Crazy Al Cayne
A few years ago USA BMX did an amazing tribute to the rich history of black athletes in the sport. They highlighted the great black men and women who were pioneers, trail blazers and top pros around the world. USA BMX also highlighted some notable top armatures in the history of the sport. From the very earliest days of BMX Racing, during the 70’s, all the way up to the modern-day Olympic-era of the sport. You can find that tribute hanging on the wall at the BMX Hall Of Fame
The National BMX Hall of fame is now located in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, aka Black Wall Street. This is the first thing that you see when entering the building, ~George Vick/USA BMX
I recently did an article highlighting the history of professional black females in BMX racing. Now in this article (With the help of the BMX HOF Tribute) I’ll be going over the exemplary black male athletes that made a name for themselves, paving the way for others and becoming BMX role models for future generations. This list is just is just a small sampling of black BMX icons who have paved the way and left their mark on the cycling sport of bicycle motocross.
PIONEERS
One of the first black BMX superstars was 1996 Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Jackson. Racing for Factory Schwinn (a company he’d eventually work for), Kevin was the first black BMX racer to be used in product national advertising campaigns. Nor Cal’er Stanley Robinson, who appeared on the cover of the second-ever BMX Action magazine, is credited as the first rider to ever do a 2-footed start; a game-changing technique used ever since.
In the Great Northwest, it is said that the earth shook when Clarence Perry got in the gate. In 2018, the “Earthquake” was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Over in New Jersey, a kid named Charlie Litsky helped put Jersey on the BMX map. Utilizing both his racing and announcing skills, Litsky would eventually move to So. Cal. to attend USC, working in the bicycle industry. He was inducted in the BMX Hall of Fame after his untimely death at age 33.
TEAM JAG
By the late-70’s, the late-great race promoter and own- er of JAG BMX, Renny Roker, assembled the first all-Black BMX team. Amongst the roster were racers from the South Central area of LA; including BMX Hall of Famers Tommy Brackens, Anthony Sewell and Turnell Henry, as well as many young amateurs. Sewell and Brackens would go on to become World Champions (Sewell in 1978 and Tommy in England in 1986), and Tuni still races to this day and is now a track operator and manager of his own C.O.B. team. Team Jag’s biggest highlight tho, is starring in the BMX episode of CHIPS, and adorning the cover of Ebony Jr. magazine. No doubt, Roker knew how to promote! NATIONAL CHAMPIONS. Fun fact Renny Rocker is related to new anchor Al Roker and actress Roxie Roker(Helen Willis on The Jefferson’s)
NATIONALS
The list of black BMX No.1 title holders is a long one, winning the National Championships in nearly every single ABA, NBL and USA BMX category. You could say that it all started in 1982, when a young Steve Veltman (at age 12) became the first racer to earn both the 20″ and cruiser titles in the same year. His fame would be documented on the cover of a WHEATIES box, and 10 years later he’d win the No.1 Pro title, setting a new win-record along the way. In his Rookie year of Pro- 1987, San Jose’s Charles Townsend (a 2014 HoF inductee) won the overall No.1 Pro title – while riding for CW and Revcore. He was the first black No.1 Pro in the ABA.
In the Pro Cruiser ranks, Oregon’s Darrell Young (2003 HoF-er) and Terry Tenette (2016 HoF’er) won the 24″ Championships back-to-back, in 1992 and ’93, followed up by San Diego’s Kiyomi Waller – who’d hold the same title three times (in ’95, ’97 & 98) while racing for Parkpre and Trek Bicycles. Black amateurs have also done well on the larger wheeled Cruisers – with Boss sponsored Darwin Griffin winning the No.1 Cruiser title in ’87 and Anthony Freeman repeating the feat in 1993. (Anthony currently competes in cycling races and is a popular cycling coach). After the millennium, athletes Terrel Proctor, from Maryland, won the No.1 plate in 2004, and Arizona’s “Gorgeous” George Goodall earned the silver Cup in 2009. Today, Goodall competes in car shows.
PROFESSIONALS
Once the pro class was formed in BMX, black athletes from around the country moved up the ranks and made their presence known as a professional BMX racer. Early on, racers like lean, mean Leo Green, Nor Caler Greg Turnage and San Diegan Shawn Texas were all main makers and podium finishers. Known for his huge stature, Shawn Texas was once described in a magazine as “being built like a brick out- house.” Another strong 90’s pro was Eric Simmons, whose lack of jumping skills over a pro section water-jump earned him the nickname of “Aquaman.” By the mid-90’s, the BMX pro class was booming – led by Nor Cal legends Cecil Johns (Hofer in 2004) and Mr.T. Together, they created Nor Cal pride, vowing to “pimp” and “treat” their factory rivals from SoCal. Among those black pros in SoCal were Free Agent’s Darren Mitchell and Jason Richardson, who were always a threat. Jason became the IBMXF Pro Cruiser World Champion in 1994. Richardson was both a fast racer and out-spoken rider, who became the voice for the 90’s pro class. The addition of podiums, big check presentations and Sunday morning Pro warm-ups are among a few of the ideas he pitched, that are still in use today. And we can’t forget The Human Dragster Tommy Brackens prime competitive years were from 1980 to 1988. Brackens made the switch from Motocross to BMX in 1977 and eventually became one of the most popular BMX pro’s of his time. To be the people’s favorite is my goal.” he said. That goal was fulfilled in 1987 When he won BMX Action’s Number One Racer Award (NORA) Cup for that year. Brackens was NBL National #2 in 1986 and he won IBMXF World Championship that same year. He was the first Pro to win 2nd place in the new ABA “A” Pro class in 1981. Tommy would later created he own BMX frame and fork company Brackens Racing Products. In 1991 hw was inducted into the ABA BMX Hall Of fame.
Meanwhile, from the Midwest came “Mr. Smooth” Craig Reynolds, who wound up starting his own bike brand once the sponsorship pool dried up. Craig’s Reynolds Racing even put him on the cover of Black Enterprise magazine and helped point him in a direction of success for life. Jared Justice and Lawan Cunningham were also some great pro riders from the 90’s. Jared was also in the running for the 1989 BMX Plus Racer Of The Year. And we can’t forget the Long Island legend Ronnie Gaska!! Gaska was one of the smoothest and stylish riders in the game at the time. By the 00’s, Texan Denzel Stein, from DeSoto, Texas would take his Redline bike to multiple wins and consistent Top-5 rankings. in 2014 Maliek Byndloss won Rookie Pro Of The Year. Jeff Upshaw and Kamren Larsen are currently reppin’ out front of the modern-day Vet and Elite Pro classes. Kam won the Pan Am Games. Upshaw also started his own team and BMX training program with his Driven Cycling Academy. There were even more black male pros in the game making waves like Olijuwon Davis, Shawn Moore just to name a few.
AMAZING AMS
Not all BMXers make it to the elite Pro class, though. The sport has seen many top amateurs rule at a young age, and take their talents on to other sports. Take Powerlite sponsored Dwight Tardy for example. Success and multiple NAG No.1 titles helped form him into the future Collegiate football star, as a running back for UW’s Huskies before a torn ACL ended his NFL dreams. Miles “Avis” Davis from Baldwin NY who won at the 1993 NBL Grands. He was also featured on the cover of Bicycles Today and in several other magazines like BMX Plus! Percy Owens who’s nickname was “O Show” is one of the most successful BMX racer to come out of Sarasotta. Owens, a 2-time World Champion, 7-time National Champion and 37-time State Champion. Owens, started when he was 10, and within two years was picked up by a St. Petersburg factory team. By age 14, he was traveling the world competing with Free Agent/Vision team out of California. At 16, he posted the fastest lap time at the 1991 world championships, beating pros at their own game as an amateur rider. He turned pro two years later. There were and are other amazing ams throughout the years. Too many to list.
OLYMPICS: THE ULTIMATE LEVEL
When BMX became an Olympic sport, it opened a whole new door of opportunities for black BMX racers across the globe. South Africa’s Sifiso Nhlapo was the UCI Junior Men Cruiser champ in 2005, and was able to represent his country in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic games. In 2021, UK’s Kye Whyte won the bronze medal in Mens BMX. Kye and his brother Tre hail from Peckham; an under-privileged section of London. Coach C.K. Flash has been vital in making the Peckham BMX Club a breeding ground of BMX mega-stars. Jeff Upshaw went to the 2016 Rio Olympics as an alternate foe team USA’s men’s BMX competition.. And finally Kamren Larsen qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics and made it all the way to the semi finals. Kamren has the potential to head back to the Olympics in 2028 so be on the lookout for him.
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Oakland’s Howard Cato is full of inspiration and has a great backstory in his long climb to the top of the BMX World. As owner and team manager for his Bay Area BMXers team, Howard is an awesome modem-day promoter of the sport, with his “Flood the Streets with Bikes” campaign – getting Oakland’s under-served youth aboard bicycles and on the “right” track. Cato also has his own BMX frame line called B.A.B.S. In the 90’s, Illinois’ Mighty Moses Tillmon was a top Amateur title contender, riding for Hawk Bicycles. Today, he and his travel agent wife are promoters of the semi-annual BMX Cruise. Dwayne Taylor has a long history of moving and shaking behind the scenes in BMX racing. His most recently credited as playing a key role in Mongoose Bicycle’s resurgence in BMX. His focus on growing ridership and family interest in the brand has helped the brand get to where it is today. He also works as a mentor for the new generations of BMX racers,
Bulldog Bikes is a rider owned and operated company that was founded in 1998, bythe late Jimmy “Mac” McNeal! In the the early 1990’s, Jimmy was responsible for bringing BMX into the hip-hop scene. Jimmy has been featured in Forbes Magazine and on the cover of Black Enterprise Magazine. He was also sponsored by the biggest Hip Hop magazine at the time Source Magazine. MacNeal has cultivated some of the hottest talent in BMX including Brad Simms (X-Games Champion); TJ Ellis and Colton Satterfield (Mountain Dew Tour champions); Shanaze Reade (World Champion); Jason Richardson (Pan-Am Champion); and Ivo Lackas (Olympic Competitor). Bulldog Bikes also left their mark in the BMX freestyle scene with events like the Hybrid Festival, BMX demos at major events like the 5 NYC Boro Bike tour, Harlem Skyscraper Race, Bicycle Film Festival and Afropunk. Jimmy made a pivot later one and started his own sneaker and apparel company called Union Square shoes. The brand was growing and gaining popularity. He also produced a great annual event at Philly pump track called the Union Square BBQ. Unfortunately Jimmy passed away in October 2024 due to his long fought battle with kidney failure. Throughout his years of fighting kidney failure, Jimmy started Union Square and kept pushing to build his brand. His motto was Crush The Impossible.
CARRYING ON THE TORCH
To this day, there are many amazing black BMX athletes in racing. Racers such as Olijuwon Davis, Alec Bob, Uk’s Quillan & Tian Isidore, and Illinois’ Marshall Gehrke are shining examples of success in our sport. Gehrke who’s nickname “Major Marshall”(Inspired by cycling icon Major Marshall Taylor) was a cast favorite on BYU TV’s All Around Champion – a teenage athlete reality series. Gehrke was also part of the Nitro Circus tour and continues to make his mark in BMX racing, trails and freestyle. This is just a sample of the talented black riders competing currently and there’s more to come.
BMX Frame Makers:
As mentioned before there were a few legendary black owned BMX racing brands of the past like Reynolds Racing, Bulldog Bikes, Jag Racing and Brackens Racing. Following in their footsteps are TFS Design Lab(Geoff Ssengoba), Majesty Racing (Brian Jones), Sugar Cayne Bikes and Truth BMX Products (Eric and Tony Spears).
Lets Continue The Conversation In The Comments!
I know there are a ton of riders that I haven’t mentioned so lets keep the conversation going in the comment section below. Post any photos and info that we should all know about to help make this page the goto page for all the past present and future great Black men and boys in BMX racing
