Torker and Vans – 50 years in the making!!!
TORKER AND VANS RELEASE A LIMITED EDITION BMX OLD SKOOL FOR TORKER’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY
300 pairs. One run. Debuts at Dirty Fest, June 5–7, 2026.
APPLE VALLEY, CA — Torker Racing and Vans have built a shoe to mark 50 years of Torker. The Torker x Vans BMX Old Skool is a limited edition of 300 pairs, releasing June 5, 2026 at 9 a.m. Pacific on TorkerRacing.com and in person at Dirty Fest.
Fifty years called for more than a frame reissue. Torker was born in Fullerton, California in 1976, and Vans grew up in the same Southern California action sports world. When Torker approached Vans about an anniversary collab, the fit was immediate. Black and yellow have been Torker’s colors since 1976 — and they are the colors of this shoe.
This is the Vans BMX Old Skool, not the standard version, and every detail connects back to Torker’s history:
The sole is the VDFPR Waffle Cup — the Van Doren Factory Pedal Recipe, Vans’ Cup Specific BMX sole built for grip on a platform pedal. The Pop Cush sock liner carries the printed signatures of iconic Torker factory riders of the ’70s and ’80s — each rider sent in their actual signature to be reproduced on the insole. A single chrome eyelet is a direct nod to Torker’s Fish Eye Gusset and the chrome frame finishes the brand was known for. The black canvas and suede upper carries the Torker yellow accent stripe, with the Torker MX badge on the tongue and the Van Doren label on the heel. Each pair ships in a custom yellow and black Torker / Vans co-branded box.
In its original eight years of production in Fullerton, Torker’s riders won the first IBMXF World Pro Championship and the 1979 national team title, and the company’s manufacturing line produced the world’s first purpose-built freestyle BMX frame. Bill Ryan, who rode with a Torker co-sponsorship in the early 1980s before founding Supercross BMX, re-acquired the trademark and relaunched the brand in 2022. The 50th anniversary is the first major milestone since the relaunch.
“Freestyle was born on a Torker, and a whole lot of us grew up riding in Vans,” said Bill Ryan, owner of Torker Racing. “Putting the two together for the 50th anniversary just made sense. We didn’t want a sticker on a stock shoe — we built this one from the ground up for BMX.”
Availability
The shoe debuts at Dirty Fest, June 5–7, 2026, where a limited number of pairs will be available at the Rad1986designs.com merch booth, first-come, first-served. Online orders open June 5 at 9 a.m. Pacific at TorkerRacing.com and ship same day from Apple Valley, California, with worldwide shipping available. $99.95. Men’s sizing, full size run. 300 pairs total — no restocks, no second colorway, and no dealer distribution for this drop.
Full details: https://torkerracing.com/
About Torker Racing
Founded in Fullerton, California in 1976, Torker is one of the original BMX brands. Today the brand is owned and run by Bill Ryan and the team at Torker Racing in Apple Valley, California, building limited edition reissues of the original Fullerton-era frames alongside modern Big Bikes. Freestyle was born on a Torker. Now you can ride one.
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