One to Watch: Jay Miron

A former X-Games champ turns to elegant furniture design.

Jay Miron, six-time freestyle BMX World Champion, is integrating five multicoloured wood species into his intricate Kern table—a slight change of pace for someone who was the first in the world to perform a double backflip on his bike. But this career switch from athlete to artist might not be so crazy.

“They both take an incredibly high level of attention to master, plus patience and a passion to succeed,” Miron explains. He retired from BMX in 2010 after multiple concussions and broken bones, turning his attention to a dormant passion. “My heart was always in woodworking,” Miron says.

He studied with master craftsman Robert Van Norman and learned to build pieces like craftspeople did 100 years ago. Now he works in an east-side studio kitted out with vintage woodworking machines he found online. They’ve all been refurbished by Miron, giving them a new lease on life…much like his own.

The former BMX pro uses classic woodworking techniques for pieces like the checkerboard Patricia table. (Photo: Kyoko Fierro)Jay Miron’s work can be found at switzercultcreative.com.