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This is probably the greatest BMX video I have ever seen without any actual riding in it. So much truth in such a short video. Watch now!
Popularity: 1% [?]
Tags: Bicycle Motocross, Bicycling Hall of Fame, BMX, Cheri Elliott, Cycle racing, Cycling, Entertainment/Culture, Human Interest, Mike Miranda, Technology/Internet“Way down under, the gang at George Patterson Y&R decided they’d prove what a little creativity can do. So they created the Wicked Sick Project, in which they bought an ordinary used BMX bike on eBay, applied a little creativity and, voila, sold it for an astronomical profit. It’s a fun video and should rally the troops fighting against the scourge of commoditization! (You’ll also note that creativity does not necessarily equate to big-budget production values.)”
Popularity: 1% [?]
Tags: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Bicycle Motocross, Creativity, eBay Inc, Educational psychology, George Patterson, M&A, Positive psychology, Problem solving, VirtuesThis was in a obscure local paper but I thought you would enjoy it because Tom is totally awesome to the max.
Had he nicked the furniture, Tom Haugen’s career might have been over before it began.
With Minnesota winters incompatible with outdoor BMX riding practice and few indoor sites available, Haugen and a friend resorted to honing their tricks in the Haugen family’s basement.
“I told them if they scratched the pool table, they were done,” said Roger Haugen, Tom’s father. “They never did in all the time they spent down there riding their bikes.”
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Twenty-two years ago, while living in St. Louis Park, Tom got his start riding in the basement, on the street in front of his house and on makeshift dirt jumps. Today the Twin Cities native makes his living on the bike, performing and competing around the world.
He had not had a chance to be in a major event in his hometown until April 25 of this year when he was part of the Action Sports World Tour event at the Target Center.
At 32, Haugen is getting used to being referred to as a “veteran” BMX rider.
“A lot of guys get hurt and are done at 23,” Haugen said before a BMX demonstration this week at the Mall of America. “But there’s also a guy, Dennis McCoy, who’s 42 and is still a top-level competitor. I’ve had injuries, but if you take care of yourself you can keep riding.”
Haugen, who has a residence in Plymouth, spends five to seven hours a day on his bike and another two in the gym to keep up with riders who are younger – some more than a decade younger.
He built a reputation as a consistent rider who is as comfortable on ramps as he is on flatland. He has competed in five X Games, three International X Games and seven Gravity Games.
“I always took pride in being versatile, and I think that’s one reason I’m still doing this,” Haugen said. “Today, most guys focus on one discipline.”
But in the late 1980s, when Haugen started riding, there were few if any BMX ramps. So he started out as a “flatlander,” with the practice facility often the street in front of his house. He rode flatland for six years – until he was 16 – before moving on to dirt jumps and eventually ramps. He moved to Orlando in 2005, making it his permanent residence, in part because it was better for practice in the winter.
“I’d always had a bike, but when I was a kid, the cool thing was to have a bike with pegs [essential for various BMX tricks],” Haugen said.
After he got a bike suitable for BMX, it wasn’t long before he was pushing its limits.
“One day when I came home, I was coming up the driveway and he was coming down the driveway on his bike, standing on the handlebars, steering with his feet,” Roger Haugen said.
Haugen’s parents were aware of the injury risk, but didn’t discourage their son from riding.
“I think they saw I had a passion for it,” Haugen said. “And I think they were OK with the friends I had. I have a really tight group of friends, the same friends I’ve had for 20 years. We were just a bunch of young kids riding our bikes.”
Haugen had a serious injury in 2006, breaking his tibia, fibula and ankle. That forced him away from competition for several months, but he was able to return by 2007.
He elected not to return to school. In 1998, Haugen had about one year until graduation from the University of Minnesota when he turned pro. He had been pursuing a teaching degree.
Haugen hasn’t ruled out teaching someday, saying it’s the only other thing he could see himself doing as a career. Going back to school was always a fallback plan in case his riding career ended catastrophically.
If worse came to worst, “he said the U of M was handicapped-accessible,” Roger Haugen said.
Watch some TH footage after the jump!
Popularity: 49% [?]
Tags: Bicycle Motocross, Cycling, Mall of America, Minneapolis – Saint Paul, Sports, Target Center, Twin Cities, University of Minnesota
Sorry for the poor photo but I wanted to share this with you as quickly as possible because it has changed my life. Funny how a “kids” bike can do that eh? More »
Popularity: 48% [?]
Tags: Bicycle Motocross, Family, Freestyle BMX, Health, Id ego and super-ego, Kevin Jones, Kids and Teens, Mike Dominquez, RecreationFrom the Daily Press:
BMX founder gets sentencedVICTORVILLE — One of the founders of Bicycle Motocross was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for drug charges, but has a chance for an early release to continue talking to children about drug addiction, officials said Wednesday.
Scot Alexander Breithaupt, 51, of Oak Hills was free for 90 days awaiting sentencing on a 2006 cocaine charge. He already spent two years in the Adelanto Detention while fighting his case.
When he was released, he began traveling throughout the Inland Empire to speak to groups of children about the perils of addiction, which took Breithaupt from the forefront of BMX to a poor, addicted convict.
Deputy District Attorney Robin Haas agreed to strike some of the enhancements that were included in Breithaupt’s case in order to lessen the sentence and make Breithaupt eligible for California Rehabilitation Center, a department of corrections program to help addicts in recovery.
If Breithaupt can remain clean and sober, he could be released in as little as nine months, as long as he continues with treatment, said his wife Jamie Breithaupt.
“I don’t know what to say other than I’m devastated,” said Jamie Breithaupt. “In reality he was facing seven to 10 years, but because of his focus and what he’s been doing, the D.A. showed him some leniency.”
Scot Breithaupt said that once he completes the intensive CRC program, his sentence will be suspended and he will be placed on parole. He sees the program as a way to benefit himself, while affording the opportunity to help other inmates in recovery.
Haas said she received hundreds of letters on Scot Breithaupt’s behalf, including one from a sheriff’s deputy.
“It definitely influenced my decision,” Haas said.
Scot Breithaupt’s attorney, Jim Terrell, could not be reached for comment.
Popularity: 6% [?]
Tags: 05PM Daily Press, Addiction, attorney, Bicycle Motocross, BMX, BMX founder, California Rehabilitation Center, Daily Press, deputy, Deputy District Attorney, District attorney, Drug addiction, Inland Empire, Jamie Breithaupt, Jim Terrell, Oak Hills, One of the founders, Prison, Robin Haas, RYAN ORR, Scot Alexander Breithaupt, Scot Breithaupt’s attorney, sheriff, Staff Writer, the D.A., United States
