FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Issue 4 of FAT-'zine is more of a skate issue. BMX Freestyle was at an all time low so we did some fun things next to it. It kept us on the streets and the ramps that we had placed at the end of the street could be used for everything. It was the time when we did shows with the Town & Country crew. Bert, a T&C distributor was a crazy guy who organized demos for us at some of his dealers. We loaded up the ramps, did some demos and received dinner at the local snackbar in return. When one shop did not want to give us the gas money or some decent food, it was time to do some anti-promotion. Charlie Sport sucks! Haha, funny shit.

Vert ramps were hard to find back then but we found one in Rotterdam. The hiphop concert review of issue 4 is from the Stetsasonic concert at De Effenaar in Eindhoven.

A free sticker came from Seaflex again Charlie Sport did make it on the Lame side of the RAD-LAME list (of course).

We had an interview with Dave Vanderspek and mini interviews with Elger Blitz and Dan Archer. Find a photo of Bart doing a cancan on a scooter wearing pink Oakley blades, pink/blue T&C pants and a pink T&C backback and win nothing.

Sniper Frans Swinkels was getting rad on his Zorlac representing Vision Streetwear in 1988 and

Name: Bob Medrano
Hometown: Concord, California, USA
Started riding BMX in: 1973
Number of bikes in the collection: 10

It looks like you were one of the NorCal BMX pioneers in the '70s. Did you realize what was being developed at the time?
Bob Medrano: No I would have never thought it would be an Olympic sport.

Did a lot of it come from imitating motocross?
Bob Medrano: Yes for sure. I just wanted to ride (motocross) bicycles or motorcycles & be around the riding spots in the area & there were a lot of MX & BMX spots in the '70s.

What were the early tracks like and how did the bikes hold up on the BMX tracks that were created?

The American Bicycle Association is a US-based BMX sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA

After the first "Try-mag" we released in 1987 the feedback was so good that we decided to continue with the FAT-'zine project. Paul had just got back from the USA where he stayed for a few months and visited the 2-Hip KOV in Washington, Mount Thrashmore skatepark and the Powerhouse Bike Shop in Hampton, VA.

Issue 01 had three stickers, one FF sticker, one Powerhouse Bike Shop sticker and one Skeletor sticker that Paul found on a roll in the $ 1 dollar shop.

Mike Loveridge got interviewed and street riding is starting to take off. Paul and I used to do BMX freestyle demos and placed a full page ad in the FAT-'zine. Or maybe it was just a filler, who knows.

Some things that made it on the RAD list were: Town & Country wear, Club Homeboy, Fingerboards and Centerpull brakes. Yes, these were the eighties (1988). Things that made it on the Lame list were: The Del Mar killers, Grabber seats, Dyno shoes and Lee Chi brakes. Some of this makes me laugh.

Scooters were still hot (in our eyes) and we even had a page on Snowboarding (the next cool thing to do).

Robert Moeller got introduced as the first German FAT-'zine correspondent and we also took a trip to an LL Cool J, Eric B & Rakim and Public Enemy concert in Amsterdam. Memories........

USA BMX welcomes the @bmxhof Class of 2022! These legends will be inducted into the BMX Hall of Fame, currently being built in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

The BMX Hall Of Fame Class of 2022:

Early Racer - Andy Patterson
Racer - Randy Stumpfhauser
Industry - Steve Van Doren
Woman - Tara Llanes
Early Freestyle - Kevin Jones
Freestyle - T.J. Lavin

When I started riding BMX as a kid, I never thought I'd still be riding in my 20s, never mind at 50! So this year I wanted to create a riding edit documenting that I'm still at it (however infrequently).

A Tucson BMX rider remembers his role in ET as the 40th anniversary approaches.

shit, slugs, dead stuff, zombies, ghouls, dirt, tats, Mike and Sara's, wiggy p, fingerless judas priest gloves, cyder, skate boards, herbs, bugles, green beards, depression, noise, sticky fingers, girls aloud, iceland 1 quid specials, shit jobs, death punk, muscle cars, otter hunting, deformed animals, ass cannabilism, tony and guy hair styles, squashed insects, trick nuts, cocks, breaking stuff, 20 oz T-bone steaks, flash gordan, pigs trotters, leave passes, gangs, rat like animals, feeding the pony, agression, broken bones, denim, sk8 punk, pain, sunday sniff, hangman games, Leicestershire goths, chappy, ikea, giving to charity, stuffed trouts, stepping on dog turds, summer '08 argos catalogue, troy, emo fringes, shaved minges, dogs, chickens, Gin bummed off a old bald bastard, curry, lanacane powder, luxury toilet roll, four eyed bastards, the reeperbahn, pauline fowler dying a week after Rumplestiltskins long cock was written, dr hang tats, femfresh, food from m&s, moving metal, lawn mowers, 5pm on a friday, friday 13th tats, the rain man, razzel magazine, ginger haired people on coke, blow up tigers, bbq'd phesants, gypo equipment, fly tipping, rooms full of Guinea Pigs, Papa New Guinea, chembos mullet, massive black cocks, birthday parties, slap heads, Titch down the willies drinking a tot, pretty much anything!

Finally, Some Authentic Fresh Rubber for the Old School scene! For those riders and collectors out there, we have opened a mold for the iconic mid-1980s Panaracer Freestyle tire. The tire is upgraded to accommodate high pressure - up to 85 psi - and features the same tread, logo, and aesthetics as the original model.

As most will already know, this tire was OEM specification on the Redline RL 20 Prostyler and the Redline RL20 II Prostyler through the mid-1980s as well as the neon range of Haro Freestylers - The Master, Sport, and FST - in 1985. Preorder is open on the Redline Foundations website for those interested in grabbing a set. Availability is limited from the first batch.

Come join Dylan and I as we catch up with old time friend and fellow Pro BMX Freestyler, Pete Augustine! In this episode we talk about Pete's healthy diet and lifestyle choices as well as what he enjoys to do for fun in his free time!