FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

Name: Tom Sustarich
Hometown: Macomb Twp., Michigan, USA.
Started riding BMX in: I started riding a BMX bike in 1979 on a Mongoose with Tuff Wheels. In 1982, I got a Hutch frameset for Christmas. From 1980 through about 1984, I raced BMX locally in southeast Michigan with my brother, my cousin, and several good friends. We lived in the country, so we were at the mercy of our parents work schedules to get to a BMX track. Although we did not race as much as I would have liked to, my parents were always supportive and encouraging and those were some of the best years of my childhood. We spent our days on our bikes. Jumping in ditches, riding dirt roads. We build a quarter-pipe. We practiced tricks. The weather did not matter. We rode year-round. Snow, rain, heat, etc. It was the first taste of freedom. In the summer of 1984, I sold my race bike and all the parts I

Name: Alessandro
Age: 22
Hometown: Venice, Italy
Hook-ups/Sponsors: DS Company

The FAT favorite list:

-Spot to ride: I really enjoy every type of spots in the street.
-BMX video: Joram van Dijk x Dig
-Food: I eat and love almost every type of food

Shop name: Back Bone BMX
Location: Belconnen, Canberra, Australia
Years in business: 2021 is our 16th year!
Best year yet: Every year is a good year
Worst year yet: Last year was difficult and the most challenging, but I don’t know if we’ve had a ‘worst year’. We’ve had some tough years, but we don’t want to get stuck thinking about them too much.

What were your first thoughts on Covid-19 when it hit?
Tyson Jones-Peni: COVID had been kicking around internationally, but we were always optimistic, and probably pretty naïve. We ran a local competition on March 22nd, which was meant to be the first event of a year full of events. We took all of the necessary COVID precautions and thought the event was a success – but literally, that night, the Prime Minister of Australia addressed the country and announced that lockdown would take place that very next day.

Name: Mark McCorkle
Hometown: Beaverton, OR
Started riding BMX in: 1978 in Littleton, CO
Number of bikes in the collection: 14. 11 vintage/old-school.

Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Mark McCorkle: It was 2008. I still had my original race bike from 1979. I had been hauling around, place to place for nearly 30 years. One day I just sort of realized I didn't feel I'd ever really use it. I figured if I could get $1000 for it, I'd let it go. After digging around on eBay, BMXMuseum and OS-BMX (now BMXSociety) websites, I generally found it was probably a $500-600 bike. So I decided not to part with it.