John Buultjens: Drumchapel BMX king taking Hollywood by storm with harrowing life story

Surrounded by top producers and rapper-turned-actor Ludacris, the surreal moment of watching Ride in the Warner Brother studios in Hollywood perhaps hit home just how far John has come from his humble beginnings in Glasgow's tough Drumchapel.

The movie Ride, due out in 2018, will present a glossy rags to riches tale of how Scot John went from an abused child who had a tough upbringing to a BMX superstar admired by riders all over the world. It will star John as his own father and is set in the Californian town Petaluma, rather than Glasgow. But most importantly for John, Ride has been made to inspire a mass audience that anything in possible.

In reality, John's life is in the book, written after the film with fellow Glaswegian Chris Sweeney.

Ride, the book, is the warts and all autobiography set in Glasgow. It is this version of John's story which is full of bombshells to shock even the hard-hearted of readers.

For in 1970s Glasgow, John, now 45, was trapped in deprivation, and often on the receiving end of his father's beatings.

"One day, I remember my dad did not eat his lunch, he brought his sandwich home and I got to eat it - that is my happiest memory of him.

"He was never a loving father put it that way," John bluntly says.

John grew up in Drumchapel with his brother and two sisters after the family moved from nearby Whiteinch.

John as a child

Writing the book with Chris allowed the star to dig into his past and reveal things he never thought he would including sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of a family friend.

He said: "I open up in my book about being sexually abused when I was five years old. It is so mad that abused kids are so ashamed to talk about it. They have to realise it is not their fault. They are not a victim and they are amazing inspiration."

Physical abuse was then a big part of his young life thanks to his father Thomas who had worked in the shipbuilding industry but was later unemployed. Thomas was always angry, and when he wasn't taking out the frustrations of life on John, he often turned to his wife Margaret.

"His whole family were maniacs and I know my dad was abused by my grandfather," John explained.

He continued: "One day, my dad collapsed on his way home. The reason he collapsed in the street was that he had a brain tumour.

"He was an angry man and he had a brain tumour going on his head. His temper, I believe was him suffering, his mind was in such pain. It was his way to take it out on us I guess. That’s how I made my peace with him."

Making peace was not an easy task for John who as a child suffered burns after being thrown in fire by his father. His mother also put him in Glenrosa Children's Home on Christmas Eve, 1979 after he picked up a knife in an attempt to stop his dad beating her. The film will show young John stabbing his father but in reality he was knocked out before he could get a chance.

John said: "The worst point for me was not physically on me, it was when he was beating my mama. I wanted to attack him with the knife but he knocked me out before I could even stab him.

"I remember all the beatings, getting abused, and being scarred but it didn’t really hit me until he was really beating my mum up that bad. I snapped and couldn’t handle it anymore, and I was only seven."

Entering a children's home was really the moment John's life began to change.

"The thing I loved about that home was it was like a brotherhood," John reminisced.

"I had a clean bed which was amazing and I actually loved being locked up with everyone. We broke out a couple of times and got into trouble. But ended up going back.

"It was definitely a positive time because I had so many good people around me and it was my crew for sure."

He continued: "I am hoping with the book and movie coming out, someone is going to read it and be like I was in when he was in.

"I am hoping I can meet people that went to Glenrosa and Stonedyke Primary School which is no longer in Drumchapel. It would be amazing to see where people are for sure."

That life was, however, left behind when three years later John was adopted by bi-racial couple Eldridge, above, and Marianna Buultjens, who he considers his parents today - his biological mum and dad have also since passed. With the Buultjens' he moved to Glasgow's plush West End where he was introduced to a new way of life.

"It was a big transition moving to Kelvinside Gardens," John admitted.

He said: "At 10 years old, I couldn’t read or write, and I was tongue tied. I couldn’t even speak properly. I mean, my slang was disgusting.

"So going to live with a couple of academics, I was retrained I guess. With them 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.

John with Ludacris who plays Eldridge in the movie and Sacha Alexander.

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. Sometimes I have to look at the scars on my body to realise it really was me. It wasn’t just a dream or I didn’t watch it on TV."

He added: "There is stuff in the book that, well I am ashamed of but I own up to. I open up about partying, drugs and forcing a girl to have an abortion. I may have a second daughter out there and she is 17, and I have never met her. All these things came up when I was telling my story.

"This is a story of life and I am just sharing my story. So many people went through similar. A lot went through a lot worse but as soon as we put the past in the past we can be anything we want to be in life."

John is preparing for the whirlwind tour the movie and the book will take him on but he knows that 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 just found out through doing the book - I mean how random is that? I would love to meet Robert. I have been a fan of his for many many years."

He added: "I left Scotland when I was 23 and I know I am going to retire in Scotland when I am 65. I am going to be on this little journey for 42 years travelling the world but I will be looking to invest back in Scotland.

"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."

Ride by John Buultjens with Chris Sweeney, above, is out now priced £16.99.

You can purchase the book here