise come across. However the projects are so conceptual and drawn out over such a large period of time that it really isn’t like working on projects in real life where it’s a much faster start to finish process, and the skills that you need to get a project done quickly are definitely not taught at school (ie. computer stuff).

d. Would you recommend others to take the same path?

I’d recommend it if you are certain about your passionate for art and design. I see too many people at school who only think about design during the 3 hours a day that they are in class and it really shows in their work.

Design has done a lot to BMX. Parts are lighter, sleeker looking, and colorways are actually consistent now. Where do you think design is going to take BMX in the future?

I tend to be pretty bad about keeping up to date with the latest products and stuff in BMX, but there are definitely some interesting things going on. Mostly I’ve been seeing a lot of companies stepping up in terms of video production and clothing. It’s crazy seeing stuff like Shadow Conspiracy being sold at Urban Outfitters and stuff. Hopefully in the future BMX fashion and media will find it’s own voice and be a bit more distinctive from other sports (without looking really stupid).

There’s been much chagrin directed to the ‘artsy’ BMX videos lately. This question has been bludgeoned to death, but why do you think BMX videos are still not on par with skate videos? Do you think the music used in a lot of BMX videos, especially web videos, could be more adventurous?

People like Spike Jones direct skate videos, I think it’s definitely a money issue. Skateboarding is so huge and they have the means to do a lot of things that aren’t always possible in BMX. That being said there have been a lot of BMX videos that I’ve really enjoyed that haven’t had huge budgets and are still great. For one, Tomorrow We Work just came out and is awesome. Also there are like 300 new web videos a day, some of them have music I like and some don’t, who am I to say what music is good and what is bad.

More from our day in the studio at UBC.

You seem to be very focused on print media. Where do you see the future of magazines in relation to internet based news and media sites?

Printed magazines seem to be on their way out, but I feel like this may up the quality of printed publications all around. It’d be great to see magazines that come out every month switching up to a quarterly format and produce something you’d want to put on your coffee table.

It’s no secret that people are buying less DVDs and more companies are releasing their videos for free on the internet. How do you feel about Micreation’s pay-per-view webvideos? Does the concept have longevity?

I haven’t seen too much of the Micreation thing, but personally I probably wouldn’t pay for a web video. I think a good format for online downloads is to have a by donation system. For example I just downloaded Girl Talk’s new album today for free, but now that I’ve heard it I’ll probably donate $5 since it was pretty good. If it was a $5 fee to start with I would probably just find a torrent for it.

Footjam whip on the rubber hump… You think there’s a lot of new construction in Vancouver? It’s hard to tell?

But that music is meant for a broader audience, some of whom will definitely donate. What about comparatively broke ass bmxers?

Well I think that if it’s for a full length, then maybe, but a 2 minute web vid? Fuck that.

Hustlin’?

Everyday.

Last words.

I feel like this interview was pretty serious business, I swear I’m not always boring, sorry, haha. Thanks to MacNeil for the opportunity, and to my friends and family for everything.