Interview of Jean Yves Blondeau

Jerome Perakis was the webmaster of www.roller.ch
He was the first to publish an interview on the web.
This interview is regularly updated whensomeone asks a relevant question.
link to Jean Yves Blondeau profile 

Interview of Jean Yves Blondeau , the creator of BUGGY ROLLIN

Hello, how old are you ?

I was born in 1970, so I have 48 years (But it changes everything on June first) at Aix les Bains Savoy from a father

who was cheese maker, ski jumper and hanglider.
he took us to Ski every Sunday (the horror). He also acted in theatre.
His name is Paul Blondeau.
And a mother who paints her memories of words and its landscape with pastels. She collects purebred dogs (papillons) and children: Her name is Micheline Blondeau.
Among children, there is a film and TV decorator (Former ski instructor and consultant in Feng Shui) : Francois; a famous photographer : Michel, a painter-great sculptor who died, his name was REMI, a psychomotor restlessness, named Yolande, a climbing and ski instructor who has invented a scooter Carving (nano) is the most beautiful : Claude, and myself.

There is also plenty of nieces and nephews (including Tom the web designer of this site)…

How long have you been working on the BUGGY ROLLIN ?

Officially, since 1995, the date of the patent but it was a year I was working on a confidentially. It was aThesis of DSAA (diplom superieur d art applique)
I made a great design school in Paris : Olivier de Serres for one year, I studied the “SYSTEMS THAT BRING IN EVIDENCE OF THE FEELINGS OF MOVEMENT CENTER OF GRAVITY OF THE HUMAN BODY BY REPORT ITS POINTS OF SUPPORT IN THE PURPOSE OF MOVE IN SPACE. “FEEL, BODY BALANCE, MOTION. It lasted nine months (to give birth!)
Six months of research, synthesis and one month creativity, two months of implementation (1995). The research was designed to accumulate a maximum data. I studied sociology ordeal risky  behavior, teeny behaviours, body in society, the phenomenon of skateboarding.

The human body: the vestibular salience of the visual system (Coriolis), neuro-anatomy (how sensations of movement, proprioceptive information, circulate, and how they are processed), how we
perceives space, ballistics. That is how to perceives the movement. I visited national athletes in order to get the most acurate answers as possible.

The purpose of these interviews was to seek links between mechanisms of acceleration (the mechanical this is physics, it is calculated), sensations, and play engine ; the “fun.
These interviews allowed me to approach the above strong personalities who work hard on their bodies and have a great vitality. It always impresses me see the hard long patient and painfull work on the body seeking for perfection.

I also studied the history of design and I analyzed the forgotten inventions around the bicycle, to understand how creation can walk or be forgotten.
It lasted six months during which I forced myself to NOT draw anything.

Then it was on the creative explosion during a month. I explored what bounces, floats, flies, rolls, cushions.
I played with the posture of skiing, the axes of rotation of the body. I varied the scale of objects (playgrounds, fixed to the body or accessories).

I realised that there were a huge void in existing devices. I observed in my results there were bundles Creation converging.
Indeed, there was a multitude of axes of rotation human body and a quantity of postures Unused, I suggested a device that ran on two, three, four (or more) wheels by rotate the device on itself, and then I had a small sketch of a little woman with a flat belly something that rolls with the end of the hands and wheels foot stilts with wheels (here is it ! )

… I say we could “ROLLING IN ALL THE POSITIONS.”

voila THAT S THE CONCEPT !

Then, I had only two month to make theory into reality. I identified the location of the wheels by comparing the humain body to a mechanical system kinematics, providing a virtual envelope of wheel.

I choose the number of wheel by pointing their efforts and their need for stability. I tried to recycle the existing products I aimed a Minimum object, and I tinkered in my garage.

AND HOP! its ROlls ! i wnet to the bath avenue in lausanne and made it in one shot. The first time I thought that I was not going to be able to align the finish gate!

Can you live from that ?

Normally yes, every year I tell myself that I would
millionaire next year. When I made the first prototype,
I realized that the idea was (fine) patentable.
So I filed the patent and is the it began.
To enhance my patent to sell it one day, I am told that my product would be known.
So I made a video that journalist loved.

They did a pro remake and then I jumped from a magazine to a TV , and from TV to next magazine to next TV … and I made a quick
BUGGY ROLLIN world tour. It allowed me to live and learn the show biz ness that I love. It was sufficient to pay for my materials.
With time I learned that I was the only one who can really move this project forward, and I have no choice if I want to be happy. If i bring to reality all what I have in my head and I am not sure that one life is enough … no matter what I do with the resources I have, i go forward.

How fast are you ?

I Reach 100km/h at the world championships in belluno descent in 2002. It was magical. I was the fastest of all.
110 on a secret ex east germain trainning track in 2004.
116 in 2008, 126km/h in 2012 ,

RollerMan @ sochi DAY 3 100Km/H World Speed Reord

I hope to go even faster each year. i upgrade my equipment constantly andI try new “choreography” to be
always more effective.

IS IT DAN-GEROUS ?

YES OF COURSE!
And NO! In the sense that it is a protective armor .
BUT in the sense that it is the head forward, invisible for other vehicles, and very fast, then yes,
IT IS DAN-GE-ROUS. (Am I clear?) Be warned!
As long as there have been no accident, we do not know the real danger. The armor protects from the crash but not from bullshit.
I think the buggy rollin has real dan-gerous potential. We can die in armor. or become quadriplegic, can lose body parts and more.

ABSOLUTELY MUST BE AWARE OF RISKS in order to handle it.

MUST BE RESPONSIBLE AND WELL BALANCE IN HEAD. No suicidal bliss, be thoughtful.
Do not be influenced or being under pressure. To listen to the slightest signal of dan-ger.
Take all precautionary measures available. Prepared, the mentally, the body, and have your equipment in perfect working order .
Do not ride alone.

AND IF YOU HAVE DOUBT DO NOT RIDE !

WHEN YOU FEEL THAT WE DO NOT feel in total CONTROL then EMERGENCY STOP!
in this film i had too much stress for bad person and arrived too much tired on the track. so i could not feel the danger signal.The armor provides a variety of sensations. All its data must be processed by the brain ontime to pilot.
If the data are faster than your ability to understand you can not react to the situation in time,
and you will go to the disaster. You will be blasted over the track as we spread soft butter on crunchy bread.
if you have the chance to slip on a surface you gonna be sanded like sandpaper.
And if you encounter an obsatacle you will be broke like a fly on a swatter.

Humain is fragile

Dan-ger comes from the armor feeling like a shell. Believe to be in the shelter of everything makes to take
too many risks. If you want to stay alive you must think without the armor.

With a multi wheel system like the buggy rollin, there are mostly solution to get rid of dan-gerous situation.
choosing wich wheels drives, and at last choosing how to get crash with limitating damages.

One more time staying alive mean to know the dan-gers be self responsible and AVOID hazardous situation.

What have been your best sensation ?

There are many amazing experiences with Buggy Rollin ‘. Whenever we try something new, there is a SuperSense.
For example STARWARS (head first downhill on the back) night is a mystical experience.
In Paris, the festival freeskate montmartre, there was a large table. I remember, I flew down flat on top of
table. I had the impression of gliding in the open mound in above the module. In the slope I was still in the air.
It was magical. Just like Superman. i landed just in the transition with soil. It was a big compression but not violent.

Now by upgrading the suit it is possible to get into positoins with even more precision amd less risk.
It is enormous !
riding together is also a big happyness as it was shown in YESMAN

Are the suit availabe for sale ?

YES. you can check “PRODUCT” on this web site. I sold a few prototype to friends. And i give free start lesson to each.  I want to start mass production.  The suits have been upgraded every years. It needs only fine tune designed to fit to mass production. Our wish is to come on the market as soon as possible. And give the opportunity to every middle class parent in the world to afford a suit for present to child.
We already will sell the suits on line first to satisfy the demands we get every day, And we have suits in one of the most important sport shop of Beijing.

More than suits

After selling suits the project goes also into fiction story, comics, gameplay, films, playgrounds, schools, fashion, music, and more BUGGY ROLLIN IS BIG !

What do you do when you are not piloting a BUGGY ROLLIN suit ?

I love. I have a big heart. I like to discover people every relationship is unique.
I also create. clothes, underwears, hats, shoes, paint, sculpture, and making films
I wish to sell my fashion. In fact i have adapted it to BUGGY ROLLIN life style
actually i spend all my time on the project, writing, designing, constructing suits, acting on social medias, taking care of journalists is full time busy.

Where do you live ?

After Germany, Japan, South korea, China, hollywood, i am back in France. Actually i did not find my perfect place to be in the world yet.

How much costs a BUGGY ROLLIN suit ?

check PRODUCTS  one more time.  There are many set available, and set you can create, because a suit is made of different elements put together. For example ARMS + LEGS = RANGER SET 1999 €
ARMS + CHEST + BACK + LEGS + HIP + SHOULDER = FULL SET 4572,34 €
ARMS + CHEST + Speed Back (no Wheels) + LEGS = PAIN SPEED SET 2950 €

How long to build a suit ?

By my hands i need 2 month could not make faster yet.

How many wheel you uses in a season ?

I have not counted. It depends on the manner in which I ride, and where i ride. My first set of wheels lasted two years
without reaching the end of the wear. Now i change wheel when i wear out to the hub. The first time I really burnt the wheel,
it was a Rankweil in 2001. I broke a wheel: It Droped melted plastic everywhere.
Exploding, melting, losing rubber on wheel happen quite a lot by extreme ride. I used to always take wheels in my bag.
Now a days the quality got higher, and i have no more melting wheel.

With using the special designed brake we burn less wheel and brake easily. But i do not like it. It is less beautiful to slide.

Your crazyest dream ?

Design the first habitated flying disc redesign the concept of streched limos, have my house in a “catalina” (seaplane)
and go every where. Have my own UFO , going to work by electric paragliding,
jet power the buggy rollin suit, for flying, bungie jump some building with buggy rollin suit,
second house in a solar zeppelin. Another one on a top of mountain that has a buggy rollin track in a cliff with glass tube. Making dowhill resort on a mountain witha network of a variety of road jumps
tracks, speed alleys and banked curved, make the same thing in the city as theme park, making comics, games, films…

Where did you bought your bigfoot bear jumper ?

In a designer shop in lyon. i wish to sell my own creation for a good buggy rollin life style. My clothes will fit
the practice of the buggy rollin sport and also provide the usefull identy of buggy rollin pilots.

But i use more my BUGGY ROLLIN Team hoodies now.

When will you stop ?

Never!
In the future, I think that my practice will evolve with the years. ialready feel less explosiv power.
I would like to not stop and like old Japanese dancer: always practice.
In fact the real question is when will i start my production compagny?

Some morning do you wake up and think that you are crazy ?

Noooo !
The madness would not do what you like doing, to forget what we are made, not daring to dare.
Crazy ? The world is crazy about keeping using petrol this must finish.

When will you make baby buggy rollin ?

– First of all buggy rollin for adult men and then women and children.
i have projetc for baby too…

Why not simply skating ?

“I’ve started there. You do not remember Lausanne 98, la valee de la jeunesse, there was
a guy with a quad bizare and black speed outfit with a profiled helmet and monsters fins behind the calves?
( the pterodactyl)
It was me!

I keep on skating as much as possible, i do have a butt board, and happy longboard begginer.
I was crasy about bmx in the 80s i also have a dirtsurf in korea.

What about police ?

I think it is the robocop effect, usually they are very friendly.
Maybe the suits inspire respect and order, and that is exactly the origin of police. In french police is gendarme, gens-arme, arme is weapon. But from ancient times it has always been people with armor. So in the deep meaning of police, we are same family . I could see that as group we carry this same heart of respect the order, kind of bushido, or round table behavior. BUGGY ROLLIN people are very trustable, stable minded, and respectful .

See you next time on wheel ?

Yes on screens and in shops on mountain roads, on stage and on snow and ice.