Profile’s Team Legacy — Lucas Porzio
To kick off Profile’s 55th anniversary (1968 – 2023), we wanted to begin the celebration by highlighting those riders who’ve been with our brand for over 15 years.
Over the course of January, we’ll feature each of those 11 riders in a comprehensive retrospective – looking back, ruminating on today, and looking forward.
This is our family.
Thanks to each of these riders for years of support.
Sixth up, Lucas Porzio.
Gandy Blvd. Portrait.
Matt Coplon (TM): What year did you start riding for profile?
Lucas Porzio: Summer of 2000 after the NY south street sea port Panasonic KOD.
First Mag cover shot, early aughts.
M: Ha! That’s an incredibly specific time. What was the catalyst?
L: I remember it like it was yesterday and 30 knockouts ago. Was no longer riding for snafu and have always wanting to run a set of primo power bites, well after about a week I blew the left pedal insert out a day before flying out to the event.
With a borrowed left crank arm (pre insert style) and stoked AF to be at the event, my pedal blows off my bike third run during Friday practice. With only having one pedal I had to scooter myself to the nearest bike shop and if it wasn’t for a few locals that were stoked to show me the way I would’ve never found it. The BMX love in NY is just different… the hospitality in NY has always made it my favorite place to just go ride.
All fresh and dialed in, I pull out Cory Nastazio’s credit card to pay (if I’m not mistaken, their was a huffy nasty poster on the wall in the shop) the look on the guys face was awesome, then when I signed the receipt I think my face looked about the same… prices be a little higher in the city.
Monday morning in New Jersey after the event sitting at the hyper warehouse and the TM at the time thought it would be a good idea to call profile and see if they would potentially sponsor me, I laughed because no way in hell am I getting sponsored by profile racing….
Bmx Plus full pager from the early aughts.
M: Over the years, what’s been your favorite profile component?
L: Since this is a multiple choice question, going to go with (c.) All of the above.
One of the first Profile adverts featuring our Imperial, 25t sprocket.
M: Good one! Ha! Also, stoked you’ve been a die hard Acoustic stem fan. Why the Acoustic?
L: It might stem from (no pun intended) being old enough to ride an actual gooseneck style stem because when I got my first s&m redneck that wasn’t a threadless stem and it dropped my bars where I wanted (which is Irrelevant now) it looked so clean and proper; it was love at first site. I look down at a top load stem and it throws me off as random as that sounds (I just built up a street jib bike with a top load, going to try and get over the head game); the Acoustic is still on the death-horse and always will be. The acoustic to me is just the cleanest looking stem out there.
Tampa Bay, Iconic spot.
M: What’s the single profile component you’ve ridden the longest?
L: I’ve had my low profile V3 gas pedals since they’ve come out of the cnc machine in 2008/09 13+ years; I’ve replaced bearings twice and one spindle.
Second Mag cover. Bmx Plus, 2009.
M: Those pedals have a sort of “cult” following. Why have you stuck with them?
L: I know your secrets and you’re the cult leader, lol.
Everything about them. The way the look, pin placement, perfect thickness, I don’t feel a pedal shaft hump (like most new thin pedals) and I ride in thin shoes so I just fell in love with them the day they went on my bike. Here we are almost 15yrs later.
Cigar City, Gap to Ice.
M: Favorite profile related trip?
L: No doubt the first time I went to visit profile and ride with the crew in Florida. Second spot roast, Rooster-den Backyard jam… and some big spots in Tampa. Great times.
Arizona roadside attraction.
M: What part of riding has kept you interested in Florida?
L: Riding for me is actually a bit out of place in Florida I feel sometimes. I miss riding trails, and being a father I try not to send shit, but it still happens. I actually just finished building up a different style bike to adapt a bit more to FL. Now that my son is riding more, he’ll be the reason my interest on a bike keeps going in Florida.
Causeway Covid Abubaca.
M: Best memory from a profile road trip?
L: Any time on the road with Matt Coplon. Getting out of a car feeling like I learned more in a 6hr road trip then I did in High school. From music to historical facts he’s like a encyclopedia.
Bmx Plus Full Pager; Arizona spots.
M: Or maybe I’m just full of BS? Ha! Appreciate it, and back at you. That drive to one of the last FLBMX stops was one of my favorites…the knowledge I got from you in that 1-1/2 hour drive was priceless. Even the hospital part when that doctor called you out. Ha!
In correlation to that visit; your philosophy on riding, you cannot NOT go big. Give us some insight.
L: I think he said something like “is it still bleeding, your fine then” A Chicago DT surgeon and when he said how many gunshot and stabbing wounds and the amount of people that would die in a night was…. It was absolutely crazy.
You see something and you envision it over and over. You see yourself pulling it and you also see yourself wrecking 100 different ways. Tossing and turning while trying to sleep all the while your heart is pounding and adrenaline going. The feeling you get is so real. You play it so many times in your head that the geometry and physics of it all seems so perfect that it has to be done otherwise it messes with me mentally and I get mad at myself unfortunately. Realistically I’m just 100% adrenaline junkie I guess.
Flypaper; Bmx Plus.
M: Profile team rider who you enjoyed traveling with the most?
L: Matt Coplon and Cory Foust. Between the two of them, they’re probably the most rad, real, kind humans ever. And the stoke and shred they both have on the bmx bike is an absolute treat to be around. Good vibes.
“Mellow” Days.
M: Appreciate you!….and there’s a disclaimer here, I am REAL stoked on bmx, to a fault. Humbled but also a little embarrassed that a lot of you all have listed me. But thankful, of course, at least I feel like I’m doing my job.
Thanks for years of support, Lucas!