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window, Holdsworth of Welling, it was a Mongoose wire wheel with a coaster brake and gooseneck stem, so I saved up and with help from my parents bought it in Oct 1979.

Was it racing BMX first for you?
Billy Stupple: Racing first as freestyle was pretty much unheard of in the early days, although because I was quite small for my age I never really cut it as a racer back then.

When did you realize you could do more with a BMX bike than just hit the tracks?
Billy Stupple: That would have been after my first visit to Rom skatepark, I loved it there, and still do when I get a chance to ride there.

How far did you live from a decent asphalt skatepark?
Billy Stupple: Not too far from Rom, although it was a bit of a journey before I could drive because I had to use public transport. A typical weekend saw me riding from my parents house in Plumstead to Woolwich Arsenal train station, boarding a train to London Bridge, then riding from there to Liverpool St station, boarding a train to Romford Station, then riding from there to Rom skatepark, I would meet up with a few regulars of my age, Danny Purcell, Crazy Pat Glavin, and Marco Lara, ride the skatepark from the time it opened until it closed, return home and do the same the following day. There just wasn`t enough hours in the day for riding back then as I lived bmx from first light until it was dark.

When was the time that you had to build your own quarterpipe?
Billy Stupple: Well luckly for me I became friends with Chris Young whose Dad (Dave Young RIP) was one of the early pioneers of bmx in the UK, and he built the first mobile quarter pipes of anybody in the UK around 1981-82, so myself and Chris had access to ramps that nobody else did.

What's the first show you did?
Billy Stupple: I think the first shows that I did were with Chris Young as part of the Skyliners Trick Team, although I can't remember when or where that was, possibly summer 1982.

When did the hook-up with Skyway start?
Billy Stupple: The hook up with Skyway started at the beginning of the 1983 Skyway European Tour. Andy Patterson and Bob Medrano joined us in the UK for the start, which I think was at Rad City bike shop.

Who were on the team with you back then?
Billy Stupple: On the 1983 tour were Chris Young, myself and Andy Patterson doing the trick team shows, but we also had Bob Medrano, Dean Scott-Web and Jason Maloney with us as well for the racing side of things, and Mike Salido joined us for the Worlds at Slagharen with Ken Coster who is now the MD at Skyway. It was Chris Young and myself that were the trick team for most of 1983, but around September 1983 the managagement of the trick team was taken over from Barry Scott –Web by Peter Hawkins, and with him came Craig Campbell and a little later Paul Hudson.

You've been a Skyway fan ever since, correct?
Billy Stupple: Yes, I've had some replica Skyway shirts made up which I wear whilst I'm racing, and if I'm doing an old school race then I use Skyway wheels too, and the Skyway T/A was the best all round frame and fork of the day imho.

How hard was it to progress back then?
Billy Stupple: Progressing was just a case of trial and error, we never really had anything to follow, except for pictures from the USA mags, so we made it up as we went along.

What's the most memorable show you've done?
Billy Stupple: For me it would be one that we did at the end of the Skyway tour in 1983 at the European Championships in Dijon, France. Although the Maidenhead one was good to as it was a properly organised event, and it was like being a pop star with the crowd reaction.

Equipment wise, can you explain how bad the bikes were compared to the BMX bikes that are available today?
Billy Stupple: Well when I started riding again in 2004 after a 20 year break it was on a 1985 Haro Master with Tuffs and a coaster brake and at the time I thought it was fine, however once things started breaking I had to replace them with new school stuff, until I had a complete new school bike, and now the difference is unbelievable, the angles were all wrong, the back ends too long, and far too flexi. I'm using a UKBikeCo Evolution at the moment and it's riding great, although it's got a front brake too which is my old school roots showing though.

What did you use on your Skyway Tuffs to make the brakes work?
Billy Stupple: I just had them set up well, plus I never weighed a lot back then, and the coaster brake always worked well.

Did you invent any tricks?
Billy Stupple: Yes, I invented the `Stupple` which was a reverse slider into a 540 one hand one footer spin, you'll have to watch BMX Beat to see what I mean.

Where did BMX/freestyle take you?
Billy Stupple: Riding all over the UK and quite a bit of Europe when I was riding for Skyway in 1983 and 1984, getting to ride with Maurice Meyer and Dave Vanderspek RIP of the Curb Dogs on the 1984 Skyway Tour, making friends for life and having a great time, and still doing so now since getting back into it in 2004. I rode in the amateur vert finals at the Cologne Masters in 2008 with my son, and we came joint 6th, which is a highlight for me, and I'll be going back this year too.

Last words?
Billy Stupple: I'm really enjoying riding and racing at the moment in the 40+ Cruiser class, and doing a bit of 4x with Keith Wilson another old school rider from the early 80`s, plus riding with my son Joe and all the other riders from Radbmx when we have a gathering. And I'd just like to say hello to D.J from Radbmx too, he loves a name check.

Ride on.

Pics: Billy's archive