Name: Byron TGI Friday
Started riding in: 1969
Teams represented: Kawasaki Motor Co, Shimano America, ***Redline Development Linn Kastan (it was not a team - Linn and I work together to develop The ProLine series: V bars, stem, frame, and fork. Flight cranks. While riding the Redline product Mr. Jim Emerson of EFF /Peddlers West provided me with parts, support, and transportation.
What was the first bike you used to ride Bicycle Motocross before you got picked up by Kawasaki?
Name: Lionel Eden aka carbizguy
Hometown: Born and raised (and still living in) Redondo Beach, CA
Started riding BMX in: 1977 on my brother's old monoshock
Number of bikes in the collection: Currently, I have 9 complete bikes and 20 frames/forks. At peak insanity, I had probably 3 times this in my collection. I haven't been very active lately, I thinned out my collection back in 2010.
What was the starting point of your BMX collecting madness?
Lionel Eden: In early 2000 I found an old BMX Action magazine and that sparked this idea of
Name: Toby Henderson
Started riding in: 1972
Teams represented: DG, Raleigh, Hutch, SE, GT, Iron Horse.
Was pretty much everyone on a Stingray when they raced Bicycle Motocross at BUMS in 1973?
Toby Henderson: I know I was on one. The rest of the guys... I'm sure there were some Huffy's on the field :)
At age 12, was the Stingray actually a perfect fit for you?
Toby Henderson: I didn't know better, but it handled everything better than any other bike I rode at that time. It was funny you asked because I was the first one to get a Schwinn Scrambler/prototype, a straight tube version of the Stringray. The head tube was so slacked out, it was almost unrideable. Not sure if they ever fixed that as I went on to ride for DG later on.
Did you do many of the downhill BMX races when they were around?
Toby Henderson: Yes, I remember one in San Diego where I crashed really hard. On the Yarnell track, I was scared to death just to go out of the starting gate.
How many bikes would break at a race like that?
Name: Mickael Clerté
Hometown: Gujan Mestras, France
Started riding BMX in: 1985
Number of bikes in the collection: 18
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Mickael Clerté: Yes around 2010, hearing about more and more BMX old school reunions.
Who were the first people you came across that helped you out to find the stuff you needed?
Mickael Clerté: My old friend from TOURS, Eric Pontoizeau. This guy is one of the first French who start to collecting.
Do you feel there is a need for BMX products to survive for history's sake?
Mickael Clerté: Yes sure.
Did you get to keep all your bikes when you were part of sponsored teams?
Mickael Clerté: No never, always need to sell those bikes to pay BMX travels, races…I wish I could but not.
Name: Ely Thomas
Hometown: Dirty Mitten (Michigan)
Started riding BMX in: Started around 12 years old
Number of bikes in the collection: 25
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Ely D. Thomas: Well started collecting old fat tire and Stingrays I would find at Yard sales and would walk past the BMX for some reason. Then one day that changed and I started with the BMX about 15-20 years ago.
Name: Jesus Pozo (Chino)
Hometown: San Diego California
Started riding BMX in: '87/'88
Number of bikes in the collection: 25 plus 20 frame sets
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Chino Jesus: Good question, I’ve kept some of the GT/Dyno pit bikes I had since jr high. I bought a GT pit frame around 2014 and met a good friend that would help spark the BMX bug. Once I saw his collection, mainly RL20 II (7) and Haro Master bashguards (4), I was hooked.
What is your fascination about bashguard bikes?
Chino Jesus: An older guy in the neighborhood had a chrome Haro Master bashguard. He worked at a local bike shop and had all the top of the line parts. He would sell my friends and I his left over parts and we would have cool upgrades. That bike always stood out to me. Probably an '89 Master. That’s why when I met my buddy Gabriel and saw his collection, I told him to sell me one of the bashguard bikes.
Name: Martin Pimentel
Hometown: Sydney, Australia but currently living in London, England
Started riding BMX in: 1978 but I’ve been riding one kind of bike or another since the age of 2 (yes I have photographic evidence)
Number of bikes in the collection: 113 at its peak but that’s down to 55 right now. Most of what is left has not been shared widely yet so I have lots of building left to do. 1980 to 1984 was my golden age.
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Martin Pimentel: Like most things in life, it was at a party. It was the early 2000s and an old '80s song came on. To this day I associate particular songs to certain bikes. Made me think of a black 1983 SE Quadangle with gold parts and camo pads I always wanted but never had. That sparked the flame that burns to this day.
Who were the first people you came across that helped you out to find the stuff you needed?
Martin Pimentel: There were too many to mention here. I started going deep and before too long the stuff tended to find me! That’s the good thing about this community. People get to know each other, their
Name: Peter Ashby
Hometown: Hurstbridge, Victoria, Australia
Started riding BMX in: 1979
Number of bikes in the collection: 15 at the moment
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Peter Ashby: It was around 20 years ago. I saw an old 1980 Mongoose on a rubbish pile so I took it home because of the great memories I had as a kid with BMX's and hung it in my garage.
Has Torker always been THE brand for you?
Name: Steve Firestein
Hometown: Sepulveda Calif.
Started riding BMX in: 1969
Number of bikes in the collection: 12
What was the starting point of your BMX collecting madness?
Steve Firestein: 2008 or so. I came across a listing for a show at Peck park. That changed my focus on bikes.
Did you ever meet a pro and then rebuild his bike years later?
Best of 7. Going back in time with people who captured BMX in the early years. Without these images it would be harder for everyone to understand what was happening in the beginning. It fits the oldskool articles nicely. Episode 49 goes to Bill Batchelor who has been treating the BMX historians with some gold lately.
Photographer: Bill Batchelor
Photo 1
-Who: Bob Haro
-Where: Pipeline King of the Skateparks, Upland California
-When: 1985
-What Happened: In between the actual contest judging events I always took a lot of pictures of the people and the behind the scenes action. Bob was judging the contest so this photo was part of a series of the judges.
-Why this photo: As a BMX kid in the early 1980s, Bob Haro was an idol of mine. He started it all, and epitomized what was cool at the time. We’d stare at photos of his riding in the magazines and his Freestyle Tricks book and try to build his ramps. When I first got a real Haro number plate for my race
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.