When Ryan and Jason discover the destructive beauty of freestyle BMX, it’s a definitive before-and-after moment for them. The two riders gravitate to the freedom and raw aggression of trail riding as a way of coping with their tumultuous home lives: Ryan’s domineering father and Jason's father's suicide. The boys prove themselves within the exclusive East Coast BMX scene. They're drawn deeper into the culture when they fall in with a group of older pros who are part of a subterranean world of bisexuality and sadistic humor. As Ryan and Jason fight to preserve their relationship, they must navigate their own emerging sexuality and feelings for one another. The death-drive urge to ride massive jumps makes perfect sense to them, but life outside of riding spills over at the edges. The Dirt in Our Skin is a coming-of-age novel and artistic tribute to an activity that’s more lifestyle than sport. It’s a book of blurred lines: between friendship and love, humor and abuse, art and sport, fiction and nonfiction, and much more.

J. J. Anselmi is the author of Heavy: A Memoir of Wyoming, BMX, Drugs, and Heavy Fucking Music. His writing has been featured in Noisey, The A.V. Club, and Salon, and he's played drums for several heavy bands, including In the Company of Serpents and Former Worlds. He's currently the drummer of Drainage, a sludgy metalcore band from Long Beach, California.