The Limited Edition Vans X The Birth of the BMX Freestyle Movement Package launches the Global Edition of the book. With almost 200 pages of new and updated content, we journey through the history of the UK Freestyle scene in a dedicated chapter that features input from British riders and industry figureheads. We also get into the van with the Factory Tour teams in a chapter that pulls the curtain back on the mid-80s summer tours titled “East of the 5” with insights from the teams, the announcers, and the brand owners who handed over the company credit cards and AAA maps before sending their crews into the depths of every town USA and beyond for the summer months.
To send this last edition up, the good folks at Vans allowed me to design some of their new dedicated Wafflecup BMX Shoes. Bob Haro and Bob Morales feature through archival images shot on the 1982 Haro Freestyle Tour by Dean Bradley.
In addition to the new edition of the book and the shoes, the package includes a dedicated 120-page brand history book titled “The Business End” with brand chapters dedicated to the industry that underpinned Freestyle through the 1098s.
The Full Package…
1 X copy of The Birth of the BMX Freestyle Movement Global Edition.
1 X copy of The Business End Brand / Industry History Book.
1 X custom “43” BMX T-shirt.
Same thing. Different part of the world. The early days....
Pre-internet Gen-X: Skating, freestyle BMX, and the explosion of goth, industrial, post-punk, and electronic music connect and divide a series of teens exploring sex, drugs, and violence amidst a racially polarized blue-collar bedroom suburb backdrop of Cleveland, Ohio, Dayglow Black is a series of all true tales from 1987–1991.
Craig and Isaac chat with Bill Batchelor about his old school photo collection he took in LA during the peak of the Freestyle movement - at 14 years old.
Just so I can watch and get stoked whenever I need it. Also went with a crusty VHS tape so it had the proper feel.
Shot locally and released in 1986, the movie Rad tells the story of Cru, a young man with a dream of making it big as a BMX racer by racing the “Helltrack” and winning the grand prize of $100,000 (and a sweet Corvette).
Mours saint Eusèbe (26) . Deuxième Championnat d'Europe de BMX en France aprèsDijon en 83.
In 1972, Gary Turner, a professional drag racer and experienced welder, started out making a BMX bike out of chrome-moly tubing for his son Craig to race at the BMX tracks. Craig's bike gets noticed and Gary starts to supply the frames to other kids and building his reputation one frame at a time. Gary Turner BMX was born.
We've asked Mel Stoutsenberger to pick his favourite photos from back in the day and give us the Who, Where, When, What, and Why. Mel documented BMX first hand. Here's photo number Five.
IMAGE FIVE:
Who: Bruce Bufkin from Canoga Park, California. Bruce and I became friends in 1968 because of our shared interest in motocross. We didn't have motorcycles yet but we had our Schwinn Stingrays which we rode as much as we could in the empty fields and trails around our neighborhood. His older Brother used to help us work on our bikes, gave us tips, customizing and making them better suited for riding in the dirt.
Where: Indian Dunes Motorcycle Park, mini-bike track, Valencia, California.
When: August 1972.
BMX Old School Pictures by Bmx Old school
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.