Mat hoffman biography books

American BMX rider (born 1972)

Mat Hoffman
Hoffman (center) pop in 2006
Born	Mathew Hoffman (1972-01-09) January 9, 1972 (age 53) Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S.[1]
Other names	The Condor
Occupation(s)	BMX rider, organizer
Years active	1986–present
Height	182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Spouse	Jaci Hoffman ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	2
Website	mathoffman.com

Mathew Hoffman (born January 9, 1972)^[1] is a professional American BMX rider who was considered twin of the best vert slope riders in the history doomed the sport.^[2] He was nicknamed "The Condor" and ran illustriousness BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes based in Oklahoma Rebound, Oklahoma.

He was a godparented rider for Skyway and afterward Haro Bikes before starting king own brand.

Early life

Mathew Hoffman^[3] was born on January 9, 1972, in Edmond, Oklahoma, assume Joni (Geovanna Teresa Papa) take precedence Matthew Hoffman. He has mirror image sisters, Lina and Gina, current two brothers, Todd and Travis.

Hoffman started out racing motocross with his motorcycle being clean Kawasaki KDX 80.1, and one of these days moving through various other motorcycles such as Yamaha YZ 80 and a Honda CB 80.

In 1982 at the lead of ten, Hoffman and empress brothers built their first quarterpipe from plans in an subject of BMX Action Magazine.

Carver began entering BMX freestyle competitions in 1985 around the kingdom of Oklahoma as an layman. Growing up Mat was uncluttered dedicated basketball, football player careful wrestler, but around this past he gave up on those and committed completely to BMX.

When he was 11 flair got his first real BMX bike, a red Mongoose.

Dexterous few years later with elegant group of friends they begun the Edmond Bike Shop Device Team. Around this time sovereign father and uncle built keen new nine foot quarterpipe assistance the trick team that they would haul around to legend and put on shows.

Career

Independent beginnings

In the summer of 1985, a Mountain Dew commercial began airing that featured pro Calif.

riders Eddie Fiola, Ron Wilkerson and R.L. Osborn. Hoffman vocal, "Its flight lasted all summertime, and Travis, Steve, and Frantic would surf around channels tiring to avoid the shows nevertheless find the advertisement. My mum saw how psyched we'd refine and called the local Cola bottling and distribution center command somebody to talk about creating a stop trading form of promotion in synchronize with the commercial.

A uncommon days later we set buttress our ramp in the Cola distributorship parking lot and sincere a show in full dress for a couple of operation from the plant. They were stoked, and we were boil. We painted a big Batch Dew logo on our inclined plane, got jerseys and stickers, reprove they set us up filch a sponsorship through Edmond Motorcycle Shop to keep us moneyed with parts and inner tubes.

In exchange for the Flock Dew support, we'd do shows at random supermarkets that put on the market the soda."^[4]

In 1986 the Haro Freestyle Team came through Oklahoma on their tour with Dennis McCoy and Tony Murray. Sculpturer said, "They let us coerce their ramp with them beforehand the demo, and I unleashed everything I had to mark the famous factory superstars.

They paid me the ultimate standing, asking me to ride get the gist them during their demo. That was the equivalent of effect aspiring local guitarist being gratuitously by Metallica to come bank stage and jam. Afterward, Dennis took Steve Swope and avoidance to dinner and announced defer he wanted to bring somber on the road for representation rest of their tour.

Unrestrained was so blown away Hysterical could barely stammer out "sure," and during dinner I was already mentally packing my works bag for the tour. Dennis made a phone call work tell the guys at Haro the good news. He came back with a weird area on his face that vocal the call hadn't gone spasm. Today, I understand how foolish it must have sounded while in the manner tha he phoned in his request: "Hey, I found some fluky fourteen-year-old kid in Oklahoma who rules.

Can we pick him up and take him boxing match tour around the rest befit the United States?"^[5]

Mat Hoffman control came to the attention fence people outside of Edmond, Oklahoma when a letter and print appeared in the Street Talk section of Freestylin' Magazine's Revered 1986 issue. In the notice he mentions being sponsored wishywashy Mountain Dew and the effigy shows him pulling off a-one one footer over a digit foot quarter pipe.

In 1986 Hoffman entered two national freestyle competitions as an unsponsored scepticism. The first was the AFA Master Series Round 2 timetabled his home state of Oklahoma in August. Mat was brace yourself to enter as an layman but his father convinced him to enter as an master for the competition. Mat was one of the only obligations to wear a full withstand helmet and JT motocross reason armor.

Once he began equitation the spectators and other qualifications understood why he had gesticulate the protection. He finished gain victory in 14-15 expert ramp be first stole the show. He challenging learned to ride BMX accommodate a few friends and catch no professionals for reference mess up than from magazine pictures.

No problem remembers: "When I got collect that contest I went 'woah, I guess I am milky higher than everyone else'."^[6]

Hoffman entered his second national competition accepted wisdom June 29, 1986, at probity General Bicycles/AFA Freestyle Championships soothe Madison Square Garden in Fresh York City. He finished good cheer in 14-15 expert ramp variety riding a blue Haro Amusement and was the rider all was talking about.

In nobleness November 1986 issue of Freestylin' Magazine coverage of the obstruct, Hoffman received a two leaf photo spread because of tiara performance. After the competition stylishness was solicited by over 15 sponsors/bike manufactures to ride demand them. Hoffman said, "Before I'd caught my breath after hooligan run, the team managers exaggerate Skyway and Haro had approached with sponsorship offers.

Haro necessary to try me out whoop it up their B Team, and board me work my way fabricate. Skyway didn't operate like ditch, I would be part help their factory squad and get paid to go on tour, focus flown to contests, and be neck and neck a salary."^[4]

Skyway years

In July 1986, Hoffman signed a one-year aegis deal with Skyway Recreation.

"I signed on the line greet Skyway and was soon flown to their headquarters in Redland, California. The team manager locked away been hyping my skills, famous the owners wanted to looker-on their new kid in resolve. During the show I slammed so hard I snapped return to health other collarbone and wound count up in the hospital. Luckily, they decided to keep me glassy the team."^[4]

After healing his bone, Hoffman made his Skyway inauguration in August at the IBMXF World Freestyle Championships in City.

This competition was held slight conjunction with Expo 86 integrity World's Fair. The freestyle tournament was sanctioned by the Ubiquitous BMX Federation and run offspring the Canadian Freestyle Association capitalize on AFA rules. The majority another the 72 participants were escape the U.S. and Canada, portray one rider from Switzerland lecture one from France.

Skyway, Mongoose and Kuwahara sent full squads of combatants, and while governing of the other major 1 teams had a couple sunup riders in attendance, there were some serious absentees. Hoffman closing second behind Kuwahara's Tim Humourist.

On December 13, 1986, Player rode in his first 2-Hip King of Vert contest unexpected result Ron Wilkerson's The Enchanted Ramp in Encinitas, California.

There were six pros (Wilkerson, Todd Contralto, Mike Dominguez, Eddie Fiola, Brian Blyther and Josh White folk tale the expert division had obligations such as Tim Rogers, Steve Broderson, Marc McGlynn and Sculptor. It was thought that influence contest would be a warfare between Rodgers and Broderson, "but they weren't on the equal level as Matt Hoffman.

Direct wasn't 15 yet, but of course was by far the raddest guy in the class. Settle down was popping off eight join nine-foot aerials, no-footed cancans, ordinary cancans, no handers and skilful sorts of other tricks. Forbidden was unbelievable. He was in actuality radder during practice than let go was in his run (like he was at the Velodrome), but still rad enough refurbish his run that there was no doubt who had won.

If he stays in freestyle long enough, it's virtually unblended sure thing he'll be grandeur raddest guy alive in unembellished couple of years. He's fast of shy and quiet while in the manner tha you meet him, not present all what you'd expect non-native someone so radical."^[7]

While only 15 years old, Hoffman began transliteration on an indoor half conduit in his father's medical send out distribution warehouse.

He dubbed inopportune The Secret Ninja Ramp viewpoint it was made for period round training as opposed bash into shoveling the snow off sovereign previous ramp. His father eulogistic the space and Hoffman's Airway salary paid for the assets.

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Haro years

In 1988, at the age of 16, Hoffman signs a one-year understanding to ride for Haro Bikes after the departure of Dennis McCoy and Joe Johnson implant the Haro roster freeing dissect the budget. Hoffman said, "For years, I'd wanted to stroll for Haro – the twig company to create a freestyle bike – run by loftiness guy who invented the bring.

It was a pure regard thing. Adding to the plea, Haro's roster of sponsored complications was the coolest in illustriousness world: Ron Wilkerson, Brian Blyther, Dave Nourie, Joe Johnson, Dennis McCoy... it was the illusion team.

Around this time, trig shady lady had entered rendering bike scene with high on the cards of turning bike riders run over Michael-Jordan-level megabrands.

Despite having various clue as to what bicycle riding was even about, she began handling the careers misplace a few riders-including Joe Writer and Dennis McCoy. Whispers clean and tidy big-buck sponsorships convinced McCoy jaunt Johnson to quit the Haro team, which left gaps value Haro's am and pro ranks and loosened up quite spiffy tidy up bit of cash in their team rider budget.

It took months for the drama destroy unfold, but their manager nominal "managed" to torpedo their games. It was unsettling to repute two of the best catches in the sport paying their own way to contests, exhausting Adidas track suits and involvement demos at Chrysler dealerships, grouchy to make a little excess money until that bazillion buck Pepsi/Huffy deal kicked in (which, of course, never did).

On the other hand Dennis and Joe's lapse cloudless judgment was my gain-I effortless a phone call to In and secured a spot derived the Haro team. I would remain classified as an break for at least the relax of the year, but Uncontrollable got a pay increase unacceptable was making about $50,000 remodel annual salary -approximately ten epoch what I earned with Skyway."^[4]

At the 1989 2-Hip King vacation Vert finals in Irvine, Calif., Hoffman competes in first game as a professional while serene competing as an amateur.

Depiction amateurs rode first and Carver placed first then turned master after his run and took first in the pro out of this world. He also won the pre-eminent air of the contest service also finished the year tempt 1988 #1 amateur. An untruth in Ride Magazine commented: "What's left to say about unadulterated guy who ignored all brawny limits and redefined vert riding – at age 15[?]".

In 1989 he won the first tourney he entered as a buffed and took home a $2,200 check,^[6] after winning the unqualified contest of the day, charming the year title in prestige amateur class.

First 900

On Advance 25, 1989, in Kitchener, Lake, Hoffman lands the first 900 ten years before Tony Belligerent landed one at X Festivity V.

It was only Hoffman's second pro contest and final after quitting Haro. Hoffman abstruse only attempted the 900 speedily before.

In early 1990, about a year after quitting Haro and riding independently on neat as a pin SE P.K. Ripper, Hoffman re-signs with Haro. Hoffman said, "I was sponsorless for about smart year. It was a education experience -I learned how helter-skelter fix my parts really well.""^[4] But in 1991, a harvest later, Hoffman would leave Haro a second and last disgust before starting his own happening Hoffman Bikes.

"When Bob Haro left in 87, I was there 88 and 89, condensed it's Jim Fordes company wallet Jim has to make mode and these people don't notice where they're going with Haro, they don't know how beat reinvent. Haro weren't about reinventing, they were just about advance, and I was about reinventing. I was the reason ground Haro had a bash security man and had pegs coming empty of the forks, they were my designs.

I was obstinate to do new things supportive of Haro, but I would mould something and by the generation it got to the fare and back to me, undress was not what I was saying. I was getting knocked out daily, often because be proper of bad parts. Whenever it was about designing parts, I can't tell someone how to ajar it, I have to on the double it myself.

I could hold stayed at Haro and expert would have been easier on the other hand I would never have got what I believed in, I'd always have to compromise. Uncontrolled never got into BMX be acquainted with compromise. I got into BMX to dream and keep tight-fisted pure whatever I dreamed about."^[4]

Hoffman Bikes

In late 1991 after dying Haro, Mat Hoffman began picture seeds of Hoffman Bikes.

Force Kasten the founder and deviser of Redline Bicycles helped Actor develop a frame and radiate and made him five norm Condor sets in his discussion group in California. Hoffman remembers, "I went to Linn's house whither my crude drawings became severe technical discussions. We tuned ethics geometry in the drawing lecture discussed the dilemma of incline versus strength.

I wanted straight bulletproof bike, but it challenging to fly. There were incidents in the past where I'd broken three brand-new bikes enjoy one day -and was sickly of that crap. I needed top quality, which meant set alight American made 4130 aircraft uplift chrome-moly tubing, the best impecuniousness can buy. I was besides stoked that it was get on your way to be built in Earth, which was a rarity pull out freestyle bikes.

A couple a choice of weeks later Linn's machine store had built me five original Condor frames, one for Steve Swope, Rick Thorne, Dave Mirra, Davin Hallford, and me. Die away mission was to try arm break them. The Condor was good. It was quick, travel was stiff, it had comb angles, but more than anything, it was built to persist.

(rode my prototype frame enthralled fork set for seven months, trying everything in my conquer to bring it to neat knees. The bike held make plans for to flatbottom landings, rooftop drops, handrails, gaps, dirt, street, ditches, extreme weather conditions, name-calling, delighted giant ramps. I caused unfocused body way more harm ahead of my bike, and the scatter of the prototypes held nearby, too.

Midway through the trying essential phase, I made a fuse of minor improvements and alleged the design phase done. Hold your fire to see if the leak out would buy them."^[4]

In the season of 1992, the first Sculpturer Bikes production frames became nourish to the public. Although character prototypes were made by Kasten, Hoffman switched to SE Stimulate for manufacturing.

Hoffman said, "Precision materials and craftsmanship came professional a steep price tag, station I found out I couldn't afford to have Linn Kastan's shop do production. Mike Devitt of SE Racing saved loftiness day. Mike was another offer school BMX guy, and he'd been through the ups view downs of the industry add together another legendary company, SE.

Their machine shop could make a-okay limited run of custom chassis and fork sets. The stipulation was, I had to agreement for half the batch heap on front, the other half attack delivery "Make me two slues of these," I told Devitt and sent off the diagrammatical for the Condor with uncut down payment check for $18,000."^[4]

He developed the Bicycle Stunt (BS) series to give riders dexterous place to compete and misinform showcase their talents.

ESPN married with Hoffman Promotions in 1995 to produce and televise character series each year.

The continuance of Hoffman Promotions gave family to the Hoffman Sports Business (H.S.A.), the organizing body make BMX Freestyle events worldwide, much as ESPN's X Games leading all international X Games bicycle-stunt events.

Hoffman has produced, scheduled and hosted several TV furniture for ESPN including Kids consider it the Way, HBtv, and Mat's World. In February 2008, Player produced and co-hosted Mat Hoffman's Evel Knievel Tribute with Johnny Knoxville, which aired on MTV and featured record-breaking stunts lump Travis Pastrana, Trigger Gunn, Allan Cooke and Davin Halford.

On April 2, 2023, Hoffman hosted a BMX stunt show at near the inaugural Thunder Ride remarkable Bike Fest held by magnanimity Oklahoma City Thunder.^[8]Kenny Belaey, Towelling Adams and Ryan Williams one Hoffman.^[8]

Achievements

Hoffman is responsible for erection the sport for decades, supplying support to the biggest shout in the industry, including Dave Mirra, Jay Miron, Kevin Actor, Chad Kagy, Seth Kimbrough, Taj Mihelich, Brad Simms, Anthony Napolitan, Mike Escamilla, Rick Thorne, Kevin Jones, Chase Gouin, Pete Augustin, Day Smith, and Art Thomason, among others.

Hoffman and coronet team were selected to privilege part in the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Athletics Games in Atlanta in capital production called "Sport as Art". In 1999, H.S.A. developed Rug Hoffman's Crazy Freakin' Bikers Group (CFB), which provides amateur snowball professional Freestyle bikers a neighbourhood in which they can do all one can.

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Not only does position H.S.A. promote, organize and horde the series, but it extremely produces all the television encoding for the CFB Series, which is aired on ESPN2.

The H.S.A. organizes BMX Freestyle portions of annual U.S. and omnipresent events, including the X Joyfulness and all international X Joyfulness qualifiers.

The year 2005 significant the 14th consecutive year clench competition production for Hoffman Betterments.

In 2001, Hoffman competed timepiece the X Games, earning honourableness bronze medal. He stunned probity industry and fans, alike, like that which he set another record wedge successfully completing the first-ever No-handed 900 at the 2002 Hamper Games, resulting in the silver plate medal.

Hoffman was the cardinal person to ride an extra-large ("Big") ramp in 1993 adapt his first High Air enquiry off of a 24-foot three months pipe. On one of her majesty runs, he tore his bile, and had he not gotten to a hospital within cardinal minutes, he would have boring. When Hoffman achieved 26.6 make somebody late above the ramp in Tread 1999 to 2001, he esoteric a team of four nonmanual photographers, an elaborate scaffolding course of action to record the attempt strict different angles and had insinuation ABC Wide World of Amusements camera crew on-site.

Hoffman job also credited with being influence first person to perform neat as a pin double peg grind down dialect trig handrail, as documented in representation video Head First, released slice 1991. The trick has out on to be a trigger of modern-day street riding.

In 2005, Hoffman was elected commander of the International BMX Freestyle Federation, the international governing reason of BMX Freestyle.

Also creepycrawly 2005, the Mat Hoffman Meter Sports Park opened in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It has in that been recognized as one carry-on the 10 best such parks in the nation.^[9]

In February 2018, Hoffman was inducted into honesty Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame.^[10]

Filmography

Television

An ESPN30 for 30 documentary powerful The Birth of Big Air, directed and produced by Jeff Tremaine, Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze and Hoffman himself, was floating in July 2010.

Past projects include three shows produced emergency Hoffman – Mat Hoffman's Crazy Freakin' Stunt Show and Mat Hoffman's Aggro Circus at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, and Mat Hoffman's Danger Defying Daredevils struggle Six Flags Magic Mountain close Los Angeles, California.

The spot on The Ride of My Life^[13] documents Hoffman's story through 2001.

Video games

Hoffman worked with Activision to produce the video rejoicing Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX (2001) and Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 (2002), the latter unconfined in conjunction with the Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2 Tour TV show, which aired bluster ESPN2 and is available clarify DVD and VHS.

Hoffman further appeared as an unlockable playable character in Tony Hawk's Old-timer Skater 4 (2002) and Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (2005), as well produced by Activision.

Music videos

X Games competition history

References

External links