Bob Morales
1980
|
|
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Robert L. Morales |
| Nickname | BME |
| Born |
December 7, 1963 Redondo Beach, California, United States of America |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Team information | |
| Current team | Retired |
| Discipline | Bicycle Motocross (BMX) / Freestyle BMX |
| Role | Racer / Performer |
| Rider type | Racing / Freestyle |
| Amateur team(s) | |
| 1977-1978 | Barons Bike Shop |
| 1979-1980 | Buena Park Bike Shop |
| Professional team(s) | |
| 1980-1981 | HARO BIKES |
| 1982 | KUWAHARA |
| 1983-1984 | GT BICYCLES |
| 1985 | DYNO BICYCLES |
Robert L. Morales (born December 7, 1963) is a former freestyle BMX rider turned promoter, designer, inventor and business executive. He is the founder of DYNO Bicycles, the American Freestyle Association (AFA), Auburn Cycles, KORE Bicycle Components, Morales Bicycle Co., Carlsbad Motocross Racing (CMXR) and ASV Inventions. He is currently president and CEO of ASV Inventions, Inc.
Morales began riding motorcycles at the age of 7, then racing motorcycles at the age of 11. His father bought him a Yamaha YZ 80 to compete in motorcycle races. He won over 20 dirt biking trophies by 1976. He took up BMX bike racing at the age of 13 when his parents could no longer support his motorcycle racing because of a divorce.
Around 1977, he got into BMX racing by competing in a local BMX race where he met fellow racer R.L. Osborn and they became good friends. R.L. Osborn's father was the founder of BMX Action magazine and became a pioneer in the sport of BMX and Freestyle BMX. Through the Osborns he met Bob Haro who would later pioneer the sport of Freestyle BMX.
At age 14 Morales started his first business and named it BME which stood for Bob Morales Enterprises. BME sold BMX brand stickers and apparel as a vendor at BMX tracks and through mail order advertisements in BMX magazines. BME eventually became DYNO Design in 1983.
In 1980 Bob Haro asked Morales to join him on a national tour to promote the new sport of Freestyle BMX. They traveled on tour together performing shows all over the Midwest, Eastern United States, and parts of Canada to enthusiastic crowds. In 1982 Morales began promoting Freestyle BMX competitions and formed the Amateur Skate Park Association (ASPA), which would later become the American Freestyle Association (AFA), to promote events in this fast-growing sport. At its peak in 1986 the AFA hosted a BMX Freestyle competition at Madison Square Garden in New York City with over 5,000 spectators and a large cash purse for the competitors.
Morales joined friend and fellow freestyle rider Eddie Fiola and formed the founding BMX Freestyle teams for Haro Bikes (1980), Kuwahara (bicycle company) (1982), and GT Bicycles (1983).
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