bmxultra.com Hall of Fame

Hall of Fame | Inductees | Nominees

Nominees

Here are the nominations for the bmxultra.com Hall of Fame, it's time to tell you who these guys were and how they influenced BMX racing in Australia. If you have any nominations for 2008 please email webmaster@bmxultra.com.

Riders

Pauline Williams (Victoria)
#1 Australia 1984 & 1985, #1 World 1984
Pauline Williams is the daughter of Keith WIlliams of the Keith Williams medal that BMX Victoria continue to award for outstanding effort at the Victorian Championships. Having won the 16+ girls class at Suzuka in Japan in 1984 she is the first of a string of Australian women who have won the pinnacle class at the world championships. Pauline was well known for her strong riding style and often raced in the men's classes for extra competition, she also was a very confident jumper and had a unique "ski jump" jumping style that gave her an edge over her competition. In the first round of qualifying at the 1984 national championships at Byford WA Pauline fell in the first straight only to get back on her bike and back into the lead in the final straight but fell again just 20 meters before the finish line. She recovered from the fall like a true champion and went on to win the event.


Dean Crisp (Queensland)
#1 Australia (15 boys) 1980 & (Senior cruiser) 1983
Dean Crisp was on the Mongoose Team, after having won the 15 boys class at the first ever Australian championships. In 1981 Dean travelled with Jamie Hales to the US to gain valuable experience. started a company manufacturing number plates and pads. The plates were different to others available at the time with a super light and thin clear plastic panel that was printed onto from behind, making them very popular for their time especially with the weight conscious. Crisp then expanded to race gear. In 1983 he won the senior cruiser class at the Australian Championships at Ashmore in his home state of Queensland. Late in 1984 Crisp Bros added frames and forks to their product line. Dean left Mongoose to promote his own company Crisp Brothers Racing. Dean may not have the titles of his peers, but he was always a contender in the early pro and open classes really dominating at major events around Australia during the early to mid 80's.


Wayne McIntosh (New South Wales)
#3 Australia 1984

Wayne McIntosh was the face of GT in the early 80's, the factory team pro rider. While he never actually won a national #1 in the open or pro classes he was always a contender taking out many big wins at some of the biggest races in the country. In 1984 Wayne was the fastest Australian rider to cross the line at the national championships, however the Australian BMX Association, as it was known then had paid for Kuwahara's world champions Clint Miller and Gary Ellis to attend. They took the #1 and #2. At that point Wayne was off GT and riding for himself, having started a business called MACCA, which didn't seem to go too far. He made an appearance at the 1985 Championships at Launceston in Tasmania wearing SE colours, and the number 9 on his plate that he became known for using.


Darren Miller (Western Australia)
#1 Australia 1983
Darren Miller's story is one of some luck, but BMX has always been about being in the right place at the right time. At the 1983 National Championships at Ashmore Qld Darren was awarded the #1 plate after Jamie Hales was disqualified and their positions reversed. Darren was injured for the 1984 National Championships at Byford in his home state of Western Australia and unable to defend the #1. Shortly after that Darren traveled to europe where he had some success racing BMX but quickly faded out of the scene altogether. He was part of the track committee for the 1999 Australia Championships held indoor at Perth WA and raced the event to win the cruiser class for his age division.

Industry

Chuck May (New South Wales)
Invada
Invada was another racewear brand that was started in the early days of BMX. Chuck May started the business when his son Darren and his friends were after spare parts and equipment. Recognising a hole in the market Chuck quickly stated up a small pro shop and, soon after, moved into making his own line of race clothing. Invada was a household name for over a decade with it's most popular products being the pad sets, number plates and race wear. Chuck and his Invada products were seen at every major event on the east coast of Australia.

Brian Pierce/Judith and Richard Turesson (Queensland)
Peddlepower
Peddlepower is Australia's equivalent to American brands like Max or M&M. Most on the early Australian race teams had pants made by Peddlepower and jersey's as well for some of them. Early in the piece it seemed like everyone was wearing Peddlepower from the grass roots riders to the full factory team riders. The company was started by Brian Pierce who went on to distribute GT Bicycles as well. When GT seemed to have dominated the market in the late 80's Peddlepower was sold to Judith and Richard Turesson, parents of X-games downhill specialist Travis. Travis won and was disqualified at the 1996 Australian Championships wearing Peddlepower gear, the same gear he used as a rookie making a name for himself on the US race circuit. Last we heard Peddlepower was in "semi retirement".


Paul Semmel (New South Wales)
PJ/MAD and importer of CW
Paul Semmel is one of the lesser known of our hall of fame nominees. He was the man behind PJ race clothing, pads and seat covers. Paul originally managed a retail store in Sydney, but moved into manufacturing in 1983. The 100% hand made in Sydney PJ products made a big impact on the Australian market in the early to mid 80's. In a time where the Australian BMX industry was at it's strongest PJ competed with Australian brands Invada and Peddlepower as well as US brands like JT, AERO, and others and still managed a to take a large market share. By 1984 the MAD range of gear was also available. Paul pushed his product into the MX market too with some success but eventually faded out of BMX altogether. Paul was also the early distributor for American brand CW that are now popular amongst the old schoolers for their unique handlebar design, high quality chrome jobs and the infamous "Z" frame. He had put together a strong CW national team to help market the CW and his own PJ products.


Graeme Stevenson (Queensland)
SLA (Super Light Alloy)
Graeme Stevenson was involved in BMX racing on many levels; as a rider, official and an innovator as a frame manufacturer. Graeme was as well know for his frames as he was for his excentric outfits he would wear to the track, fortunatly his sence of "style" wasn't transfered to his frame designs. In the early 80's, along with SE Racing and Race Inc, he was one of few frame manufacturers in the world toying with Alloy as a substitute for crome-moly. He had much success across the country with his frames, especially in Queensland. With his reputation as a master frame builder he later went on to manufacture frames for other Australian companies in addition to SLA. Graeme is infamous as the official who made the controversial call that saw Jamie Hales stripped of his #1 Australia crown at Ashmore Qld in 1983.


 

Last updated: Thursday, 2 April, 2009 7:33 AM