Personal information | |
---|---|
Full name | Bob Haro |
Nickname | The Godfather of freestyle |
Born | Pasadena, California, United States | June 29, 1958
Team information | |
Discipline | BMX freestyle |
Role | Professional BMX rider/company owner |
Rider type | Skatepark, Flatland, Vert, Ramp |
Professional team | |
– | Haro Bikes |
Bob Haro (born June 29, 1958, in Pasadena, California) is an American former (retired from active competition) professional freestyle BMX rider turned artist and business executive. He is the founder of Haro Bikes and was one of the most important early innovators of BMX freestyle. [1]
He began biking in his high school sophomore year when he ran out of money riding dirt bikes. His father bought him a Honda 100 and he stripped the bike down to compete in motorcycle races. He won over 50 motocross trophies by 1975.
Around 1976, he got into BMX biking by racing his brother's bike out behind a bike shop in San Diego. After moving to Stockton, California as a result of his parents' divorce, Bob really got started racing and riding for a sponsor for Molina's Bike Shop. He was one of a small group of BMX'ers in that town to perform many of the common tricks.
In 1978, Haro teamed up with R. L. Osborn to form the very first freestyle BMX team, which made its debut at ABA's Winternationals in Chandler, AZ.
In 1981 Bob Haro and Bob Morales traveled on tour together performing shows all over the Midwest, Eastern United States, and parts of Canada to enthusiastic crowds. Also, in 1981, Haro was involved in the Steven Spielberg production of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial as a stunt rider.
In 1981 Bob Haro designed the first frame and fork tailored to freestyle BMX. The frameset was manufactured by the bicycle company Torker and became commercially available in 1982 and was marketed as the Haro Freestyler.
He stopped riding in 1985 after four knee surgeries and, in 1987, he was inducted into the American Bicycle Association Hall Of Fame. In 1993 he founded his own company, Haro Design, Inc., a design and marketing company in Cardiff, CA.
Bob Haro also invented the style of Flatland BMX.
In 2012, as part of the London Olympic Games, Bob Haro choreographed the Dove bike sequence in the Opening ceremony.
BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation.
Mat Hoffman is a professional American BMX rider who was considered one of the best vert ramp riders in the history of the sport. He was nicknamed "The Condor" and ran the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was a sponsored rider for Skyway and then Haro Bikes before starting his own brand.
David Michael Mirra was an American BMX rider who also competed in rallycross racing. He set the record for most medals in BMX Freestyle at the X Games and earned at least one BMX medal at the event in all but one year from the competition's inception in 1995 until 2009. He also competed for several years with the Subaru Rally Team USA as a rallycross driver. Mirra rode for and was fully sponsored by Haro Bikes from the mid-1990s until he started his own bike company. He was a member of the team which won the 2014 Race Across America four-person male category. Mirra died by suicide on February 4, 2016. He was inducted into the BMX Hall of Fame on June 11, 2016.
Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of five disciplines: street, park, vert, trails, and flatland. In June 2017, the International Olympic Committee announced that freestyle park was to be added as an Olympic event to the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Flatland is a freestyle BMX riding style performed on smooth flat surfaces that do not include any ramps, jumps, or grindrails. It is sometimes described as a form of artistic cycling with a blend of breakdancing.
Gary Leo Ellis Jr. was one of the last American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982 to 1996. He was nicknamed "The Lumberjack".
Gregory Alan Hill is a former professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer from America whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1989. After the 1988 season in the top competitive "AA" pro circuit, he retired.
GT Bicycles is an American company that designs and manufactures BMX, mountain, and road bicycles. GT is a division of the Dutch conglomerate Pon Holdings, which also markets Cannondale, Schwinn, Mongoose, IronHorse, DYNO, and RoadMaster bicycle brands; all manufactured in Asia.
Peter Pete Loncarevich is a former bicycle motocross (BMX) racer. Loncarevich was an "old school" professional BMX racer whose prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1994. He is of Croatian origin.
Luther William Grigs is an American "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996.
Michael Allen King is an "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1984 to 1998 and is also a former Mountain Bike (MTB) racer who prime competitive years in that discipline were 1993 to 2004.
John Eric Purse is a former American professional "Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer. His prime competitive years were from 1990 to 2000.
Michael Felty formerly Miguel Juan Miranda is a former American "Old School" professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981 to 1986. His previous surname which he is still widely and most familiarly known by, "Miranda", was his stepfather's name. There seem to be two stories on how he got his nickname "Hollywood". It was either coined by Bicycle Motocross Action (BMXA) editor Steve Giberson because he liked to "show off"; or he had pretty much gave himself the moniker by having a name sticker under the visor of his helmet reading "My name is Hollywood", which was noticed at the 1981 NBA Roncho Nationals. Here is how he tells it in this 1982 quote:
"This guy I know that races motorcycles in Southern California is a real jerk. Every time you did something stupid, we would call you by his last name. 'You're such a Smith.' And at the Super Bowl of Motocross three years ago, he raced and had "Hollywood" on the back of his jersey. From then on, whenever you did something stupid, we would say: 'You're such a Hollywood'. It was meant as a putdown but now I guess it's compliment. I just tell people that they call me that because I like to show off. Steve Giberson started it."
-----Mike Miranda Super BMX April 1983.
China Krys Darrington is the first sponsored female Freestyle BMX rider. In 1986, she rode for GT Bicycles in Huntington Beach, California. She started riding in 1983 after finding a BMX Plus! magazine in the locker of another junior high school student at Old Trail School.
Jeffery Bottema is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1976 to 1981. He had the nickname of "Battling".
A BMX bike is a bicycle used for road cycle sport, specifically racing or stunt riding. BMX stands for bicycle motocross.
Robert L. Morales is a former freestyle BMX rider turned promoter, designer, inventor and business executive. He is the founder of DYNO Bicycles, the American Freestyle Association (AFA), Auburn Cycles, KORE Bicycle Components, Morales Bicycle Co., Carlsbad Motocross Racing (CMXR) and ASV Inventions. He is currently president and CEO of ASV Inventions, Inc.
Edward Lynn "Eddie" Fiola is an American former professional freestyle BMX rider, and a film stuntman.
Robert Lewis Osborn is a BMX rider. His father Bob Osborn started BMX Action magazine. He, along with Mike Buff and Bob Haro are considered the forefathers of BMX freestyle, a style of BMX bike riding that involves flatland and ramp tricks.