Brett Banasiewicz Unveils The Kitchen

Brett Banasiewicz has been keeping his brand-new 30,000 square foot park under wraps, but the grand opening of The Kitchen is just around the corner. Members of the BMX world, family and friends came together to build the indoor park in Indiana, and Alli was there to shoot the new training grounds of the 16-year-old Midwest native and DC pro. Brett let us in on all the details below and for more on his life, check back on Monday for the Alli Show documenting his life and BMX career.

Park Specs: The Skatepark consist of about 30,000 square feet of ramps.  We put a lot of time designing and incorporating a lot of different types of ramps.  We have a big park course set up, a big street course, a little street course, a 7-ft. miniramp and a full training area.    

The Build: It was a combination of family and friends.  One of the cool things is that the park was built for riders by riders. My friends Justin Hardin, Glenn Salyers and Rob Armour were the main people constructing the ramps. Me, my dad, mom and countless other family and friends have helped out as much as possible as well.  

Opening Day: We are trying to schedule our grand opening for June 25. It’s tentative due to construction and permits we need, but that date is pretty safe I think.

The Reasons: Between my traveling schedule and trying to go to school it was obvious that I needed a place to ride whenever I was home. The closest, good park to my town was my friend Justin’s that was about three hours away from me. It was becoming a real issue for me to actually find time to be able to make the 6-hour trip every weekend to ride and stay on top of things.  I love to ride and only being able to ride on the weekends just wasn’t cutting it.  So it was either move or build. We decided to build. It was the best decision.

 
Unique Obstacles: We have a few but the number 1 has to be our step up to step down section.  It’s big and awesome. Most people who come in for the first time can’t believe it’s that big. It’s real fun though and sets you up real nice for the big box jump we have. 

Overall: Its just crazy to be doing this and actually being able to have it opened to the public as well. We are not even quite finished with it and we are always finding ways to make the place better.  A lot of the ramps are pretty big but we have everyone from beginners to pros covered as far as obstacles to keep them all happy. I guess all I can say is come out and have a session.  You will have fun!

Check out the teaser for the Alli Show featuring Brett, filmed in part at The Kitchen!