How cool to reunite with an old bike racing friend from my Columbia BMX days. I haven’t seen Faisal in about 35 years. You might remember the Flying Ali Brothers🏁 from Maryland. It was great catching up talking out the old days. The friendships from BMX racing are amazing. @faisal.alipasha
1998 August BMX Plus! Pat Dehenne on the cover from St. Petersburg, Florida round 1 of the BS series. @jody_donnelly on the table of contents @mikeparentibmx and @ryannyquist at the DK Dirt Circuit in Orlando, Florida, @johnpurse111 was the racer of the year, @robbiemiranda was 1-800-collecting, @brianfosterbmx snapping gates at the NBL Easter Classic and of course @toddlyons was in at least one two page spread ad, this time for JNCO, and @daveybaco earned Parting Shot with a hard slam
It’s been a long journey with plenty of ups and downs, but I’m proud to finally check this accomplishment off my bucket list. It took 2.5 years and plenty of money but it was all worth it. Have to thank @meeshy59 for putting up with this crazy idea and trusting me while I took on the random goal of getting my pilot license. ✈️
Life after BMX. @mikehucker and I used to only see each other at Sheep Hills or BMX related events. Fun fact about Mike: When Mike was just getting started with BMX, he would stop by my house on his way home from the trails to pick through old bike parts and smelly pads. Fast forward over 25 years, now we are the coolest cheer dads supporting our daughters Ryder and Linkyn at @edison.cheer . We both work full time jobs and make supporting our girls with their sports a priority. It’s not about us anymore! I’m proud of this dude and will miss him at the football games next year since Linkyn is graduating high school. Photo from the @edison.cheer banquet🤙
Woodward PA X-Games. Everything was big. The track, the event, prizes, and the support from friends, family, and fans. There were rarely any races where spectators would travel to attend. This race was one of them. 📸 @airbudd
Looking through my camera roll, it was hard to find many photos of Steve Buddendeck @airbudd . Mostly because he was always behind the camera, documenting our lives and supporting us. Without Steve in my life, none of my success or opportunity would have ever been possible. I met Steve back in Virginia in my teenage years when he was running 2B Clothing with Hal. Steve guided and supported me throughout my amateur and pro career. He was present for all the ups and downs over the years. These photos were taken in Las Vegas at the Nora cup party. Steve was super proud of the accomplishments we achieved and we had a great time that night. I just want to let Steve know I appreciate everything he has done for me over the years even though we don’t get to talk as much as we used to.
Pretty sure @acookemx90 and I are looking at my crash mark in the dirt. The X-Games years were so much fun. Nobody knew how far the sport would grow at this point or if the eXtreme phase would ever slow down. Looking back, these races were 24 years ago. 📸 @airbudd
I owe most of my opportunity and success to Harold “McGoo” McGruther. McGoo just wanted BMX to be cool and he did everything he could to make that happen. Most of the 90s race pros benefited from Mcgoo’s vision to make BMX more like motocross. This photo is from the @offspring “Huck it” car jump contest at the El Mirage dry lake bed. I’m glad McGoo was there to support me and the other guys. Just having him there cracking jokes made it memorable. 📸 @airbudd
At an indoor race somewhere some time ago. This one brings back memories of Ronnie Bonner and UGP. UGP sponsored us with clothes, bags, number plates, and an unnecessary small monthly check. We would have worn UGP for nothing in return. Ronnie’s company was competing with our bigger sponsor, Fox Racing, but he still valued us and did what he could to give us the BMX dream. It was fun stickering up new plates every weekend. We’ll miss Ronnie, but the impact he made will continue forever. 📸 @airbudd
