FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Name: Maurice Meyer
Hometown: San Francisco, USA
Started riding BMX in: 1975 or so?
Number of bikes in the collection: 4 fully built, 1 complete unbuilt, a few frames, many Tuff Wheel sets, parts, etc.

You put together your first 'collector' bikes some 15 years ago. What made you decide to put these three bikes together?
Maurice Meyer: I was seeing a lot of really cool stuff being done on VintageBMX.com so I went back to mom's house and dug in the old shed. Found my first Skyway TA frame and fork in really rough condition all rusty from laying on one side on this damp plywood floor. It was probably the best thing I could find though since it was my the bike I rode on my first tour and in my first contest and also had a rare fork since Skyway welded it up with no rake for freestyle. Robert Peterson got the same in white and I think that's it - two ever made and just this one left. At first I thought I'd just put some used parts on it and make it look as used but the people on VintageBMX started hooking me up with mint parts which meant I had to step up and get the frame repaired and chromed. Doing the really personal stuff like making the number plate and custom stickers got me some heavy flashbacks which was awesome.

Name: Arthur Kourtis
Hometown: Melbourne Northcote, Australia
Started riding in: 1979
Number of bikes in collection: I currently have 16 what I call boutique BMXs. All of which date from '77 to '84

What was the moment for you to start collecting BMX bikes?
Arthur Kourtis: I started collecting bmxs from a very young age. I’d even say for a long time I kept most of my original bikes from when I was a kid and only got rid of them in the last 12 years as I wanted to buy bikes I couldn’t afford so I’d trade up. Growing up in the northern suburbs in Melbourne our BMX was our wheels. We went everywhere on our bikes. Being of European background as a kid our parents wouldn’t let us race. So we just lived on our bikes

Is older better in your book?
Arthur Kourtis: Good question. I have full respect for all eras of BMX. As I was there for all of it.

Name: Cash Matthews
Hometown: Shawnee, OK
Started riding BMX in: 1972

Like many in the very early days who could not afford a motorcycle, the bicycle was turned into a motorbike look-a-like. What were some of the things you did to reach that goal?
Cash Matthews: Like most, we made lots of cool 2-stroke motorcycle sounds with our mouths!! As our group of friends who rode progressed, we started riding “flat track” style in a circle. We emulated Kenny Roberts and my Uncle, Jerry Matthews who were all accomplished Flat Track Stars. I conned my uncle out of a number plate from his motorcycle so that was the first cool-mod of the Schwinn. As many Flat Track guys, we added cardboard, grip covers to save us from rocks and things that never really mattered but they looked cool. In those early days, just having a set of waffle grips was epic, so we began there,

Name: Raphael (Raf) Lawson
Hometown: Singleton NSW Australia, now living in Manchester, UK
Started riding BMX in: 1979
Number of bikes in the collection: Currently 4 down from 13

Does your collection represent your active time in BMX?
Raphael Lawson: Yes – Mongoose focused.

When you build a bike, do you need a special purpose for it?

Name: Stu Thomsen
Started riding in: 1972 (I Think)
Teams represented: Three Majors: SE, Redline and Huffy.
Some of the smaller and short term teams were: Dirt Master, Webco, DG, FMF, Motobecane (One Weekend), my bike shop (Stu Thomsen’s Family Bicycle Center), Southridge Cycles (on MTB and BMX). A short stent back on Redline and now representing SE again.

What was the first bike you used to ride Bicycle Motocross?
Stu Thomsen: Schwinn Stingray

In 1973, what were people using at the first few races you entered?
Stu Thomsen: Modified Stingray type bikes and a few custom garage builds by ingenious fathers.

You've seen the BMX bike development firsthand. What kind of full suspension bikes did you get to ride?
Stu Thomsen: I had a custom made Monoshock bike I would race now and then at the Corona downhill