FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

EARLY BMX PIONEERS:

Marvin Church: Began his BMX career in the early 70’s, when the only bike to race was a Schwinn Stingray with 4 inch cranks. Marvin and his dad are credited with building the first straight-tube BMX frame in 1972, as well as cutting cranks apart and welding them to the future standard of 7 inches. He briefly rode for the famous Dirt Masters team. Marv was a pioneer in the mono-shock and sidehack era. He also rode for Rick’s Bike Shop, Kawasaki, and Shimano. After years of retirement, Marvin came back in the early 80’s, racing cruisers for Mongoose. His comeback career washed away after 1984. Marv still shows up to race every few years in the older cruiser classes. Marvin was last known to be living in Reno, NV. 

Brian Lewis: Brian was best known for being the cover boy of the premier issue of BMX ACTION magazine in 1976. While racing BMX from 1974 to 1980, he was said to be one of the most arrogant BMXers at the Western Sports Arama, but deservingly so, as he held unbeatable track records. He rode for TwoWheelers during the mid-70’s on their rectangular-tubed Stroker bike. Brian turned Pro in 1978. He came back briefly during the 80’s to try his hand in the cruiser class.

Billy McIntyre: He’s one of the least credited racers from the earliest days of BMX. He raced from 1974 to 1979. Since his dad owned a machine shop, he was always tinkering. He rode for the original Gary Littlejohn team during the mid 70’s. He was the first guinea pig for Addicks sprockets. He worked and rode for Cook Bros. racing for nearly five years, where he designed and developed such famous Cook Bros. Products like the FW “McIntyre” bars, clamp-on stem, and built-in chain tensioners for Cook Bros. He was one of the first guys to show up on a 26 inch cruiser and race on it. Inspired by motocross, Billy experimented with mono shocks throughout his career. He even raced one against current bikes of the day in 1978, on Weinart Mountain, Randal Ranch and Yarnell. Amazingly, he was competitive on a bike that was fifteen pounds heavier than everyone else’s bike.

Kenny Nachman: A Van Nuys local, his racing career spanned from 1975 to 1981. Originally he rode for R&R before hooking up with Team Mongoose. As an amateur in the late 70’s, Kenny was always in the top spots of his age class. Later on, with the introduction of cruiser, Nachman became a heavy contender of the 24 inch ranks during the early 80’s. He lived and competed in Australia for a while. Although he was not a very flashy rider, he was well respected and always got the job done. Kenny was last known to be living in Hawaii.

Danny Oakley: Danny began organized BMX racing in 1970 and retired in 1981.He was instrumental in establishing organized BMX racing, and numerous tracksin Southern and Northern California, during a time when organized BMX did not formally exist. A few such tracks are The Downhill Track of Baldwin Park in 1970, Landels Park, Hamann Park, and The Downhill Track of Mount Tamalpais in 1974. Danny Oakley, a true Legend of our sport, raced for such legendary teams as Bikette & Dirtmaster, Rick`s Bike Shop, Silver Shield, MotoPRO, Speedo, and Mongoose. He was instrumental in forming Pro Products, Inc., MotoPRO, and Speedo. Moreover, Danny was instrumental in designing product for Pro Products, Inc., MotoPRO, Speedo, and B.M.X. Products, Inc., Mongoose, including the infamous Moosegoose, a 20 inch BMX race frame Danny designed for taller riders, and racers (Danny is quite tall himself). He has conducted BMX Racing Clinics, and Demonstrations in the United States, and in Europe. He has participated in NBA, UBR, NPSA, CBA and ABA sanctioned races. Danny raced and won numerous titles, and championships, such as 4 Time, West Coast Champion, 6 Time, Northern California Champion, NPSA National Champion, and NORA CUP, to name a few. Danny was one of the racers that was featured in the BMX episode of CHiPs.

John Palfreyman: “Snaggletooth,” as he was nicknamed, was another pioneer in the earliest days of BMX. He was an ace on sidehacks and mono shocks. He was one of the original Rick’s members who participated in the 1975 NBA Tour. Through Rick’s Bike Shop, John tested product for BMX Products and Redline, including one of two prototype loop-tail Redlines and a 1-inch head tubed Redline with motorcycle bearings. In the days without a sanctioning body, Palfreyman was one of the well known, early legends of BMX. He went on to race professional motorcycle sidehacks in Europe and all over America, where he was US National Champion. He is currently living in Oregon.

Brian Ramocinski : Starting in 1972, “Ramo” was the epitome of Orange County,California BMX. From being dominant at Escape Country and having bounties posted for beating him at B.U.M.S. to winning his only Palms Park series appearance and the first Yamaha GoldCup qualifier. Sponsored by Cyclo-Cross, Dirtmaster and Peddlepower/Powerlite,he was consistently a top rider at Soledad Sands, Western Sports Arama and Corona raceway. He was the original BMX News test rider in 1974 and the first expert to race a freewheel hubbed bike. Now works as a realtor in Mammoth Lakes, California and has been racing mountainbikes for the last 15 years.

Steve Skibel Jr.: Steve raced from 1975 to 1980. He was the first “little hero” of BMX. Sponsored by DG, 10 year old Steve Skibel is still the youngest kid in BMX to have his own “Signature Frame”, the lightweight DG “Skibel Replica” of 1977. He dominated his age classes for years. To this date, he is still the youngest kid to ever appear on the cover of an international newsstand BMX magazine (BMX ACTION, 1979).

BMX RACERS:

Richard Bartlett: Richard was one of BMX’s first young entrepreneurs who inspired countless would-be BMXers to get on their bikes and ride. In the seventies, “The Butcher” helped create a Mecca for “Dirt Jumpers” in Palmdale, CA at the once famous Palmdale U and in his backyard in Quartz Hill, CA. The list of riders who have ridden with Richard stretches from Tim “Fuzzy” Hall to Gary Ellis and beyond. Richard created the first “King of Dirt” jumping competition in 1987. A year later, he competed in the first ABA “King of Dirt” at the 1988 Grands. Through the 80’s, Richard promoted bicycle ramp and box stunt shows and toured the US, Canada and Europe promoting BMX and bicycle stunt riding. Richard’s “Northern Hemisphere Tour of 1987-91” produced a pioneering video, one of the first videos to be dedicated to BMX, dirt, trails, ramps and street riding. This video highlighted the first “King of Dirt”, Richard’s touring and many young riders, including Fuzzy, Richie Anderson, Dave Cullinan, Billy Harris, Chris Daley, Brain Foster and Travis Chipres. Richard was a trend setter in BMX fashion with his “U-Local” wear and later Block. Richard went on to market his own bike, the Block, one of the first bikes built for dirt jumping. He was also a test rider for some of the more prominent BMX magazines. He is currently living in Lancaster/Palmdale area and still races the Vet Pro class occasionally.

Eric Carter: An ABA BMX National Champion and a four-time BMX World Champion, Eric “E.C.” Carter is no stranger to being a winner. He began riding at age 8 and proceeded to dominate the sport of BMX. E.C. dominated the BMX scene, winning everything that he raced, and became one of the most popular and famous BMX racers in the USA, as well as in the World. 1986 was the best year in Eric`s BMX career. He took home the coveted ABA National #1 Amateur title and also won two World Championship titles (expert 16 and cruiser class) in England. Eric has always had time for his fans and his personality is one of the things you remember about him. After a long BMX career, at age 23, Carter switched to mountain biking, specializing in Dual Slalom, Downhill and four-rider Mountain Cross. It wasn`t long before he became one of the top athletes in the sport. Eric has since won multiple national and world titles in his mountain bike career. Eric currently lives in SoCal and is still touring the world racing mountain bikes.

Doug Davis: Next to the King Bros., Doug is probably the fastest racer to come out of the thriving San Diego BMX scene. He raced BMX from 1978 to 1989, ruling his class from the start, becoming ABA’s No.1 Amateur in 1983. He began his BMX career on the infamous Wheels & Things team then later followed TM Sandy Finkelman to Factory Diamondback, where he finished out his BMX career. Doug was a member of BMX ACTION’s “Terrible Ten II” in 1987. He turned Pro in 1988 then put his racing career on hold to pursue a baseball career in the minor leagues. Doug still lives in San Diego and currently manages a successful car dealership.

Leigh Donovan: At the age of 11, Leigh learned to bunny hop a curb on her boyfriend’s bike. From that moment on she was hooked on bicycles. After convincing her dad to get her an Elf BMX bike and an ABA membership, Leigh started racing at Orange YMCA. Her first race was an event in which would forever change her life and be the most memorable bike experience of her career. After a successful career in BMX racing, Leigh turned her sites on the mountain bike scene. One of the most winning female racers on the mountain bike scene, Leigh is a legend in two different aspects of bicycle racing. Her list of Championships include: 1984 ABA National #4 BMX girl, 1985 USBA World BMX Champion, 1987 ABA Cruiser National #1 BMX girl, 1988 ABA Cruiser National #1 BMX girl, 1995 World DH Champion, 1995,96,97,99,2001 US National Dual Slalom Champion, 1995,’96,’98 US National Downhill Champion, and 2001 World Cup Dual Champion.

Deanna Edwards : Began her racing career in 1980 in Michigan. She was the first and probably the only girl to ever test a bike in a major magazine (BMXA, Dec 1985). She was ranked in the ABA top 10 Girl for 5 years. Deanna won the first ever girls cruiser class at the ABA Grand Nationals. She totaled over 100 national class wins from 1980-1988, during a time when there was no mixed open and no girls cruiser class available. Deanna was a member of the esteemed GT factory team from 1982-1987. Her efforts contributed to numerous national number one team titles in the ABA and NBL, along with the NORA Cup Number #1 Factory Team title, 3 years in a row. Deanna also held many national #1 titles as well as being an IBMXF World Champion (Indy Jag Worlds) and was a 2-time International Champion (Pontiac Silverdome and Dayton, Ohio). Deanna started back racing in 2004 and currently rides for the Factory Supercross Team. She is still living in Michigan and is working as a Sales Engineer.

Rob Fehd: First raced BMX back in 1974, but put racing on hold for a few years to pursue baseball. He returned to BMX in 1980, riding for GT Bicycles. He quickly became one of the fastest guys on a cruiser and came close to capturing ABA’s No.1 Cruiser title in 1982. He turned Pro in 1983. Rob was probably best known for his super strength and was one of the first “body building” Pros of the 80’s. He spread the word of BMX and represented America at many international BMX races. He won the IBMXF World Championships in Australia. He officially retired from Pro competition in 1986. Forced to retire after multiple knee injuries, Rob evolved into GT’s first in-house Team Manager. He came back to BMX racing in 1993 when the ABA introduced the Masters Class (now known as Vet Pro). Rob began racing again under the “lifelong GT sponsorship clause” until injuries took their toll again. Rob currently lives in Arizona where he runs his own custom tile business. He is married to Mara John (daughter of ABA President Clayton John).

Tracer Finn: Tracer was the first racer to get exposure for the Vegas BMX scene. He discovered BMX in 1976 and immediately became competitive on the national scene. In 1978, he won his first big race at the infamous Corona track. He held multiple Nevada State titles and being well known for his style and jumping abilities, he won many jump competitions between ’76 and ’79 as well. He rode for CW Racing throughout his career, helping put CW on the map during the 80’s. His most impressive finish was doubling at the 1981 Mongoose International Championships and his most memorable is placing second at the 1982 IBMXF World Champs in Dayton, Ohio. He has helped young kids discover BMX by holding bike rodeos and safety clinics. He also helps out many Las Vegas locals such as action sports extraordinaire T.J. Lavin. Many racers may remember Tracer for loosing half of his finger in a chain ring at the Gold Cup Championships in 1986. He made a brief comeback in the mid 90’s in the ABA Masters class (now known as Vet Pro). He is occasionally seen racing in the older cruiser classes at ABA nationals. Tracer worked for the Mirage resorts as a lighting director for many years. He currently owns Manual & Ollie, an action sports shop in Henderson, Nevada.

Brian Foster "The Blue Falcon": Brian was probably one of the sports most versatile riders ever. On the track he was known for his unbelievable cornering and jumping skills. As the skinny kid from Maryland, Brian broke the "typical" AA PRO mold when it came to strength and size. A very tall and lanky rider, what he lacked in strength , he more then made up for in skill. A crowd favorite on any rhythm section or jumping sections. He always put on a show for the fans. Brian still rides to this day and can found riding contests for FIT BIKE Company. Brian was named one of the ten hottest and fastest rookie pros of 1992 by BMX Plus! magazine. He was also, voted the "ABA Pro of the Year" in 1995. Brian has been a ABA BMX PRO US Open Champion, ABA "Pros in Paradise" Champion, Two-Time ABA King of Dirt (KOD) Champion, X-Games Dirt Jumping Champion. He`s had Airwalk signature shoes and signature frames from both Schwinn and FIT BIKE company. He was sponsored by companies such as S&M , TNT, CycleCraft , Hyper, Airwalk, Schwinn, Fit Bike Company. Brian is currentlyliving on the east coast and still rides daily.

Billy Griggs: Known as “Mr.Bill”, Griggs was one of the most stylish racers of the 80’s. As a top ranked amateur, Billy rode for CW, Mongoose, Redline, Schwinn, and Iron Horse. Mr. Bill became well known for having style as well as speed. He was part of the second generation of the “Terrible Ten” in BMX ACTION magazine’s top 10 amateur list. Riding for Redline, Mr. Bill turned Pro in 1988. During his Pro career, Griggs held an average ranking of 12.7 with three top-3 rankings. Griggs also made 140 AA mains throughout his illustrious career and made every one of his Grands mains from 1987 to 1993. He worked at GT Bicycles in the R&D shop for many years. He’s credited for bringing Intense BMX frames to life. He’s currently building BGK custom made-to-order frames.

Matt Hadan: Matt, best known as "The Master", started racing in 1981. He first noticed BMX in a BMX Action magazine featuring racer Jason Jensen in 1980. Matt started racing at the world famous Azusa BMX track and started making a name for himself around the So.Cal circuit. After hitting up a few events on the ABA national series he eventually became the first racer in ABA history to quadruple at a national, winning 12 Expert, 11-12 Open, 12 & Under Cruiser and 11-12 Trophy Dash at the ABA Spring Nationals in 1983. He also quadrupled at the Wheaties US Gold Cup in Tempe, Arizona 1983. This prompted people to start calling him “The Master”. Matt was named #12 on the 25 Hottest amateurs in BMX racing in a 1984 BMX Plus! survey. In 1986, “The Master” won the ABA National #1 Cruiser title. Matt was named one of BMX Action`s "Terrible 10" Top Amateurs of 1988. He was #19 on the 25 hottest amateurs in BMX racing in a 1988 BMX Plus! survey. Matt had a great Pro career, always in title contention in the Pro Cruiser ranks and always a threat for the win in the AA Pro class. Matt was sponsored by many top companies over his career: Bandito, Cycle Pro/GHP, Diamondback, Free Agent, U.S. Boss, Kastan, Balance, Redline, Trek/Gary Fisher, Torker, and Crupi Parts. Matt currently lives in So.Cal and works as a correctional facility officer.

Tim “Fuzzy” Hall: Fuzzy first burst onto the scene with his BMX Action magazine cover in March ’87. He was one of the first jumpers to bring freestyle variations to the dirt and has been doing it ever since. He began his BMX racing career riding for the Utah based Bingham’s Bike Shop. He test rode many of the top BMX bikes throughout the 80’s as a BMX Action test rider. He raced PRO for Robinson and Mongoose. He even made it up to the AA-PRO ranks at one point in his racing career. With his Robinson sponsorship, he was THE first full factory “dirt jumper”. His signature line with Mongoose, The Fuzz, is the longest running line of signature bikes and is still growing strong today. Fuzzy was one of the first BMX riders to have his own website. He gave the term “backyard track” a whole new meaning, setting the standard for all top dirt jumpers today. Fuzzy definitely helped carve the way for the modern day dirt jumper. He was a winner of the ABA King of Dirt series. He was one of the first stars of the X-Games. He was the first to throw down a 720 at X-Games XII. He is now a jump builder for the X-Games, Gravity Games, and Vans Triple Crown events. He is currently co-owner of a bike /skate shop in Sandy, Utah, appropriately named “50/50”. Fuzzy can still be seen today riding his backyard track in Utah.

Jason Jensen: Made famous by winning races and getting massive magazine coverage, Jason was at the top of his age class during 1979 to 1981. He was the quintessential southern Cal racer with his long blond hair and tan skin. He was known as well for his off track antics as much as his racing domination. He rode for Torker in his early career and even had his own signature frame. Jason made a brief comeback of sorts in the late 80’s, riding for the revived Jag BMX team. He us currently living in Santa Barbara, California, is married, and has one son.

Tim Judge: Tim was one of the first east-coast BMXers to break into the big time national circuit. He raced from 1976 to 1986 and is a five time World Champion. Originally he rode for Thruster bikes, from 1977 to 1980, and then raced for Hutch throughout the rest of his career, from 1980 to 1986. He turned Pro in 1984. Always a crowd favorite, Tim was known for show boating and styling for the spectators whenever possible, no matter in what position during a race. Currently he works in the professional jet ski racing industry and lives in Florida.

D.D. Leone: Born Dominick Donald Leone Jr. in 1965, but better known in the BMX world as “D.D.”. He began racing in 1980, at the age of 14 years old. From Louisiana, D.D. was known as the original “Ragin’ Cajun”. He raced for over 12 years, participating in over 2000 races and won or placed in 1300. He started off riding for local shops in Louisiana before hooking up with Redline in 1982. Later in his career, he rode for Free Agent and Kastan. D.D. was always in the hunt for the ABA Pro Cruiser title. He officially retired from BMX and is currently working and living in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana.

Christophe Leveque: He originally hailed from France and burst onto the U.S. BMX scene at Coal Canyon Raceway in 1991 taking the “A” Pro win at the ABA Fall Nationals. Christophe had made his mark and he never looked back from there. “C-Dog” or “The Flying Frenchman” as some called him, was best known for his unbelievable first straight pull, fitness, and technical skills on a bike on and off the track. He is credited by many of his competitors as “THE” rider to change the game of BMX racing. He helped evolve the training, technical skill, and mental attitude in BMX to what we know today. Christophe also helped pave the way for the “Euro invasion” on U.S. soil. A few had come before him, but he was the first “Euro” to really leave his mark in the U.S. He would have won his first ABA PRO title in ’95 had the ABA Pro rules allowed foreign riders to be title holders. This prompted ABA to change the existing rule. He then went on to win back to back ABA National #1 Pro Titles in ’98 and ’99. In his Pro career, he rode for such teams as Sunn/Chippie, Specialized, and GT Bicycles. Christophe currently lives in So.Cal and is still involved with BMX as the owner of a “Euro” BMX distributor called US PRO Bikes.

Jamie Lilly: She was two-time ABA BMX National #1 Ladies PRO rider. Bursting on to the ladies PRO in 1998, she was able to win her first ABA BMX National #1 PRO title. Jamie also won the ABA BMX Worlds twice in the PRO ranks. She was also ABA Race of Champions Pro Ladies Champion, and PRO ladies Grandnational Champion She was named no. 22 of Craig Barrette`s "gOrk`s" Top 90 BMXers of the 90s!!!" She was the highest money making girl in the sport in 1999 according to gOrk in his top 90 list. gOrk`s 1999 list has Lilly as winning more pro women`s races than anyone in 1999. She was sponsored by such companies as Kastan, D&M Racing, Powerlite, U.S. Boss, Auburn, GT Bicycles, Systems-Web, Profile Racing, Redline Bicycles, Free Agent, Supercross BMX, Hyper Bicycles.

Brian Lopes: Starting at the ripe age of 4 1/2 years old, Brian took his Schwinn Pixie and Rams football helmet to the track at Saddleback Park in California, and the rest is history. From that day, he was a hard core racer until he turned 8 years old. He stopped racing, but was still active at the local jumps in the neighborhood. At age 10, Brian came back into the sport full-force, and started hitting the National scene. Riding for a local bike shop, future BMX Hall of Famer Toby Henderson would help the team out with their gate starts. That is where he noticed Brian and introduced him to the folks at SE Racing. At the age of 17, Brian was getting burned out on racing and decided to turn Pro. His first Pro race, he scored a second, and within 5 races, Brian was AA. Now, sponsored by Elf Bicycles, Brian was enjoying the Pro life, and purchased his first house, on BMX salaries and winnings. Moving on to Mongoose Bicycles, Brian had heard how ex-BMXers were making a good living racing mountain bikes. Mongoose, gave him a shot and the rest is history. Brian has won many national and world titles in the mountain bike world. At one time, he held the world record for bunny hopping and jumping on a BMX bicycle.

Todd Lyons: “The Wildman” started racing in 1981 in Columbus, Ohio. Todd raced all around the Midwest through the mid-80’s cutting his teeth on the national circuit. After graduating high school in 1990, he made the move out to So.Cal. When Todd first got there he moved into the infamous P.O.W. (Pro’s Of Westminster) house. This was a pretty crazy group of characters that would hit up races, trails, jump contests, and street contests and Todd became a stand out in the group. He’s credited with pulling the first 720 in a jump contest in Europe. Todd was doing back flips at the BMX track way before anyone else was and is credited with pulling the first back flip in an actual Pro moto. These are the kind of antics that helped him get the nickname of “The Wildman”. In 1995 The Wildman was ask to compete in the first ever X-Games. Todd was one of the three BMX athletes featured on MTV Sports. This was a HUGE deal at the time. This same year Todd went on to win his first ever AA Pro main event at the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals. Todd has always been known for putting on a show for the fans, from ABA King of Dirt events, to pulling flips in the Pro motos, to Downhill X-Games events. The Wildman has done it all and with his reputation as being a guy to watch, he still continues to be a fan favorite when ever he’s on the track. Todd has been in countless magazines, been on MTV and MTV Sports, been on the cover of USA Today sports page and even had a photo in the Wall street journal. He’s competed in the X-Games eight times and has won BMX races in the A Pro, AA Pro, Pro Cruiser, and Vet Pro ranks. The Wildman has ridden for lots of companies like Whitman’s, CW Racing, MCS, Haro, Huffy, Intruder, SE Racing. Todd is currently living in Huntington Beach, CA. and is the brand manager for SE Bikes. Todd still travels the world and even keeps a daily journal of his BMX life.

Dave Marietti: Dave raced from 1975 to 1983. He was an original member of the Hacienda Bikes team. He rode for factory Torker during it’s heyday of the early 80’s. At a young age of 16, he followed in the footsteps of Bob Haro and started his own number plate company called Wizard Plates. He turned Pro in 1981. After his retirement from BMX racing in 1983, Dave opened up his own T-shirt company, Hot Shoppe. Still to this day, he provides jerseys for many of today’s top teams, as well as national/local BMX event shirts for tracks all across the country. He also does ads, artwork and graphics for many companies in the bicycle industry. Dave is still active in racing mountain and road bikes and can occasionally be seen at a BMX event in the SoCal area.

Kenny May: Kenny first came to BMX prominence on the 1986 ABA No. 1 Bike Shop team called Spinners. From Northern California, Kenny quickly came from out of nowhere to become one of the fastest amateurs in the late 80’s. He rode for Free Agent throughout most of his career. In 1988, Kenny became the first racer to tie Steve Veltman’s record of two simultaneous No.1 titles, Amateur and Cruiser in the same year. He came close to repeating his No.1’s in 1989. He turned Pro the following year, and as a rookie, took the No.1 Pro cruiser title in 1990. He followed up that Pro Cruiser Title, back to back, with another Pro Cruiser Title in 1991. Kenny had a go-for-it riding style and was known for taking many crashes, earning him the nickname “May Day”. Kenny was often carried off on a stretcher only to show up on the gate for the next moto and take the win.

Robert Macpherson "BIG MAC": Big Mac has the distinction of being only one of two riders to ever win the ABA BMX National #1 AM. title then turn PRO and win the ABA BMX PRO title in their rookie PRO season the next. Mike King was the first, Robert Macpherson was the second. Robert has a solid am racer when he was younger racing for companies such as Valencia Schwinn, Zap Clothing, Vans Racing, and CW Racing in their heyday. He took time off for school sports and made a comeback after several years off. On his return to the sport he rode for Mongoose winning his two ABA BMX titles for them. He then moved on to Diamondback and had a solid PRO career for them. Robert was always a threat to win the ABA BMX PRO title. He wasn`t the flashiest rider on the tour, but he was always very consistent and a solid finisher. Big Mac has since retired from racing and is now a school teacher running a school BMX program.

Lee Medlin: Peddlin’ Lee Medlin was one of the original GT factory riders. He began racing in 1976, quickly becoming the fastest kid for his age at the famous Corona downhill track. He went on to ride for Kuwahara and Raleigh. He turned Pro in 1984, but never did hit his peak. // Danny Nelson: “Thunder” Danny Nelson started racing in 1981 and was synonymous with Simi Valley, CA. Danny was a top competitor on the national scene for over twenty-years. Danny was known for being more of a power rider than a skill or trail style rider. He was also well known for his relaxed personality. Danny was one of the lucky ones that had “Factory” support for his entire racing career. Turned Pro in 1992 and rode for such companies as Robinson, Powerlite, GT Bicycles, Troy Lee Designs and later was a member of the “All PRO” Giant Bicycles team. Danny capped off his PRO racing career with an ABA National #1 Pro title in 2002. Danny currently owns a vintage clothing store in a So.Cal beach community.

R.L. Osborn & Mike Buff: Although they are best known as the godfathers of freestyle, both R.L. and Buff got their start as BMX racers. At age 11, R.L. was part of he first ever “BMX test team” for Bicycle Motocross News (from late ‘75 to late ‘76). An entrepreneur at the early age of 14, R.L. started up his own company, Hot Stickies. As the son of BMX Hall of Famer, Bob Osborn, R.L. went on to become one of the main test riders for BMX ACTION magazine. In 1978, R.L. teamed up with fellow BMXA employee Bob Haro to form the very first freestyle team, which made its debut at ABA’s Winternationals in Chandler, AZ. Local Torrance hot-shoe racer Mike Buff joined the BMX ACTION test team in 1979. Buff soon crossed over to freestyle and in the absence of Haro, the longtime teaming of R.L. & Buff began. As the “Nerd herd”, R.L. & Buff were vital in setting BMX trends during the 80’s, from jumping styles in bike tests to the 4x4 vehicle craze, to clothing fashions and hairdos. Each year from ‘82 until ‘88, the BMX ACTION trick team (as well as R.L.’s later sponsorship with Redline and General) spread the BMX gospel. In all, R.L. and Buff took their annual Summer Tours to 48 states in the U.S. and over 15 countries, taking BMX to places where racers and tracks couldn’t, turning many kids on to BMX in one form or another.

Rick Palmer: Raced & lived in Northern California. Was first discovered by Patterson Racing and learned much of the sport under the tutelage of Brian & Brent Patterson and John Crews. Known as a dominating amateur rider in both 20” & 24” classes. Multiple National wins as well as many Grand National wins on the ABA circuit. Turned professional in 1986. Pro Rookie of the Year in 1986. "Terrible Ten" Member (1985). Ranked as high as #4 in AA Pro and #2 in Pro Cruiser. Hard work, desire and dedication defined Rick`s BMX career. Sponsored by: Patterson Racing, Diamond Back, Schwinn, Haro, Skyway. He was a 4-time World Champion IBMXF, King of Bercy Champion 1988 (Paris, France), ABA #2 Pro Cruiser – 1989, Numerous ABA Grand National Championships. Rick also worked for Redline (BMX Team Manager), RockShox and at Skyway. Rick is still working in the bicycle industry today doing consulting, design & packaging.

Clarence Perry: Clarence began his BMX career in 1978. He was originally from San Diego, CA, moved to Seattle in ’79, where he became one of the fastest BMXers from the Great Northwest area. For his size and stature, Clarence was given the nickname “Earthquake”. He was first sponsored by Sekai but best known for his factory CW racing days from 1980 until 1986. Due to his size and the growing cruiser classes, Clarence heard his calling and quickly became one of the top cruiser guys to beat. He turned Pro in 1981. He was invited to compete at the Bercy race in 1984. He retired in 1986, disappearing from the BMX scene for nearly eight years, before getting a part time job at Seattle Bike Supply in 1993. He came back to racing for the newly revived Torker team (owned by SBS), completely annihilating the 36-40 cruiser class. He is involved with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, taking youths from low income families to BMX races and setting them up with bikes to ride. Clarence can occasionally be spotted riding for Redline at ABA nationals.

John Piant: John was the most famous of BMX’s Missouri Outlaws. He raced from 1977 to 1983. He got his start on Factory Robinson, rode for DG, and for Factory Huffy during the early 80’s. He turned Pro in 1984. One of John’s biggest Pro career moments was taking the win at the St. Louis round of the 1983 ESPN BMX series race. He was last seen driving Bigfoot IV in monster truck competitions.

Frank Post: Frank was the original "Wildman", called this by Bob Osborn, BMX Action owner, after a photo shoot in 1979. The nickname stuck given his need for excitement on and off the track. Born and raised in Watsonville, CA, he started racing in late 1976. He has raced for Patterson, Panda, Kuwahara, Boss, Race Inc, CW, Schwinn and JMC. He was the UBR #1 Pro in 1979. As a privateer riding for Wes BMX, a local NorCal bike shop, he won the ABA, NBA and UBR Grand National pro main events in 1980. He also won the Indy World Champion (Pro Trophy) in that same year. He was one of the original NorCal hardcore racers. After his racing career ended in the mid 1980s, he completed programs in machinist and culinary schools. He currently resides in Reno, Nevada.

Mike Poulson: Mike was one of the fastest BMXer to come out of Utah. He became an overnight success after dominating one of the biggest races of the year, the 1980 ABA Winternationals, picking up an immediate sponsorship from Schwinn. He raced from 1977 to 1984, riding for Factory Schwinn throughout his entire career. He was the victim of one of the biggest upsets in ABA history when going for ABA’s No.1 Amateur title in 1981. He crashed in the Grands main going for first, when he had the title in the palm of his hand only needing a fifth place finish or better. He was a charter member of BMX ACTION’s Terrible Ten. He turned Pro in 1984. He went on to try his hand in mountain bike racing after retirement. He still lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and can occasionally be seen at the Great Salt Lake Nationals.

Jim Pratt: Jumpin’ Jim Pratt was the original when it came to jumping on a BMX Bike. He was part of the world famous BMX Action Trick team and was known for jumping cars. Jim jumped cars at many major BMX events around the country, from the Anaheim Convention Center in California to the Rondo Classic in Minnesota. He even jumped cars in front of the television cameras for the major network TV show Games People Play. Jim still lives in So. Cal. and can be spotted at an occasional bmx event. Jim still works within the bicycle industry. He’s the owner of Trick Topz, a company that makes every kind of valve cap you can think of. He’s also part owner of Jive Handles, a bmx grip company.

John Purse: John “The Jackal” Purse started racing in 1981 at Armadillo Downs in Conroe, Texas. But little did he know from that day forward he would go on to be one of our sports all-time greatest. The Jackal has 26 years racing experience, with 17 of those years racing at the professional level. John first turned Pro at 17 (forging his mother’s signature in the process to do so) in January of 1990 at ABA’s Lone Star national in San Antonio, Texas. He won in his A Pro debut and would be racing in the AA Pro ranks by April of that same year. John was never one to back down from anyone at anytime and his riding style reflected this as well. He would scrap for everything he got on and off the track. This led his fellow competitors to nickname him “The Jackal”. After turning AA and struggling on the circuit for a few years, John steadily won some mains and made a name for himself in the AA class. In 1997, The Jackal would go on to claim the ABA National #1 Pro title. This gave him confidence going into 1998 to break the ABA Record for "Most Wins in a Single Season", with over 25 wins. The Jackal is currently ranked 2nd on the all-time AA Pro wins list with 71 mains. ABA BMX Hall ‘O Famer Gary Ellis holds the all-time wins record with 77. John also holds the record with ABA for the most AA Pro Main appearances in a career. That record is 310 and John is the only Pro with over 300. Both of these records still stand to this day! Also among his unrivaled accomplishments are 3 consecutive ABA Golden Crank Awards for "Pro of the Year" (`97, `98 and `99), BMX Plus Pro of the Year (`98 and `99) & 1999 SNAP Magazine NORA Cup Rider of the year. John rode for many companies over his illustrious career: MCS, S&S Racing, Revcore, Balance, Redline, Profile Racing, Troy Lee Designs, Intense Racing, Specialized, Mongoose Bicycles, Sandersclinic.com.

Geoff Scofield: Geoff began racing at age 6 at a track in Azusa which happened to be owned by Rich Long (owner of GT). Geoff’s riding talent caught the eye of Rich, who signed on the young 7 year old to Factory GT, the team Geoff would ride for throughout his entire career. He was a three time World Champion winning Indy, IBMXF in Holland, and the Jag Worlds. He was in the running for No.1 Amateur in ‘83 and wound up overall #2 behind Doug Davis. By age 11, he held the record for nine consecutive “triples” in one year, earning him the nickname “Little Mr. Awesome”. In the early 80’s, his dad “Doc” Scofield became the Team Manager for GT. Both father and son played a vital part in giving GT its first No.1 Team title in 1982. They also earned the first back to back ABA Team titles in ‘84 and ‘85. He officially retired from BMX in 1987 to pursue other sports. He came back to cycling in 1992, only this time on the national mountain bike scene.

Charles Townsend: Living in the San Jose area for most of his life, Charles Townsend, aka Amtrac or Chuck T., started racing in 1980. Throughout his long career he rode for many companies including Boss, Free Agent, Hutch, CW, Revcore, Diamond Back, Powerlite, Robinson, Airborne, Kona and Advent. Charles was known on the BMX circuit as an aggressive competitor, mixing it up with the best of them. He often gave the rookie AA pro`s the introduction to the class. Charles taught them respect was earned, not given. In 1987 Charles became ABA National #1 Pro in his first year as a professional. He was also a member of the Terrible Ten (top amateur list) in BMX Action magazine. After numerous amateur and Pro victories, he has passed the torch to his son, Brandon, who has recently started racing. Charles currently works in the TriValley area (in northern California) in the automotive industry.

Steve Veltman: Steve was originally from Philadelphia but moved to the Dallas, TX area at a young age. He began racing 1980 and within a year he was Texas State Champ and District No.1. In 1982, in his third season of racing, Steve became the first rider in ABA BMX history to earn both the No.1 Amateur and No.1 Cruiser titles within the same year. Steve rode for Hutch, McDonald’s, Boss, L&S, Vans, ODI, and Next. He was featured on the front of Wheaties cereal boxes in 1983. He was named as one of the “Terrible Ten”, top 10 amateurs in 1988. He was the inventor of such items as Radcaps and Odyssey’s “Pit Stop”. He turned Pro in 1990 and became “Rookie of the Year”, earning #5 in his first season. In 1993, he became ABA National #1 Pro and shortly was given the nicknames “Primetime” and “V-Dog”. Steve Veltman has won a title at every level of BMX racing, proving why he is one of the all time greats.

Jason Wharton: At the age of 6, the original "Racin’ Jason" started racing in 1978. The first team he rode for was Wicked Riders of Phoenix, AZ. He won his first national after just six months of racing and started winning ABA nationals from coast to coast after that. In his second year of racing, he joined the JMC Factory team and won almost every national he raced, tripling or doubling at most. He was National #5 and Arizona #1 in 1980. He won 13 nationals and tripled at the Grands to win the ABA National #1 title in 1981. He is still the youngest racer to win the ABA National #1 title. Jason was one of the first members of ABA’s 10,000 Point Club (back when you received 50 points for a win). He was featured in Sport Illustrated magazine in 1982. He joined the Diamond Back Factory team in 1982 and helped to lead them to the ABA Team title. Jason was a top caliber national rider for many years. Jason retired from BMX in 1984.

INDUSTRY

Jim Alley: Founder and owner of Profile Racing, Inc., which was founded in 1968 as a race car chassis shop in Flemington, New Jersey. In 1977 Profile Racing moved its operations to St. Petersburg, Florida where car racing was pretty much year round. In 1978 Jim`s son, Corey and daughter, Justine had their first taste of BMX racing at a small track in St. Petersburg. The entire family was immediately hooked on this great sport. With Jim`s keen eye for innovation and competitiveness, a new venture into the bicycle industry was born. It was an easy transition for Profile Racing to make. Having its background in auto racing with chromoly fabrication and light weight aluminum components, they were a "shoe-in" for the bicycle racing industry. Profile Racing stepped up to the plate and in 1980 produced its first 3-piece chromoly tubular crank set with the 48 spline axle. With the addition of computer numerically controlled (CNC) machining centers and lathes Profile Racing was given the edge over the growing competition in the BMX industry. Profile Racing put together a Factory Team in 1982. This team would consist of some of the finest and most competitive nationally ranked riders in the country. The addition of a touring truck and 40-foot trailer served as a traveling billboard, a test bench for prototype product, and eyes and ears for ideas for new product. In the Mid-1980`s as much of their competition was going off-shore (Taiwan, China, Mexico) to have their bicycles and accessories manufactured, Profile Racing stood steadfast and continued to manufacture all of their product line in-house in the U.S.A. - 100% American made! Today, Profile Racing is the single most capable, largest, and most sophisticated manufacturer of high-end bicycle components in the industry in the United States, boasting over 38 years of experience.

Bill Bastain: Bill was vital in the direction of alloy use in frame construction. He was invloved in production of the first full-aluminum suspension bike while working for Triple A Accessories, and had valuable input when building frames for Kawasaki- the sport’s first mass production alloy frame (circa 1975). He went on to build frames for FMF. He also built the first alloy SE bikes; the JU-6, BD-4 and Floval Flyer. He started Race Inc. in 1976. His knowledge with aluminum, passed down to his employees at Race Inc., he went on to help design GT’s mountain bikes. Overall, Bill introduced some of the longest lasting alloy frames the sport has ever had.

Roger Berg: Roger was the mind behind UNI BMX products. His focus on his line was lightweight racing equipment. Roger’s biggest contribution to the sport of BMX was the UNI Seat, a one-piece seat/seatpost combo that shaved precious pounds off of the early BMX bikes. He followed his huge success of UNI Seats with the aerodynamic UNI Plates, a lightweight plate that looked to be designed in a wind tunnel, and knowing Roger, it probably was. In 1982, he created the UNI BMX Factory Team, which consisted of many of the top west coast riders. UNI BMX expanded to produce wheel covers, grips, and many other items all in the name of weight, wind speed, and aerodynamics for BMX racing, freestyle, and road racing. Roger’s design of the UNI Seat is currently the most copied seat in the BMX industry and has become today’s standard for today’s “mini” BMX race bikes. Roger also started and operated Fun Run BMX in Oregon, which helped bring recognition to racing in the Northwest. He was once a design engineer with General Motors. Many have credited him with developing the square headlight that is found on many of today’s automobiles.

Howie Cohen: A master salesman in the bicycling industry, Howie is best known as the builder of the first major BMX distributorship, Everything Bicycles. Through that company, he was an early pioneer in the importation of bikes from Japan, bringing in brands such as Nishiki, Azuki, and Kuwahara. As a youngster, Howie got his start in the bicycle business working at his dad’s bike shop. In the BMX boom of the early 80’s, he helped make the Kuwahara brand name a household word, especially after the bikes were ridden in Steven Spielberg’s smash hit “ET”. At Kuwahara’s peak, he supported BMX racing through sponsorship of nationals, including the 1982 ABA Grands, as well as a large force of co-sponsored team riders, along with factory superstars as Kevin McNeal, Lee Medlin and Gary Ellis. In 1992, the retired Howie returned to the bicycle industry, helping out the Gary Fisher bike brand. Then 18 months later, he brokered the acquisition of Fisher by Trek Bicycles. Howie still works in the bicycle industry for Rotor System USA.

Don Crupi: Don got into BMX through his son, Ryan, who hails as one of the greatest mini munchkins of BMX to this day. He came out with Crupi Products in the mid 80’s, producing some of the highest quality BMX components. Crupi’s CNC’ed pedals and precision hubs helped set today’s standards and popularized the trend of sharp pedal cages.

Jim Emerson: Along with two other partners, Jim ran Pedalers West, a bicycling and backpacking store in San Fernando. As early as 1973, Jim was heavily involved in BMX, sponsoring up to 75 kids in the valley, taking them to So Cal tracks in the Pedalers West van. Pedalers West became one of the premier bike shops in So.Cal to really sell BMX items. His team became one of the most dominant forces at Soledad Sands and Yarnell. Among his sponsored riders were Hall of Famers Bobby Encinas, Dave Clinton and Byron Friday. At one time, Jim came out with his own frame, the Trailmaster MX-76, which was two pieces that was bolted together with a rubber piece to cushion the connection. He is also credited for producing the first BMX mail order catalog. With his first mail order company, EFF (Emerson Flying Factory), Jim designed and sold the first bolt-on brake bridge for FMF’s. He was responsible for the first BMX tour in 1975, closely working with Redline’s development. Jim sold Pedaler’s West in the early 80’s and it still thrives today.

George Esser: Father of past top ranked racers Greg & Bryan Esser, George was the founder and one time President of NBL. He was co-founder of IBMXF, along with Gerrit Does. He was, at one time, part owner of MCS. Later, George and son Greg owned and operated Fab-Weld of Pompano Beach, FL, manufacturer of frames and product for many big name companies. In 1998, they introduced the FW-1, their own chromoly BMX frameset under the Fab-Weld name. Sadly, George Esser passed away in August of 2006

Sandy Finkleman: Sandy was the owner of the famed Wheels & Things bike shop in El Cajon, CA. He was team Manager of the Wheels & Things BMX team from 1975 to 1977, which helped kick off the careers of such famous BMXers as Eddy & Mikey King and Doug Davis and the Hudson Bros. He went on to manage the Wheels & Things/Torker team from 1978 to 1980. After that, Sandy became team manager of WSI’s Diamondback team from 1980 to 1984, winning Diamondback an ABA No.1 Factory Team title in 1982, as well as three Nora Cups. Sadly, Sandy passed on in 2005.

John Gregory: John was the founder/owner of JT Racing. He originally sold stocks for motorcycle riding, and with growing interest, expanded his clothing line into race pants and jerseys. With the majority of items made in nearby Tijuana (TJ), John turned the initials around and named the company JT. JT was one of the original mail order clothing companies. John was the pioneer of racing apparel, setting the standards for the rest of the industry to follow throughout the 70’s and 80’s. JT is the longest standing uniform manufacturer in BMX and was a major trendsetter when it came to colors and designs. Although no longer the “King of Uniforms,” JT is still a main stay in the market and is currently the hottest thing going in the paintball market.

Jim Jannard: Jim was the founder/owner of Oakley. From 1978 until around 1983, Oakley was the unprecedented leading grip manufacturer for BMX. Oakley goggles came around 1981 and throughout the years, lead the goggle market in design and function. Oakley’s rider co-sponsorships and advertising paved the way for others. In 1982, Oakley goggles got another facelift, actually a “face mask”, again setting standards for all BMX companies to follow. As everyone knows, Oakley has gone on to become the leading maker of sunglasses today and is a publicly-held company with a billion dollar revenue.

Steve Johnson: Steve was the founder/owner of Torker from 1977 to 1985. He as also owner of Max (leathers), a subsidiary BMX clothing line of Torker. Still today, Torker bikes are the most famed of all twin-tubed BMX frames. Steve was a sponsor of such famous BMX racers as Jason Jenson, Clint Miller, Mike Miranda and Hall of Famer Eddy King and Tommy Brackens. In 1984, Torker teamed up with Bob Haro to produce the very first made-for-freestyle frame, the Haro “Freestyler,” which paved the way for an entirely new multi-million dollar bicycle industry.

John Ker: Contributing Photographer, BMX Plus! 1979 -Editor, BMX Plus! 1980 – 1987. When it comes to singling out the most memorable images in BMX, you can count on one hand the people who had their fingers on the shutter button. John Ker has been one of those people from 1979 to the present day. JK has covered every major event the sport had to offer (most often writing the story, as well shooting), and is known by both riders and industry figures alike as a person of unflagging integrity, fairness, creativity and love for our sport. John still shoots an occasional BMX race and his photo can be seen in Mountain Bike Action and Motocross Action to this day.

Troy Lee: Troy Lee Designs began back in 1981 when Troy Lee himself followed in his father’s footsteps of helmet painting. Troy has worked with BMX riders from day one, the first being Dave Cullinan. Troy expanded his business from helmet painting to a full apparel line in 1998. Troy’s first bicycle helmet was the Edge helmet back in the mid 90’s. Today, Troy Lee Designs has a 50 page catalog, the world’s best bicycle helmet in the D2, and an extremely high quality line of protective gear. Troy enjoys working with “the world’s fastest racers”, which include Brian Lopes, Mike King, Thomas Allier, Danny Nelson, Robert deWilde, and Christophe Leveque, just to name a few past and present BMX legends. Troy’s main goal is to make and design the best products in the world, including helmets, jerseys, pants, and gloves. Troy’s visions are unprecedented in the design field and he looks forward to working with each and every BMXer in the days that follow.

Russ Okawa: Russ was originally introduced to BMX when he was hired as the manager of Canoga Schwinn bike shop. He formed the first Factory Schwinn team and as Team Manager, he picked up BMX Hall of Famers Kevin Jackson and Eric Rupe. He was a contributing photographer for BMX ACTION and BMX Plus magazines in their early days. He crossed over to Mongoose/BMX Products in 1980, under the title of “Advertising and Promotions”. Russ put together freestyle team/promotions and mountain bike team/promotions for Mongoose throughout the 80’s. He left Mongoose in 1989 and worked at Sachs/Sedis, in charge of Sales/Marketing from ‘89 to ’97, then took a job with KMC chains. He is currently at Giant Bicycles along with Skip Hess, Jr. and ABA Hall of Famer Perry Kramer.

Ken Pendergraft: Ken was the owner/manufacturer of Elf bicycles (Elf, standing for “Extra light Frames”). Like many BMX dads looking for a better, lightweight bike for his son, Ken formed Elf in 1981. He was the maker of one of the smallest frames in BMX ever, for younger riders. Throughout history, Elf has sponsored many top-notch riders who have gone on to big things. Have since manufactured unique, breakthrough products for BMX, including two-piece seatposts (Zip-back), six piece handlebars and their stiff rear ended “Double Cross” frame. Elf became one of the most popular brands of framesets in the early 90’s before shutting their doors in 1998.

Jon & Chuck Raudman: Owners/founders of Skyway Products, of Redding, CA. Revolutionized the wheel business with the introduction of the light weight (compared to MotoMags) and (mostly) indestructible Skyway Tuff wheels. Makers of the state of the art T/A Frameset (circa 1982); it was one of the most well thought BMX frames at the time, utilizing tear drop and tapered True Temper tubing. They had a major impact on the freestyle frenzy of the mid 80’s introducing a variety of colors that would influence the entire 20-inch juvenile market. Supported the sport of BMX through sponsorship, from the early Mt. Dew Demo Team, to their Skyway race team (which helped put Hall of Famer Cheri Elliott on the map), along with the Skyway freestyle team in the late 80’s (featuring Robert Peterson, Eddie Roman and Matt Hoffman). To this day, they continue to manufacture Tuff Wheels for the bicycle, lawn and garden and healthcare industries.

Steve Rink: Founder/owner/team manager of Powerlite. Rink got his start as owner of Peddlepower Cyclery in Orange, CA. Peddlepower was doing so well that Steve decided to take it to the next level and develop his own BMX frames. His first production frames flew the Peddlepower flag and eventually evolved into what is known today as Powerlite. He was one of the leaders of the 1979 “Cruiser Craze”. His Powerlite cruisers were some of the fastest 26 inch cruisers of that time. He sponsored one of the first stars of cruiser racing, Kevin Harlow. With the success of his Powerlite bicycles, Steve eventually sold Peddlepower Bike Shop to Hall of Famer Jeff Bottema. And then a few years later, he sold Powerlite to Riteway.

Renny Roker: In the late 70’s, Renny introduced intercity youths to a fledging sport called BMX. He formed Jag BMX, one of the most successful BMX companies of it’s time, and quickly became one of the hottest commodities in BMX. Not only did Renny change the lives of the riders on his team, he also produced 3 ABA Hall of Fame riders: Turnell Henry, Anthony Sewell & Tommy Brackens. He revolutionized the youths of America and formally introduced them to BMX through an internationally televised show that he successfully pitched to a major network called “CHiPS”. Most have either seen, been influenced by, or know someone that has seen the episode and for many, it drove the passion in them to jump there $35.00 Schwinn Stingray off the curb and seek out a BMX track. Currently, Renny is the CEO of an organization called “Teens On The Greens.” He is the first African American to bring golf to intercity minority youths, helping then to not only by positive role models on the Golf course, but also in the classroom, in their homes and in their communities.

Everett Rosecrans: Everett was the promotional manager for Vans Shoes in the early 80’s, and from 1990 to 2001. He was head of promotions for Vision Street Wear from 1986 to 1989. He was a top ranked cruiser racer for many years. He was team manager for many of the Vans BMX teams that were formed over the years, helping make famous such names as Steve Veltman, Pete Loncarevich, and Terry Tennette in BMX racing and Eddie Fiola, Woody Itson, and Martin Aparajo on the freestyle side. He was also instrumental in the formative years of the traveling stunt teams, bringing together BMX riders, skateboarders, and rollerskaters on the same on the same ramps.

Owen Sheppman: In 1978, Owen quit his job, founded ZeroNine, and made numbers for motocross. Deciding to make Chrome Edge, Deluxe Outline and Wide Design numbers, the family began working out of their house, including his two brothers Kevin and Mike and his parents Lorraine and Harold. The company took off after being approached by Schwinn to make numbers for 1,800 bicycle stores. Zeronine sponsored many national events across the country, some of the top teams and many top racers, such as Richie and Ronnie Anderson, Pete Loncarevich, and Greg Hill, just to name a few. Some of the Zeronine products produced were visors, visor-risers, decal kits for helmets, Geo-Pad sets, complete uniforms, “Sticky Finger” gloves, Wrist Wrap gloves, bike and gear bags, and later a 20” and cruiser frame and fork. The most popular products were the ZeroNine number plates and numbers, such as the SuperFlow, MotoControl, Landing Panel, WarPaint, UltraLite and MiniFlow plates. All items contained the unique “Geometric” logo, which contained a square, triangle, circle and rectangle in 5 different colors. It is probably one of the most recognized logos in the BMX industry to this day.

Steve Skibel Sr.: Father of DG’s might mite BMX racer Steve Skibel Jr., Steve saw the need for lighter equipment and made many “firsts” in BMX. He was the first person to hook up a freewheel and caliper brakes, while everyone else had coaster brakes, and he was the first person to add three-piece alloy cranks to a bike.

Greg (Scott) Swingrover: Living on Catalina Island, Greg started racing at age 12 and by the age of 15 was responsible for getting Harry Leary to help build an ABA track on the island. Greg raced for many years as an Orange Y local. His riding accomplishments include competing in the Guinness Book of World Records for bicycle jump and bunny-hop, co-winner of the first King of Dirt competition with Fuzzy Hall and then during a brief racing comeback won the ABA Industry Cup Title in 1997. In 1985, Greg managed the BMX department at South Coast Bike Shop in Santa Ana, CA. where he started the South Coast bike shop team with Barry Nilson. In 1987, he started one of the first ever rider-owned companies, S & M Bicycles with his partner Chris Moeller. While running S & M, Greg worked with Todd Huffman at MOR Distributing/Auburn as a salesman. In 1988, he moved on to GT Bicycles as GT’s aftermarket BMX brand manager. He sold his interest in S & M Bicycles to Chris in 1991. Then in late 1997, Greg began working at Crupi as General Manager developing several new Crupi products and working to re-establish Crupi as a top high-end brand. Today, Greg has become the owner of Crupi Parts and continues his love for the sport of BMX racing.

Marshall Wheeler: Owner and founder of Two Wheelers, maker of the famed square-tubed “Stroker” frame. One time sponsor of BMX Hall of Famers Jeff Bottema and Brian Lewis. Marshall is retired and lives in SoCal.

Roger Worsham: Founder/owner of CW Racing. Roger began his BMX career as owner of Coast Wheels Bike Shop in Placentia, CA. Coast Wheels supported a pretty large local bike shop team that traveled to nationals in a mini school bus. Coast Wheels evolved into CW Racing in 1980 and grew phenomenally during the mid 80’s. Roger always supported a full force BMX team. His eye for young talents gave a big boost to many future BMX superstars, such as Billy Griggs, Mike Miranda, Tracer Finn, Debbie Kalsow and Pete Loncarevich. He sold CW to Louisville Cycle in 1989 and began a high end subsidiary company called Revcore. Roger then went into the printing business, becoming publisher of the short lived BMX World magazine in 1990.

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