FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

It was rough at times to do a 'zine. Photos were received by post and then photocopied. The original photos were returned and you had the paper to work with. You made a layout of the page and started typing on the actual page. The space you had available was the space you needed to fit your story in. The pages got stuck in the typewriter very often which caused major headaches. The typewriter ribbon faded out after a while too and finding a new one for the old typewriter was a challenge in itself.

The page numbers were added at the end with a number mold. The pages needed to line up and all of you who have done a 'zine before know that this did not always go smoothly.

But it's 1988 and issue 3 came out. It had the following content:

The cover was shared by Jeroen Hoogaerts (RIP) and Bart on the skateboard. The issue had lots of art again, made by Joachim Mulkens and Speed One who showed up with new drawings during school breaks.

We visited a secret spot in Germany which is not so secret these days: The University of Düsseldorf with all those brick banks. 1988!

I stopped by Rainer's Bike Shop to get my Skyway TA BMX from 1983 back together - I came across the frame, fork and Tuff Wheels last summer by chance through a buddy in my hometown who had the bike since the '80s and kept the frame hanging on the wall for 25 years.

1989 Mega Free 2 Bercy, France - Les Coulisses by OSBMXF.
Images : Jacky Frattini

Remarkably, and considering how labor-intensive Bicycle tire manufacturing is from a single mold, our first batch of reissue Panaracer Freestyle Tires will be completed on time. Those who have preordered can expect to see their tires in late March, or at the latest, early April (but we feel good about March). We have opted to air freight this first batch into the country to keep our promise on delivery. A second small batch will be arriving by ocean shipment sometime around July. Beyond that, we don’t anticipate seeing any more of the tires available for sale separately until late 2022.

We have updated the website with available inventory from both batches. Please note, we do have a

The American Bicycle Association is a US-based BMX sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA

After the first "Try-mag" we released in 1987 the feedback was so good that we decided to continue with the FAT-'zine project. Paul had just got back from the USA where he stayed for a few months and visited the 2-Hip KOV in Washington, Mount Thrashmore skatepark and the Powerhouse Bike Shop in Hampton, VA.

Issue 01 had three stickers, one FF sticker, one Powerhouse Bike Shop sticker and one Skeletor sticker that Paul found on a roll in the $ 1 dollar shop.

Mike Loveridge got interviewed and street riding is starting to take off. Paul and I used to do BMX freestyle demos and placed a full page ad in the FAT-'zine. Or maybe it was just a filler, who knows.

Some things that made it on the RAD list were: Town & Country wear, Club Homeboy, Fingerboards and Centerpull brakes. Yes, these were the eighties (1988). Things that made it on the Lame list were: The Del Mar killers, Grabber seats, Dyno shoes and Lee Chi brakes. Some of this makes me laugh.

Scooters were still hot (in our eyes) and we even had a page on Snowboarding (the next cool thing to do).

Robert Moeller got introduced as the first German FAT-'zine correspondent and we also took a trip to an LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim and Public Enemy concert in Amsterdam. Memories........

In celebration of Profile Racing's 50th anniversary, owner and founder, Jim Alley, invites us into the company's original Florida location where some sections of this dark and dusty industrial cave have been sealed off since 2004.

Enjoy the rad, really rad, really really rad radness of Mike D. riding my halfpipe back in the day.

35 years of covering the BMX scene: 1987 - 2022 FAT! ISSUE 00. The official start of FAT was in 1987. It's 2022 now. That makes it 35 years of covering the BMX scene trying to make it bigger and better for everyone to enjoy. Find the info on issue 00 below and then flip through every page by hitting the link at the very bottom. We're starting off with issue zero here which was fueled by the fact that a Dutch BMX magazine (Trickx) started putting more racing and international freestyle riders in their magazine instead of the Dutch riders.

That's actually where the name comes from: Freestylers Against Trickx (FAT). It wasn't a goal or plan to make a total of 34 issues but after issue 00 came out the Dutch scene wanted more. Anyway, the "Try-MAG!!!" is mostly in Dutch but that will change soon in the issues to come.

It all started in 1987 and we were young and stupid. There were no computers in sight and the internet had to be invented for most of us. Markers, scissors, photocopies, rulers, the typewriter, these were the things you had to slap a 'zine together.

Compared to now the quality was shit but at least you had something in your hands that you could relate to.

Issue 00 already had a free sticker page. It actually came with two free stickers; one of the Freestyle

1975 NBA BMX promo video with Love unlimited Orchestra soundtrack