Publisher's Synopsis
At only thirty years old, Mat "The Condor" Hoffman is the Tony Hawk of BMX biking. BMX, like skateboarding, is one of today's most popular extreme sports. Its popularity is enjoying the same resurgence as skateboarding, and now, thanks to BMX activists such as Mat Hoffman, BMX biking is here to stay. Mat is a 10-time BMX World Champion. Mat has brought BMX freestyle riding to a level many thought wasn't possible. He's an innovator who has accomplished amazing feats such as base-jumping his bike off 3,500-foot Norwegian cliffs and clearing 26.5 feet above a 24-foot-high vert quarter pipe-exceeding the world record of 15 feet. Since the early 1980s he has invented more than 50 tricks, many of which are being duplicated by today's riders-and a few that only he has been able to master. He began riding at the age of thirteen, and within three years was the youngest professional rider the sport had ever seen. In 1991 he started his own promotion company, Hoffman Promotions, which sponsored many riders in addition to him. He assembled a team of the best freestyle riders and began organizing tours.;He started his own bike manufacturing company, Hoffman Bikes, when his riding skill surpassed what conventional BMX bikes were able to handle. And he did it all by the age of twenty. In the past 10 years, Mat has been a key player in building the sport. He's developed numerous competitions as a way for professional and amateur riders to showcase their abilities. He organized Hoffman Sports Association, which is the organizing body for the X Games. He and his riders were selected to take part in the closing ceremonies at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, GA. His action figure and finger bikes are top sellers in their field. His video game, which was released in May by Activision, is a bestseller. He has produced, directed, and hosted several television shows focused on alternative sports. Now at the age of 29 - after 14 operations, 50 broken bones, more than 50 concussions, and flatlining due to a BMX-related injury-he has retired from competition but continues to perform in demos worldwide. As he shares his stories, he unfurls the bumpy history of BMX riding.
