STARDOM IS TURNED INTO A MOVIE
I started to read and write, and even eat properly. I would definitely say I was a bit of a mongrel as a kid.”
John’s lack of education was also the reason why he couldn’t accept his black father, who is originally from Sri Lanka, to begin with.
He said: “The first six months was difficult as I was getting used to colour of my dad’s skin. I was so against him because of the colour of his skin – when I look at that, I am so ashamed of myself.
“But it was the way I was educated. I was brainwashed that you don’t hang with black people. It was just a weird thing. People in Glasgow understood that especially in the 70s.”
It was through watching the movie ET that John first became fascinated with BMX, and after the movie he got his first bike which lead to him becoming one of the biggest names in the sport.
Today he’s the Global Brand Manager for Haro BMX Bikes in 80 counties around the world.
John said: “My new foster parents took me to see ET and I saw BMX for the first time. That was me, I was like oh my God, there is the adventure, there is the adrenaline.”
John, who previously lived in Australia before settling in America, met movie producer Ali Afshar who is taking his story to the big screen.
Now in post production, he recently saw the raw version of the film Ride and admits playing his biological father was one of the toughest things he has ever done.
He said: “It was the most difficult day of my life playing my biological father in my own movie. I am not violent, I could never hit a woman or a child. But when you are filming, to be believable you have to become that character.
He added: “It was also rewarding as I know I am nothing like that. I wasn’t myself when I became that character. That is when I learned how hard acting really is because you have to be believable. You have to become that person.”
The book will also explore John’s partying days and his failed relationships with women.
THE dad-of-one, who has a daughter Mackenzie Mae, also talks about the possibility that he has another daughter whom he has never met – and its through this self-discovery process that he has been able to make peace and focus on what he has done right in life.
He said: “When I talk about it I have had such a great life, my past is a distant memory.”
John is preparing for the whirlwind tour the movie and the book will take him on but he knows he will return home to Scotland which is still very much has a place in his heart.
For he considers himself a proud Glaswegian and he even has Scotland tattooed on his back.
He also recently discovered that he is related to another famous Scot through marriage – Robert Carlyle.
He said: “Robert Carlyle’s uncle married my aunt and he is my second cousin. I j ust found out through doing the book.”
He added: “I left Scotland when I was 23 and I know I am going to retire in Scotland when I am 65.
“I believe anyone in Glasgow could read this book because BMX is secondary to the actual struggle of this kid that started from nothing and ended up living his dream.”
ide by John Buultjens with Chris Sweeney is out now priced £16.99.