- Mat Hoffman
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Mat Hoffman (center) in 2006.
Mat Hoffman[1] (born January 9, 1972) is an American BMX rider considered one of the best vert-ramp riders in the history of the sport.[2] He is nicknamed "The Condor" and owns the BMX Freestyle brand Hoffman BMX Bikes, based out of Oklahoma City, OK.
Contents
Bio
In 1987, at the age of 15, Mat Hoffman was the youngest rider joining the freestyle BMX circuit. An article in Ride Magazine wrote, “What’s left to say about a guy who ignored all established limits and redefined vert riding - at age 15.”
By 1991, Hoffman had already surpassed amateur rank, seized the pro division and brought the sport to new heights never thought possible, inventing the majority of the Vert tricks today. By this year and the age of 5, Hoffman started both Hoffman Promotions and Hoffman Bikes.
He developed the Bull Shit (BS) Series to give riders a place to compete and showcase their talents. ESPN joined with Hoffman Promotions in 1995 to produce and televise the series each year.
The growth of Hoffman Promotions gave birth to the Hoffman Sports Association (H.S.A.), which is the organizing body for BMX Freestyle events worldwide, such as ESPN’s X Games and all international X Games bicycle stunt events.
Hoffman has produced, directed and hosted several TV series for ESPN including “Kids in the Way,” “HBtv” and “Mat’s World.” In February 2008, Hoffman produced and co-hosted “Mat Hoffman’s Evel Knievel Tribute” with Johnny Knoxville, which aired on MTV and featured record-breaking stunts by Travis Pastrana, Trigger Gunn, Allan Cooke and Davin Halford.
Hoffman partnered with Activision to produce Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX video game and Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX 2 video game – released in August 2002, in conjunction with the release of Mat Hoffman’s Pro BMX2 Tour TV show, which aired on ESPN2 and is available on DVD and VHS.
He has been involved in a number of film projects: “Keep Your Eyes Open,” produced by Tamra Davis and starring Spike Jonze; IMAX film “Ultimate X”; “Triple X,” a Rob Cohen film, starring Vin Diesel; “Jackass-The Movie,” “Jackass-Number 2” and "Jackass 3-D".
An ESPN 30 for 30 documentary entitled “The Birth of Big Air,” directed and produced by Jeff Tremaine and additionally produced by Johnny Knoxville, Spike Jonze and Hoffman, himself, was released in July 2010.
Other current projects include two shows produced by Hoffman – Mat Hoffman’s Aggro Circus at Universal Studios in Orlando, FL, and Mat Hoffman’s Danger Defying Daredevils at Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles, CA.
Achievements
Hoffman is responsible for building the sport for decades, providing support to the biggest names in the industry, including Dave Mirra, Jay Miron, Kevin Robinson, Chad Kagy, Seth Kimbrough, Taj Mahelich, Brad Simms, Anthony Napolitan, Mike Escamilla, Rick Thorne, Kevin Jones, Chase Gouin, Day Smith, Art Thomason and many more.
Hoffman and his team were also selected to take part in the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga., in a production called “Sport as Art.” In 1999, H.S.A. developed Mat Hoffman's Crazy Freakin’ Bikers Series (CFB), which provides amateur and professional Freestyle bikers a venue in which they can compete. Not only does the H.S.A. promote, organize and host the series, but it also produces all the television programming for the CFB Series, which is aired on ESPN2.
The H.S.A. organizes BMX Freestyle portions of annual U.S. and international events, including the X Games and all international X Games qualifiers. The year 2005 marked the 14th consecutive year of competition production for Hoffman Promotions.
In 2001, Hoffman competed at the X Games, earning the Bronze Medal. He stunned the industry and fans, alike, when he set another record by successfully completing the first-ever No-handed 900 at the 2002 X Games, resulting in the Silver Medal.
Hoffman was the first person to ride an over-sized ("Big") ramp in 1993 with his first High Air attempt off of a 24-foot quarter pipe, in fact, on one of his runs, he tore his spleen and almost died. When Hoffman achieved 50.6 feet above the ground in March 2001, he had a team of four professional photographers, an elaborate scaffolding system to record the attempt at different angles and had an ABC Wide World Of Sports camera crew on-site, as well.
In 2005, Mat was elected the President of the International BMX Freestyle Federation, the international governing body of BMX Freestyle - a partner with Union Cyclists International (UCI), the bicycle governing body for the International Olympic Committee.
Also in 2005, the Mat Hoffman Action Sports Park opened in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It has since been recognized as one of the ten best such parks in the nation.[3]
Video games
Cody worked with Activision to produce the video games Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX and Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2, the latter released in August 2002 in conjunction with the Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX2 Tour TV show. Hoffman also appeared in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 and Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, also produced by Activision. In the early 1990's, Hoffman got tired of always going to the hospital for little things like cuts and scrapes. Evenually he learned how to stitch himself.
References
- ^ @ 23MAG BMX
- ^ Matt Higgins, "Rider’s Vision of Bigger Ramps Helps Launch Big Air", New York Times, July 29, 2010.
- ^ OKC Skatepark Named One of "Ten Best" in National Geographic Travel Guide
External links
Categories:- 1972 births
- American cyclists
- Bicycle motocross riders
- Living people
- People from Edmond, Oklahoma
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