Above: Jesse James had sick lines in the bowl and make it look good - even with a lower back sunburn from the crop tee. All photos Tyson JP.
Roast The Coast has been an incredible success so far (if I do say so myself) and it really stokes me out that it's now into the second year running.
Kicking it off in Newcastle for 2026 was a really good choice.
The whole concept behind it is to commit to running jams across the country (the east coast for now), that haven't had events run in a while - or at all.
To bring the BMX community together and give every day riders a chance to hang out and bond over this epic lifestyle we lead.
The towns and cities that have these awesome skateparks are a vibe.
Coastal spots with incredible backdrops that get you stoked to be there... And when you add riding BMX into the mix, it becomes very memorable pretty quickly.
Newcastle is no different.
Normally it's Bar Beach bowl that I visit for riding BMX in Newcastle.
But now that Newcastle's south beach skatepark was recently upgraded, it became one of the places that Roast The Coast had to visit.
Above: Picture this as your local bowl. What a backdrop. If you look closely, you'll see Kaz Campbell ripping a table!
The upgraded Newcastle Beach skatepark itself is really cool. Making use of the existing wall that used to flank the old skatepark and building vert walls into it was rad, especially since wide and tall vert walls don't exist really at any other park.
Above: Dermo took full advantage of the vert wall, icepicking the tallest part of it. At a guess it would be 14ft tall, with 5ft+ of vert!
I wasn't sure what the actual bowl was going to be like either, but when we arrived, it was sick! Deeper than I was expecting, with 9ish foot tall pool tile/coping quarters in the deep end. The shape was unique and there was room for transfers, high airs and full speed manuals.
Above: Oli Montague full speed lookback out of the pool quarter.
Roast The Coast Newcastle was one of the best turn outs for Roast The Coast yet, with close 150 riders showing up and spectators cruising through all day. Head count at one point put it at just a touch under 350 people - definitely had something to do with putting some of the best riders on a badass park, with one of the nicest beaches I've been to in a minute as the backdrop.
Riders from Melbourne, QLD, all over NSW (Sydney, Central Coast, Newcastle and north) and even some travelers from the UK made it to Roast The Coast Newcastle to rip and enjoy making some BMX memories together.
Too many highlights from a riding perspective, but really cool to have groms mixing it up with OGs of the BMX world, and heavy hitters throwing down.
Brodie Ritter took the MVP of the day.
He did everything; big pocket table airs, backing it up with pocket double whips, front flips - he even canadian footjammed the pool quarter, which was sick.
Above: Jackson Presbury seriously rips. He's only 14 but airs like he is 25. So much control.
Kaz Campbell, Jesse James and Prezz put on a style clinic and Kaz had more than a few beach-goers swooning.
Oli Montague and Ike Duly from England went the fastest. Ike also pulled the most tech manual ever, then tried to jump across the whole park (seriously) and in stopping, did an ultimate BMX/parkour maneuver and jumped off into where the recently warned spectators were sitting. He put his freshly purchased Akubra on and called it a day while he rested with ice on his foot. It was impressive.
Above: While everyone was riding the bowl, I caught Jesse James blasting these airs in the street section. Well above the top of the wall, with plenty of vert.
Big shout out to everyone who is coming to any Roast The Coast. I'm excited to announce the next one, you are going to want to get to it, believe me.
A big thank you to the City Of Newcastle for the support with Roast The Coast!
More photos and the epic video filmed by Troy Charlesworth below, check them out.
Roast The Coast Newcastle:
Presented By:
Backbone BMX
Support from:
Sodii Hydration (use code BACKBONE for 15% off if you need electrolytes)
