BMX Action Trick Team in Peru, IN 1984

In 1984 I was 13 years old and was crazy about BMX.   At the time, I didn't even have a nice bike .  I rode my black AMF bmx bike with yellow mag wheels everywhere and loved it. It wasn't a Mongoose or Redline- the bikes everyone wanted back then - but I loved it all the same.

  I read all the BMX magazines that I could get my hands on.  My favorite was BMX Action and by favorite rider was RL Osborn.  I would read the magazine cover to cover and learn the simple tricks that were in the how-to section of the magazine.  I had seen articles about the BMX Action trick team doing shows around the country.  I used to dream of how awesome it would be to go see them some time.

That dream became reality in the summer of 1984. The owner of the Hive Bike Shop hired them to give two shows per day for a week in my hometown of Peru, Indiana.  I was blown away when I heard about it.  At first, I didn't believe it - it was just a rumor that spread around.  A rumor that was too good to be true.  So I asked the shop owner and he confirmed that the team would be there.  Seventh heaven!  I was so excited leading up to the week of the shows.





I didn't miss any of the shows.  I watched Mike Buff bunnyhop onto a table, lots of flatland tricks, and the first time I'd even seen a quarterpipe ramp.  RL was blowing my mind with the tricks he was doing on the ground and in the air.


The pictures here aren't mine.  I took a lot of pictures but they were lost in one of my many moves.  I found these online a few years ago and wish I knew who to give credit to.  The neat thing about these pictures is that in the background of a couple of them, you can see a bike with yellow mags.  That's me.  I stood in the same place for every show.

I still get blown away when I see these pictures.  It's hard to believe that the BMX Action trick team spent a week in Peru, Indiana doing tricks for kids like me.  It seems crazy, but it's always meant a lot to me - not only that they did the shows, but the owner of the shop put it all together and paid for it.  It was a great week that created fantastic memories that I still enjoy 30+ years later.