gfro

First time I saw Mat ride was at an AFA event 6.29.1986 at Madison Square Garden in New York City with over 200 rider entries and 5,000 paying spectators. No one in the crowd knew who he was. Mat's take on the event: Mat Hoffman, The ride of my Life, 2002: On June 29, 1986, there was a massive AFA contest scheduled in New York's Madison Square Garden. I'd been riding every day from sunup to sundown, and my friends told me this would be the comp where I'd earn a factory sponsorship. I bet my friend Page five dollars that he was wrong Then, just days before the event I crashed and broke my toe. I taped my foot up so I could ride in the contest and flew to New York with my dad, mom, and sister. I was nervous to be entering but stoked to be present around all the other riders I hit it off with Skyway rider Eddie Roman after meeting him in the stands, and we passed the time heckling bystanders and cracking corny jokes When it was time for my run, I put the butterflies out of my stomach, bowed my head down, and cranked toward the quarterpipe. A slew of can-can lookbacks, switch-handers, no-footers, no-footed can-cans, and everything else in my arsenal poured out of me Out of nowhere, the arena burst to life with applause and camera flashes. I won 14-15 Expert Ramps and lost the five dollars to Page. Before I'd caught my breath after my run, the team managers from Skyway and Haro had approached with sponsorship offers. Haro wanted to try me out on their B Team, and let me work my way up. Skyway didn't operate like that-I would be part of their factory squad and get to go on tour, get flown to contests, and draw a salary. I signed on the line with Skyway and was soon flown to their headquarters in Redland, California. The team manager had been hyping my skills, and the owners wanted to witness their new kid in action During the show I slammed so hard I snapped my other collarbone and wound up in the hospital. Luckily, they decided to keep me on the team.

I took these at the 2-hip Meet The Street, Brooklyn Banks

Here are some shots of Rick from the '85 GT Tour with Martin Aparijo and Beatle Rosecrans. Carl Hart Bikes, Long Island, NY A year later I met him and got another Autograph:

Did you really ride your bike from San Francisco to Huntington Beach, to ride in a contest?

I have a bunch of pics of You, Martin and Beatle Rosecrans during a 1985 BMX show in Long Island, NY. When I get a moment I'll scan them for you. ~Michael

11. Todd Anderson

Wow, great pics. I was there that day. Best day in freestyle ever.

Hey Trent, Welcome! I'm new also, only a few posts so maybe I should introduce myself too. Lowdown on me: name - Michael live - Bayport, New York (Long Island) job- Art Director. Worked at JNCO 99-01 doing ads and team videos. age -37 status - married kids - two: 3 yr old girl, 2 month old boy interests- Art, surf, skate, bikes(Mountain, Road and BMX) want - half pipe current ride - 08 2Hip Soul history - Flat, street, ramps 1984-92 issues - Shattered Knee cap in 88, all good now. I'm hitting the skatepark for the first time in years tomorrow. Just got the BMX back in my blood after attending the Old School BMX reunion last month at woodward. Seeing those guys made me realize I'm not too old to ride. I have a 15' x' 28' empty space to build a ramp. Any ideas? www.os-bmx.com site supporter/sponsor www.sportwheels.ca (where I post the vintage BMX items I collect, sell etc...)

Large group shot image Click here for the 3888 x 2592 jpeg file. Also Click here to buy Posters and Shirts from the event.

Here are some of my pics Gfro's Woodward flickr stream Sorry, not used to this kind of posting, Some help?

What a great weekend. I took about 1000 photos. Heading back to New York tonight. I'll post them this week. The impromptu Rich Sigur lodge balcony birthday bash was a riot!!! Did anyone ride Sunday or did the hangovers win?