Thank you all for the continued support for these history oriented videos. Keep the recommendations coming! I'm compiling a list of obscure brands that didn't last super long so if you have anything to add to the list, let me know!
Barracuda made some great bikes, and splashed out on a Norba team, then disappeared. Catamount made what were probably the best of the URT bikes during their heyday, but their best known invention was a water bottle cage you can still buy new. Mountain Cycles, Balfa, and Arrow Racing deserve some love as well. As to your query as to 'what comes next', it was video games. They took over everything, and that's why the batting cages, bmx tracks, and bowling alleys are all gone.
Working in the local bike shop back in the early 80’s, I remember how BMX blew up. At one point we were selling more than twice as many BMX style bikes than all others combined.
And they cost a pretty penny! Supply and demand was a motha! I remember getting clowned for my huffy from the rich kids but I understand where my parents were coming from $200? In 1986 money? That equates to about $800 in today's.
Now bmx shops are few and far between. I rode really hard in my teens every single day if I wasn’t riding my friends and I were watching videos. This was classic mid school era. I was so excited to get a job at. Bike shop when I was like 19 and they didn’t sell any bmx bikes they were all like talking about the freaking Tour de France in the back I was so heart broken lol I was like these guys are effin lame and didn’t last there long
I remember when this blew up. Back in the day, Haro was supreme, the bikes were awesome and kids everywhere wanted to ride them, GT, Diamond Back, Skyway, Kuwahara, SE and a few others. Such a great time to be a kid riding bikes. Seeing freestyle kick off blew our minds.
Had a MCS spider tricked out for freestyle chrome with baby blue skyway 2 wheels ....a M1 mongoose grey and black ...and a mongoose decade pro pink and chrome....but always wanted a Haro Master in chrome and black with the green accents ......man I miss the 80s ....I was born in 77 ....this was my life from 10 years old to early teens ....that and skateboards ....man what a time ...what a decade ....sucks getting old ....
Nice bike that. I had a Redline and gave it away to a young boy that didn't have much in life, gave him it when I was just 3 weeks away from turning 16 - that was back in 1985 Thot so many times about building my own bike and hanging it On the wall, the build would need to be a Haro
Bob Haro is the coolest dude in BMX! Taught me how to do coaster brake wheelies when I was 11 or 12! Literally the man changed my life. There's some other stuff but I'm not going to bring that up here, big shout out from Battle Creek Michigan.
Glad to say I was there in the beginning. We were building bikes in the mid 70s, pulling off the banana seats making our own pads out of pipe insulation.
I remember seeing Team Haro at several Nationals during the early to mid 80s. They had steel framed plexiglass ramps at all the demos. It was wild being able to see the tricks from any angle, even behind the ramps 🤘🏼
I'm 48 years old, grew up very poor and always wanted a Haro Master, but just couldn't afford it when I was a kid. Fast forward to today, I purchased two nice 1986 Haro Masters over the last couple of weeks and that inner child is super excited about it. I own a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and I about to start taking my two Haro Masters to the school so that my 60+ kids can check them out. Hopefully it will spark an interest in them that doesn't involve looking at a screen of some sort for hours and hours all day long.
Im 45 always wanted one then one day in my 20s I found one in the garbage in a rich neighborhood I took it right away messed with it for a little bit the kid down the st begged me for it I gave it to him and he told me when he got older that he was poor and that was what kept him out of trouble and helped him deliver newspaper s
Thank you! I am Gen X and very happy for Mr. Haro. I often wonder about all the BMX Bike manufacturers. its nice to know one of us kids made it. Thank you.
I used to race BMX as a kid in Louisiana and actually won First Place (13 Expert) in the state championships. Regardless, at that time my friends and I were glued to BMX Action magazine and riding around everywhere to find cool jumps to practice some tricks/freestyle around the time Bob, R.L. and Mike Buff were taking off. Thanks for the flashback of memories!
I got my Haro Freestyler fst in 84, I still have it. It’s on the wall in my shop next to my first mtn bike, a Cannondale Delts V that I had repainted in Volvo team red at the factory when I was a sales rep there in the mid 90’s. It’s white with the blue decals. I need to restore it, the decals are faded. I lived in Hawaii and California in the 80’s, it was a fun time.
7:37 I had to add this HERE: 1: In the Mid 90's, Haro did a flatland/freestyle demo at the park next door to my house.. 2: Mid/Late 90's, I'm co-managing a bike shop: ACTION SPORTS & Awards! 3: Working w/ HARO - And subsequently, also working w/ a high school friend who went to work there. [I always busted balls to be able to afford a few of their bikes - Previous to getting the gig at the shop ] The TWO BOBs Are The Best! ❤ Bob Haro and Bob Morales! 🤘 KILLER Video, Dude!! You Absolutely Nailed This! E.T. BMX Bandits, RAD, BMX-Freestyle [as far as a few of the OG BMX Vids go...] 😁
Brilliant! Bob Osborn was spot on with “You have potential.” This kid at work spotted one of my cartoon drawings then took the idea to another level. The originality and quality of his characters was nothing anyone else has thought. When this kid left I had a talk to him about his talent and told him not to give up on his characters. I hope he meets someone someone like Bob O.
I'm not into BMX at all but I'm glad this popped up in my recommended feed! I remember seeing Haro on bikes all the time as a kid but never knew it was an actual dude haha!
I met Bob the first time out in riverside area called the Ranch for a freestyle demo. Later I worked for Oakley as an industrial designer and Bob would come by in his red BMW and go to lunch with the owner. Later he had Haro industries in Carlsbad and the owner of Oakley would fly his private plane down to Palomar airport and meet up for lunch. Very fun times in the 80’s.
Great video! Being from Torrance, CA., I interacted with Haro a bit. He had an ego, but it was deserved. He was also a bit of a jerk at times. I had started making number plates in my dad's garage. One day I was at Skateboard World (this was after it closed, and kids would hop the fences to ride) with one of my plates on my bike. I was alone because I moved schools a lot. Haro was there with his entourage, and he sent one of them over to talk to me. My plates were a different design, but yes, inspired by factory plates. So this guy says, "take that plate off. Bob doesn't like rip-offs." I explained that people had been making custom plates before him, and that I wouldn't take it off. He said, "You better not take a run in this park using that plate or there will be trouble." I was scrawny, but I could hold my own, so I took a run. I was fairly good (not in Bob's league), rode back and waited for "trouble." Nothing happened except for hard looks in my direction. I sponsored a few riders with my plates, but nothing ever came of it. I also had a friend who spent days helping Haro make plates in a garage with the promise of pay. There was no pay. Haro bought lunch, and that was it. That being said, I fully respect Haro for what he did for Freestyle, for his art, and for his drive that created what Haro Bikes became. I recently bought a Haro shirt from his site, and I wear it with pride.
I always loved Haro I always wanted a haro freestyler but ended up with a Raleigh tuff burner cos the USA bikes were three times the price of a tuff burner. Great memories it’s been very interesting watching all this as I was bmx obsessed always trying to upgrade parts like a kashimax aero saddle & dia-compe brakes Ect beartrap peddles cw handlebars the list goes on 😊
I worked for a bike shop and we sold Haro bicycles, some nice bikes and alot of pure junk! made in china! It was interesting learning about the history of Haro. I knew a little bit , but it was nice getting a fuller picture. what a difference between the Bob Haro company back then and the company today! Chinesium!
working in a ship, i bet this connects a few dots. i'd picture "ok. and that exactly coincided with X-model, then all the others went to crap afterwards; mystery solved!"
I can remember racing bmx in KC mo in 82, I saw my first freestyle tricks at a track. I was at a Haro show when Dennis McCoy tried out for Haro. The real heart of Freestyle came out of the san francisco bay area and the local parks. lots of riders hung out there. 1981-1982. Injuries also took me out of the sport in 87. I was 17 then and had rode in several AFA competitions on flatland. I owned several Haros and still own a master.
Bob Haro = Legend. Never saw or met him but did see the Haro team incl Ron Wilkerson when they toured the UK in 1986. I did meet Eddie Fiola though when GT toured UK, another freestyle legend. Good times
I loved my Haro bike as a kid. We all had them and rode them everywhere and took them off any jumps we could find. One time we rode our bikes 50 miles to Chico California and back. Took us around 12 hours
My first BMX was a Haro in 1984/5 which after watching this makes me think it was not long after they came out. It got stolen from school and I was super devastated.
1985 i got a haro master, sold it about 15 years ago, thought I was never gonna ride again, now i wish i had it cause at 50 years old i wanna get back on a freestyle bike, oh well i got good money for it and it made me happy while i had it and now its in some dudes bike collection somewhere so cool
I’m 55, a couple years ago found a Gary Littlejohn 20” bmx and a 26” women’s cruiser at a goodwill in Renton Washington of all places. They date stamp their prices and they’d been there for a couple days already. Wife and I had just got there but I wheeled them inside and paid $150 for both, texted the wife said I’ll be in the truck waiting for you. I was paranoid to leave them 😂. Finding anything made by the Godfather of bmx is damn near impossible and we got two. I’ll never sell them, they’re both loaded with top parts from around 1979-80
This is an awesome video! I was in the 2nd grade when E.T. came out, and I wanted a Haro bike so bad, but my parents couldn't afford it. My parents ended up getting me a junk bike. Thanks for filling in the history gaps.
Thank you for this great video. I’m so happy seeing a young man like you giving props to the great man Bob. Well researched & presented. I wonder if anyone of my generation, there at the dawn of this new “freestyle” ever imagined what it would become.
In 84 Bob Haro and Mike Dominguez came to OT cycles in Dartford Uk and I had him sign my Haro arm pads and had my picture taken standing next to Bobs and Mikes bike and being 14 it was amazing I still have the pics now👍
God I miss the 80s and 90s, I had so many cool bikes. I rode flatland freestyle with a few neighborhood half pipes mixed in. I still have my GT Performer from 1987. I had Haro, a Dyno, Matt Hoffmann in the 90s, a Dennis Mccoy edition Mongoose, damn I miss those days.
just gained another sub! I’m glad that you pointed out the significance of the BMX scenes in ET. at the time I was 14 years old, racing on the track, at novice level. JUST bought my first PK rippah and when i watched that scene in the movie, participating in cheering the kids on, i felt like my bike culture that i loved was put on the map. It was profound. Got to pro level and raced 4 more years, got into graphic design, and just wrapped working on TRON 3 as a member of the art department! it’s so awesome to hear about the similarities amongst the people involved within the community. Just got my 26.5 antifreeze green PK ripper and cruise the seawall in beautiful Vancouver BC. BMX will. never. die. Bash your shins and carry on mates. 🤘🏼
TBH I have been looking around for an old BMX I had a Mongoose or Burner……think I must get one now and most likely brake something trying to do an Ariel out of a bowl😂😂
Well damn! That was both a trip down memory lane and an education. Your videos are well done, brother. As an 80s kid, this stuff really resonates with me and it’s really cool (sometimes saddening) to see where the companies I knew as a kid were started and where they ended up.
I had a Haro, and a Dyno, but my favorite bike was my 91 GT pro performer. I went into the Marines in 95 and my younger brother rode my Gt to summer school. Someone stole everything off that bike but the frame, and that was the end for me.
I was 7 years old and they did a show in my school gym. I still have the Freestyle Moves book somewhere. After school there would be 20-30 of us riding our bikes and skateboards around. It was so much fun.
Bob is an incredibly talented and creative person. I worked with him in the motorcycle industry and he was never given the credit he deserved for what he did in the motorcycle world. I miss seeing him as it was always a good time talking to him.
I'm 45 and as a kid I always wanted a haro bike. I didn't realize how much they cost back then my mom bought me a huffy instead but I had all the haro posters on my wall from bmx plus. Great memories
I was 9 when E.T came out. Three weeks later I was riding a Piranha with mag wheels. Kuwahara was my dream bike but we couldn't get them here in the UK. I'm Still riding bikes to this day but that was the start of my BMX journey. I'll never forget how heavy that bike was! My Next bike was a California Wheels freestyler. Loved that bike and foolishly swapped it for a Metallica skateboard in 1988. I met Bob Haro at Hotwheels BMX shop in Bournemouth UK in 1986.
Yes it was ....had a MCS spider chrome with skyway 2 baby blue wheels ...white tires ....local bike shop ordered the frame from MCS and then tricked it out with some of the best parts money could buy ....550 dollars in 86 ....thank you mom and dad I know that was a fortune to you back then ...we were not rich ....regular folk ...middle class at best ....one of the best Xmas ever .....but your rite nothing touched the Haro masters of the 80s ......
I was all about bmx and RC cars in the 80’s. I had a huffy painted 72 nova ss mulsanne blue, with a HARO number plate and some leg shredding aluminum pedals, and those cool triangular cobra grips
I bet. Not many kids around my neighborhood had a Haro. I'd see a lot of Mongoose, DB, GT and Dyno. I finally got a used Goose after owning a Huffy for a few years.
I was a Mongoose guy. I had a race bike that I could lift above my head with my little finger. Wheels were so thin (you flat land it was going to be expensive even in the 80s). ET was my first view of the BMX but RAD racing was what sealed the deal for me!
I miss my blue Webco… I had the oval number plate. Then, eventually graduated to a Haro plate. I also raced and rode the washes love them freestyle days. Thanks for tapping into our memory banks!!
Grew up on the same street. Last time I saw him he was running a carpet cleaning business. He was married and had kids. He’d roll out a small ramp and teach his kids how to ride. A good place to grow up. Howie Long and his sons also lived on the block while he was playing football for the Raiders. The Castile family was also up the street: The older son shaped surfboards in a backyard shed and the father is/was a practicing veterinarian. So a really handy people lived on the street. Good times in Redondo B h.🤗🤗🤗😽
I think you're thinking of RL Osborn. He had a few carpet cleaning vans that my cousin serviced for him. We met at the BMX Action office years before. Did you live on Pennsylvania Ave in Lomita? That's where Howie lived for awhile, LA Raiders era.
I had a Dyno Freestyle with GT parts and a Rotor, then a GT Performer! My Favorite was a Chrome Robinson by GT that I got after selling my blue GT BMX Deluxe. I loved that Robinson!
Great to catch up on Bob, good show! Have you done a piece yet on the late 70's early 80's Skateboarder Magazine transition to Action Now? It ultimately failed but was a rush in its time for keeping us non-Californians in tune with what our sunny state friends were up to in terms of action sports like skateboarding, land luge and BMX. It was the precursor to the 'BMX Action' and other magazines to come, but very much set the tone, awesome photography and look that made the whole scene larger than life in the eyes of its readers. You put together a great show, would love to see you cover this.
MY HARO GOT STOLEN FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL BICYCLE CAGE CIRCA 87. If you care to read, this is my story. It was Friday morning I felt good I up got sort of late so walking to school was a no go. I was going to take my beach cruiser but thought hold up its Friday I'll take my Haro and I had just installed white mag/star rims. It was an attention grabber and I loved it when I arrived I quickly chained it up and was shooting the breeze with my friends. I was being a lil douche and it didn't rub some of the guys right I'm guessing. As the school day came to an end some of my friends and I agreed to hit the park after school. As I approached the cage I couldn't see my Haro when I entered all I seen was the cut up lock. My jaw dropped and all I could think off was what am I going to tell my dad. I think I cried all the way home riding on my friends diamond back bikes pegs. In 89 my freshman year in high school one of my old buddies from middle school was transferred back to the same high school and brought up the "remember the time your Haro got stolen" well I know who done it. I asked who and he said my cousin Marco, I didn't ask any questions I punched him in the mouth and walked away. Yall got to understand I use to fix/paint bikes for the neighbor hood kids, saved up and barrowed some money from my pops (I wasn't going to pay back but it was the thought that counted) and purchased My Haro brand new from the local Schwin bicycle store. Huntington Park CA.
I remember as a kid walking into a bike store and seeing a lime green Haro with white pool tires hanging on the wall. That is still the coolest bike I've ever seen.
That’s so cool! Huge thanks to Bob! (My unknown hero) And thanks for this video. I had a 2002 Haro Backtrails x3 (Ryan Nyquist’s bike) it was sooo heavy compared to my next bike DK Legacy (Chris Doyle’s bike).
In the 80's I had Haro was a good bike. I had Red Lines, Torkers, Cook Bros , JMC and out of all the BMX's growing up was SE racing, P.K . Ripper was my favorite out of all the bikes i had
I delivered newspapers in the apartment complex we lived in and cut a lot of grass to buy a P.K.ripper frame from an add in a bmx magazine. The frame was being shipped from California. I had to go to the post office and purchase a $400 money order and mail off the money. It was the longest 2 weeks of my life waiting on that frame to arrive. I built the frame up with the components from my mongoose frame. At the time I could not afford the badass P.K. Ripper forks. So about six months later my local bike shop got a shipment of forks in and I purchased a set. I installed them and these forks were advertised as indestructible well my first jump they folded up like and soda can. I took them to the local shop where I purchased them and the store manager was confused. Later after talking to the manufacturer on the phone he asked me if I put the spacers in when mounting the wheel and I said what spacers you didn’t give me any spacers. They said we will sell you another set at our cost with spacers. 🙄 so I did. I cherished that bike and then someone liked it more and decided to take it. I did get it back and never let it out of my sight again. Would like to have it hanging on my wall today. Lots of memories and kept me out of trouble. I made it a goal to buy that bike .
Great video, thanks! This is a special guy, i still love the Haro Freestyler and the company logo. Did you know that Haro is an Spanish surname, linked to town at the north of Spain, famous for the wine production?
After the time period of the video, Haro was involved with the design of a backpack line, Axio hard packs. “You want to do things, your stuff wants to come along.” He came to a company where I worked to have some retail racks built. I recognized him and we chatted. Really nice guy. He didn’t buy our racks, but he gave me the pack we used for mock ups. I still have it.
I remember seeing that lime green Haro when I was 10. I wanted it so badly but growing up financially unstable (broke), I had to work my butt off for 2 years mowing yards and shoveling snow. I saved every dime I worked for and was able to finally buy one. I ended up picking a black Haro master from the bike shop. 30 years later, I still have it hanging up in my garage right next to a powder blue GT pro performer I acquired when I was 14. Sure, my Haro may be showing its age, but I won't ever part with it!!
Very cool, but I have to say, in upstate NY, myself and all my friends had BMX bikes and even raced before the motorX races at Paradise Speedway years before ET came out. We cut pieces of plastic from buckets and sometimes even paper plates to make race numbers. Sometimes attached by bread ties. Lol!
Pretty sure Bob went to school and got an art degree and rode a Torker MX for it's twin top tubes and had them produce the Haro Freestyler only from 81- 83' and from 84' on Haro's were made in Taiwan by Anlun until he sold the company. He also designed a skateboard in the 80's aka: "The Circuit Board" and even had a non BMX casual clothing line called "Motives". Dude was such an inspiration growing up.
In 1987 I got a gray CW for my birthday. It was cool but I wasn't satisfied so I saved up & ordered some white peregrine mags for it. CW seemed ok for a while. Then, in 1988, I went to a Haro freestyle show at my local bike shop (Midlothian, Illinois). That was it. I saved up & bought a Chrome Haro sport frame, fork, & handle bars. Changed everything over... LOVE IMMEDIATELY. I learned tricks & everything until I graduated high school. In 1990, I was gonna let my little brother have it because I was going away to college. While at Walgreens, I left my brother with it & he walked away. When I came back to it, it was gone! I ran around for an hour, trying to find the guys that stole it. The police station was directly across the street. They wouldn't even help me look for it.They could not understand all that I went through to put that bike together. Btw, I've never gotten over that theft.
Would never have connected ET as an influence on BMX. I’ve watched about all your BMX maker vids. Nice flashback. As a teen I always envied those kids on a Hutch, GT, Haro, etc. as I was stuck on my Huffy Stu Thompson. I had to retire it when frame welds started giving up lol
I had friends who rode. I didnt. I am/was a blader. But they were serious riders. Ocala was the area. They had haros. Early 2000s so they had Nyquist frame, Mirras, racing track in Troy Lee helmets riding the Haro Monocoque 97-99 complete with the velcro mini pad for the top. (If you seen one or raced you know you cant race in florida without) track results in BMX plus... I was there and lived it.
Thank you all for the continued support for these history oriented videos. Keep the recommendations coming! I'm compiling a list of obscure brands that didn't last super long so if you have anything to add to the list, let me know!
Barracuda made some great bikes, and splashed out on a Norba team, then disappeared. Catamount made what were probably the best of the URT bikes during their heyday, but their best known invention was a water bottle cage you can still buy new. Mountain Cycles, Balfa, and Arrow Racing deserve some love as well. As to your query as to 'what comes next', it was video games. They took over everything, and that's why the batting cages, bmx tracks, and bowling alleys are all gone.
Excellent video. Thanks man
Flyaway helmets.
Have you anything on #torker & #takara ? My dream bikes as a kid. I just watched #rad the other day. Great times
@@MossieRidesBikes watching that rockwalk brought so many memories flooding back. I absolutely loved riding BMX and freestyle.
Free style was life in the 80’s. So glad I got to be apart of it.
Everyone had a GT Pro Performer or a Dyno. lol!
@@bongdonky2568 I wanted a GT performer, mongoose, Dino, haro but ended up with a Raleigh Shock.
I'm 56 and still goin strong with it. Don't do any vert anymore, cuz let's be honest, a broken hip now is a helluva lot worse than at 18-25. 😂
@@bongdonky2568I had a 90s GT pro freestyle tour team model. Fully loaded! Loved that bike. Wish I kept it
Or a schwin predator lol!!
I was at a NBL Nationals in Norwalk, OH in the early 80's. Bob Haro autographed my paper Coke cup. I still have it.
That’s pretty rad, man.
Working in the local bike shop back in the early 80’s, I remember how BMX blew up. At one point we were selling more than twice as many BMX style bikes than all others combined.
And they cost a pretty penny! Supply and demand was a motha! I remember getting clowned for my huffy from the rich kids but I understand where my parents were coming from $200? In 1986 money? That equates to about $800 in today's.
Like the high
Now bmx shops are few and far between. I rode really hard in my teens every single day if I wasn’t riding my friends and I were watching videos. This was classic mid school era. I was so excited to get a job at. Bike shop when I was like 19 and they didn’t sell any bmx bikes they were all like talking about the freaking Tour de France in the back I was so heart broken lol I was like these guys are effin lame and didn’t last there long
anyone want to check out my prestine 1980s Mongoose with white.Skywayags?
Yes! I grew up in the suburbs of Sacramento and this was our life in 81-83!!! I haven’t heard the name Haro in at least 40 years!!
I remember when this blew up. Back in the day, Haro was supreme, the bikes were awesome and kids everywhere wanted to ride them, GT, Diamond Back, Skyway, Kuwahara, SE and a few others.
Such a great time to be a kid riding bikes.
Seeing freestyle kick off blew our minds.
I had a baby blue Haro Freestyle and purple GT Performer. I miss the 80's.
Had a chrome and blue GT performer myself in the late 90's. Thing would freeroll forever.
Blue GT world tour and pink Haro extreme here
Had a MCS spider tricked out for freestyle chrome with baby blue skyway 2 wheels ....a M1 mongoose grey and black ...and a mongoose decade pro pink and chrome....but always wanted a Haro Master in chrome and black with the green accents ......man I miss the 80s ....I was born in 77 ....this was my life from 10 years old to early teens ....that and skateboards ....man what a time ...what a decade ....sucks getting old ....
Nice bike that.
I had a Redline and gave it away to a young boy that didn't have much in life, gave him it when I was just 3 weeks away from turning 16 - that was back in 1985
Thot so many times about building my own bike and hanging it On the wall, the build would need to be a Haro
Bob Haro is the coolest dude in BMX! Taught me how to do coaster brake wheelies when I was 11 or 12! Literally the man changed my life.
There's some other stuff but I'm not going to bring that up here, big shout out from Battle Creek Michigan.
This is awesome. All the cool kids had Haro number plates. Especially the innovative “vented” plate because of course that made you faster.
Omghourd, I just remembered, I had one of those!
Less wind resistance, that's just physics right there. 😂
Glad to say I was there in the beginning. We were building bikes in the mid 70s, pulling off the banana seats making our own pads out of pipe insulation.
Stoked to see this today. Thanks for sharing the Haro history with so many.
I remember seeing Team Haro at several Nationals during the early to mid 80s. They had steel framed plexiglass ramps at all the demos. It was wild being able to see the tricks from any angle, even behind the ramps 🤘🏼
Yeah that was the rosencrans ramp I'm pretty sure. It's like 8ft wide with no flat and tight transitions lol, looked sketch.
I'm 48 years old, grew up very poor and always wanted a Haro Master, but just couldn't afford it when I was a kid. Fast forward to today, I purchased two nice 1986 Haro Masters over the last couple of weeks and that inner child is super excited about it. I own a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu school and I about to start taking my two Haro Masters to the school so that my 60+ kids can check them out. Hopefully it will spark an interest in them that doesn't involve looking at a screen of some sort for hours and hours all day long.
That is awesome and a perfect place to inspire the youngsters! Jiu jitsu is my other athletic endeavor I'm in love with 😅
Im 45 always wanted one then one day in my 20s I found one in the garbage in a rich neighborhood I took it right away messed with it for a little bit the kid down the st begged me for it I gave it to him and he told me when he got older that he was poor and that was what kept him out of trouble and helped him deliver newspaper s
Haro was so rad!
@@JasonBrown-mx2kk that's a helluva find! Those things were pricey
This was life for years . I hurt everyday from these times
Had the pleasure of meeting him a few days ago in the uk at a bmx competition. Awesome guy. He even signed my bike for me
Thank you! I am Gen X and very happy for Mr. Haro. I often wonder about all the BMX Bike manufacturers. its nice to know one of us kids made it. Thank you.
Nice video! Just a FYI, the first freestyle bike that you show at 12:25 is not a Haro Freestyler. It is a Haro Master.
I used to race BMX as a kid in Louisiana and actually won First Place (13 Expert) in the state championships. Regardless, at that time my friends and I were glued to BMX Action magazine and riding around everywhere to find cool jumps to practice some tricks/freestyle around the time Bob, R.L. and Mike Buff were taking off. Thanks for the flashback of memories!
BMX was the greatest! 80s BMX in particular. Great bikes. Great people. Great riders. These were great times!
I got my Haro Freestyler fst in 84, I still have it. It’s on the wall in my shop next to my first mtn bike, a Cannondale Delts V that I had repainted in Volvo team red at the factory when I was a sales rep there in the mid 90’s. It’s white with the blue decals. I need to restore it, the decals are faded. I lived in Hawaii and California in the 80’s, it was a fun time.
Bob is a true role model. Great work you're doing on your channel. May you keep living the dream.
This is a great video Mossie, love your work!
Haro still lives on with the Lineage and newer models if interested. I bought a 2017 Lineage Mster just a few months ago. I love it.
7:37 I had to add this HERE: 1: In the Mid 90's, Haro did a flatland/freestyle demo at the park next door to my house..
2: Mid/Late 90's, I'm co-managing a bike shop: ACTION SPORTS & Awards! 3: Working w/ HARO
- And subsequently, also working w/ a high school friend who went to work there.
[I always busted balls to be able to afford a few of their bikes - Previous to getting the gig at the shop
]
The TWO BOBs Are The Best! ❤
Bob Haro and Bob Morales! 🤘
KILLER Video, Dude!! You Absolutely Nailed This!
E.T. BMX Bandits, RAD, BMX-Freestyle [as far as a few of the OG BMX Vids go...] 😁
BMX bikes were so cool. Haro, GT, Stroker, Redline, and Hutch. Quality bikes back then.
I miss my Redline, Diamondback, and Eastern Ace of Spades. Had some phenomenal years on those bikes.
And SkyWay
Trickstar
Don’t forget about CW!
@@CutmeMick Odyssey made some nice goosenecks!
RAD is still one of my favorite movies got the VHS, DVD amd Blue Ray
Brilliant! Bob Osborn was spot on with “You have potential.” This kid at work spotted one of my cartoon drawings then took the idea to another level. The originality and quality of his characters was nothing anyone else has thought. When this kid left I had a talk to him about his talent and told him not to give up on his characters. I hope he meets someone someone like Bob O.
I'm not into BMX at all but I'm glad this popped up in my recommended feed! I remember seeing Haro on bikes all the time as a kid but never knew it was an actual dude haha!
I met Bob the first time out in riverside area called the Ranch for a freestyle demo. Later I worked for Oakley as an industrial designer and Bob would come by in his red BMW and go to lunch with the owner. Later he had Haro industries in Carlsbad and the owner of Oakley would fly his private plane down to Palomar airport and meet up for lunch. Very fun times in the 80’s.
Great video!
Being from Torrance, CA., I interacted with Haro a bit. He had an ego, but it was deserved. He was also a bit of a jerk at times.
I had started making number plates in my dad's garage. One day I was at Skateboard World (this was after it closed, and kids would hop the fences to ride) with one of my plates on my bike. I was alone because I moved schools a lot. Haro was there with his entourage, and he sent one of them over to talk to me. My plates were a different design, but yes, inspired by factory plates. So this guy says, "take that plate off. Bob doesn't like rip-offs." I explained that people had been making custom plates before him, and that I wouldn't take it off. He said, "You better not take a run in this park using that plate or there will be trouble." I was scrawny, but I could hold my own, so I took a run. I was fairly good (not in Bob's league), rode back and waited for "trouble." Nothing happened except for hard looks in my direction. I sponsored a few riders with my plates, but nothing ever came of it.
I also had a friend who spent days helping Haro make plates in a garage with the promise of pay. There was no pay. Haro bought lunch, and that was it.
That being said, I fully respect Haro for what he did for Freestyle, for his art, and for his drive that created what Haro Bikes became. I recently bought a Haro shirt from his site, and I wear it with pride.
I had a Hutch trickstar. Went to so many trick shows! GT,CW,Skyway, Redline. Met all the legends. And Tony Hawk
Great story! I always liked Haro stuff but never knew about the man.
I always loved Haro I always wanted a haro freestyler but ended up with a Raleigh tuff burner cos the USA bikes were three times the price of a tuff burner. Great memories it’s been very interesting watching all this as I was bmx obsessed always trying to upgrade parts like a kashimax aero saddle & dia-compe brakes Ect beartrap peddles cw handlebars the list goes on 😊
I worked for a bike shop and we sold Haro bicycles, some nice bikes and alot of pure junk! made in china! It was interesting learning about the history of Haro. I knew a little bit , but it was nice getting a fuller picture. what a difference between the Bob Haro company back then and the company today! Chinesium!
working in a ship, i bet this connects a few dots.
i'd picture "ok. and that exactly coincided with X-model, then all the others went to crap afterwards; mystery solved!"
I can remember racing bmx in KC mo in 82, I saw my first freestyle tricks at a track. I was at a Haro show when Dennis McCoy tried out for Haro. The real heart of Freestyle came out of the san francisco bay area and the local parks. lots of riders hung out there. 1981-1982. Injuries also took me out of the sport in 87. I was 17 then and had rode in several AFA competitions on flatland. I owned several Haros and still own a master.
Bob Haro = Legend. Never saw or met him but did see the Haro team incl Ron Wilkerson when they toured the UK in 1986. I did meet Eddie Fiola though when GT toured UK, another freestyle legend. Good times
I loved my Haro bike as a kid. We all had them and rode them everywhere and took them off any jumps we could find. One time we rode our bikes 50 miles to Chico California and back. Took us around 12 hours
Cool channel, glad it came up in my suggestions. BMX isn't my style but when it comes to good stories anything about bikes works for me!
My first BMX was a Haro in 1984/5 which after watching this makes me think it was not long after they came out. It got stolen from school and I was super devastated.
1985 i got a haro master, sold it about 15 years ago, thought I was never gonna ride again, now i wish i had it cause at 50 years old i wanna get back on a freestyle bike, oh well i got good money for it and it made me happy while i had it and now its in some dudes bike collection somewhere so cool
I am 52 and just bought a 2017 Haro Master Lineage. You need one of these.
I’m 55, a couple years ago found a Gary Littlejohn 20” bmx and a 26” women’s cruiser at a goodwill in Renton Washington of all places. They date stamp their prices and they’d been there for a couple days already. Wife and I had just got there but I wheeled them inside and paid $150 for both, texted the wife said I’ll be in the truck waiting for you. I was paranoid to leave them 😂. Finding anything made by the Godfather of bmx is damn near impossible and we got two. I’ll never sell them, they’re both loaded with top parts from around 1979-80
@skeezix8156 thats so cool and good for you dude happy you found them
I have a Haro Master but after so many moves I can remember where I stored it.
@cain772 dang dig that sucker up and sell it to me lol
Bob was always a huge piece of me and my friends lives growing up in the 80s
I remember his art and still have some of it
This is an awesome video! I was in the 2nd grade when E.T. came out, and I wanted a Haro bike so bad, but my parents couldn't afford it. My parents ended up getting me a junk bike. Thanks for filling in the history gaps.
Thank you for this great video. I’m so happy seeing a young man like you giving props to the great man Bob. Well researched & presented. I wonder if anyone of my generation, there at the dawn of this new “freestyle” ever imagined what it would become.
In 84 Bob Haro and Mike Dominguez came to OT cycles in Dartford Uk and I had him sign my Haro arm pads and had my picture taken standing next to Bobs and Mikes bike and being 14 it was amazing I still have the pics now👍
I 100% appreciate this video...memory lane
I had the pleasure to meet him in London a few years ago, back then I was racing bmx for HARO bmx (racing) UK
God I miss the 80s and 90s, I had so many cool bikes. I rode flatland freestyle with a few neighborhood half pipes mixed in. I still have my GT Performer from 1987. I had Haro, a Dyno, Matt Hoffmann in the 90s, a Dennis Mccoy edition Mongoose, damn I miss those days.
just gained another sub!
I’m glad that you pointed out the significance of the BMX scenes in ET. at the time I was 14 years old, racing on the track, at novice level. JUST bought my first PK rippah and when i watched that scene in the movie, participating in cheering the kids on, i felt like my bike culture that i loved was put on the map. It was profound. Got to pro level and raced 4 more years, got into graphic design, and just wrapped working on TRON 3 as a member of the art department! it’s so awesome to hear about the similarities amongst the people involved within the community. Just got my 26.5 antifreeze green PK ripper and cruise the seawall in beautiful Vancouver BC. BMX will. never. die. Bash your shins and carry on mates. 🤘🏼
I ride MTB now but live my days on BmX and HARO was such a influence on me
I'm in the same boat. Doing these videos makes me want to grab a BMX bike, make a ramp out of 2x4s and plywood, and hangout with my childhood crew
TBH I have been looking around for an old BMX I had a Mongoose or Burner……think I must get one now and most likely brake something trying to do an Ariel out of a bowl😂😂
Well damn! That was both a trip down memory lane and an education. Your videos are well done, brother. As an 80s kid, this stuff really resonates with me and it’s really cool (sometimes saddening) to see where the companies I knew as a kid were started and where they ended up.
I had a Haro, and a Dyno, but my favorite bike was my 91 GT pro performer. I went into the Marines in 95 and my younger brother rode my Gt to summer school. Someone stole everything off that bike but the frame, and that was the end for me.
Great video!
those 80's BMX bikes are works of art. Masterpieces, if you will..
I was 7 years old and they did a show in my school gym. I still have the Freestyle Moves book somewhere. After school there would be 20-30 of us riding our bikes and skateboards around. It was so much fun.
Bob is an incredibly talented and creative person. I worked with him in the motorcycle industry and he was never given the credit he deserved for what he did in the motorcycle world. I miss seeing him as it was always a good time talking to him.
I'm 45 and as a kid I always wanted a haro bike. I didn't realize how much they cost back then my mom bought me a huffy instead but I had all the haro posters on my wall from bmx plus. Great memories
Interesting story. Thanks for posting!
This is dope. Bob is a legend. Great job on this historic journey. I knew a good amount about Bob, but this fills in a lot of blanks
Great videos!!! Skyway SE Redline Haro 👌👌👌 love to see one on firebird Dp! Had the chrome freestyler c/w graphite skyways.
I was 9 when E.T came out. Three weeks later I was riding a Piranha with mag wheels. Kuwahara was my dream bike but we couldn't get them here in the UK. I'm Still riding bikes to this day but that was the start of my BMX journey. I'll never forget how heavy that bike was! My Next bike was a California Wheels freestyler. Loved that bike and foolishly swapped it for a Metallica skateboard in 1988. I met Bob Haro at Hotwheels BMX shop in Bournemouth UK in 1986.
Best bike i ever owned as a kid back in the 80' and early 90's was a haro. Good times good memories!🤙
87’ Haro Master was the dream ride man!
Yes it was ....had a MCS spider chrome with skyway 2 baby blue wheels ...white tires ....local bike shop ordered the frame from MCS and then tricked it out with some of the best parts money could buy ....550 dollars in 86 ....thank you mom and dad I know that was a fortune to you back then ...we were not rich ....regular folk ...middle class at best ....one of the best Xmas ever .....but your rite nothing touched the Haro masters of the 80s ......
I was all about bmx and RC cars in the 80’s. I had a huffy painted 72 nova ss mulsanne blue, with a HARO number plate and some leg shredding aluminum pedals, and those cool triangular cobra grips
I really miss the Haro I had back in 87 even more now. 😔
I bet. Not many kids around my neighborhood had a Haro. I'd see a lot of Mongoose, DB, GT and Dyno. I finally got a used Goose after owning a Huffy for a few years.
I still have my first Pro Number plate that Bob made by hand and presented it to me, when I first turned B-pro NBA at Ascot BMX track. #162
Hutch Trickstar. My pride and joy.
I grew up riding mostly Huffy Bikes, but just being able to get a BMX Mag and a Slurpee from 7 ELEVEn was everything as youngster in the 80s
I was a Mongoose guy. I had a race bike that I could lift above my head with my little finger. Wheels were so thin (you flat land it was going to be expensive even in the 80s).
ET was my first view of the BMX but RAD racing was what sealed the deal for me!
I miss my blue Webco… I had the oval number plate. Then, eventually graduated to a Haro plate. I also raced and rode the washes love them freestyle days. Thanks for tapping into our memory banks!!
Webco was early on in scene. Really cool bikes.
Grew up on the same street. Last time I saw him he was running a carpet cleaning business. He was married and had kids. He’d roll out a small ramp and teach his kids how to ride. A good place to grow up. Howie Long and his sons also lived on the block while he was playing football for the Raiders. The Castile family was also up the street: The older son shaped surfboards in a backyard shed and the father is/was a practicing veterinarian. So a really handy people lived on the street. Good times in Redondo B h.🤗🤗🤗😽
Still there?
I think you're thinking of RL Osborn. He had a few carpet cleaning vans that my cousin serviced for him. We met at the BMX Action office years before. Did you live on Pennsylvania Ave in Lomita? That's where Howie lived for awhile, LA Raiders era.
Great story thanks for the video. The original chrome Freestyler is still IMHO the best looking BMX ever designed.
BMX in the 80s up to the 90s was huge. In U.K. at my local track we have hundreds of riders just for local meetings. It was awesome
I had a Dyno Freestyle with GT parts and a Rotor, then a GT Performer! My Favorite was a Chrome Robinson by GT that I got after selling my blue GT BMX Deluxe. I loved that Robinson!
Could you do a video about FMF BMX bikes.
I'd love that too!
Great video. I met him in the UK in the 80's on his tour. So many memories. By The way - what's the song 3:51?
Great video. Also my bike crew SD Biking is on here at 16:16 🙌thanks
Sick history! First time hearing it! 😎🤙 Very very nice video! 👍👍👍 Remember way back in 90's i had a Haro bmx.
Great to catch up on Bob, good show! Have you done a piece yet on the late 70's early 80's Skateboarder Magazine transition to Action Now? It ultimately failed but was a rush in its time for keeping us non-Californians in tune with what our sunny state friends were up to in terms of action sports like skateboarding, land luge and BMX. It was the precursor to the 'BMX Action' and other magazines to come, but very much set the tone, awesome photography and look that made the whole scene larger than life in the eyes of its readers. You put together a great show, would love to see you cover this.
MY HARO GOT STOLEN FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL BICYCLE CAGE CIRCA 87. If you care to read, this is my story. It was Friday morning I felt good I up got sort of late so walking to school was a no go. I was going to take my beach cruiser but thought hold up its Friday I'll take my Haro and I had just installed white mag/star rims. It was an attention grabber and I loved it when I arrived I quickly chained it up and was shooting the breeze with my friends. I was being a lil douche and it didn't rub some of the guys right I'm guessing. As the school day came to an end some of my friends and I agreed to hit the park after school. As I approached the cage I couldn't see my Haro when I entered all I seen was the cut up lock. My jaw dropped and all I could think off was what am I going to tell my dad. I think I cried all the way home riding on my friends diamond back bikes pegs. In 89 my freshman year in high school one of my old buddies from middle school was transferred back to the same high school and brought up the "remember the time your Haro got stolen" well I know who done it. I asked who and he said my cousin Marco, I didn't ask any questions I punched him in the mouth and walked away. Yall got to understand I use to fix/paint bikes for the neighbor hood kids, saved up and barrowed some money from my pops (I wasn't going to pay back but it was the thought that counted) and purchased My Haro brand new from the local Schwin bicycle store. Huntington Park CA.
it feels weird clicking 'like' on your story cos man, that SUCKS!
I remember as a kid walking into a bike store and seeing a lime green Haro with white pool tires hanging on the wall. That is still the coolest bike I've ever seen.
That’s so cool! Huge thanks to Bob! (My unknown hero) And thanks for this video. I had a 2002 Haro Backtrails x3 (Ryan Nyquist’s bike) it was sooo heavy compared to my next bike DK Legacy (Chris Doyle’s bike).
In the 80's I had Haro was a good bike. I had Red Lines, Torkers, Cook Bros , JMC and out of all the BMX's growing up was SE racing, P.K . Ripper was my favorite out of all the bikes i had
I delivered newspapers in the apartment complex we lived in and cut a lot of grass to buy a P.K.ripper frame from an add in a bmx magazine. The frame was being shipped from California. I had to go to the post office and purchase a $400 money order and mail off the money. It was the longest 2 weeks of my life waiting on that frame to arrive. I built the frame up with the components from my mongoose frame. At the time I could not afford the badass P.K. Ripper forks. So about six months later my local bike shop got a shipment of forks in and I purchased a set. I installed them and these forks were advertised as indestructible well my first jump they folded up like and soda can. I took them to the local shop where I purchased them and the store manager was confused. Later after talking to the manufacturer on the phone he asked me if I put the spacers in when mounting the wheel and I said what spacers you didn’t give me any spacers. They said we will sell you another set at our cost with spacers. 🙄 so I did. I cherished that bike and then someone liked it more and decided to take it. I did get it back and never let it out of my sight again. Would like to have it hanging on my wall today. Lots of memories and kept me out of trouble. I made it a goal to buy that bike .
Bob was at The Malverns Classic here in the UK last August. I'm not sure if he's there this year or not.
Aw mate, I wish I could have joined that bike ride. Keep up your awesome videos, brother. I love Haro. I have an F4 and an F1.
Great video, thanks! This is a special guy, i still love the Haro Freestyler and the company logo. Did you know that Haro is an Spanish surname, linked to town at the north of Spain, famous for the wine production?
Great video. Thanks for the information.
I appreciate the comment!
I bought that book. I ordered it out of the Action Now magazine. BMX Action actually became Action Now featuring RL and Mike Buff.
He was one of my Hero's back in the 80's along with a guy from the UK called Andy Ruffell, have you done Eddie Fiola ?
After the time period of the video, Haro was involved with the design of a backpack line, Axio hard packs. “You want to do things, your stuff wants to come along.” He came to a company where I worked to have some retail racks built. I recognized him and we chatted. Really nice guy. He didn’t buy our racks, but he gave me the pack we used for mock ups. I still have it.
Bob is a phenomal designer and a really high quality person! He's done quite a bit of design outside of BMX as well for companies like Phoozy.
I remember seeing that lime green Haro when I was 10. I wanted it so badly but growing up financially unstable (broke), I had to work my butt off for 2 years mowing yards and shoveling snow. I saved every dime I worked for and was able to finally buy one. I ended up picking a black Haro master from the bike shop. 30 years later, I still have it hanging up in my garage right next to a powder blue GT pro performer I acquired when I was 14. Sure, my Haro may be showing its age, but I won't ever part with it!!
Very cool, but I have to say, in upstate NY, myself and all my friends had BMX bikes and even raced before the motorX races at Paradise Speedway years before ET came out. We cut pieces of plastic from buckets and sometimes even paper plates to make race numbers. Sometimes attached by bread ties. Lol!
80s bmx r here!!! Born 1967 i remember building bikes in 70s good times!! I remember drill holes in plates for air flow and weight
Pretty sure Bob went to school and got an art degree and rode a Torker MX for it's twin top tubes and had them produce the Haro Freestyler only from 81- 83' and from 84' on Haro's were made in Taiwan by Anlun until he sold the company. He also designed a skateboard in the 80's aka: "The Circuit Board" and even had a non BMX casual clothing line called "Motives". Dude was such an inspiration growing up.
In 1987 I got a gray CW for my birthday. It was cool but I wasn't satisfied so I saved up & ordered some white peregrine mags for it. CW seemed ok for a while. Then, in 1988, I went to a Haro freestyle show at my local bike shop (Midlothian, Illinois). That was it. I saved up & bought a Chrome Haro sport frame, fork, & handle bars. Changed everything over... LOVE IMMEDIATELY. I learned tricks & everything until I graduated high school. In 1990, I was gonna let my little brother have it because I was going away to college. While at Walgreens, I left my brother with it & he walked away. When I came back to it, it was gone! I ran around for an hour, trying to find the guys that stole it. The police station was directly across the street. They wouldn't even help me look for it.They could not understand all that I went through to put that bike together. Btw, I've never gotten over that theft.
GOAT
Thanks for another cool video, I didn't realise, but Unless my eyes are deceiving me. I didn't realise there were freecoasters in the 80s
Would never have connected ET as an influence on BMX. I’ve watched about all your BMX maker vids. Nice flashback. As a teen I always envied those kids on a Hutch, GT, Haro, etc. as I was stuck on my Huffy Stu Thompson. I had to retire it when frame welds started giving up lol
Bob Haro, Dennis McCoy, Kevin Jones, Matt Hoffman all were the “First” something… Great research and stock editing, cheers 👍
SIC vid! ❤ I really like what you’re doing with this channel
Seriously and keep it up the way you approach the history of cycling 🚴♀️
I had friends who rode. I didnt. I am/was a blader. But they were serious riders. Ocala was the area. They had haros. Early 2000s so they had Nyquist frame, Mirras, racing track in Troy Lee helmets riding the Haro Monocoque 97-99 complete with the velcro mini pad for the top. (If you seen one or raced you know you cant race in florida without) track results in BMX plus... I was there and lived it.