Could This Be The Coolest Balance Bike Yet?

The AMB 2025 Photographer of the Year, Jasper da Seymour, isn’t just about photo projects – the arrival of his young son sparked a passion for a different kind of creative venture. Here, he shares the story behind his ‘Antihero’ project.

The ‘Antihero’ was born from a shared love of riding with my 3.5-year-old son. He had well and truly ridden his Dirt Hero balance bike into the ground, and it sat unused far too often while his pedal bike took centre stage.

I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to his balance bike days just yet, so I asked him, “What if we painted your jump bike?” His reply was instant: “Flames – red, yellow, orange and black.” And so began our six-month project, working together in small bursts to give his well-loved dirt hero a second life and purpose.

I set about cutting flame-style stencils from masking tape, layering and re-layering, peeling each one back to reveal the colours and patterns beneath. Each stage brought us more satisfaction as the fiery design came to life.

It turned out to be a bigger task than I expected, but I loved the process – and the time it gave me with him, working side by side.

On his 4th birthday, I re-gifted the ‘Antihero’ to him. Safe to say, it hasn’t had much of a rest since its second coming.