Name: Luke Haralambous
Hometown: Birmingham, UK
Started riding BMX in: Around '81
Number of bikes in the collection: 9 left (8 VDC, 1 GJS)
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Luke Haralambous: Late '90s, it felt like I was the only one into old school BMX back then. Many friends questioned why I had BMX.
Is the focus on VDC, Vincent Frames and Vector Bikes for you mainly?
Luke Haralambous: Now it's just VDC freestylers I own, I have stopped buying BMX, don't get me wrong if I was offered another MK1/2 , VDC freestyler, it would be hard to turn down... I've collected Vector, Hutch, TRM and Vincent over the years
Where does the love for these brands come from?
Luke Haralambous: Good question, because the brands I have collected I had never heard of as a kid! Think it comes down to my love of quirkiness. The wackier the better. Rarity is also a big draw.
In this video, I finally build my childhood dream BMX bike—the 2022 Hutch Trick Star Reissue! After waiting over a year for the Hutch Freestyle Stem, I decided to use a placeholder stem and complete the build. Join me as I walk you through the entire process, from unboxing the bike frame to the final ride around the neighborhood.
Name: Bill Ryan
Hometown: Apple Valley, CA - USA
Started riding BMX in: Torrance, CA - USA
Number of bikes in your collection: I have never counted —— and I am afraid if I do the number will scare me.
Since you were part of BMX in the early days over in California do you wish you had saved more from the early days?
A brief clip of a 1979 skateboarding doc. that first aired in 1980 on public access. This clip features Marina del Rey skatepark as well as my father and myself skating doubles together. It was hosted by Tony Alva and Dave Hackett.
BMX at 48 seconds in.
BMX Action Trick Team | Behind The Scenes | R.L.Osborn | Mike Buff |
Name: Karl Chalk
Country: UK
Number of bikes in the collection: I've had many bmx but always only owned 1 at any time
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Karl Chalk: I'm not a collector of memorabilia but enjoy seeing people's BMX related memorabilia.
Who were the first people you came across that helped you out to find the stuff you needed?
Name: Jeremiah Grimes
Hometown: Washington, PA, USA
Started riding BMX in: 2003
Number of bikes in the collection: 16
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Jeremiah Grimes: I started collecting old school BMX bikes when I got my first bike in 2003, a 1987 GT Performer
Who were the first people you came across that helped you out to find the stuff you needed?
Name: Maurice Meyer
Hometown: San Francisco, USA
Started riding BMX in: 1975 or so?
Number of bikes in the collection: 4 fully built, 1 complete unbuilt, a few frames, many Tuff Wheel sets, parts, etc.
You put together your first 'collector' bikes some 15 years ago. What made you decide to put these three bikes together?
Maurice Meyer: I was seeing a lot of really cool stuff being done on VintageBMX.com so I went back to mom's house and dug in the old shed. Found my first Skyway TA frame and fork in really rough condition all rusty from laying on one side on this damp plywood floor. It was probably the best thing I could find though since it was my the bike I rode on my first tour and in my first contest and also had a rare fork since Skyway welded it up with no rake for freestyle. Robert Peterson got the same in white and I think that's it - two ever made and just this one left. At first I thought I'd just put some used parts on it and make it look as used but the people on VintageBMX started hooking me up with mint parts which meant I had to step up and get the frame repaired and chromed. Doing the really personal stuff like making the number plate and custom stickers got me some heavy flashbacks which was awesome.
If you were at Dirtyfest, you saw it live. If not, tune in today on TorkerTV to see Eddie Fiola's incident.. and learn all about the Torker Freestyle Frame
Name: Arthur Kourtis
Hometown: Melbourne Northcote, Australia
Started riding in: 1979
Number of bikes in collection: I currently have 16 what I call boutique BMXs. All of which date from '77 to '84
What was the moment for you to start collecting BMX bikes?
Arthur Kourtis: I started collecting bmxs from a very young age. I’d even say for a long time I kept most of my original bikes from when I was a kid and only got rid of them in the last 12 years as I wanted to buy bikes I couldn’t afford so I’d trade up. Growing up in the northern suburbs in Melbourne our BMX was our wheels. We went everywhere on our bikes. Being of European background as a kid our parents wouldn’t let us race. So we just lived on our bikes
Is older better in your book?
Arthur Kourtis: Good question. I have full respect for all eras of BMX. As I was there for all of it.