FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Congrats to the DIG crew for reaching issue 50. Here's some info from the DIG posse on the new mag.

Issue 50. That's right, we finally made it! Most of us here at the magazine never thought we'd get this far, but after many twists, turns and bumps in the proverbial road, we've finally arrived. I would love to say that we spent our time patting ourselves on the back and saying, "Good job" to each other, but we really just tried to put together an issue that showed how much we've grown as a magazine. We've highlighted some of our earlier days, but we've also made it a point to show what's in store for the future of the magazine. There's new paper, new layouts and new sections, plus a big ole poster displaying the past 50 covers of Dig BMX Magazine. Basically, we're striving to push ahead with Dig, and issue 50 is the benchmark for the future. If you're curious about what's inside, here's a quick rundown....

MADISON, Wis. - December 20, 2005 - TJ Lavin is one talented guy, and Schwinn Bicycles has re-signed him to showcase his talents with the Schwinn brand. Growing up in Las Vegas, TJ was drawn to BMX racing as a young child, and showed potential as a top contender almost immediately. He soon discovered dirt jumping and before long found almost unparalleled success, having been crowned the "King of Dirt" in 1995. In the X Games he has medalled several times over, taking the bronze three times, the silver once, and the gold twice, his most recent medal being in 2004. He has also been a DK Dirt Circuit Champ, a champion in the Gravity Games, and a CFB Champion.

“I’m excited to represent the Schwinn brand,” said Lavin. “Schwinn’s been really good to me for the past few years and I’m glad to stay in the family.”

Outside of his successes on the track, TJ has also developed a plethora of talents off the track. He has appeared on Cribs and starred in a documentary film. He is also featured in his own video game, MTV Sports: TJ Lavin's Ultimate BMX.

MADISON, Wis. - December 20, 2005 - GT proudly announces that it has re-signed BMX Race champion Randy Stumpfhauser to the 2006 GT Team.Stumpy jumps back into the thick of it after a great 2005. Winning Elite Cruiser at the World Championships in Paris and winning the ABA Pro Cruiser title for the fifth year in a row are among his 2005 highlights. In 2006 his goals are to continue being consistent and to enhance his already impressive riding level.

“I hate going out there and not riding at the level I know I am capable of, so I want to raise that level and concentrate on winning races and the titles will come with those goals,” said Stumpfhauser.

How’s he like riding for GT?

“Riding for GT is something I used to dream about when I was younger.  In this stage of my career I am very happy to have the support from a company that makes great bikes and gives me support at the races."

Name: Markus Wilke
Age: 31
Hometown: Cologne/ Germany

The news of signing with KHE came as a surprise to us. How did it work out?

Well, two years ago I talked to Thomas Goering about some new KHE products at the Worlds in Cologne. He showed an interest in sponsoring me, but we never actually sat down and talked it over. So after a while I kind of forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago he called me totally out of the blue and offered me a full-on sponsorship. KHE has focused on the Flatland scene for the last couple of years, but the company also has a strong background in Ramp and Street riding. I guess this is where I come into the picture. I’ve known Thomas for fifteen years now and he has some great ideas for a Street bike. I think KHE is a cool opportunity for me to help design some really good Street parts. We signed a two year and half year deal.

Todd Lyons has been there, done that. As a racer, as a dirtjumper as a street rider, he has traveled the world. His love for the sport is gigantic and it was no surprise that "The Wildman" ended up working in the bicycle industry. TL is taking SE racing (or SE BMX) to a different level and is loving it. FATBMX checked in with TL to see what his job entails.

How did you get the job over at SE Bikes?

- Back in the late summer of 2002 I read on BMXMania that SE was being resurrected by Fuji Bikes. The guy who it said was running the program was Billy Feamster. Billy used to sponsor me with Rad Accessories back in the early 90’s. I hadn’t talked to him in years, so I figured I’d look him up. Once all of that fell into place, I became the sponsored pro. Then over the next year and a half, I saw a lot of things that we could do to improve our bikes, team, image, etc. Over time, I gave so much input that we finally realized that I could have a much better impact as the Brand Manager than simply being just a rider.

The Open Dutch Indoor BMX Championships took place today in Wanroij, The Netherlands. With over 800 entries over the weekend, the race was fairly big. In Elite men the top three results look like this:
Elite men Open Dutch Indoor Championships:
1. Martijn Scherpen
2. Arno Kanis
3. Harm van Brussel

The U.S. Olympic Committee has mandated that USA Cycling more closely and effectively manage the BMX discipline now that it is part of the Olympic Games. As such, USA Cycling has been and will continue to be the sole governing body for BMX in the United States that is recognized by the USOC, the UCI and the various anti-doping agencies (World Anti-Doping Agency and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency).

Below you will find an outline for how the sport of BMX will be managed by USA Cycling as we approach the sport’s inclusion in the 2008 Olympic Games. It is vitally important that we get this information to you and the entire body of interested athletes who desire to compete in UCI-sanctioned events including World Championships, Continental Championships, National Championships and the Olympic Games.

Name: Ryan Guettler
Age: 22

Hometown Northern Hemisphere summer: Huntington Beach, CA. USA

Hometown Southern Hemisphere summer: Brisbane, Australia

The much anticipated and awarded movie about the history on BMX finally came out on DVD, right in time for the Christmas celebration. I was so stoked to open that specific mail, since I was unfortunate to miss out on the actual premier of the movie. The way they did the timeline was done pretty well and I can only imagine how hard it is to stuff the complete history of our sport in about 90 minutes. The best part is that you can really pin point when you started riding or where your influences and inspiration came from, since they covered most heroes of BMX. Coming from Holland that was lagging a couple years on the sport, I was amped to see some 2Hip footage, Freestylin' covers and the big props to our pioneers of freestyle, Mat Hoffman and Kevin Jones, which I think helped taking this sport to the very next level where it is today. I hope this was only my copy that had some audio problems at the end of the movie, where the music took over the spoken words, but nevertheless it is worth every dollar to own this DVD! As much as it is to own Rad the Movie, Ride on and Aggroman! Get your copy today: wwww.joekidonastingray.com
By Michael de Wit